Common Whitethroats <i>Curruca communis</i> show a continuum of residency duration but a high degree of between‐years site fidelity at nonbreeding grounds in Nigeria

Tapia-Harris, Claudia; Cresswell, Will

doi:10.1002/ece3.9334

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 59 publications

(75 reference statements)

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“…Several studies found that migrants in West African wintering areas were solitary, sedentary and territorial, e.g. in Western Olivaceous Warbler, Melodious Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Subalpine Warbler, Common Redstart and European Pied Flycatcher, in contrast to Willow Warbler and Common Chiffchaff which were recorded to be itinerant (Skilleter 1995, Sauvage et al 1998, King & Hutchinson 2001, Salewski et al 2002a, Willemoes et al 2018, Thorup et al 2019, Mostafa et al 2021, Tapia-Harris & Cresswell 2022). Territorial birds can be expected to engage more often in intraspecific agonistic encounters, especially when suitable habitat is scarce or food resources are in short supply, and in interspecific competition when foraging habitat and behaviour show overlap with those of ecologically closely related species (Brown 1964, Wilson & Cresswell 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frequent Agonistic Interactions among Arboreal Birds in Savannahs But Not in Humid Forests of Africa

Zwarts¹,

Bijlsma²,

Kamp³

2023

Ardea

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Arboreal birds in the Sahel are highly selective in their tree choice. Most migrant, but also resident, birds are found in a few tree species and within those species often only in trees with abundant leaves and flowers. For this reason alone, preferred trees were expected to teem with birds. This was not the case. Most bird species were present in trees as singletons, even half of the Senegal Eremomela Eremomela pusilla – the most social species of all – were recorded as solitary birds. The probability that two different bird species were in the same tree was also very small, 2.8% on average. Mixed-group foraging flocks of arboreal birds, as so often reported for tropical forests, did not occur in the Sahel. Perhaps birds forage singly because they have no need to fear the raptors that are common in the forests further south. Some species, such as European Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca and Common Redstart Phoenicurus phoenicurus, defend winter territories, but for other species individual home ranges show overlap. In the humid forests further south, and among resident species in the Sahel, few agonistic interactions were seen, but migratory birds were often agonistic with congeners and even more frequently with birds of other species. Larger bird species usually won agonistic interactions, but Western Olivaceous Warblers Iduna opaca chased off birds twice their own body size. Subalpine Warbler Curruca iberiae + subalpina + cantillans and other Curruca species, with the exception of Lesser Whitethroat Curruca curruca, were also intolerant. Western Bonelli's Warblers Phylloscopus bonelli, and during migration also Willow Warblers Phylloscopus trochilus, were most often on the receiving end of agonistic interactions. Far fewer agonistic interactions were recorded in the more humid regions to the south of the Sahel. This disparity may hinge on the higher intra- and interspecific encounter rate in the Sahel, where a greater fraction of trees are occupied by birds, than in the humid forests.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Frequent Agonistic Interactions among Arboreal Birds in Savannahs But Not in Humid Forests of Africa

Zwarts¹,

Bijlsma²,

Kamp³

2023

Ardea

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Conserving low‐intensity farming is key to halting the declines of migratory passerines in their tropical wintering grounds

Agger,

Massam,

Assou

et al. 2024

Animal Conservation

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Half of all migratory bird species have declined over the past 30 years, with intercontinental migrants declining faster than their short‐distance migratory counterparts. One potential cause of these declines is habitat loss and degradation on tropical wintering grounds, where agricultural conversion of natural habitats and intensification of traditional, low‐intensity agricultural systems are frequently occurring. Although the broad patterns of wintering migrant abundance are well understood along most flyways, how species' habitat associations vary across disturbance gradients in agricultural landscapes remains a key question, with implications for landscape‐level farm management and restoration activities. We used 328 point count locations and associated habitat assessments targeted at a cohort of eight severely declining Afro‐Palaearctic migratory passerines in the Guineo–Congolian transition zone of Western Africa to model the probability of the presence of migrants within grass, shrub, forb and forest‐covered areas. We found support for the widespread use of early successional habitats retained within traditionally managed farmland by migrants. Most species utilize scrubland on fallows within the agricultural mosaic, especially Spotted Flycatcher, Garden Warbler, Melodious Warbler, Whinchat and Common Nightingale. Only Pied Flycatcher relied upon mature forested areas. The avoidance of mature forested habitats by most species suggests that habitat requirements of severely declining migrant birds must be explicitly considered within conservation and restoration schemes, via mechanisms to retain low‐intensity farming, especially short‐term abandoned fallows that regenerate scrubby areas within the agricultural matrix. Any habitat management within the agricultural matrix should be considered in the context of the needs of local communities.

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Common Whitethroats Curruca communis show a continuum of residency duration but a high degree of between‐years site fidelity at nonbreeding grounds in Nigeria

Cited by 2 publications

References 59 publications

Frequent Agonistic Interactions among Arboreal Birds in Savannahs But Not in Humid Forests of Africa

Frequent Agonistic Interactions among Arboreal Birds in Savannahs But Not in Humid Forests of Africa

Conserving low‐intensity farming is key to halting the declines of migratory passerines in their tropical wintering grounds

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