Seasonal movements of Black Coucals Centropus grillii in Nigeria

Abstract

The scale of movement associated with the migration of many intra-African bird species is still poorly known even with the increasing availability of tracking devices. In this study, we tracked the movements of Black Coucals Centropus grillii breeding in Nigeria from late July using satellite telemetry. Individuals remained on the breeding site for several months; two individuals transmitted after October and these two moved shorter distances (< 100 km) away from the breeding site in early December. One of these was tracked for a full year, moving to a site 175 km south of the breeding site in early January and returning to the breeding site in late May. The bird migrated faster during the return journey (58 km day⁻¹) as compared to the post-breeding journey (5.9 km day⁻¹). The overall home range (90% kernel density) during breeding was 20.4 ± 3.3 km² (mean ± s.d.) and the core (50%) 5.0 ± 1.6 km² with no apparent clear change outside of the breeding season. Vegetation conditions at the distant site were apparently poorer although in an average year the move would have led to improved conditions. Short-distance seasonal migration of Black Coucals might be widespread in drier seasonal habitats.