ArticleiScience2026
Ecological barrier crossing strategies in small migratory birds depend on wing morphology and plumage color.
Article in iScience, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Wind conditions shape co-migration fidelity in trans-Saharan birds at a Mediterranean stopover site.Royal Society open science · 2026Article
- Low cost of shifting flight altitude in migrating great snipes.The Journal of experimental biology · 2026Article
- Ecological barrier crossing strategies in longitudinal migrants: a case study of Mongolian gulls (Larus mongolicus) distributed in East Asia.Movement ecology · 2026Article
- Ecological barrier crossing strategies in small migratory birds depend on wing morphology and plumage color.iScience · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
17 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Recent tracking technologies have revealed remarkable diel flight altitude changes over the Sahara Desert in small migratory birds. However, the drivers and traits behind these strategies remain poorly understood, partly because few species and barriers have been studied. Using a dataset from 67 recovered multi-sensor loggers across 17 species, we examined how small landbirds cross two major marine barriers (the Bay of Biscay, the Mediterranean Sea) and the Sahara. We then used a comparative approach to test the influence of wing morphology, wing structure, and plumage color on flight altitude. Birds showed important differences across barriers: over the desert, they averaged 1,600 m at night and 2,800 m during prolonged daytime flights, while marine crossings occurred lower (750 m), sometimes just above water. Flight altitude increased with wing area, and species with shorter wing bones and darker plumage flew higher over the Sahara, likely to enhance heat dissipation and reduce solar heating. These findings refine hypotheses on barrier-crossing strategies and suggest broader ecological and evolutionary implications.
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