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Kolguev Island (69˚05′ N 49˚15′ E) is located in the Pechora Sea, the southeastern part of the Barents Sea. The island’s ecosystem is unusual due to the total absence of rodents and specialized predators such as weasels, while non-specialized predators such as Arctic (Vulpes lagopus) and red (V. vulpes) foxes and Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) are common. Currently, 111 bird species have been registered here, of which 58 are nesting. The absence of rodents and the relatively stable predation pressure have resulted in the high abundance of many bird species: Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus), several goose species, some waders, and passerines. Over the 125-year history of ornithological studies on Kolguev, the island avifauna has changed significantly. The trend of an increase in the proportion of widespread and Siberian species together with a decrease in the proportion of Arctic species was observed. Since 2006, a thorough monitoring of Kolguev avifauna has been carried out, during which the dynamics of the bird population densities have been traced. The abundance of Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) and Dunlin (Calidris alpina) decreased, while the numbers of Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis) have increased sharply since the 1980s. The breeding density of Rough-legged Hawk has also increased in recent years. The long-term monitoring of Kolguev ecosystems has indicated the high international conservation value of the island due to the high breeding density of many bird species. Our study, covering more than a century of avifaunal studies with almost annual monitoring over the past three decades, provides an unusually long and detailed time-series for an Arctic island.

Salt marshes are vulnerable to climate change-associated sea-level rise and storm-induced surges. Their degradation will likely affect shorebirds relying on this ecosystem. Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) and Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) migrating along coastline habitats typically use salt marshes to rest and replenish their body reserves. Our objective was to test if width of the different vegetation zones within salt marshes affects the occurrence of Least and Pectoral Sandpipers stopping along the St. Lawrence River Estuary, Quebec, Canada, during fall migration. We established 26 survey sites, each 600 m in length, along the shoreline. Shorebird surveys were conducted in 2011 and 2012. We characterized salt marshes by measuring the width of each vegetation zone (lower marsh and upper marsh). We analyzed shorebird presence/not detected data with generalized estimating equations to test the predictions that occurrence of Least Sandpipers and Pectoral Sandpipers increases with width of both the lower and upper marsh. Upper marsh width was positively associated with probability of occurrence in each species. Our results highlight the importance of protecting the integrity of salt marshes for these two species. In the St. Lawrence River Estuary, where landward migration of salt marshes is no longer possible (coastal squeeze), effective management of shorelines is much needed. Otherwise, salt marshes and these two species could be locally jeopardized.

The ecological reasons for variation in avian migration, with some populations migrating across thousands of kilometres between breeding and non-breeding areas with one or few refuelling stops, in contrast to others that stop more often, remain to be pinned down. Red Knots Calidris canutus are a textbook example of a shorebird species that makes long migrations with only a few stops. Recognizing that such behaviours are not necessarily species-specific but determined by ecological context, we here provide a description of the migrations of a relatively recently described subspecies (piersmai). Based on data from tagging of Red Knots on the terminal non-breeding grounds in northwest Australia with 4.5- and 2.5-g solar-powered Platform Terminal Transmitters (PTTs) and 1.0-g geolocators, we obtained information on 19 route-records of 17 individuals, resulting in seven complete return migrations. We confirm published evidence that Red Knots of the piersmai subspecies migrate from NW Australia and breed on the New Siberian Islands in the Russian Arctic and that they stage along the coasts of southeastern Asia, especially in the northern Yellow Sea in China. Red Knots arrived on the tundra breeding grounds from 8 June onwards. Southward departures mainly occurred in the last week of July and the first week of August. We documented six non-stop flights of over c. 5000 km (with a maximum of 6500 km, lasting 6.6 days). Nevertheless, rather than staging at a single location for multiple weeks halfway during migration, piersmai-knots made several stops of up to a week. This was especially evident during northward migration, when birds often stopped along the way in southeast Asia and 'hugged' the coast of China, thus flying an additional 1000-1500 km compared with the shortest possible (great circle route) flights between NW Australia and the Yellow Sea. The birds staged longest in areas in northern China, along the shores of Bohai Bay and upper Liaodong Bay, where the bivalve Potamocorbula laevis, known as a particularly suitable food for Red Knots, was present. The use of multiple food-rich stopping sites during northward migration by piersmai is atypical among subspecies of Red Knots. Although piersmai apparently has the benefit of multiple suitable stopping areas along the flyway, it is a subspecies in decline and their mortality away from the NW Australian non-breeding grounds has been elevated.

Climate change in the Arctic is leading to earlier summers, creating a phenological mismatch between the hatching of insectivorous birds and the availability of their invertebrate prey. While phenological mismatch would presumably lower the survival of chicks, climate change is also leading to longer, warmer summers that may increase the annual productivity of birds by allowing adults to lay nests over a longer period of time, replace more nests that fail, and provide physiological relief to chicks (i.e., warmer temperatures that reduce thermoregulatory costs). However, there is little information on how these competing ecological processes will ultimately impact the demography of bird populations. In 2008 and 2009, we investigated the survival of chicks from initial and experimentally-induced replacement nests of arcticola Dunlin (Calidris alpina) breeding near Utqiaġvik, Alaska. We monitored survival of 66 broods from 41 initial and 25 replacement nests. Based on the average hatch date of each group, chick survival (up to age 15 days) from replacement nests (Ŝi = 0.10; 95% CI = 0.02–0.22) was substantially lower than initial nests (Ŝi = 0.67; 95% CI = 0.48–0.81). Daily survival rates were greater for older chicks, chicks from earlier-laid clutches, and during periods of greater invertebrate availability. As temperature was less important to daily survival rates of shorebird chicks than invertebrate availability, our results indicate that any physiological relief experienced by chicks will likely be overshadowed by the need for adequate food. Furthermore, the processes creating a phenological mismatch between hatching of shorebird young and invertebrate emergence ensures that warmer, longer breeding seasons will not translate into abundant food throughout the longer summers. Thus, despite having a greater opportunity to nest later (and potentially replace nests), young from these late-hatching broods will likely not have sufficient food to survive. Collectively, these results indicate that warmer, longer summers in the Arctic are unlikely to increase annual recruitment rates, and thus unable to compensate for low adult survival, which is typically limited by factors away from the Arctic-breeding grounds.

Many migratory shorebird species using the East Asian–Australasian Flyway are declining rapidly. While the loss of staging habitats in East Asia is considered the primary cause, stressors to fitness often occur throughout the geographic range of declining species, and threats in the non-breeding grounds have been comparatively poorly studied. Three species of migratory shorebird, Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea), Sharp-tailed Sandpiper (C. acuminata) and Red-necked Stint (C. ruficollis), use Australia’s dynamic temporary wetland systems opportunistically, yet these large wetland systems have become increasingly degraded, with reduced frequency and extent of flooding. Here, we test whether variables related to wetland availability in Australia’s interior can explain annual variation in apparent survival, abundance or immature to adult ratios at three well-monitored coastal shorebird areas in southern Australia (total area > 1315 km2). We show that coastal annual bird abundance and ratios of immatures at the coast were higher when inland Australia was relatively hot and dry. Also, a small but significant amount of variation in annual apparent survival can be explained by annual variation in inland conditions, with higher survival rates in years when inland conditions were relatively wet and cool. For the endangered Curlew Sandpiper, the impacts of Australian environmental conditions may be exacerbating the impacts of conditions experienced in other parts of its range on fitness and survival. While the effects we document here are relatively weak, they do suggest that management of inland wetlands for these shorebirds may positively affect survival rates of these sharply declining species.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) impaired pre-migratory fueling in 49 orally dosed Sanderling (Calidris alba). In the present study, 8 genes related to fat deposition and PAH exposure were measured in liver subsamples from these same shorebirds. At the highest dose (1260 µg total PAH [tPAH]/kg body wt/day), PAH exposure decreased liver basic fatty acid binding protein 1 (Lbfabp) and hepatic lipase (Lipc) expression. The present study reveals candidate molecular-level pathways for observed avian pre-migratory refueling impairment. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:1983-1991. © 2021 SETAC.

Vanausdall RA, Dinsmore SJ. 2021. Stopover ecology of the least sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) in Iowa: implications for reservoir management. Lake Reserv Manage. 37:300–312.Multipurpose reservoirs...

SummaryMigratory species rely on several distant sites during the annual cycle which makes their conservation more complex than that of non-migratory species. Even one of the most extensively studied migratory shorebirds - the Red Knot Calidris canutus - is currently ‘Near Threatened’ at the global level. Conflicting observations of migratory routes cast uncertainty on the subspecies classification and migratory connectivity of Red Knots in the Pacific coasts of the Americas. To fill essential information gaps, we present the first detailed population morphometrics of Red Knots during the non-breeding season in the southern Pacific coast, along with resightings of these birds throughout the Americas. We also estimated daily rate of weight gain during fuelling based on body mass at captures and known departure dates. Resightings demonstrate reliance on staging areas in both the Mid-continental and Atlantic flyways during the northward migration, and additionally in the Pacific Flyway during southward migration. In addition to the strong connection with several areas also used by C. c. rufa on the North American Atlantic coast, our results show morphometric differences within the ranges of both C. c. rufa and C. c. roselaari. Given the threats faced by Red Knots, the population in Chiloé Archipelago should be treated as a separate conservation unit within interhemispheric conservation programmes for endangered shorebirds within the Americas.

The White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis) (Vieillot 1819) is one of the longest migrating birds that breeds in the high Arctic in Alaska and Canada and spends the post-breeding period in South America. This bird is a frequent vagrant visitor of Islas Georgias del Sur/South Georgia and the South Shetland islands. Here we provide the first record for the White-rumped Sandpiper at the Continental Antarctica. The individual was observed the 2 February 2019 at Esperanza/Hope Bay (63° 23′ 56″ S, 56° 59′ 06″ W), the north of the Antarctic Peninsula, in an ice-free rockery close to a melt-water-run-off area. At the moment of the observation, the temperature was above 0 °C and the wind calm. However, strong winds from the north-west and west directions were registered during the last week of January 2019 at Esperanza Station (peak 65 knots) and at the Drake Passage (peak 49 knots) which might explain the presence of the White-rumped Sandpiper individual at Hope Bay. Our report contributes to list the non-native species observed in Antarctica. One plausible explanation could be related to changes in migratory routes of flying birds.

Dietary specialization is common in animals and has important implications for individual fitness, inter‐ and intraspecific competition, and the adaptive potential of a species. Diet composition can be influenced by age‐ and sex‐related factors including an individual's morphology, social status, and acquired skills; however, specialization may only be necessary when competition is intensified by high population densities or increased energetic demands.To better understand the role of age‐ and sex‐related dietary specialization in facilitating seasonal resource partitioning, we inferred the contribution of biofilm, microphytobenthos, and benthic invertebrates to the diets of western sandpipers (Calidris mauri) from different demographic groups during mid‐winter (January/February) and at the onset of the breeding migration (April) using stable isotope mixing models. Western sandpipers are sexually dimorphic with females having significantly greater body mass and bill length than males.Diet composition differed between seasons and among demographic groups. In winter, prey consumption was similar among demographic groups, but, in spring, diet composition differed with bill length and body mass explaining 31% of the total variation in diet composition. Epifaunal invertebrates made up a greater proportion of the diet in males which had lesser mass and shorter bills than females. Consumption of Polychaeta increased with increasing bill length and was greatest in adult females. In contrast, consumption of microphytobenthos, thought to be an important food source for migrating sandpipers, increased with decreasing bill length and was greatest in juvenile males.Our results provide the first evidence that age‐ and sex‐related dietary specialization in western sandpipers facilitate seasonal resource partitioning that could reduce competition during spring at the onset of the breeding migration.Our study underscores the importance of examining resource partitioning throughout the annual cycle to inform fitness and demographic models and facilitate conservation efforts., Our results provide the first evidence of seasonal differences in diet composition among demographic groups of western sandpipers, supporting the conclusion that age‐ and sex‐related dietary specialization facilitate seasonal resource partitioning in this species. Differences in diet composition among demographic groups were more pronounced at the onset of migration in spring compared to mid‐winter following the expectation that the consumption of biofilm and microphytobenthos provides energy for sandpipers during their breeding migration and reduces competition when high densities of birds occupy foraging sites. In spring, juveniles, particularly juvenile males, consumed more biofilm and microphytobenthos than adults supporting our hypothesis that sandpipers with shorter bills, lesser mass, and less prey handling experience would consume the greatest amount of biofilm and microphytobenthos. Photo credit: William Chan.

SummaryThe extent of intertidal flats in the Yellow Sea region has declined significantly in the past few decades, resulting in severe population declines in several waterbird species. The Yellow Sea region holds the primary stopover sites for many shorebirds during their migration to and from northern breeding grounds. However, the functional roles of these sites in shorebirds’ stopover ecology remain poorly understood. Through field surveys between July and November 2015, we investigated the stopover and moult schedules of migratory shorebirds along the southern Jiangsu coast, eastern China during their southbound migration, with a focus on the ‘Critically Endangered’ Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea and ‘Endangered’ Nordmann’s Greenshank Tringa guttifer. Long-term count data indicate that both species regularly occur in globally important number in southern Jiangsu coast, constituting 16.67–49.34% and 64.0–80.67% of their global population estimates respectively, and it is highly likely that most adults undergo their primary moult during this southbound migration stopover. Our results show that Spoon-billed Sandpiper and Nordmann’s Greenshank staged for an extended period of time (66 and 84 days, respectively) to complete their primary moult. On average, Spoon-billed Sandpipers and Nordmann’s Greenshanks started moulting primary feathers on 8 August ± 4.52 and 27 July ± 1.56 days respectively, and their moult durations were 72.58 ± 9.08 and 65.09 ± 2.40 days. In addition, some individuals of several other shorebird species including the ‘Endangered’ Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris, ‘Near Threatened’ Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica, ‘Near Threatened’ Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata and Greater Sand Plover Charadrius leschenaultii also underwent primary moult. Our work highlights the importance of the southern Jiangsu region as the primary moulting ground for these species, reinforcing that conservation of shorebird habitat including both intertidal flats and supratidal roosting sites in this region is critical to safeguard the future of some highly threatened shorebird species.

Southernmost South America provides significant wintering habitats for migrant shorebirds, most of which breed in the High Arctic tundra. Helminth species parasitizing these migratory birds have been well studied in North America; however, in South America they are poorly known. As part of an ongoing research on the helminth fauna from Patagonian birds in Argentina, we report Notocotylus chionis and Notocotylus sp. (Trematoda: Notocotylidae) parasitizing three shorebird species, the Nearctic migrants Calidris fuscicollis (WRSA) and Calidris bairdii (BASA) (Scolopacidae), and the Neotropical Charadrius falklandicus (TBPL) (Charadriidae). We provide a new morphological description of N. chionis considering that the previous one reported from the snowy sheathbill on Subantarctic islands are incomplete and based on few specimens. We also provided a morphometric characterization of Notocotylus sp. We obtained molecular data which confirmed the identification of specimens recovered from WRSA and TBPL as N. chionis. Phylogenetic analysis based on 28S ribosomal DNA sequences was performed. The results placed N. chionis close to other Patagonian species native to South America (i.e. N. primulus). Notocotylus chionis was found previously in the snowy sheathbill which inhabits in coasts of southern South America, Antarctic Peninsula and surrounding islands. Present finding in resident birds (TBPL) allows us to hypothesize that N. chionis is a Neotropical species whose life cycle is being completed in southern South America and Subantarctic islands and represents a valuable contribution to the knowledge of parasite diversity in the austral subpolar region of the western hemisphere.

Migratory shorebirds show highly organized seasonal cycles in physiological and morphological traits (body mass and composition, plumage, hormone levels, etc.), which in captivity is accompanied by restless behaviour at times when free‐living birds would start migration. We introduce the idea that seasonally changing preference for habitat could motivate migrants to embark on migration and that this cognitive process could also guide them to seasonally appropriate places. We explored this by testing whether red knots (Calidris canutus), which also in captivity maintain marked circannual phenotypic rhythms, show evidence of seasonal change in preference for pictures of seasonally appropriate habitats. We first developed a method to verify whether red knots are able to memorize and discriminate contrasting pictures projected by LCD projectors. This was followed by two different experiments in which we tested for a seasonally changing preference for breeding or non‐breeding habitat. When carried out during the pre‐breeding season, the red knots are expected to prefer pictures of mudflats, their non‐breeding habitat. At the start of the breeding season, they should prefer pictures of the tundra breeding habitat. We established that knots are able to distinguish and memorize projected images. We failed to demonstrate the predicted change in vision‐based habitat preference, but for reasons of test design we do not interpret this as a strong rejection of the hypothesis. Instead, we suggest that experiments with greater numbers of individuals tested once, perhaps in combination with the provision of additional cues such as smells and sounds, will help the development of these ideas further.

The gut microbiota of birds is known to be characterized for different species, although it may change with feeding items. In this study, we compared the gut microbiota of birds with different feeding behaviors in the same habitat. We collected fecal samples from three Arctic species, snow buntings Plectrophenax nivalis, sanderlings Calidris alba, and pink‐footed geese Anser brachyrhynchus that are phylogenetically quite distant in different families to evaluate effects of diet on gut microbiota. Also, we characterized the prevalence of fecal bacteria using the Illumina MiSeq platform to sequence bacterial 16S rRNA genes. Our NMDS results showed that fecal bacteria of snow buntings and sanderlings were significantly distant from those of pink‐footed geese. Although all three birds were occupied by three bacterial phyla, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes, dominant taxa still varied among the species. Our bacterial sequences showed that snow buntings and sanderlings were dominated by Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, while pink‐footed geese were dominated by Proteobacteria. In addition, the bacterial diversity in snow buntings and sanderlings was significantly higher than that in pink‐footed geese. Our results suggest that insectivorous feeding diet of snow buntings and sanderlings could be responsible for the similar bacterial communities between the two species despite the distant phylogenetic relationship. The distinctive bacterial community in pink‐footed geese was discussed to be related with their herbivorous diet., We showed that fecal bacteria of snow buntings and sanderlings were distant from those of pink‐footed geese. In addition, the bacterial diversity in snow buntings and sanderlings was significantly higher than that in geese. Our results suggest that diet as well as host phylogeny may affect the gut microbiota of Arctic birds.

Antipredator vigilance may be affected by feeding techniques that obstruct animal’s vision, such as underwater foraging. I examined the effect of underwater foraging on head-up position in spring staging dunlins (Calidris alpina), predicting that this type of foraging would positively affect the frequency of head-up vigilance in this species. The results of analysis showed that significant predictors of the occurrence of head-up positions were underwater foraging and head-up position that occurred in the imminent past. Results of this study imply that dunlins are less likely to raise their heads above the shoulder line if they have not obstructed their vision by underwater foraging in the previous moment and that birds are able to acquire visual information from their surroundings not only when their heads are in the upright position but also during head-down foraging and/or during horizontal head position.

n Focus: Reneerkens, J., Versluijs, T. S. L., Piersma, T., Alves, J. A., Boorman, M., Corse, C., ... Lok, T. (2020). Low fitness at low latitudes: wintering in the tropics in-creases migratory delays and mortality rates in an Arctic breeding shorebird. Journal of Animal Ecology, 89, 691–703. A central question in migratory ecology has been to understand the fitness consequences of individual variation in migration distance among different species and populations. Reneerkens et al. (2020) investigated the demographic consequences of long-distance migration for Sanderlings Calidris alba, an Arctic-breeding species of sandpiper. Their study population has a remark-able geographic distribution with a breeding range that is concentrated in north-east Greenland and Ellesmere Island, Canada but a nonbreeding range that extends across 85° of latitude from Scotland to Namibia. The authors report on unexpected patterns of latitudinal variation in three demographic parameters: timing of passage on northward migration, probability of juvenile migration and apparent survival of adults. Sanderlings travelling 1,800–2,800 km to settle at north temperate sites dur-ing the nonbreeding season had earlier passage dates, and also higher probabilities of migration and apparent survival. In contrast, birds travelling 6,000–7,800 km to equato-rial sites experienced later passage dates, delayed maturity and lower apparent survival. However, if Sanderlings migrated even farther and flew over 11,000 km to nonbreed-ing sites in Namibia, then their performance was restored to early passage dates and higher survival. Movement tracks from birds tagged with geolocators showed that birds wintering in Namibia make nonstop flights of 7,500 km that bypass West Africa during northward migration. Thus, all lines of evidence suggest that Sanderlings face adversity when spending the nonbreeding season at equatorial latitudes. Moreover, the central finding that components of fitness can have nonlinear relationships with migration dis-tance is a novel discovery that leads to many additional questions. The new findings have broader implications for theoretical models of migration, and for understanding how different patterns of movements may arise or be maintained in migratory species

Calidris melanotos (Vieillot, 1819) LITERATURE. — Van den Bergh (2013); Borrow & Demey (2014). STATUS. — Palaearctic or Nearctic Vagrant. REMARK. — A vagrant species from the Boreal Regions of North America and Asia with a single observation documented by photo (Van den Bergh 2013)., Published as part of Boano, Giovanni, Belemsobgo, Urbain, Silvano, Fabrizio, Hema, Emmanuel M., Belemsobgo, Aristide, Dimobe, Kangbéni & Pavia, Marco, 2022, An annotated checklist of the birds of Burkina Faso, pp. 27-107 in Zoosystema 44 (2) on page 51, DOI: 10.5252/zoosystema2022v44a2, http://zenodo.org/record/5999691, {"references":["VAN DEN BERGH M. O. L. 2013. - New and notable bird records for Burkina Faso. Malimbus 35: 57 - 65.","BORROW N. & DEMEY R. 2014. - Field Guide of the Birds of Western Africa. II edition. Christopher Helm, London, 592 p."]}

Calidris temminckii (Leisler, 1812) LITERATURE. — Dowsett (1993); Borrow & Demey (2001, 2014); Sinclair & Ryan (2010); Dowsett et al. (2013). STATUS. — Palaearctic migrant. REMARK. — No recent field data reported. Local non-Breeding visitor in south Burkina Faso according to Borrow & Demey (2014)., Published as part of Boano, Giovanni, Belemsobgo, Urbain, Silvano, Fabrizio, Hema, Emmanuel M., Belemsobgo, Aristide, Dimobe, Kangbéni & Pavia, Marco, 2022, An annotated checklist of the birds of Burkina Faso, pp. 27-107 in Zoosystema 44 (2) on page 50, DOI: 10.5252/zoosystema2022v44a2, http://zenodo.org/record/5999691, {"references":["DOWSETT R. J. 1993. - Afrotropical avifaunas: annotated country checklists, in DOWSETT R. J. & DOWSETT- LEMAIRE F. (eds). A Contribution to the Distribution and Taxonomy of Afrotropical and Malagasy birds Tauraco Research Report 5, Tauraco Press, Liege: 1 - 322.","BORROW N. & DEMEY R. 2001. - Birds of Western Africa. Christopher Helm, London, 832 p.","BORROW N. & DEMEY R. 2014. - Field Guide of the Birds of Western Africa. II edition. Christopher Helm, London, 592 p.","SINCLAIR I. & RYAN P. 2010. - Birds of Africa south of the Sahara. II edition. Struik Nature, Cape Town, 768 p.","DOWSETT R. J., ATKINSON P. W. & CADDICK J. A. 2013. - Checklist of the birds of Burkina Faso: 1 - 12. https: // www. africanbirdclub. org / [accessed 14 October 2013]."]}

Calidris pugnax (Linnaeus, 1758) LITERATURE. — Green & Sayer (1979); Holyoak & Seddon (1989); Thonnérieux et al. (1989); Dowsett (1993); Weesie (1996); Balanca & de Visscher (1997); Borrow & Demey (2001, 2014); Portier (2002c); Balanca et al. (2007); Pavia et al. (2012); Dowsett et al. (2013); van den Bergh (2016). FIELD DATA. — GBIF; WABD. STATUS. — Palaearctic migrant., Published as part of Boano, Giovanni, Belemsobgo, Urbain, Silvano, Fabrizio, Hema, Emmanuel M., Belemsobgo, Aristide, Dimobe, Kangbéni & Pavia, Marco, 2022, An annotated checklist of the birds of Burkina Faso, pp. 27-107 in Zoosystema 44 (2) on page 50, DOI: 10.5252/zoosystema2022v44a2, http://zenodo.org/record/5999691, {"references":["GREEN A. A. & SAYER J. A. 1979. - The birds of Pendjari and Arly National Parks (Benin and Upper Volta). Malimbus 1: 14 - 28.","HOLYOAK D. T. & SEDDON M. B. 1989. - Distributional notes on the birds of Burkina Faso. Bulletin of the British ornithologists' Club 109: 205 - 216. https: // doi. org / 10.25226 / bboc. v 139 i 2.2019. a 7","THONNERIEUX Y., WALSH J. F. & BORTOLI L. 1989. - L'avifaune de la ville de Ouagadougou et ses environs (Burkina Faso). Malimbus 11: 7 - 39.","DOWSETT R. J. 1993. - Afrotropical avifaunas: annotated country checklists, in DOWSETT R. J. & DOWSETT- LEMAIRE F. (eds). A Contribution to the Distribution and Taxonomy of Afrotropical and Malagasy birds Tauraco Research Report 5, Tauraco Press, Liege: 1 - 322.","WEESIE P. D. M. 1996. - Les oiseaux du Sahel Burkinabe: peuplements d'hiver, capacite de charge des sites. Alauda 64: 307 - 332.","BALANCA G. & DE VISSCHER M. - N. 1997. - Composition et evolution saisonniere d'un peuplement d'oiseaux au nord du Burkina Faso (Nord-Yatenga). Malimbus 19: 68 - 94.","BORROW N. & DEMEY R. 2001. - Birds of Western Africa. Christopher Helm, London, 832 p.","BORROW N. & DEMEY R. 2014. - Field Guide of the Birds of Western Africa. II edition. Christopher Helm, London, 592 p.","PORTIER B. 2002 c. - Liste de l'avifaune du Ranch de Gibier de Nazinga. http: // environnement. wallonie. be / projet _ nazinga / PDF / Liste _ oiseaux _ Nazinga. pdf.","BALANCA G., CORNELIS D. & WILSON R. 2007. - Les oiseaux du complexe WAP. ECOPAS. Cirad, Montpellier.","PAVIA M., BOANO G., SILVANO F. & MAMADOU K. 2012. - New bird records from southwestern Burkina Faso. Malimbus 34: 57 - 81.","DOWSETT R. J., ATKINSON P. W. & CADDICK J. A. 2013. - Checklist of the birds of Burkina Faso: 1 - 12. https: // www. africanbirdclub. org / [accessed 14 October 2013].","VAN DEN BERGH M. O. L. 2016. - Bridging the gap between bird conservation and sustainable development. PhD Thesis, University of Leiden, Netherlands, 222 p."]}

Calidris ferruginea (Pontoppidan, 1763) LITERATURE. — Thonnérieux et al. (1989); Dowsett (1993); Balanca & de Visscher (1997); Borrow & Demey (2001, 2014); Balanca et al. (2007); Sinclair & Ryan (2010); Dowsett et al. (2013). FIELD DATA. — GBIF. STATUS. — Palaearctic migrant., Published as part of Boano, Giovanni, Belemsobgo, Urbain, Silvano, Fabrizio, Hema, Emmanuel M., Belemsobgo, Aristide, Dimobe, Kangbéni & Pavia, Marco, 2022, An annotated checklist of the birds of Burkina Faso, pp. 27-107 in Zoosystema 44 (2) on page 50, DOI: 10.5252/zoosystema2022v44a2, http://zenodo.org/record/5999691, {"references":["THONNERIEUX Y., WALSH J. F. & BORTOLI L. 1989. - L'avifaune de la ville de Ouagadougou et ses environs (Burkina Faso). Malimbus 11: 7 - 39.","DOWSETT R. J. 1993. - Afrotropical avifaunas: annotated country checklists, in DOWSETT R. J. & DOWSETT- LEMAIRE F. (eds). A Contribution to the Distribution and Taxonomy of Afrotropical and Malagasy birds Tauraco Research Report 5, Tauraco Press, Liege: 1 - 322.","BALANCA G. & DE VISSCHER M. - N. 1997. - Composition et evolution saisonniere d'un peuplement d'oiseaux au nord du Burkina Faso (Nord-Yatenga). Malimbus 19: 68 - 94.","BORROW N. & DEMEY R. 2001. - Birds of Western Africa. Christopher Helm, London, 832 p.","BORROW N. & DEMEY R. 2014. - Field Guide of the Birds of Western Africa. II edition. Christopher Helm, London, 592 p.","BALANCA G., CORNELIS D. & WILSON R. 2007. - Les oiseaux du complexe WAP. ECOPAS. Cirad, Montpellier.","SINCLAIR I. & RYAN P. 2010. - Birds of Africa south of the Sahara. II edition. Struik Nature, Cape Town, 768 p.","DOWSETT R. J., ATKINSON P. W. & CADDICK J. A. 2013. - Checklist of the birds of Burkina Faso: 1 - 12. https: // www. africanbirdclub. org / [accessed 14 October 2013]."]}

Calidris alpina (Linnaeus, 1758) LITERATURE. — Dowsett (1993); Weesie (1996); Balanca & de Visscher (1997); Borrow & Demey (2001, 2014); Portier (2002c); Sinclair & Ryan (2010); Dowsett et al. (2013). STATUS. — Palaearctic vagrant. REMARK. — No recent field records. Two records in central Burkina Faso reported in Borrow & Demey (2014). In addition, while all three Palaearctic subspecies are reported in West Africa (Borrow & Demey 2014), there is no information about the taxonomic identity of the Burkina Faso records, which needs further assessment., Published as part of Boano, Giovanni, Belemsobgo, Urbain, Silvano, Fabrizio, Hema, Emmanuel M., Belemsobgo, Aristide, Dimobe, Kangbéni & Pavia, Marco, 2022, An annotated checklist of the birds of Burkina Faso, pp. 27-107 in Zoosystema 44 (2) on page 51, DOI: 10.5252/zoosystema2022v44a2, http://zenodo.org/record/5999691, {"references":["DOWSETT R. J. 1993. - Afrotropical avifaunas: annotated country checklists, in DOWSETT R. J. & DOWSETT- LEMAIRE F. (eds). A Contribution to the Distribution and Taxonomy of Afrotropical and Malagasy birds Tauraco Research Report 5, Tauraco Press, Liege: 1 - 322.","WEESIE P. D. M. 1996. - Les oiseaux du Sahel Burkinabe: peuplements d'hiver, capacite de charge des sites. Alauda 64: 307 - 332.","BALANCA G. & DE VISSCHER M. - N. 1997. - Composition et evolution saisonniere d'un peuplement d'oiseaux au nord du Burkina Faso (Nord-Yatenga). Malimbus 19: 68 - 94.","BORROW N. & DEMEY R. 2001. - Birds of Western Africa. Christopher Helm, London, 832 p.","BORROW N. & DEMEY R. 2014. - Field Guide of the Birds of Western Africa. II edition. Christopher Helm, London, 592 p.","PORTIER B. 2002 c. - Liste de l'avifaune du Ranch de Gibier de Nazinga. http: // environnement. wallonie. be / projet _ nazinga / PDF / Liste _ oiseaux _ Nazinga. pdf.","SINCLAIR I. & RYAN P. 2010. - Birds of Africa south of the Sahara. II edition. Struik Nature, Cape Town, 768 p.","DOWSETT R. J., ATKINSON P. W. & CADDICK J. A. 2013. - Checklist of the birds of Burkina Faso: 1 - 12. https: // www. africanbirdclub. org / [accessed 14 October 2013]."]}

Bird migration is controlled by several different factors which primarily influ-ence its timing (phenology). The phenology of this phenomenon varies depending not only on species, but also gender or age of individuals. At present, there is a considerable potential for its research in using faunistic observations from databases open to the public. This data is suitable for research of various phenological phe-nomena due to the long-term data collection as well as the quantity of the output. The aim of this thesis was to evaluate the timing of migration of selected spe-cies of birds of the Arenaria and Calidris genera across the territory of the Czech Republic, to compare it with other similar studies and to evaluate the possibilities of using faunistic databases available in the Czech Republic for this type of study. During the spring migration, the species with the earliest passage across the Czech Republic is Calidris pugnax (the passage peaks between 11th and 20th April), whereas the species with the latest peak of the spring migration is C. falcinellus (around 20th May). The species with the earliest determined peak of a passage dur-ing the autumn migration was C. teminckii (between 11th and 20th August), the spe-cies passing through Czech territory the latest being C. alba (between 11th and 20th September). Among the most frequently migrating species are C. alpina and C. pugnax, whereas the species with the lowest number of passing individuals (apart from rare species) are C. canutus and C. falcinellus. The results recorded about the timing of migration by individual species point to similarities with other studies of this phenomenon, however differences were found, regarding some of the species. In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of faunistic records, which means further possibilities for their evaluation in the future. This thesis could, among other things, serve as a basis for a better understanding of the phenological patterns of migration of not only these bird species. Observing pheno-logical phenomena helps us understand both the relationships between individual organisms as well as the relationships between organisms and the environment and their mutual influence.

Present-day ecology and population structure are the legacies of past climate and habitat perturbations, and this is particularly true for species that are widely distributed at high latitudes. The red knot, Calidris canutus, is an arctic-breeding, long-distance migratory shorebird with six recognized subspecies defined by differences in morphology, migration behavior, and annual-cycle phenology, in a global distribution thought to have arisen just since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). We used nextRAD sequencing of 10,881 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to assess the neutral genetic structure and phylogeographic history of 172 red knots representing all known global breeding populations. Using population genetics approaches, including model-based scenario-testing in an approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) framework, we infer that red knots derive from two main lineages that diverged ca. 34,000 years ago, and thus persisted at the LGM in both Palearctic and Nearctic refugia, followed by at least two instances of secondary contact and admixture. In two flyways, we detected clear genetic structure between population pairs with similar migrations and substantial geographic overlap in the non-breeding season. Conversely, other populations were only weakly differentiated despite clearly divergent migratory phenotypes and little or no apparent contact throughout the annual cycle. In general, the magnitude of genetic differentiation did not match that of phenotypic differences among populations, suggesting that flyway-specific phenotypes developed quite rapidly and do not necessarily impose barriers to gene flow. Our results suggest that population structure and migratory phenotypes in red knots arose from a complex interplay among phylogeography, plasticity, and selective processes.

Estuaries have historically been subject to considerable habitat loss, and continue to be subjected to such in areas where the natural landward migration of intertidal habitats is constrained by hard coastal defences. Thus, in estuaries where direct (e.g., port development) or indirect (e.g., sea level rise) processes are predicted to threaten intertidal habitats and associated waterbird species, there is a regulatory requirement to produce compensatory intertidal habitats. Managed realignment (MR) is a shoreline management practise that is undertaken to build sustainable coastal defences and create intertidal habitats in estuaries. This nature-based solution brings multiple benefits in the form of carbon storage, increased resilience to flooding, and, potentially, the formation of new habitats, which is the topic of this study. A 75-ha site at the Paull Holme Strays (Humber Estuary, United Kingdom) was monitored over a 10-year period following MR to examine the change in the abundance of waterbirds in the chosen site in response to the physical processes occurring there. Using digital terrain models (DTMs) collected via light detection and ranging (LiDAR), we examined how four compensatory target species responded to changes in elevation after the creation of the site. It was shown that the very rapid accretion of estuarine sediment occurred in the first decade of the new re-created intertidal, which, over time, led to changes in the numbers of benthic foraging birds supported. Furthermore, elevation change was also driven by this sediment accretion, the rate of which depended on the initial bed elevation of the sectors within the site. Ten years after the recreation of the habitat, the spatial heterogeneity in the bed elevation remained high; however, the sectors with the lowest elevations accreted the most over the 10-year period. The foraging number of the four waterbird species that colonised the MR site significantly declined above a certain elevation, with this effect being most pronounced for the Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata). The number of common shelducks (Tadorna tadorna), dunlins (Calidris alpina), and common redshanks (Tringa totanus) declined significantly after initial peaks 5–7 years after the creation of the site, reflecting the ongoing elevation changes. Thus, this study highlighted the need for long-term studies to understand how species respond to large-scale habitat construction. It can also aid in predicting the suitability of an MR site for waterbirds in the medium and long term.

Leukocyte profiles, such as the heterophile/lymphocyte (H/L) ratio, are influenced by several ecological and ecophysiological factors and are generally considered to be independent and robust indicators of stress levels in birds. We tested the hypotheses that Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla presents a positive association between physiological stress (H/L ratio) and molt, and that there should be a negative association between physiological stress (H/L ratio) and body condition (mass). During its annual cycle, Semipalmated Sandpiper performs long-distance migrations and often arrives in South America in September/October when it can undergo molting before its migration to the north. In May, while preparing to return to its reproductive sites, Semipalmated Sandpiper increases its body mass. The research was carried out on Restinga Island of the Rio Paraiba estuary in northeast Brazil. Data collection took place during the wintering of Semipalmated Sandpiper in October 2017 and February and May 2018. We found a positive association between the H/L ratio and the presence of molt in October and February, but a negative association between the H/L ratio and body mass in May. Our results support the hypotheses that the presence of molt should be positively associated with the H/L ratio due to the high energy and nutritional costs that molting requires and that the H/L ratio and body mass should be negatively associated due to the favorable nutritional status of Semipalmated Sandpiper during its preparation to migrate to its reproductive areas.

Previous studies have highlighted the importance of intertidal habitats on the coast of Jiangsu Province, China for the Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea during the post-breeding moult. We report Lincoln-Petersen closed-population estimates of numbers of Spoon-billed Sandpipers Calidris pygmaea at the three principal sites in the region for the species: Tiaozini, Yangkou and Dongling. Our estimates were based upon resightings and scan surveys of individually-marked birds. Surveys were conducted in September–October when nearly all of the birds present were adults (≥1 yr old). We estimated the number present at Tiaozini in each of the years 2017–2020, during which numbers declined from 225 to 151, mostly between 2018 and 2019. To identify parts of the intertidal area used by Spoon-billed Sandpipers, we mapped locations of satellite-tagged birds in 2017 and 2019. Data from seven tagged birds indicated that they moved to intertidal flats up to 7 km seaward of the nearest point of the seawall at low tide. We then analysed satellite imagery for 2017–2020 for intertidal areas up to this distance from the coast and found evidence for changes in topography of the intertidal mudflats and positions of major channels. The mean extent of exposed mudflats per tidal cycle appeared to have declined by about 20% between 2017 and 2020. Surveys at two other sites in 2020 indicated that there were 26 birds at Yangkou and 63 birds at Dongling, with a total of 240 birds at all three sites combined in 2020. This is approximately half of the estimated world population of adults. The coast of Jiangsu Province is therefore of global importance for the Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Although birds no longer at Tiaozini may have been displaced to other sites, the observed population decline, which co-incided with changes in intertidal topography, raises concerns about the future conservation status of the species. Uncertainty about future changes to the topography and extent of intertidal mudflats makes the co-ordinated protection of all sites in Jiangsu Province known to hold Spoon-billed Sandpipers during the post-breeding moult period a conservation priority. This applies particularly to Tiaozini, Yangkou and Dongling, but also to other sites at which future surveys may reveal to hold concentrations of the species.

Biparental care requires coordination between parents. Such coordination might prove difficult if opportunities to communicate are scarce, which might have led to the evolution of elaborate and noisy nest relief rituals in species facing a low risk of predation. However, whether such conspicuous rituals also evolved in species that avoid predation by relying on crypsis remains unclear. Here, we used a continuous monitoring system to describe nest relief behavior during incubation in an Arctic-breeding shorebird with passive nest defense, the semipalmated sandpiper (Calidris pusilla). We then explored whether nest relief behavior provides information about parental cooperation and predicts incubation effort. We found that incubating parents vocalized twice as much before the arrival of their partner than during other times of incubation. In 75% of nest reliefs, the incubating parent left the nest only after its partner had returned and initiated the nest relief. In these cases, exchanges were quick (25s, median) and shortened over the incubation period by 0.1 – 1.4s per day (95%CI), suggesting that parents became more synchronized. However, nest reliefs were not cryptic. In 90% of exchanges, at least one parent vocalized, and in 20% of nest reliefs the incubating parent left the nest only after its returning partner called instantaneously. In 30% of cases, the returning parent initiated the nest relief with a call; in 39% of these cases, the incubating partner replied. If the partner replied, the next off-nest bout was 1 – 4hr (95%CI) longer than when the partner did not reply, which corresponds to an 8 – 45% increase. Our results indicate that incubating semipalmated sandpipers, which rely on crypsis to avoid nest predation, have quick but acoustically conspicuous nest reliefs. Our results also suggest that vocalizations during nest reliefs may be important for the division of parental duties.LAY SUMMARYBiparental care requires coordination between parents. In species where both parents incubate and nests are visible, parents often perform complex nest relief rituals. Is this also the case in species where nests are cryptic?We video-recorded nest relief behavior at nests of cryptically incubating semipalmated sandpipers.Parents relieved each other quickly, but they vocalized frequently. In 20% of nest reliefs the incubating parent left only after its returning partner called instantaneously. In 30% of cases the returning parent initiated the nest relief with a call. If the partner replied, its next off-nest bout was 1 – 4hr longer than when the partner did not reply, which corresponds to an 8 – 45% increase.Our results suggest that vocalizations during nest relief may be important for the division of parental duties. Further work in sandpipers and other taxa is needed to elucidate the role of parental vocalization in coordinating and synchronizing parental duties.

The Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor) is a critically endangered species. More than 50% of these spoonbills winter regularly on the southwestern coast of Taiwan. From 2007 to 2019, the rate of increase of the Black-faced Spoonbill population was only 10.5%, which is lower than the rate of 12.0% per year reported between 1991 and 2004. Black-faced Spoonbills have experienced several bottlenecks, and problems may exist in their breeding and/or in wintering habitats. Understanding the ecological environment of their habitats in Taiwan is an important issue, including the current use of water birds, the water depth of their habitats and even the aquatic plants. A total population of 93,614 birds of 88 species was recorded in a survey of the Cigu salt pan from October 2017 to October 2018. The biodiversity H' (loge) of the total birds was 2.67. Dunlin (Calidris alpina) was the most dominant species with a population of 21,053 (22.5%), followed by Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) with a population of 20,350 (21.7%). The largest area of terrain elevation at -1.0 to -0.2 m was 685.4 ha (38.5%) and at -0.2 to -0.1 m was 320.4 ha (18.0%). Between 2017 and 2018, the similarity in water depth classification was 47.2%, reflecting climate change, a degree of water accumulation, and the wader utilization situation. A strategy for maintaining biodiversity in the Cigu salt pan wetland and conserving spoonbills is therefore proposed in this paper.

High‐quality staging sites are critical for long‐distance migratory shorebirds to rest and refuel but are under threat from human development, including expansion of wind energy projects. However, predicting migration timing and movements in relation to weather conditions at staging sites can increase our understanding and mitigate effects of wind turbine collisions. Here we assessed northward migration timing and orientation in relation to environmental conditions at an inland staging area in Saskatchewan, Canada, with active and proposed wind energy developments. The area is known to host ~25% of North America's Sanderling Calidris alba population and 16 other Arctic‐breeding migrant shorebird species. We quantified arrival and departure time of day in relation to weather using data from 140 of 237 Sanderlings radiotagged locally and at a southern staging site in the Gulf of Mexico with the Motus Wildlife Tracking System (April–June, 2015–2017). Although Sanderling arrival times were not related to time of day or weather, departures were more likely at sunset in winds blowing towards the northwest at intermediate speeds (

The Semipalmated Sandpiper, Calidris pusilla, is a Western Hemisphere migrant shorebird for which Brazil forms an internationally important contranuptial area. In Brazil, the species main contranuptial areas is along the Atlantic Ocean coast, in the north and northeast regions. In addition to these primary contranuptial areas, there are also records of vagrants widely distributed across Brazil. Here, we review the occurrence of vagrants of this species in Brazil, and document a new record of C. pusilla for the central-west region and a first occurrence for the state of Goiás.

Cuba is the largest Caribbean island, supporting the most extensive wetlands in the region. Of the ~370 bird species in this country, approximately 40% are wetland-dependent and most are migratory. Knowledge of bird use of Cuba’s wetlands is critical for regional conservation. This study characterized waterbird assemblages in Cuban south coastal wetlands, reports spatio-temporal variations in waterbird diversity and suggests conservation strategies. We conducted 543 surveys across six wetlands (2011–2013). We recorded 110 species. Blue-winged Teal (Spatula discors) and Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) were the dominant species. The site with the highest richness and waterbird abundance was Humedal Sur de Los Palacios. Differences in waterbird composition were identified among sites and seasons but not among years. No differences were found in spatial or temporal variability in abundance among sites, seasons or years. Assemblage composition was not spatially dependent on the location of wetlands. Twelve species were at abundance levels exceeding 1% of their estimated global population. This study highlights the global importance of the Cuban south coast to waterbird conservation, particularly during fall migration and the uniqueness of Humedal Sur de Los Palacios. We encourage creation of new Ramsar sites, an Important Bird Area and a new protected area.