Species fact sheet by Global Register of Migratory Species - www.groms.de

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present all year in warm and temperate regions, although not necessarily resident, but mainly migratory in Eurasia under influence of continental climate. In W Palearctic, N populations winter from North Sea, Black and Caspian seas, Iraq and Arabia S to Senegal, Mali, N Nigeria, S Niger WC Chad, desert oases in Morocco and S Algeria, and N Sudan (along R Nile). Movement through continental Europe on broad front, W to S, and coastal movement via Baltic brings birds from as far E as Moscow into north sea areas; S movements occur Sept-Nov and return passage Mar-May. Crosses Saharan on broad front, reaching W African wintering areas November and departing Mar-Apr. Birds wintering Black and Caspian Seas S to Iraq are presumably from former USSR, movements noted Azerbaijan Sept-Dec and Feb-Apr. Moult migration occur; little studies but some involve non- breeding adults, while moulting concentration occur Jun-Sept in Denmark, Bavaria, Bodensee, Black Sea and probably much more widely. Further E in Asia, N Populations winter on Indian Subcontinent, with N passage observed in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Feb-May; also in SE Asia to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Philippines (recorded Nov-Mar); and E to S Japan and Ryukyu Is, stragglers reaching Northern Mariana Is. Dispersive in Australia, where large changes in abundance occur, possibly in response to weather conditions and changes in water levels, as birds move to flooded areas, breed and then depart; Such patterns may not be seasonal, but seasonal changes occur in some areas; in New Zealand, numbers may fluctuate seasonally. Probably often crosses Bass Strait and Tasman Sea; also crosses other oceans, and recorded occasionally on Norfolk I, Lord Howe I and Macquarie I. Birds seen irregularly in New Guinea lowlands may be vagrants from Australia. Accidental in Alaska, Labrador, Newfoundland, Greenland, Iceland, Spitsbergen and Faeroes.   (del Hoyo J, Elliott A, Sargatal J (eds), 1996)

• digitised by GROMS, after del Hoyo J A Elliott; J Sargatal (eds) (1996) - www.hbw.com,
• Copyright: GROMS/BfN - www.groms.de
  
  (A digitised version of this map is published in GIS shape format on the GROMS CD).