The Melodious Warbler (Hippolais polyglotta) at a constant-effort site in northwestern Italy: phenology, biometry, productivity and survival rate

Capture-mark-recapture data for the Melodious Warbler (Hippolais polyglotta) were collected at a ringing station in northwestern Italy (Villalvernia, AL). A sample of 697 individuals (456 adults and 241 juveniles) was ringed and then partially recaptured in the following years, providing 868 capture events from 2007 to 2019. We analyzed phenology, capture trend, sex and age ratios, biometry, productivity, and survival rate. Survival and recapture probabilities were estimated with the program MARK and compared to other data on warblers' survival. The recapture probabilities were relatively high (0.22, se=0.05) up to 2014, then dropped to a lower level due to changes in the ringing protocol. The survival rate was estimated to be the same between the sexes and constant in the study period (0.52, se=0.06). Contrary to what was expected for a migratory bird wintering in W-Africa, the survival rate was apparently not influenced by rainfall fluctuations in the Sahel region and was similar to the values obtained by other research from the northern (Burgundy, France) and eastern (northeastern Italy) boundaries of the species' breeding range and in different habitats and years.