Our study provides empirical and experimental evidence that aerobic performance is not adversely affected in malaria-infected birds with low parasitaemia. Furthermore, chronically infected birds did not differ from their uninfected counterparts in phenotypic attributes associated with preparations for migration, such as accumulation of lipid stores, increased body mass and higher total haemoglobin concentration in blood . Consequently, birds with low parasitaemia, which typifies birds with chronic infections, appear to have the same migratory capacity as uninfected birds.