Black Kites crossing the Himalayas fly and, moreover, stay for hours resting at night in the environment of mountains at altitudes over 5000 m. We found that ontogenetic shifts in migratory behaviour of Black Kites from Eastern Russia differ from those in population/subspecies in Europe. During the breeding period, birds dwelled in south-western Siberia, where they spent on average 125 days with an average home range size 3537 km ². Birds wintered on average for 190 days, and the mean area of individual home ranges in winter was 4704 km ². Black Kites from both subpopulations wintered in low elevations of Pakistan and India. Timing of both spring and autumn migration did not vary along different age groups. The average total distance travelled of Black Kites from both subpopulations was 9166 km without any significant differences between these subpopulations. Black Kites originating from Kosh-Agach used the Trans-Himalayan Corridor crossing the Himalayas in altitudes of up to 6256 m asl. Black Kites originating from Biysk migrated through the Western Circum-Himalayan Corridor. After fledging, Black Kites from both subpopulations stayed in a small, non-overlapping areas and then migrated to southern Asia through narrow corridors. We tagged with GPS/SMS/GPRS telemetry loggers 13 and 6 Black Kite pulli in lowland around Biysk (Altai Krai, Russia) and in mountains around Kosh-Agach (Altai Republic, Russia), respectively. Using satellite telemetry we are able to fill this gap in our knowledge of these birds. migrans from Europe to Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East are well known, detailed information about migration routes of Black Kites from intergradation zone are missing. There is a large intergradation zone of M. The Palaearctic is populated by two migrating subspecies, Milvus migrans migrans and Milvus migrans lineatus, in the western and eastern part of this realm, respectively. The Black Kite ( Milvus migrans ) is one of the most widespread raptors in the world. Based on these data, we were able to outline the general pattern of black kite phylogeography over its entire range, making it possible to evaluate the evolutionary history of the species as a whole. Further, the yellow-billed kite contains at least two genetically distant mitochondrial lineages with ranges that do not correspond with its traditional subspecies ranges. We found support for the assumption that the African yellow-billed kite differs from the black kite at the species level. The Australasian population separated from the Indian population relatively recently and carries one of the two Indian major haplotypes. Representatives of the European, North Asian and Indian haplogroups were found in Pakistan, where they probably breed. The European and North Asian subspecies were isolated in the Pleistocene and spread across the northern Palearctic following climate amelioration, forming a broad intergradation zone from western Siberia and Kazakhstan to eastern Europe. Populations from Europe, northern Asia and India all had separate haplogroups of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. In doing so, we evaluated genetic diversity and population affinities and reconstructed their demographic histories. We analysed 85 published black kite nucleotide sequences and ca 660 new sequences from the ranges of the main black kite subspecies using a non-invasive method of DNA extraction from moulted feathers. While black kite subspecies are found all over Eurasia, Africa and Australia, it has been poorly studied outside of Europe, with virtually nothing known about the phylogeny of populations in Asia, India, Africa or Australia. The black kite Milvus migrans, one of the most common raptor species, shows great flexibility as regards food resources and breeding sites. Moreover, differences in timing occurring among different flyways could be explained either by different rates of intra-specific competition in areas with different breeding density and/or by different distances between wintering and breeding grounds. In particular, research made both by satellite tracking and by visual observations suggests a more evident time-selected migration during autumn rather than spring. This paper provides a review of research concerning migration and its relationship with foraging behaviour in a circannual perspective. During migrations, tens of thousands are observed migrating through the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco, along the eastern side of the Black Sea, and in the Middle East, while substantial numbers cross the central Mediterranean and the Bosphorus. The nominal subspecies of the Black Kite is a summer resident in Europe and Asia that winters mostly in western Africa, although numbers of birds wintering in the Mediterranean area are increasing.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |