Thursday, September 3, 2026
Science

A summer odyssey: Female dotterels seek multiple mates across Northern Europe

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 tole...

A summer odyssey: Female dotterels seek multiple mates across Northern Europe
Image: 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.

Originally published at Phys.org

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