Annual GPS tracking reveals unexpected wintering area in a long-distance migratory songbird

Abstract

Recent technological development has made it possible to pinpoint precise locations of small migratory songbirds throughout their annual cycle, providing the opportunity for improving our understanding of year-round habitat use. Here, we use GPS loggers to map the exact location and habitat use at stationary sites throughout the annual cycle of a long-distance migratory songbird, the Red-backed Shrike Lanius collurio. Although the main staging sites confirmed previous findings from light-level geolocation studies, one individual wintered in south-western Chad, an area with only a few historical records of this species. This study highlights opportunities for answering new questions and gaining more knowledge using fine-scale tracking of migratory songbirds.