Migration routes and new breeding areas of black-necked cranes

We equipped five Black-necked Cranes (Grus nigricollis) with satellite transmitters between February and November 2009 to investigate their migration routes between breeding areas and wintering area at Napahai Marsh (3,260 m asl), China. We identified the Shaluli Mountain region (southwest Sichuan), including Daocheng, Litang, Baiyu, and Xinlong counties as a new breeding area with a mean elevation of 4,330 m asl. Four of five tracked cranes spent the summer in Daocheng County. The fifth crane was there briefly and then moved north to Baiyu and Xinlong counties. The distance between Napahai Marsh and Daocheng County (similar to 180 km) is one of the shortest migration routes among crane species, but covered an elevation increase of similar to 1,200 m. The migration route of the fifth crane was similar to 400 km in length and occurred over 2 or 5 days in spring 2009 and 2010, respectively, and 19 days in fall 2009 with five stopovers. Received November 2011. Accepted 15 June 2012.