Evidence of large-scale range shift in the distribution of a Palaearctic migrant in Africa

Aim: Long-distance Palaearctic migrant birds are declining at a faster rate than short-distance migrant or resident species. This is often attributed to changes on their non-breeding grounds and along their migratory routes. The European Honey-buzzard (Pernis apivorus) is a scarce migrant in southern Africa that is declining globally. This study assessed the distribution and abundance of honey-buzzards in southern Africa over the past four decades and compared it to trends in the East African population to examine possible drivers of population expansion in southern Africa. Location
Southern and East Africa Methods European Honey-buzzard reporting data were collected from a variety of sources including citizen science databases (1983-2017). In addition, records of all other southern African vagrants (including ten other regularly occurring species) were gathered to account for changes in birdwatching effort in the sub-region. To assess the effect of forest loss on honey-buzzard abundan...