A database of migration records between countries established by African-Eurasian migratory landbirds and raptors

Tracking studies were reviewed to compile migration records of African-Eurasian migratory landbirds and raptors. A migration record corresponds to the connection established by an individual bird as it migrates between a breeding country in Europe and a nonbreeding country in sub-Saharan Africa. Each migration record includes: (i) species; (ii) breeding country (i.e., the country in Europe where the bird was tagged during the breeding season); and (iii) nonbreeding country (i.e., the country in sub-Saharan African where the bird stayed the longest). Data were extracted preferably from text and tables. When not explicitly reported, locations were estimated from the plotted maps (e.g., through density of positions). In cases where it was unclear which of several non-breeding countries should be considered as the most important, the southernmost country was selected. For birds tracked over multiple years, only the first complete migration reported were considered. Individuals whose non-breeding country was not possible to extract were excluded. Also excluded were records whose non-breeding geographical positions (i.e., longitude/latitude) reported in the studies were >1000 km outside of the known nonbreeding range of the species and in a country where the species is not known to occur. Details in Appendices S3 & S4.