First insights into migration routes and nonbreeding sites used by Red-rumped Swallows (Cecropis daurica rufula) breeding in the Iberian Peninsula

Using EURING data and geolocation, we describe migration routes and the nonbreeding range of Red-rumped Swallows breeding in the Western Palearctic. One bird ringed in southern Spain and recovered in southern Morocco indicates southwestern migration; geolocator data from five birds from central and eastern Iberian Peninsula confirm migration to various nonbreeding sites in sub-Saharan west Africa between Senegal/Mauritania and Ghana. Two swallows showed non-breeding site itinerancy by using more than one nonbreeding site per season. Despite wide ranges in departure for autumn (August– October) and spring migration (February–March), all birds arrived at nonbreeding and breeding sites within ± 1-week from each other.

Keywords: Hirundinidae, Geolocation, Long-distance migration, Nonbreeding sites, Western Palearctic