Sex differences in the migration, moult and wintering areas of british-ringed ruff

Abstract

Male Ruff Philomachus pugnax are considerably larger than females. Of the 351 birds caught by the Wash Wader Ringing Group, 68% of the adults were males while only 34% of the juveniles were males. Analysis of ringing recoveries of British ringed birds showed that females tended to migrate to Africa while males tended to winter in Europe. The moult patterns of male and female adult Ruff on the Wash differ significantly with males starting moult earlier and having more feathers in moult at one time. The possibility that this is related to migration patterns is discussed. © 1995 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.