Observations of primary moult in adult Wood Sandpipers Tringa glareola on southward migration through east and central Europe
Info
Pages
24 – 28
Published
1 April 08
Authors
Pavel Pinchuk, Magdalena Remisiewicz, Radoslaw Wlodarczyk, Natalia Karlionova
Correspondence
Pavel Pinchuk
ppinchuk@mail.ru
Institute of Zoology, Belarussian National Academy of Sciences, Academichnaya Str. 27, 220072 Minsk, Belarus.
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We present data on active primary moult in Wood Sandpipers during the early stages of southward migration in east and central Europe. The incidence of such moult is generally low with records from only a few ringing sites in a few years; moreover the number moulting does not exceed 6% for any site. Previously it was thought that active moult in the early stages of migration was confined to Scandinavian breeders, but our data indicate that other populations are similar. We suggest that the early moulters are second-year birds that need to replace their inner primaries because they are >12 months old and may be in poor condition for the long migration to Africa.