From Movement to Meaning: A New Era in Bird Tracking
Black-tailed Godwits (Limosa limosa limosa) are among Europe’s most intensively tracked migratory shorebirds. Long-term monitoring has provided critical insights into their migration strategies, site fidelity, and survival – making them emblematic of longitudinal studies in avian ecology. © Attila Szilágyi

From Movement to Meaning: A New Era in Bird Tracking

For decades, tracking devices have told us where birds go. Now, researchers are asking an even more intriguing question: what happens to the birds we track along the way?
Ecology and Behaviour
The Ornithologist

The Ornithologist
Routing the Journey: Loop vs. Direct Migrations of East Asian Songbirds
Bright-plumed but elusive in movement – Narcissus Flycatchers help reveal how birds navigate East Asia with surprising route variation. © Natthaphat Chotjuckdikul

Routing the Journey: Loop vs. Direct Migrations of East Asian Songbirds

Tracking ringed birds with miniature geolocators reveals distinctly different migration strategies: clockwise loop migrations in Narcissus Flycatchers and direct routes in Amur Stonechats – highlighting evolutionary, ecological, and conservation implications in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway.
Movement and Distribution
The Ornithologist

The Ornithologist
Rethinking Rarity: The Return of Fox’s Weaver in Uganda
A male Fox’s Weaver in full breeding colours – Uganda’s only endemic bird species, once feared lost, now reclaiming its place in the papyrus wetlands. © Emin Yoğurtcuoğlu

Rethinking Rarity: The Return of Fox’s Weaver in Uganda

New field records of Uganda’s only endemic bird challenge long-held assumptions about its rarity. The Fox’s Weaver isn’t extinct – it’s breeding, and it’s been hiding in overlooked wetlands all along.
Ecology and Behaviour
The Ornithologist

The Ornithologist
A Life in the Tundra: Honouring Dr. Shiloh Schulte’s Final Fieldwork
Poised on the Arctic tundra, a Pectoral Sandpiper fluffs its breast in a striking breeding display – capturing both the fragile beauty of the far north and the kind of quiet wonder that defined Dr. Shiloh Schulte’s work with shorebirds throughout his life. © Emil Vacek

A Life in the Tundra: Honouring Dr. Shiloh Schulte’s Final Fieldwork

Following the sudden loss of Dr. Shiloh Schulte, we honour his legacy through the work he helped lead in Arctic Alaska. This four-year survey of breeding shorebirds in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge reflects his deep commitment to science, fieldwork, and the fragile birds he championed.
Conservation
Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly