First arrival dates (FAD) of 45 migratory bird species recorded in Moravia (Czech Republic) in 109 spring seasons between 1881 and 2007 were correlated with winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index. The arrival occurred significantly earlier following high NAO winter index values in all short-distance migratory species (with a European or North African winter range) whereas in long-distance migrants (with sub-Saharan winter range). When the values of Pearson coefficient between NAO and FAD were correlated with the migration distance of all 45 bird spp., the correlation indicated that the distance was responsible for 68-72% of variation in the regression of birds' arrival on winter NAO index in central Europe.