The migratory strategy of the Garden Warbler: A survey of field and laboratory data

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Abstract
Garden Warblers appear to be equipped with a migratory strategy which matches the problems arising from migration very well. They are equipped with innate endogenous programmes which determine the seasonal events for migration (for reviews see Berthold 1984, Gwinner 1986). They exhibit strong habitat preferences in resting areas which are likely to be endogenously controlled and which allow the specimens to be well accommodated in the various migratory stopoverareas (Bairlein 1981). They possess physiological and behavioural adaptations in their nutrition which guarantee optimal fattening up prior to migratory flights. Garden Warblers apparently avoid the risk of dehydration during long nonstop flights across the Sahara by crossing the desert in stages with regular stopovers at suitable sites rather than in one long hop.