Autumn migration tracks of Helopsaltes grasshopper-warblers from Northeast Asia support recent taxonomic assignments
Issued Date
2023-03-01
Resource Type
eISSN
20457758
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85152659521
Journal Title
Ecology and Evolution
Volume
13
Issue
3
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Ecology and Evolution Vol.13 No.3 (2023)
Suggested Citation
Sleptsov Y., Ktitorov P., Round P.D., Heim W. Autumn migration tracks of Helopsaltes grasshopper-warblers from Northeast Asia support recent taxonomic assignments. Ecology and Evolution Vol.13 No.3 (2023). doi:10.1002/ece3.9932 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/81862
Title
Autumn migration tracks of Helopsaltes grasshopper-warblers from Northeast Asia support recent taxonomic assignments
Author(s)
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
Migration strategies are genetically inherited in most songbirds, and closely related species can exhibit markedly contrasting migration programs. Here, we investigate the autumn migration of one Helopsaltes grasshopper-warbler from a population near Magadan, North East Russia, based on light-level geolocation. Although often considered to belong to Middendorff's Grasshopper-warbler H. ochotensis, recent genetic studies suggest that birds from this population are more closely related to Pallas's Grasshopper-warbler H. certhiola. We compare the migratory behavior of the Magadan bird with two Pallas's Grasshopper-warblers tracked from populations in the Kolyma River valley and the Amur region, Russia. We found similar migration patterns in all three tracked individuals, with stopover sites in eastern China and wintering sites in mainland Southeast Asia, within the known range for Pallas's Grasshopper-warbler. Furthermore, based on morphological data compiled during bird ringing, we were able to confirm the presence of potential “Magadan grasshopper-warblers” during spring and autumn migration in Thailand. Our scant data provide further evidence that Magadan Helopsaltes, notwithstanding their morphological resemblance to Middendorff's Grasshopper-warbler, constitute a population of Pallas's Grasshopper-warbler.