Why do different bird species arrive at the same stopover site on the same day during spring migration? 🐦🐦‍⬛

Birds from different species often gather at the edge of oceans or deserts. But what brings them together?

Our new study, based on 18 years of migration data from 24 trans-Saharan bird species, reveals that 💨 unfavourable winds 🌬️ over the Mediterranean 🌊 shape the formation of migratory bird communities. When favourable winds finally open a safe window for crossing the sea, different species migrate together, converging temporarily in non-random groups at a pre-breeding stopover island. ⏳🏝️

Migration is barely a solitary journey! It’s time to study migratory communities as dynamic, climate-sensitive units.

🔗 Read the full story: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.260539