SEYCHELLES BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE
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The latest bird sightings
from Seychelles

White-faced Whistling Ducks at Alphonse (Photo: Ari Fernández)

Northern Wheatears on Mahe and Desroches

29/1/2022

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Picture
Northern Wheatear at Anse Boileau, Mahe (photo: Terence Vel)
Seychelles Bird Records Committee has received two reports of Northern Wheatear. A male and a female were reported together at Desroches by Elena Levorato and William McNeely on 24 January. Then a few days later on 29 January, an "unidentified bird" was reported by Allen Boniface to Terence Vel, present at Anse Boileau, Mahe; this turned out to be another Northern Wheatear.

Wheatears arrive in Seychelles later than most migrants with about 60% of reports in January-February. They breed in the northern hemisphere from eastern North America then across the whole of Eurasia to Alaska. The entire world population winters in Africa.  To reach Africa, birds in eastern North America travel via Europe while those breeding in Alaska and Asia go the opposite way around the globe and cross the whole of Asia. Birds in Seychelles are most likely eastern birds from as far away as Alaska.   

Miniature tracking devices have recently shown that the Northern Wheatear has one of the longest migratory flights known - 30,000 km, birds crossing Siberia and the Arabian Desert and travelling, on average, 290 kilometers per day. This is the longest recorded migration for any songbird.
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    Author

    Adrian Skerrett

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  • Home
  • About us
    • History
    • REPORT SIGHTINGS
    • How SBRC operates
    • Policy on commoner species
    • Contact us
  • BIRDS OF SEYCHELLES
    • THE SEYCHELLES LIST
    • Vagrants
    • Out-of-range species
    • Annual migrants
    • Breeding species
  • RECORDS
    • Accepted Records
    • Ringing records
    • Unproven records
  • LATEST NEWS
  • Publications
    • 5 Year Reports
    • First country records
    • Books
    • Other bird news
  • PLAN YOUR TRIP
    • Where to watch
    • Birding Seychelles Tours
  • Links