Raw data birds ringed at Sfântu Gheorghe (RO) during the autumns of 2007 and 2008. Data used in Droz, B.; Joye, S.; de Titta, A.; Schneider, F.; Antoniazza, S., Phenology of Passerine Bird Migration in the Danube Delta, Romania. The Ring 2016, 38, 25-43. https://doi.org/10.1515/ring-2016-0002. Paper abstract: The Palearctic-African bird migration system has fascinated ornithologists for decades and is one of the most well-known. However, there is strong spatial variation in the level of knowledge, and the South-Eastern European Flyway (which passes through the Balkan Peninsula) has been studied far less than the Western European Flyway (which passes through the Iberian Peninsula and Italy). In this study, we describe the phenology of 16 common woodland species, with a detailed analysis of the pre-migration period as well as an age-specific analysis of the timing of migration. As a general trend for species wintering in sub-Saharan Africa, adult birds migrated before first-year birds, in contrast with short-distance Mediterranean wintering species, in which we observed no difference. We also provide information comparing the timing of the migration of birds with characters of subspecies of Willow Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus and Chiffchaff Phyloscopus collybita, which have not previously been reported.

Funding: Fondation Dr. Joachim de Giacomi of the Swiss Academy of Science, Nos Oiseaux, The Swiss Association for the Protection of Birds SVS/BirdLife Switzerland, Société vaudoise des Sciences naturelles (SVSN), Cercle ornithologique de Fribourg (COF), Centre d’Etude et de Protection des Oiseaux, Bienne et environs (CEPOBE), Der Europäische Tierschutzstiftung, Naturfeunde Schweiz, le Cercle Ornithologique d’Yverdon (COSNY), Rocha International, the foundation of Les Grangettes and BNF – Swiss qualification program, no. 1332.1