Local site use and first northbound migration track of non-breeding Steppe Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus alboaxillaris (Lowe 1921)

What is it about?

Steppe Whimbrel is an extremely little-known wading bird that breeds in the steppes of Kazakhstan and nearby Russia and winters in Mozambique and Southern Africa. Declared extinct in 1994 but refound in the late 1990s breeding in Russia, it was last seen in 2010 so the finding of two birds wintering in Mozambique in 2016 was a significant research opportunity. This paper describes local studies and satellite tracking of a male bird which migrated as far as Yemen before the tracking device fell off. The bird returned to Maputo the following winter but the details of the migratory link between Mozambique and the breeding ground sin the steppes is still to be fully understood.

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