Migration and wintering of Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) in southeastern Hungary

Abstract

The Fieldfare is a bird species widely distributed in the Palearctic region. In Hungary, the species is considered as a rare breeder and common, sometimes abundant migrant in autumn and spring, and also as winter visitor. It is prone to invasion, since northern breeding populations leave the breeding sites in large numbers only when the available food is inadequate or inaccessible to the birds. Most populations follow a southern-southwestern migration pattern, and in the course of their movement they also migrating through the Carpathian Basin. In this study, we examined the migration and wintering of the species in an area of southeast Hungary between 2004 and 2019. Data were collected between the beginning of October and the middle of April and during that period we saw Fieldfares a total of 416 times. In addition to the description of migration, the effect of weather on bird numbers was also investigated. According to our results, the species appears in the area in October and disappears in late March and the first half of April. The individuals that migrate in October are likely belonging to the Central European breeding population, while from November the Scandinavian birds can be seen. The maximum number of birds observed during the different years showed significant differences, as did the patterns of movements within the seasons. The relationship between the local weather and the number of birds has been demonstrated over several seasons, which is typical of species with an escape migration.

Geographical distribution of Ixodes persulcatus and associated pathogens: Analysis of integrated data from a China field survey and global published data

“…Riparia riparia , one of the animal hosts of I. persulcatus in Russia, migrates to Africa in winter [ 19 ]. Turdus pilaris , which is widely distributed in Europe, northern Asia, and Africa, typically winters in West and South Europe and Southwest Asia [ 23 ]. The migratory behavior of birds may bring a great risk of tick-borne infections to new biotopes on specific migration routes.…”

The Role of a Water Canal and Secondary Forest for Migrants

“…Nevertheless, after their preferred elderberries are gone, some species, e.g. thrushes, rely on the oleaster crop (Bozó 2019), which is rich in vitamins and oils but low in sugar (Botta-Dukát 2006). We caught low numbers of each of these species in the nets in the forest, suggesting that most migratory species avoided the closed oleaster forest.…”

“…Thus, oleaster trees (due to their negative and positive properties) and other woody plants around the nets (black locust and wild pear, which are also important food plants) had a combined effect on the species composition of the nets in the forest. It would be interesting to investigate the effect of oleaster trees on the wintering bird populations in the area, as Bozó (2019) found that for Fieldfares Turdus pilaris this was the most important food in winter. Perhaps over time, in late autumn and in winter, the oleaster forest had a much more important role not only for fieldfares but for other small passerines as well.…”

Observations Regarding the Biology and the Ecology of the Species Turdus Pilaris Linnaeus 1758 in the Western Half of Romania

“…Generally, Turdus pilaris L. is a common species in high hilly and mountainous areas (Figure 1). Data regarding the biology and ecology of this species in different locations from Romania and Europe were published by different authors: Radu, 1984;Ciochia, 1992;Korodi -Gall, Beres, 1979;Molnar,1983 ;Munteanu,2012;Ilie,2008Ilie, ,2016Ilie, ,2017Ilie, ,2018Bozo, 2019;Haland, 1984 ).…”