Migratory birds find their wintering spot in Africa thanks to an interplay between genes and environment

Migratory birds such as the pied flycatcher typically have wintering locations in Africa close to others from the same breeding population. A team of European researchers tracked the migration of pied flycatchers from eight different countries, but also performed a crucial intervention: what happens to the birds of Dutch eggs that are being raised by Swedish foster parents? The researchers conclude that genes as well as environment influence where in Africa a bird finds its wintering spot.

Raccontata daeconomictimes.indiatimes.comeurekalert.org