Eastern Mediterranean Bird Migration 
Although hird migration between Eurasia and Africa has been studied 
for many years, data are few and inprecise for the eastern Mediterranean 
and Near Eastern sector. Not only have few ornithologists made long-term 
studies east of Italy and Tunisia, but no major long-term bird banding 
was done in any country prior to the PMS. Even so, Moreau’s (1961) efforts 
at synthese.s of the widely scattered infoimiation on trans-Mediterranean 
and trans-Sahara migration has added, immensely to understanding both of 
the total picture of migration and on the routes taken by and dates of 
passage of individual species. Moreau’s major thesis is that most birds 
are capable of flying across the Mediterranean and the entire Sahara 
desert without ’’refueling”. The birds that are seen on intermediate 
stops such as at islands , oases and on the Mediterranean coast may have 
been forced down by exhaustion or by unfavorable weather rather than to 
seek food. His conclusion is that the vast majority of Eurasian birds 
migrate on a broad front rather than following favored routes such as the 
Nile Valley. The storks and birds of prey are conspicuous exceptions. 
The literature on eastern Mediterranean migration is summarized in 
Moreau (1961) and will again be reviewed in a posthumus book, in press, 
by the same author. Migration reports, many anecdotal by persons 
stationed for short periods in Egypt, have been published in the Bulletin 
of the Zoological Society of Egypt and in the Ibis. Moreau and Dolp (l9T0) 
have analyzed fat reserves of migrants in order to evaluate the energy 
needs of migrating birds. 
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