Unusual clockwise loop migration lengthens travel distances and increases potential risks for a central Asian, long distance, trans-equatorial migrant, the Red-footed Falcon Falco vespertinus
Capsule: Red-footed Falcons Falco vespertinus migrating from northern Kazakhstan proceed west before heading south to Africa; their northbound travel follows a different route with passage close to shooting hotspots in the Mediterranean.
Aim: To use tracking and ringing data to document for the first time the migration of globally threatened Red-footed Falcons from northern Kazakhstan.
Methods: Light-level geolocators were deployed on breeding adults in Kazakhstan and recovered one year later. Ringing and observational data from more than 100 years of Russian-language and other literature were summarized and mapped alongside the geolocator data.
Results: Geolocator, ringing and observational data together demonstrate that Red-footed Falcons from northern Kazakhstan have a clockwise loop migration that begins with a long and unusual westward trek around eastern Europe’s large inland seas before continuing to extreme southern Africa. Return migration is farther west and requires crossing two major migratory barriers: the Sahara and the Mediterranean.
Conclusion: The loop migration we describe requires an extensive longitudinal movement, exposes central Asian Red-footed Falcons to multiple desert, mountain and marine crossings, and, at outbound and return Mediterranean bottlenecks, crosses sites where raptor shooting is common.
Citation Information
Publication Year | 2016 |
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Title | Unusual clockwise loop migration lengthens travel distances and increases potential risks for a central Asian, long distance, trans-equatorial migrant, the Red-footed Falcon Falco vespertinus |
DOI | 10.1080/00063657.2016.1214107 |
Authors | Todd E. Katzner, Evgeny A. Bragin, Alexander E. Bragin, Michael J. McGrady, Tricia A. Miller, Keith L. Bildstein |
Publication Type | Article |
Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
Series Title | Bird Study |
Index ID | 70189656 |
Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |
USGS Organization | Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center |