A summer odyssey: Female dotterels seek multiple mates across Northern Europe
Phys.org ·
On a high Norwegian plateau in late May, patches of bare ground begin to appear through the snow, and with them arrive some of Europe's most approachable birds. Eurasian dotterels breed on exposed mountain ridges and Arctic tundra from Scotland, through Scandinavia, to Siberia, and are famously tolerant of people—a trait that has long made them easy prey for hunters. They are unusual in another sense, too.
On a high Norwegian plateau in late May, patches of bare ground begin to appear through the snow, and with them arrive some of Europe's most approachable birds. Eurasian dotterels breed on exposed mountain ridges and Arctic tundra from Scotland, through Scandinavia, to Siberia, and are famously tolerant of people—a trait that has long made them easy prey for hunters. They are unusual in another sense, too.