MIGRANT SHOREBIRDS IN THE SEYCHELLES

SUMMARY The aim of this paper was to assess the status of migrant shorebirds in the Seychelles. Most observations were concentrated on two areas: a 6 ha mudflat at Victoria, Mahé, and open areas of Bird Island. A systematic list of all shorebirds that have been recorded in the Seychelles is given, i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ibis
Main Authors: Feare, Christopher J., High, Jeremy
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 1977
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919x.1977.tb08251.x
https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1474-919X.1977.tb08251.x
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1474-919X.1977.tb08251.x
Description
Summary:SUMMARY The aim of this paper was to assess the status of migrant shorebirds in the Seychelles. Most observations were concentrated on two areas: a 6 ha mudflat at Victoria, Mahé, and open areas of Bird Island. A systematic list of all shorebirds that have been recorded in the Seychelles is given, including data on abundance and their incidence on other islands of the Malagasy region. Most of the Seychelles migrants probably originate from the north and east, i.e., the central and eastern Palaearctic, and arrive after a sea‐crossing of over 1600 km. Highest numbers of species and of individuals occurred in the Seychelles during the northern winter, but about one third of the species recorded were also present, in reduced numbers, in the summer. Few birds in breeding plumage were seen; probably most birds, especially those which summered, were immature. Numbers of both summering and wintering birds varied from year to year, these variations probably being related to breeding success at higher latitudes.