Abstract:Stopover sites are essential for successful migration, as migrating birds rely on these sites to refuel and rest. In order to get the stopover sites information of Common Cranes (Grus grus), we tracked 4 birds at Caohai National Nature Reserve using satellite tracking devices in winter of 2013 and 2015. Our results showed that 3 of them stayed in the Yellow River (37°53′﹣37°75′N, 105°74′﹣105°94′E) and Qingshui River (37°11′﹣37°35′N, 105°64′﹣105°82′E) wetlands in Zhongwei City, Ningxia, and this area would be important for the migration of Common Cranes (Fig. 1). During spring stopovers, the cranes arrived there around early February to early March and stayed for 24.5 ± 6.7 d on average (Range: 15﹣30 d, n = 4) and left around late February to late March. During autumn migration, cranes stayed there for 32.0 ± 4.2 d on average (Range: 29﹣35 d, n = 2) from late October or early November to the late November (Table 2). During their stopover, the cranes were mainly located in Changshantou Reservoir, eyots of Yellow River in Zhongning County, and areas along the Qingshui River in Tongxin County (Fig. 2﹣4). We observed 636 cranes at the night roosting site near Changshantou reservoir on 18 March in 2017 (Table 3). These stopover sites were still under no protection or management. We suggest local forestry department supply supplementary food (e.g., corn) during the migration period to reduce the mortality of cranes for feeding corn seeds coated with pesticide.