Migration Strategies of Birds of Prey in Western Palearctic

Given their roles in the ecosystem, raptors are widely considered the flagship or umbrella species among birds. Most species undertake a seasonal journey that is impressive because of the length, and the imposing natural barriers such as deserts and seas that they fly over. The migration of birds of prey has unique characteristics in the animal world because of their morphology and flight style. The flying path of Afro-Palearctic migrants between breeding and wintering grounds is determined by several factors such as morphology of the birds, geography, behavioural adaptations.

The book analyses the migration patterns of raptors along the Afro-Palearctic migratory system, and summarizes the recent research on these top predator species. Behavioural adaptations such as the importance of social interactions and the modulation of the different flight styles as well as ecological interactions with the encountered environment and weather conditions en route are described in the book. Moreover, the impact of climate change on the migratory behaviour and key conservation issues are discussed. The book provides an overview of the migratory characteristics and flyway patterns of all European raptors species and also some Asian ones. These chapters have been written by some of the most important raptor specialists, giving a complete picture of the different migration strategies on the basis of both traditional methods and new technologies.

Michele Panuccio Graduated at the University of Camerino (Italy) in Natural Sciences, he achieved his Ph.D. in Experimental Ecology at the University of Pavia. He was co-founder member of the Mediterranean Raptor Migration Network (MEDRAPTORS), a non-profit association working to improve research and protection of birds of prey in Western Palearctic. He carried out research on migratory strategies of diurnal birds of prey since 1998 using different methodologies: direct visual observations, ringing recoveries, radar and GPS tracking. He was also involved in research about breeding and wintering ecology. In the last years he made his research activity both as post-doctoral researcher at the University of Pavia and as research coordinator of MEDRAPTORS. While working on this book and conducting a research on waterbird movements in ISPRA (Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research), he passed away on June 2019, after having fought for a long time against a hard illness.

Ugo Mellone Graduated at the University of Pavia (Italy) in Natural Sciences and co-founder member of MEDRAPTORS, he carried out research on raptor migration since 2003. In 2013, he got his Ph.D. in Biology at the University of Alicante (Spain), with a thesis focused on movement ecology on migrating raptors studied by means of satellite telemetry. He developed research stays also in the Centre for Animal Movement Research (Lund, Sweden), Ecotono (Bariloche, Argentina), and Estación Biológica de Doñana (Seville, Spain). He currently combines the development of MEDRAPTORS project with his job of freelance photojournalist. Aimed at raising awareness on conservation issues and endangered species, he produces stories that are disseminated through magazines, books and exhibitions.

Nicolantonio Agostini Graduated at the University of Parma (Italy) in Natural Sciences, he achieved his Ph.D. in Experimental Ecology at the University of Pavia. Between 1986 and 1989 he was member of the Scientific Coordination of the Raptor Rescue Centre in Parma, managed by LIPU-Birdlife Italy. In this period he studied predatory and social behaviour of both captive wild diurnal and nocturnal birds of prey. Co-founder member of MEDRAPTORS, since 1989 he has been studying migration of diurnal birds of prey by direct visual observation at several watchsites in Italy, Tunisia, Malta, Greece, Turkey and Georgia. In recent years he has been involved in studies carried out by radar and GPS tracking such as in ecology research of birds of prey at wintering sites. Between 1984 and 1996 he was active in protectionist actions against poaching of diurnal birds of prey at the Strait of Messina together with LIPU-Birdlife Italy.