Abstract
This study on the non-breeding ecology of the Whinchat Saxicola rubetra was conducted in central Nigeria from February through April. The core site was at Gwafan (N09°53', E08°57'), an open scrubland located 10 km east of the city of Jos. The density of Whinchats at Gwafan was 0.58 individuals/ ha, almost three times the overall density around Jos. Time budget observations of colour banded Whinchats, including six birds fitted with radio-transmitters, showed that they spent 80% of their time perching, 11% foraging, 7% preening, and 2% flying. The main method of catching insects was a swoop to the ground. There was no change in perching, preening or flying time but the time some Whinchats spent foraging increased towards the end of the study period. GPS positions of individuals showed that all birds held clearly demarcated territories and defended them against neighbours. Aggressive interactions were also recorded between Whinchats and other bird species. Three birds colour-ringed in 2006 returned to the study site in 2007 and one occupied almost the same territory, indicating site fidelity.
Highlights
With more than 2.1 billion Palaearctic birds estimated to winter in sub-Saharan Africa (Hahn et al 2009), it is apparent that many species depend on favourable situations in Africa for maintaining their status in Europe
This intercontinental migratory connectivity was emphasized after 1968, when a severe drought in the Sahel zone of West Africa was mirrored in massive declines in the returning numbers to Europe of common migrant species that winter in northern Sahel (Winstanley et al 1974, Cowley 1979, Cavé 1983)
During the last four decades few papers on the non-breeding biology of Palaearctic birds have been published compared to the number produced relating to breeding biology studies in Europe
Summary
With more than 2.1 billion Palaearctic birds estimated to winter in sub-Saharan Africa (Hahn et al 2009), it is apparent that many species depend on favourable situations in Africa for maintaining their status in Europe. This intercontinental migratory connectivity was emphasized after 1968, when a severe drought in the Sahel zone of West Africa was mirrored in massive declines in the returning numbers to Europe of common migrant species that winter in northern Sahel (Winstanley et al 1974, Cowley 1979, Cavé 1983). A few recent studies point to the need for conducting more research in this region on all aspects from the density and distributions of migrants (e.g. Jones et al 1996), intra- and inter-specific competition (Wilson & Cresswell 2007), habitat selection (Vickery et al 1999), migration and territoriality (Ottosson et al 2005) and even the effects of shared parasites (Waldenström et al 2002)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
