Wintering area and migration routes for Ortolan Buntings Emberiza hortulana from Sweden determined with light-geologgers

The decrease of Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana in Western Europe over the last five decades has caused se- rious concern for the survival of this species in Sweden. In order to find out the migration routes and wintering lo- cation, we equipped several males with geologgers. Our data show annual cycles of migrations routes, wintering grounds and time schedules for seven re-trapped birds. The wintering area in West Africa is savannah woodland in a mountainous landscape in Mali and Guinea. The migration routes follow more or less the great circle be- tween the breeding and wintering areas. Most birds were
likely to have passed the well-known Ortolan catching area in les Landes south of Bordeaux in France during autumn migration.