This study presents wing‐beat frequency data measured mainly by radar, complemented by video and cinematic recordings, for 153 western Palaearctic and two African species. Data on a further 45 Palaearctic species from other sources are provided in an electronic appendix. For 41 species with passerine‐type flight, the duration of flapping and pausing phases is given. The graphical presentations of frequency ranges and wing‐beat patterns show within‐species variation and allow easy comparison between species, taxonomic groups and types of flight. Wing‐beat frequency is described by Pennycuick (J. Exp. Biol. 2001; 204: 3283–3294) as a function of body‐mass, wing‐span, wing‐area, gravity and air density; for birds with passerine‐type flight the power‐fraction has also to be considered. We tested Pennycuick’s general allometric model and estimated the coefficients based on our data. The general model explained a high proportion of variation in wing‐beat frequency and the coefficients differed only slightly from Pennycuick’s original values. Modelling continuous‐flapping flyers alone resulted in coefficients not different from those predicted (within 95% intervals). Doing so for passerine‐type birds resulted in a model with non‐significant contributions of body‐mass and wing‐span to the model. This was mainly due to the very high correlation between body‐mass, wing‐span and wing‐area, revealing similar relative scaling properties within this flight type. However, wing‐beat frequency increased less than expected with respect to power‐fraction, indicating that the drop in flight level during the non‐flapping phases, compensated by the factor (g/q)0.5 in Pennycuick’s model, is smaller than presumed. This may be due to lift produced by the body during the bounding phase or by only partial folding of the wings.

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SummaryNocturnal autumn bird migration was studied for the first time along the southern edge of the western Sahara. A passive infrared device provided data on the intensity and direction of nocturnal passage at 9 different sites for 20 nights from dawn to dusk. The results support the idea that many bird migrants use an intermittent flight strategy when crossing the Sahara. Flight directions along the southern border of the desert were SSW, similar to those known from southern Spain, and thus, did not confirm the expected shift towards SE before the desert crossing, as derived from former laboratory experiments.

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