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Science 13 February 2009:
Vol. 323. no. 5916, p. 896
DOI: 10.1126/science.1166664
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Brevia

Tracking Long-Distance Songbird Migration by Using Geolocators

Bridget J. M. Stutchbury,1* Scott A. Tarof,1 Tyler Done,1 Elizabeth Gow,1 Patrick M. Kramer,1 John Tautin,2 James W. Fox,3 Vsevolod Afanasyev3

We mapped migration routes of migratory songbirds to the Neotropics by using light-level geolocators mounted on breeding purple martins (Progne subis) and wood thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina). Wood thrushes from the same breeding population occupied winter territories within a narrow east-west band in Central America, suggesting high connectivity of breeding and wintering populations. Pace of spring migration was rapid (233 to 577 kilometers/day) except for one individual (159 kilometers/day) who took an overland route instead of crossing the Gulf of Mexico. Identifying songbird wintering areas and migration routes is critical for predicting demographic consequences of habitat loss and climate change in tropical regions.

1 Department of Biology, York University, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada.
2 Purple Martin Conservation Association, Tom Ridge Environmental Center, 301 Peninsula Drive, Erie, PA 16505, USA.
3 British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: bstutch{at}yorku.ca

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Effects of Geolocators in Studies of Avian Movement Ecology
William A. Montevecchi, et al.
Science Online, 23 Apr 2009 [Full text]

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