Abstract
Eleonora’s Falcon (Falco eleonorae) is an endemic breeder of the Mediterranean Sea and the Canary Islands that overwinters in Madagascar and surrounding areas. Recent telemetry studies have revealed the migratory journey of falcons from the western and central Mediterranean breeding colonies. Our study complements the puzzle of the species’ migration providing data from an eastern Mediterranean breeding colony. In this paper, we describe for the first time the migratory routes of four falcons originating from the Aegean Sea, the core of the species’ breeding range. We tracked two adults and two immature siblings to their wintering grounds in Madagascar. According to our results, the timing of migration was consistent with previous studies. Our findings also suggest that the falcons adjust their flight speed according to the environmental conditions encountered en route, by accelerating during open-sea and desert crossings and by slowing down in potential foraging areas. Moreover, the selection of common staging areas, both among the two siblings and among the two adults, highlights the role of these areas in the migratory cycle of the species. Finally, according to the home-range analysis on the wintering grounds, space use was rather variable across the four tracked falcons. Still, the falcons were more frequently observed within the submontane forest, one of the last patches of primary rainforest in Madagascar. Thus, future studies aiming at unveiling the ecological requirements of the species in its wintering quarters are considered as top priority.
Zusammenfassung
Ein weiterer Beitrag zur Lösung des Rätsels über den Zugweg des Eleonorenfalken ( Falco eleonorae ): neue Erkenntnisse aus einer östlichen Kolonie in der Ägäis
Der Eleonorenfalke (Falco eleonorae) ist ein Brutvogel, der ausschließlich auf Mittelmeerinseln und den Kanaren brütet und der in Madagaskar überwintert. Durch neuere Telemetriestudien konnte der Verlauf der Zugwege von Falken aus westlichen und zentralen Brutkolonien ermittelt werden. Die vorliegende Studie vervollständigt die bisherigen Erkenntnisse, da sie Daten zu den Zugwegen von Falken aus den östlichen Kolonien liefert. Hier zeigen wir erstmals die Zugrouten von vier Falken aus dem östlichen Verbreitungsareal der Ägäis, dem Hauptverbreitungsgebiet des Eleonorenfalken. Wir verfolgten zwei adulte Falken und zwei juvenile Nestgeschwister per Satellitentelemetrie bis zu ihrem Überwinterungsgebiet auf Madagaskar. Unsere Ergebnisse zum zeitlichen Ablauf des Zuges stimmen mit denen früherer Studien überein. Wir fanden außerdem heraus, dass die Falken ihre Zuggeschwindigkeit an die während des Zuges auftretenden Bedingungen anpassen, indem sie während der Überquerung größerer Wassermassen die Geschwindigkeit steigern und diese in für die Jagd geeigneten Gebieten drosseln. Darüber hinaus zeigt die Wahl von Rastgebieten sowohl bei den adulten als auch bei den juvenilen Falken deren Bedeutung während des Zuges. Durch eine Analyse der Aktionsräume im Wintergebiet fanden wir heraus, dass die räumliche Nutzung des Habitats innerhalb der untersuchten Individuen sehr variabel war. Insgesamt wurden die Falken häufiger in submontanem Regenwald lokalisiert, einem der letzten zusammenhängenden Regenwaldgebiete Madagaskars. Zukünftige Studien zu den ökologischen Habitatanforderungen der Eleonorenfalken in ihren Winterquartieren sollten daher als oberste Priorität angesehen werden.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Argos (2008) User’s manual. Toulouse, CLS/France
Calenge C (2006) The package adehabitat for the R software: a tool for the analysis of space and habitat use by animals. Ecol Model 197:516–519
Conservation International, International Resources Group, Ministère de l’Environnement des Eaux et Forêts, United States Agency for International Development (2007) Change in natural forest cover Madagascar 1990–2000–2005. Conservation International, Washington, DC
Cumming GS, Bernard RTF (1997) Rainfall, food abundance and timing of parturition in African bats. Oecologia 111:309–317
Delgado G, Quilis V (1990) New data concerning the migration of Eleonora’s falcon (Falco eleonorae). Ring Migr 11:111–112
Dimalexis A, Xirouchakis S, Portolou D, Latsoudis P, Karris G, Fric J, Georgiakakis P, Barboutis C, Bourdakis S, Ivovič M et al (2008) The status of Eleonora’s falcon (Falco eleonorae) in Greece. J Ornithol 149:23–30
ESRI (2006) ArcGIS Desktop for Windows. Version 9.2. Redlands, CA
Fieberg J, Kochanny CO (2005) Quantifying home-range overlap: the importance of the utilization distribution. J Wildl Manag 69:1346–1359
Fridolfsson A-K, Ellegren H (1999) A simple and universal method for molecular sexing of non-ratite birds. J Avian Biol 30:116–121
Green GM, Sussman RW (1990) Deforestation history of the eastern rain forests of Madagascar from satellite images. Science 248:212–215
Gschweng M, Kalko EKV, Querner U, Fielder W, Berthold P (2008) All across Africa: highly individual migration routes of Eleonora’s falcon. Proc R Soc Lond B 275:2887–2897
Harper GJ, Steininger MK, Tucker CJ, Juhn D, Hawkins F (2007) Fifty years of deforestation and forest fragmentation in Madagascar. Environ Conserv 34:325–333
Hedenström A, Rosén M, Åkesson S, Spina F (1999) Flight performance during hunting excursions in Eleonora’s falcon Falco eleonorae. J Exp Biol 202:2029–2039
Helbig AJ (1996) Genetic basis, mode of inheritance and evolutionary changes of migratory directions in Palearctic warblers (Aves: Sylviidae). J Exp Biol 199:49–55
Janzen DH, Schoener TW (1968) Differences in insect abundance and diversity between wetter and drier sites during a tropical dry season. Ecology 49:96–110
López-López P, Limiñana R, Mellone U, Urios V (2010) From the Mediterranean Sea to Madagascar: are there ecological barriers for the long-distance migrant Eleonora’s falcon? Landsc Ecol 25:803–813
McGrady MJ, Young GS, Seegar WS (2006) Migration of a peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus over water in the vicinity of a hurricane. Ring Migr 23:80–84
Mellone U, López-López P, Limiñana R, Urios V (2010) Weather conditions promote route flexibility during open sea crossing in a long-distance migratory raptor. Int J Biometeorol 55(4):463–468
Meyburg B-U, Langrand O (1985) Evolution, Verbreitung und Status der Greifvögel (Falconiformes) Madagaskars. In: Proceedings of international symposium on African vertebrates, systematics, phylogeny, Bonn, pp 193–205
Milon P, Petter J-J, Randrianasolo G (1973) Faune de Madagascar XXXV: Oiseaux. Orstom and CNRS, Tanarive & Paris
Newton I (2008) The migration ecology of birds. Academic, London
Poulin B, Lefebvre G, McNeil R (1992) Tropical avian phenology in relation to abundance and exploitation of food resources. Ecology 73:2295–2309
R Development Core Team (2009) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. ISBN 3-900051-07-0. http://www.R-project.org
Ristow D (1975) Neue ringfunde vom Eleonorefalken (Falco eleonorae). Vogelwarte 28:150–153
Ristow D (2010) Up-date on breeding status and review on Eleonora’s falcon Falco eleonorae when away from the breeding sites. Il-Merill 32:1–5
Ristow D, Wink M (1992–1994) Distribution of non-breeding Eleonora’s falcon (Falco eleonorae). Il-Merill 28:1–10
SPSS (2009) SPSS Base 18.0 for Windows User’s Guide. SPSS, Chicago
Stresemann E (1954) Zur Frage der Wanderungen des Eleonorenfalken. Vogelwarte 17:182–183
Thorup K, Alerstam T, Hake M, Kjellén N (2003) Can vector summation describe the orientation system of juvenile ospreys and honey buzzards?—An analysis of ring recoveries and satellite tracking. Oikos 103:350–359
Walter H (1979) Eleonora’s falcon: adaptations to prey and habitat in a social raptor. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Wang LC, Chen CT, Lee HY, Lir JL, Chin SC, Pu CE, Wang CH (2007) Sexing a wider range of avian species based on two CHD1 introns with a unified reaction condition. Zoo Biol 26:425–431
Watson JEM, Whittaker RJ, Dawson TP (2005) The importance of littoral forest remnants for indigenous bird conservation in southeastern Madagascar. Biodivers Conserv 14:523–545
Zefania S (2001) Observation of Sooty and Eleonora’s Falcons in Madagascar. In: Wings over Africa, Proceedings of International seminar on bird migration: research, conservation, education and flight safety, Israel, pp 151–159
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Evanthia Thanou for conducting the molecular analyses for sex determination. We also wish to express our gratitude to the local church authority for giving permission to make use of the church building during the tagging of the falcons and to Olga Karagianni for mediating the arrangements. We also thank Fernando Spina, Italy, as well as an anonymous referee for their fruitful comments on a previous version of this manuscript. The work was funded by the A.G. Leventis Foundation through project “Survey and Conservation of Seabirds in Greece”. All experiments and observations made for this study comply with current laws of Greece.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by F. Bairlein.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kassara, C., Fric, J., Gschweng, M. et al. Complementing the puzzle of Eleonora’s Falcon (Falco eleonorae) migration: new evidence from an eastern colony in the Aegean Sea. J Ornithol 153, 839–848 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-011-0802-2
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-011-0802-2