Breeding and natal dispersal of WhinchatsSaxicola rubetra

Abstract

An examination was made of 521 ringing recoveries of Whinchats. Site fidelity (birds returning to within 1 km of the ringing locality), territory fidelity (returning to within 150 m of the ringing locality) and dispersal distances were calculated for adult males and females and for one-year old birds of both sexes. One-year olds were found to be much less faithful to their birth place than older birds were to their breeding place. Territory fidelity is most pronounced in old males, followed by old females and finally by one year old birds, which returned to their natal area. The same pattern was found for dispersal distances.

Low and annually variable migratory connectivity in a long‐distance migrant: Whinchats Saxicola rubetra may show a bet‐hedging strategy

“…The reverse, that east‐to‐west individuals from the same breeding location in Europe will be spread out over a large non‐breeding area in Africa, is logically likely to apply (Fig. ), especially in a species with such high non‐breeding site fidelity (Blackburn & Cresswell ), breeding ground site fidelity (Bastian ) and a non‐breeding distribution across the whole of Africa, from Senegal to Tanzania. Whinchats from any local breeding population in the east of Europe are therefore likely to spread out over a similar continental scale in Africa (33% of the maximum east‐to‐west width of Africa at typical wintering latitude, 8°).…”

Dispersal and return rates of Willow WarblersPhylloscopus trochilusin relation to age, sex and season

“…7.9% Whinchat Saxicola rutebra (Bastian 1992), 12% Meadow Pipit Anthus pratensis (Hotker 1982), 4.8% Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio (Jacober & Stauber 1983). A number of resident species, e.g.…”

“…This feature is also apparent in first year birds; fewer young birds return to their natal area than adults, but of those that do males predominate (da Prato & da Prato 1983, Milwright 1990, Bastian 1992, Massa Bottonil & Foraasari 1993. It is not known for certain whether this sex difference in the Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus is due to a lower survival rate of females during the breeding season (Tiainen 1983) or to a lower site fidelity to natal/breeding areas in female birds (Pratt & Peach 1991).…”

Breeding success affects site fidelity in a WhinchatSaxicola rubetrapopulation in abandoned fields

“…The Whinchat Saxicola rubetra, a wide ranging groundnesting meadow passerine, has experienced dramatic population declines in Western and Central Europe over the past decades (Bastian et al 1997, Grüebler et al 2012, Henderson et al 2014. Due to the urgent need for conservation, the population ecology of the Whinchat is becoming relatively well studied in Western and Central Europe (Schmidt & Hantge 1954, Bezzel & Stiel 1975, Bastian 1992, Müller et al 2005, Frankiewicz 2008). But although Whinchats experience high rates of anthropological nest loss in many parts of Europe suggesting a spatial response at a large scale influencing local population dynamics, the association between Whinchat breeding success and breeding dispersal remains unknown.…”