Christos Barboutis

Hellenic Onrithological Society / BirdLife Greece · Antikythira Bird Observatory

Migratory routes, important stopover sites and wintering grounds for the Turtle Dove, a declining trans-Saharan migratory bird, are known mainly for populations in western and central Europe, but very little is known about birds using the eastern migration flyway. By combining long-term ringing data, tracking data and citizen science data, a compre...

Migration is one of the most energy-demanding tasks in avian life cycle. Many birds might not have sufficient fuel stores to cover long-distances, so they must stop to rest and refuel at stopover sites, especially after the crossing of large ecological barriers. There, birds undergo several behavioral, morphological and physiological trait adjustme...

Simple Summary The European turtle dove (Streptopelia turtur) is a migratory species that overwinters in sub-Saharan Africa, migrating to Europe each spring to breed. Over the past four decades, turtle dove populations have declined by as much as 79%, making the species vulnerable to extinction. A major threat to the species is illegal killing (poa...

The migratory behavior of wild birds contributes to the geographical spread of ticks and their microorganisms. In this study, we aimed to investigate the dispersal and co-occurrence of Francisella and spotted fever group Rickettsia (SFGR) in ticks infesting birds migrating northward in the African-Western Palaearctic region (AWPR). Birds were trapp...

Hundreds of millions of birds reach the Mediterranean islands or Mediterranean coast of Europe every spring after having crossed the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea. Using data from three small insular stopover sites, we calculated body mass without fuel for 18 trans-Saharan passerine migrants. We subsequently used arrival fuel loads couple...

Introduction: The ecology of the vertebrate host contributes to the geographical range expansion of ticks. In this study, we investigated which tick taxa that infest and are dispersed by birds along African-Western Palaearctic flyways during northward migration, and whether bird ecology was associated with tick taxa. Materials and methods: Ticks...

Background Populations of long-distance migratory birds experience different environments and are consequently exposed to different parasites throughout their annual cycles. Though, specific whereabouts and accompanied host-parasite interactions remain unknown for most migratory passerines. Collared sand martins (Riparia riparia) breeding in the we...

Diseases can play a role in species decline. Among them, haemosporidian parasites, vector-transmitted protozoan parasites, are known to constitute a risk for different avian species. However, the magnitude of haemosporidian infection in wild columbiform birds, including strongly decreasing European turtle doves, is largely unknown. We examined the...

Eleonora’s Falcon Falco eleonorae is a migratory raptor, well-known for its delayed breeding period. Owing to its great mobility, current information on its distribution pattern during the pre-breeding period is rather sporadic, mainly based on field observations and only one telemetry study. Likewise, the species’ ranging activity during the breed...

The regular fluctuation of resources across the Globe guides movements of migratory animals. To ensure sufficient reproductive output and maintain viable population sizes, migratory animals should match arrival at breeding areas with local peaks in resource availability. It is generally assumed that breeding phenology dictates the timing of the ann...

Anaplasma phagocytophilum (AP) has vast geographical and host ranges and causes disease in humans and domesticated animals. We investigated the role of northward migratory birds in the dispersal of tick-borne AP in the African-Western Palearctic. Ticks were collected from northward migratory birds trapped during spring migration of 2010 at two loca...

Citizen science data have already been used to effectively address questions regarding migration, a fundamental stage in the life history of birds. In this study we use data from eBird and from three additional regional citizen-science databases to describe the migration routes and timing of the red-footed falcon Falco vespertinus in the Mediterran...

In the present study we investigated seasonal and intrinsic variability of neurotoxic and cyto-genotoxic biomarkers in blood plasma and erythrocytes of free-living Eleonoras' falcons, captured during the pre-breeding (May of 2017 and 2018) and breeding period (September of 2017) on the Antikythira Island (Greece). Specifically, blood samples of cap...

In the present study we investigated the diet of the Eleonora’s falcon in Greece during the entire breeding season and assessed the regional dietary pattern of 16 colonies which hosted ca. 1500 individuals. Overall 224 nests were visited from late May to mid October during 2004-2006 and a total of 8067 prey items were collected which contained two...

Seasonal movements are considered a very important part of the annual cycle of migratory birds. Each spring, Turtle Doves (Streptopelia turtur) cross the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea towards their European breeding grounds, incurring a large energy consumption. Land areas for refueling and resting are crucial for the survival of birds ma...

A major aim of evolutionary biology is to understand why patterns of genomic variation vary among populations and species. Large-scale genomic studies of widespread species are useful for studying how the environment and demographic history shape patterns of genomic divergence, and with the continually decreasing cost of sequencing, such studies ar...

Alkhurma hemorrhagic fever virus RNA was detected in immature Hyalomma rufipes ticks infesting northward migratory birds caught in the North Mediterranean Basin. This finding suggests a role for birds in the ecology of the Alkhurma hemorrhagic fever virus and a potential mechanism for dissemination to novel regions. Increased surveillance is warran...

Migratory birds wintering in Africa face the challenge of passing the Sahara desert with few opportunities to forage. During spring migration birds thus arrive in the Mediterranean area with very low energy reserves after crossing the desert. Since early arrival to the breeding grounds often is of importance to maximize reproductive success, findin...

We examined ringing recovery data of the Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni in order to analyse its migration patterns and philopatry rates in Eastern Europe. In addition, we extracted counts of migrating birds from online databases andstudied the use of the flyway as well as the phenology of both spring and autumn migrations through Greece. Birds appea...

A vast number of raptors migrates between the Western Palearctic and Africa every autumn. Species and/or populations of migratory raptors that choose to cross the Mediterra-nean Sea need to overcome an extended ecological barrier, which is particularly extensive in the area of east–central and east Mediterranean. We tested the selectivity of two ra...

Billions of long-distance migratory birds cross thousands of kilometres twice a year to reach their destinations. Most of the avian migration time is spent at stop-over habitats where birds refuel by foraging, rest or avoid adverse weather conditions. During their stop-over, migrants have to make decisions in order to minimize their energy and time...

Every spring a huge number of passerines cross the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea on their way to their breeding grounds. Stopover sites after such extended barriers where birds can rest, refuel, and find shelter from adverse weather, are of crucial importance for the outcome of their migration. Stopover habitat selection used by migrating...

In spring, long-distance migrants are considered to adopt a time-minimizing strategy to promote early arrival at breeding sites. The phenology of spring migration was examined and compared between two insular stopover sites in Greece and Sweden for Icterine Warbler, Wood Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher and Collared Flycatcher. All of them migrate due...

Background A few billion birds migrate annually between their breeding grounds in Europe and their wintering grounds in Africa. Many bird species are tick-infested, and as a result of their innate migratory behavior, they contribute significantly to the geographic distribution of pathogens, including spotted fever rickettsiae. The aim of the presen...

Garden Warblers Sylvia borin were studied during autumn stopover in Crete before crossing the barrier of the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert. Birds followed with transmitters show extensive stopover periods, which were longer in first-year birds, 16 days, compared with adult birds, 14 days. The distribution of body masses from birds trapped...

Garden Warblers Sylvia borin were studied during autumn stopover in Crete before crossing the barrier of the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara desert. Birds followed with transmitters show extensive stopover periods, which were longer in first-year birds, 16 days, compared with adult birds, 14 days. The distribution of body masses from birds trapped...

Garden Warblers Sylvia borin were studied during autumn stopover in Crete before crossing the barrier of the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara desert. Birds followed with transmitters show extensive stopover periods, which were longer in first-year birds, 16 days, compared with adult birds, 14 days. The distribution of body masses from birds trapped...

Mosquitoes are the primary vectors of West Nile virus (WNV). Ticks have, however, been suggested to be potential reservoirs of WNV. In order to investigate their role in the spread of the virus, ticks, which had been collected from birds migrating northwards from Africa to Europe, were analyzed for the potential presence of WNV-RNA. On the Mediterr...

In this study, we examined the spring migration phenology and arrival body mass and fat score of two long-distance migrants, the Eastern Bonelli's Warbler Phylloscopus orientalis and the Semi-collared Flycatcher Ficedula semitorquata at a small Greek island. Our data indicate a regular and early spring passage of both species through the area, with...

Abstract A leech was found parasitizing the ocular orbit of a common redstart captured during a faunistic survey of Antikythira in the Aegean Sea during the spring migration of 2012. Morphological and molecular characterizations placed the leech in the mucous-membrane specific leech family Praobdellidae and definitively as the species Parapraobdell...

Greece is located at the southernmost end of the Balkan Peninsula and the shortest distance between Greece and north Africa is roughly 280 km. As raptors mostly fly over land exploiting thermal currents, the ecological barrier shaped by the Mediterranean Sea south of Greece, has a strong impact on the migration strategy adopted by each species. Usi...

TO THE EDITOR: In a recently published study, Estrada-Peña et al. reported the finding of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) in adult Hyalomma lusitanicum ticks from red deer (Cervus elaphus) in Spain during 2010 (1). Phylogenetic analysis showed that the virus was most likely of African origin. Here, we present a model for the transfer...

Map showing emergence and reemergence of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever in Africa since 2005.

Greece is located at the southernmost end of the Balkan Peninsula and it is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. The narrowest distance between Greece and Northern Africa is approximately 280 km between the island of Crete and Libya. This water-crossing prevents many species of raptors from choosing this direct flyway to reach Africa during migrati...

We investigated the biogeography of 102 breeding land bird species reported on 77 islands in the Aegean archipelago. For the first time, we prepared a complete as possible dataset concerning the land birds of the Aegean islands. The overall insular avifauna has been treated as a unit to find out certain ecological patterns. We examined the faunal sim...

Eleonora’s Falcon breeds colonially on small islands of the Mediterranean Sea and Macaronesia. Despite the wealth of papers highlighting the importance of nesting characteristics on this species’ breeding performance, few have addressed the issue of nest-site selection explicitly. In this paper, we develop presence–absence and presencepseudoabsence...

The Sahara desert acts as an ecological barrier for billions of passerine birds on their way to and from their African wintering areas. The Garden Warbler Sylvia borin is one of the most common migrants involved. We used body mass of this species from Greece in autumn and spring to simulate the desert crossing and to assess how body mass relates to...

We gathered data for a four-year period (2004–2007) on the nesting ecology and reproductive performance of Eleonora’s falcon in the Aegean Sea. We investigated in an indirect way the relation between clutch size and pre-laying food availability, the significance of site and pair quality on productivity, and the effects of habitat and intraspecific com...

During long-distance flights, birds catabolize not only fat but also protein, which results in structural or functional loss as protein is stored in organs. In this study we investigated breast muscle size in relation to body mass in garden warblers Sylvia borin before and after crossing the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean Sea in autumn and spr...

Nectar exploitation by songbirds at Mediterranean stopover sites. The nectar use by songbirds in Europe is reported by many authors but several of them refer to local or occasional events on both introduced and native plants. A study carried out on Ventotene Island (Italy) shows that nectar could be an important food resource for migrants which lan...

Published data on bird migration over the eastern Mediterranean are rare, and this is especially evident for spring migration. In this study we compare data on body mass and wing length in six passerine species (Garden warbler Sylvia borin, Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus, Icterine Warbler Hippolais icterina, Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix and...

Large numbers of passerine migrants cross the Sahara desert every year on their way to-and-from wintering areas in tropical Africa. In the desert, hardly any fuelling opportunities exist and most migrants have to prepare in advance. A central question is how inexperienced birds know where to fuel. Inexperienced garden warblers Sylvia borin were stu...

With more than 80% of the species global population breeding in Greece, Eleonora’s Falcon (Falco eleonorae) is reported to be the most important bird species in the country. A national population survey was conducted during the breeding seasons 2004–2006 in order to assess the species’ breeding distribution and population size. This census was the...

With more than 80% of the species global population breeding in Greece, Eleonora’s Falcon (Falco eleonorae) is reported to be the most important bird species in the country. A national population survey was conducted during the breeding seasons 2004–2006 in order to assess the species' breeding distribution and population size. This census was the...

Aflatoxins, a group of related secondary metabolites of Aspergillus fungi, are commonly found on grains and seeds. Numerous outbreaks of acute aflatoxicosis have been documented worldwide and several epidemiological studies have shown a highly significant, positive correlation between human hepatic carcinoma and dietary aflatoxin contamination. Hai...

Long distance migrating birds face two big ecological barriers, the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean sea during their biannual journey to and from their breeding and wintering sites. Gavdos, a small island south of Crete, is the first land the migrating birds reach after the African coast during the spring migrating period. Stopover ecology of t...