Insights from tracking a 19-month non-stop flight of a subadult Common Swift

Abstract

We present 19 months of continuous monitored flight in a combined data set collected through a multi-sensor data logger attached to a single subadult Common Swift. Similarities in the migration routes, stopover locations visited and flight altitudes between subadult and adult flight patterns, in both migration and overall non-breeding moonlight-driven flight strategy, may be the result of a genetically fixed trait or a learned experience during the relatively long subadult stage of a longlived species. Deviations from moonlight-driven flight patterns during the breeding season highlight a potential response to anthropogenic skyglow. Our findings refine research avenues with respect to the behaviour of subadult Swifts in relation to migration strategies and the potential influence of skyglow on foraging.