Sharp Differences in the Timing of Male and Female Spring Arrival in the European Stonechat, Saxicola Rubicola, and the Whinchat, S. Rubetra (Passeriformes, Muscicapidae), in North-Eastern Ukraine
Journal: Vestnik Zoologii
Year: 2019

Abstract Protandry, or the arrival of males prior to females to the breeding grounds is a widespread phenomenon in migratory birds though rarely examined in related species in which its manifestation can vary. European Stonechat and Whinchat are such a pair studied with use of individual marking in North-Eastern Ukraine in 1993–2008. An apparent protandry was found in Whinchat but not in European Stonechat. The difference between the arrival dates of male and female Whinchats (6 days) was signif