Long-distance breeding dispersal in a male Eurasian Reed Warbler: an unusual case in a highly philopatric species

Abstract

ABSTRACT Breeding dispersal, defined as the movement of adults from one breeding locality to another, varies widely between individuals, sexes and species. Birds of the genus Acrocephalus are characterised by short breeding-dispersal distances. In this note we describe a case of a very long breeding dispersal in the Eurasian Reed Warbler A. scirpaceus. The male recorded at a nest containing a Cuckoo chick in the southeastern Czech Republic in 2013 was found two years later in southern Poland. In 2015 the male was observed singing in a territory and later with a female carrying nest material. The distance between the two breeding sites was 160 km. This is the longest breeding dispersal recorded in the species, considering the cases when breeding status at both sites was confirmed.