Cyprus Wheatear Migration Tracks and Wintering Locations

Six Cyprus wheatears were tracked with geolocators to study their migratory strategy. The data includes details of a single non-stop migratory flight averaging 2538 km in about 60 hours, with wintering sites spread over at least 950 km in sub-Saharan Africa.

Use Cases

• Analyze the relationship between migratory flight distance (2538 km) and minimum speed (43.1 km/h) to model energy expenditure.
• Map the spread of wintering locations over 950 km to assess migratory connectivity at the population level.
• Examine the timing of migration from Cyprus in mid-late October and return between 7-22 March for phenological studies.
• Investigate the potential use of a second wintering site less than 100 km away during February for three individuals.

Strengths

• Data comes from the first six Cyprus wheatears ever tracked with geolocators, providing foundational insights.
• Includes precise metrics like an average straight-line flight distance of 2538 km and a minimum speed of 43.1 km/h.
• Wintering locations are spread over at least 950 km, indicating a wide spatial sampling.

Limitations

• Very small sample size of only six tracked birds limits statistical power and generalizability.
• Accurate geolocation data is unavailable during the equinox period (around March return dates).
• The study confirms no tag effects on survival for this small sample, but long-term effects remain unknown.

Provenance

Source

Marina Xenophontos

Collection Method

Collected via geolocators attached to six Cyprus wheatears.

Time Range

Migration tracked from mid-late October to return between 7-22 March.

Freshness

Data last updated in June 2020.

Geography

Migration from Cyprus to wintering grounds in south Sudan, Sudan, and Ethiopia.