Common cuckoos undertake remarkable migrations to Central Africa tracked by satellite, revealing the welfare challenges along these extraordinary routes.
Individual cuckoo welfare during migration involves extraordinary physiological demands. The Sahara crossing requires fat reserves accumulated before departure sufficient for non-stop flight over thousands of kilometres of unsuitable habitat. Insufficient pre-migratory fattening or adverse weather can cause mortality over the desert. Wintering site quality in Central Africa affects body condition affecting survival probability for the return journey. Conservation of both British breeding habitat and African wintering habitat addresses welfare at different points of the annual cycle for individual cuckoos.