CAnMove

The wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) has an almost circumpolar breeding distribution in the temperate zone and Arctic regions from northeast Canada, Greenland and Iceland, throughout Europe and Russia across the Bering Strait to Alaska. The majority of these populations winter in Sub-Saharan Africa, which makes the wheatear one of the world’s most long-distance migrants among passerines. To be able to find their way between the breeding area and the wintering area, migratory birds have different compass senses at their disposal. The most important and most well-studied are the magnetic compass, the sun compass (including the polarization pattern on the sky) and the star compass. They also have to know when, where and how much to fuel to be able to successfully complete their migratory flights. The fattening of migratory birds have also been shown to be affected by changes in magnetic field parameters.
In this study we focus on the impact of the magnetic field on migratory fuelling in wheatears.
 
Financial support for this project has been received from the Swedish Research Council.