Long-distance migrant
Long-distance migrants , also known as long-distance migrants or long-distance migrants , are migratory birds whose breeding areas are very far (usually over 4000 km) from the wintering areas .
They are differentiated from the short-distance migrants , whose wintering areas are much closer to the breeding grounds. Long-distance migrants are genetically predisposed to their migration behavior . With the exception of the so-called mixed strategists, the European long- distance migrants are obligatory migratory birds that cross the Alps , the Mediterranean and the Sahara on various routes . Their wintering areas are therefore south of the Sahara and extend into the temperate zones of South Africa . Most long-distance migrants, unless they are thermal sailors , move at night.
Some species are able to use multiple strategies: for example, the blackcap can be a resident bird , short-range migrant as well as long-range migrant.
The arctic tern ( Sterna paradisaea ) is an extreme long-distance migrant , whose breeding areas are usually more north than 45 ° N in the circumpolar region, but which overwinter on the South African coasts up to the pack ice zone of the Antarctic .
A number of the breeding birds native to Central Europe, such as B. barn swallow , swift , redstart , stork or fitis are obligatory long-distance migrants.
literature
- Wulf Gatter: Bird migration and bird stocks in Central Europe , AULA: Wiesbaden, 2000. ISBN 3-89104-645-6
- Peter Berthold : Bird migration. A current overview , Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 6th edition 2008. ISBN 978-3-534-20267-6 .
- Peter Berthold: Fascination Bird Migration (2-CD set, booklet, original sound recording), supposé 2004 (www.suppose.de)
- Jonathan Elphick : Atlas of bird migration: The migration of birds on our earth . Haupt Verlag. 2008. ISBN 978-3-258-07288-3 .