Autumn Migration and Recurrence of the Thrush Nightingale Luscinia Luscinia at a Stopover Site in Central Hungary
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AUTUMN MIGRATION AND RECURRENCE OF THE THRUSH NIGHTINGALE LUSCINIA LUSCINIA Tibor Cst)~G6*and Gabor L. LC)VElt* SUMMARY.-Aurtrmn migration and recurrence ofthe Thrrtsh Nightingale Luscinia lusoinia at a stopover sire in Central Hunaarv. The mieration dvnamics and recurrence of the Thrush Nishtinsale Ltmcinia luscinia was studied ita stopover iite at 6c;a. central Hungary, between 1983 and 1993;~uring this time, a total of 293 brrds wen ringed. The migralion peaked on 19 August, with the main period kfwcen 8-30 Auaust. Adults did not seem to mi~rateahead of vouna birds. Reoeated rewotures oroved that the area war used lor stopover and premigr;tory fatlening.'~e ;ecapturcd '114 birds in416 &asms. I2 oithem after the date oithe last nnging. 24 September. The median stopover length was II days, the maximum 38 davs. There were no sianificant dillercnces in stooover lcneths throuehout mieration. 01all birds 6.1 % were recaplured aiter onc year or later; birds a&uing ea;ly and la& during-the migratton had higher probab~lttyof being recaptured in subsequent years. Thc proportton or birds with the maximum la1 score mcreased from 0% in earl\ Auaust to 33% bv midJeotcmber. Fat scores and body masses on arrrval were significantly higher in.btrd;arriuing aiter 50 ~ugu; than in those ringed earlier-~eanwing lenglhc of btrds, allhough gradually decreasing durmg the course olmigralion, did nor show sign~ficantchanges. Key words: Hungary, migration, recurrence, stopover, Thrush Nightingale. RESUMEN.-Miyracidn otorial y recurrencia del Ruiseiior Combn Luscinia luscinia a una zona de descunso en Hunurfa Central. Se estudid la dinhifa migratoria y la recurrencia del Ruiseaor Com~n Lssciniu luscinia iuna zona de descanso en 6csa. ~ungrfa?entral,entrc 1983 y 1993. Durante cse liempo se an~llilron293 aves. La migraci6n alcanz6 el maximo el 19 dc agosto, con un perlodo cenlrrl enlre el X y 30 de acosto. No oarece sue 10s adultos iniciasen la migraci6n antes aue lor ibvencs. Las revetidas rccuper'cionn muistran que el Area era ulilizada como zoia de descanso y zona de engorde prem.igra~o- rio. Se rccapruraron 114 individuos en 416 ocusioncs dilerentes. 12 de ellas dcspuds del llltimo dla dc anillamiento. el 24 de seotcmhre. El ticmpo medio de parada iuc dc II dlas, Y el maximo 38 dlas No hub0 diierencias signilic&as entre las dishas etapas be descanso a lo largo he la migraci6n. El 6.1 % de las aves luc recuperado un aiio mas tarde, o m6s; las aves que llegaban al principio o al final del perlodo migratorio tenlan mas probabiiidad de ser recuperadas en aaos sucesivos. La proporcidn de aves con un actimulo miximo de grasa aument6 desde un 0%. a primeros dc agosto, hasta un 33 % a mcdiados de septiembre. Las reservas de grasa y la masa corporal a la llegada eran signilicativamente mayores en las aves que llegaban despugs del 30 de agosto cn comparaci6n con las anilladas con anterioridad a nta lecha. La longitud media del ala, aunque disminuye gradualmente durante la migra- ci6n. no mostr6 cambios signilicativos. Paiahrus clave: Hungrla, migraci6n. recurrencia, Ruiscaor ComBn, zona de descanso. without considering stopover ecology, which is poorly known for many species (LOvei, Stopovers are necessary elements of inter- 1989). Descriptions of dynamics, stopover ti- continental bird migrations as most smaB mes and changes in body mass condition at passerines are not able to accumulate sufli- such sites can provide important information cient fat reserves to complete their migratory to understand migration strategies of indivi- journey without refuelling (Berthold, 1975; dual species (Ellegren, 1991). Studies of sto- Blem, 1980). Description and understanding pover sites at the edge of the range, where the of bird migration systems are not possible species only occurs during migration are es- Dept. oi General Zoology. L. EQtv6s University. Puskin u. 3. H-1088 Budapest. Hungary. .' Horticultural Research Institute of New Zealand Ltd. Batchelar Research Centre. Private Bag 11030. Palmerston North 5301. New Zealand. Send repnnt request lo: G. LOvei. 58 AROEOLA 42UL 1995 pecially important as changes in the status of STUDYAREA AND METHODS species are frequently first detectable at the edge of the range (Lawton, 1993). The study site was in the 6csa Landscape The Thrush Nightingale (Luscinia lusci- Reserve, about 20 km southeast of Budapest, nia). a member of the thrush family, 1s a Hungary. The area is a marshland, with reed- medium-sized, insectivorous, ground-feedlag bed vegetation, meadows, bushes and forest intercontinental mtgrant, somewhat larger patches. This was similar to the birds' prefer- but closely related to the better-known Nigh- red habitat during breeding (Sorjonen, 1980; tingale L. megarhynclros (Cramp, 1988). The Cramp, 1988). From 1983-1993, birds were Thrush Nightingale prefers dense but patchy captured in mist nets, set up at standard mrst- vegetation, and moist, litter-covered ground; netting sites operating throughout the whole in central and southern Europe, this is found period of the study. A constant mist-netting in marshes, swamps and gallery forests. This effort was kept as much as possible. Mist net habitat selectivity seems to be retained du- operation was continuous between midJuly ring migration (Sorjonen, 1980; Cramp, and mid-September. Before and after this 1988). period, mist nets were operated for two-three The breeding range of the Thrush Nightin- days every week. Mist nets were controlled gale extends from 60'N to the line running every hour from dawn to dusk. The birds between the Carpathians, Balkans, Caucasus captured were removed from the nets and and the Central As~andeserts. Its eastern li- transported to the ringing station, where rin- mit is roughly 60'E. and its western limit ging and measurements were performed with- runs in a NW-SE direction, from Denmark in one hour after capture. From the data to the Carpathians (Harrison, 1982). Hunga- measured and registered, only capture date, ry lies at the western edge of the breedmg recapture status, age, fat score, body mass, range. Here the specles nests only in the gal- and wing length arc considered here. No bird lery forests in the northeastern part of the captured was moulting, except a few with country. Densities in northern Europe and replacement moult. These were excluded Russia can be high (Cramp, 1988). but are from the material evaluated. presumably low in Hungary (Schmidt, 1982). Ageing was based on criteria given in The species' wintering areas are in the East Svensson (1975) and subsequent editions. The African savanna region, between the Equator amount of subcutaneous body fat was esti- and 28"s (Moreau, 1972). In autumn, birds mated on a scale of 0 (no visible fat on the migrate southeastward to the eastern Medi- abdomen or in the furculum) to 5 (fat bulging terranean (Zink, 1975), enter Africa east of both on the abdomen and the furculum) 25"E then continue south towards their win- (Busse & Kania. 1970; Szentendrey el al., ter quarters (Cramp, 1988; Hogg er d., 1979). Body mass was measured with a Peso- 1984). la spring balance to the nearest 0.1 g. Wing Autumn passage at the Bosphorus lasts up length was measured by the maximal chord to late September. In Egypt, thrush nightin- method (Svensson, 1975). gales pass from mid-August to mid- October The seasonal dynamics of migration was (Cramp, 1988). In Sudan, the species is com- described by the Preston- equation (Preston, mon from the end of August until November 1966). This approach assumes that the migra- along the Nile (Hogg et al., 1984). In Hunga- tion curve follows a normal distribution. If ry, the first migrating birds arrive in the be- this assumption is correct, the curve of the ginning of August. with a migration peak du- cumulative catch VS. time falls on a straight ring the second half of August. A few birds line when drawn on probability paper. The are reported after middeptember (Schmidt, peak of migration is when the cumulative 1982). catch reaches 50% of the total. The main In this paper, we describe the dynamics of migration period is defined as the time bet- migration and the changes in wing lengths, ween the 15.9% and 84.1 % points on the body mass and fat reserves of the Thrush cumulative curve. These points enclose the Nightingale at a stopover site in Hungary, area of the normal curve-between its mean based on 11 years of data. and + 1 SD or 68.2 % of all data. AUTUMN MIGRATION AND RECURRENCE OF THE THRUSH NIGHTINGALE 59 Body mass and wing length measurements of adult vs. juvenile thrush nightingales. Luscinia luscinia, ringed at a stopover site, 6csa, central Hungary, 1983-1993. [Voiores de maso corporal (g) y longitud afar (wm) en aduNos y j6uenes dc Ruisetior Rmo, Luscinia luscina. anillados en uim zona de descariso ea bcsa (Hungrtu Ccnlrol). en el perlodo 1983-1993.1 Migration period [Perindo migrntorio] Early Pre-peak Post-peak Late [antes del8 [8-19 agosto] [%30 agosm] [despuis dd30 de agoslo] de agosro] Body mas g Adult 2315~2.46(6)' 24.61 + 1.61 (16) 24.831 3.50 (23 21.461 5.67 181 Juvenile 23.97+1.80(37) 24.I8f 2.19 (93) ?3.90_+3.0?169) 27.44=5.17135) Wing lenglh. mm Adult 88.67i.1.97 161 88.35+3.32 (17) 88Mk2.27 (181 88.71 32.19 171 Juvenile 8913i. 1.79 (37) 88.34i.2.36 (871 8RR2 2.18 (621 RR.?5x2.37 132) Data an mcans+one SD. (n). [* Lor dam represenlatt lo ntrdioidrsviaci6n esfnndw. (n)]. Due to the long time period of data collec- was ringed on 24 July and the latest one on tion, and the inevitable variation in trapping 24 September (birds stayed in the area later conditions, we divided the migration penod than this, see recaptures).