| We deployed respectively satellite transmitters (platform transmitter terminal) on four captured Black-necked Cranes (Grus nigricollis) to study their migration routes and stopover sites at Dashanbao National Nature Reserve in Yunnan Province on 26 February and 1 March, 2005. 2 individuals were successfully tracked, migrating a similar route to summer destination, Ruoergai Marsh, in northwest of Sichuan Province during their spring migration. One of the two PTT (platform transmitter terminal) stopped signaling in August, 2005, and the other kept signaling until after spring migration of 2006. The results show that the crane stays almost in the same breeding ground and wintering ground, migrates along the same route except that some stopover sites are different. Through the four routes of migration of the two cranes tracked by satellite, the cranes flew the distance of 666-713km totally, and stopped at 3 to 4 sites for every migration, and 3 to 4 days were needed for spring migration and about 8 days for fall migration. Based on the satellite data, we found 13 stopover sites of the four tracked Black-necked Cranes, they are all in 10 county's territories of Sichuan Province, and 11 of them were at riverside, the other two at alpine lakes. This migration study shows that the Black-necked Cranes wintering at Dashanbao Nature Reserve in Yunnan migrate to the breeding grounds in Qingzang Plateau via the Hengduan Mountains in western Sichuan Province. These stopover sites are usually located at altitude over 1.9km, at wetlands such as lakes, rivers, or swamps in mountains, they seems close to farmlands, but absolutely far away residential areas. 10 nature reserves had ever been established in the 10 counties within the migration routes of Black-necked Crane, but only two of the 13 stopover sites are in the nature reserves. It shows that conservation actions are quite necessary to protect the stopover sites along the migration routes.
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