Extremely low daylight sea-crossing flights of a nocturnal migrant.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the trade-off between energy expenditure of carrying large fuel loads and the risk of fuel depletion is imperative to understand the evolution of flight strategies during long-distance animal migration. Global flyways regularly involve sea crossings that may impose flight prolongations on migrating land-birds and thereby reduce their energy reserves and survival prospects. We studied route choice, flight behavior, and fuel store dynamics of nocturnally migrating European nightjars (Caprimulgus europaeus) crossing water barriers. We show that barrier size and groundspeed of the birds influence the prospects of extended daylight flights, but also that waters possible to cross within a night regularly result in diurnal flight events. The nightjars systematically responded

SUBMITTER: Norevik G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10355279 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature