Movement and Distribution

Follow the journeys of birds across continents and oceans. This section covers the science of migration, including navigation, stopovers, flyways, and the physiological demands of long-distance travel. From seasonal shifts to daily movements, we explore how and why birds move, what influences their routes, and how tracking technologies are unveiling their remarkable journeys in greater detail than ever before.

From Kruger to Xinjiang: Tracking the European Roller’s Epic Journey
This gorgeous adult from Spain represents the nominate C. g. garrulus subspecies of the European Roller. Unlike the eastern semenowi subspecies, it appears to favour closer non-breeding grounds in East Africa. © Alfonso Guío Rodríguez

From Kruger to Xinjiang: Tracking the European Roller’s Epic Journey

As transmitters map their routes, the migration of the European Roller reveals a story of hidden connections and unexpected journeys.
Movement and Distribution
Gyorgy Szimuly

Gyorgy Szimuly
A Flyway Through the Heart of Asia: ‘Heuglin’s Gulls’ Reveal a Hidden Migratory Passage
A GPS-tracked Lesser Black‑backed Gull (Heuglin’s Gull) that helped uncover a transcontinental migration passage linking the Indian Ocean with the Arctic—one of the most significant seabird flyway findings in the Central Asian Flyway to date. Image courtesy of the CAF–Sri Lanka Waterbird Tracking Project

A Flyway Through the Heart of Asia: ‘Heuglin’s Gulls’ Reveal a Hidden Migratory Passage

New GPS tracking uncovers a transcontinental seabird route connecting the Indian and Arctic Oceans – offering a rare glimpse into one of Asia’s most elusive avian journeys.
Movement and Distribution
The Ornithologist

The Ornithologist
Tracked for the First Time: How Juvenile Egrets Disperse Across Australia – and Beyond
Tracking the journey from sky to sanctuary—this Plumed Egret in flight represents the movement patterns unveiled through satellite telemetry in the Macquarie Marshes. © Ged Tranter

Tracked for the First Time: How Juvenile Egrets Disperse Across Australia – and Beyond

A pioneering study uses GPS telemetry to map the early dispersal of great and plumed egrets from the Macquarie Marshes, revealing striking differences in their movement strategies and vital clues for wetland conservation.
Movement and Distribution
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