A remarkable case of an adult male Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus killed in fire at its non-breeding site in Africa

Abstract

We report on the remarkable case of an adult male Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus (family Accipitridae), tracked using a GPS-GSM logger, that was killed in a rice stubble fire at its non-breeding site in Mali, West Africa. The inferred time of death, as derived from the accelerometer data, coincided precisely with exceptionally high internal logger temperatures (reaching 86 °C). The charred carcass was recovered in the field. Our observation indicates that fire can pose a lethal threat to migratory birds, including large and volant species such as the Western Marsh Harrier.