The importance of roosts for Black Storks Ciconia nigra wintering in West Africa.

The article provides information on a study which investigated the environmental and human factors which influence the spatial distribution of foraging and roosting sites of Black Storks Ciconia nigra in their wintering area. The study used satellite tracking and field observations between 1998 and 2006 among seven birds in Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana during the dry season. The research found that Black Storks used twelve tree species as nocturnal roost and that destruction of roosting trees could impact the birds' spatial distribution.