First tracking of individual American Robins (Turdus migratorius) across seasons

The American Robin (Turdus migratorius) is one of the most widespread, common bird species in North America; yet, very little is known about its migratory connectivity, migration timing, and migratory routes. Using archival GPS tags, we tracked the movements of 7 individual robins from 3 breeding po...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Wilson journal of ornithology Vol. 131; no. 2; pp. 356 - 359
Main Authors Jahn, Alex E., Lerman, Susannah B., Phillips, Laura M., Ryder, Thomas B., Williams, Emily J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Fort Collins Wilson Ornithological Society 01.06.2019
Subjects
Alaska
Animal behavior
annual cycle
Annual variations
Bird migration
Birds
Breeding
ciclo anual
Climate change
Connectivity
Environmental changes
Habitats
Heterogeneity
Males
Massachusetts
migración
migration
Migratory species
National parks
Ornithology
Populations
Regional variations
SHORT COMMUNICATIONS
Tracking
Turdus migratorius
Washington D.C
Canada
Washington DC
Montana
United States > US
Texas
Massachusetts
Oklahoma
Alaska
Mexico
North America
Nebraska
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Summary:The American Robin (Turdus migratorius) is one of the most widespread, common bird species in North America; yet, very little is known about its migratory connectivity, migration timing, and migratory routes. Using archival GPS tags, we tracked the movements of 7 individual robins from 3 breeding populations in the United States. Four robins captured in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, overwintered in Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Montana, up to 4,500 km from the capture location. One robin captured in Amherst, Massachusetts, overwintered in South Carolina 1,210 km from the capture location, whereas 2 robins captured in Washington, D.C., spent the entire year within 6 km of their original capture location. Understanding the annual cycle and differences in migration strategies for a species that exhibits large regional variation in movement has the potential to provide novel insights into how conspecific populations respond to current and future heterogeneity in climate and habitat. The regionspecific patterns presented here suggest robins could serve as sentinels of environmental change at a continental scale.
ISSN:1559-4491
1938-5447
DOI:10.1676/18-124