Editor's Choice, Auk volume 130 issue 2

Technological advances often spawn new discoveries, and this is certainly true of avian migration. The lives of migratory birds are mysterious and complex, yet endlessly fascinating, and in the past 400 years we have come from believing that migrants hibernated or disappeared in the mud at the bottom of lakes in winter to the point of using satellites to pinpoint, in real time, exact locations of migrants 1000s of kilometers from us. Such possibilities exist only for large birds able to carry the necessary equipment. Small birds (

In this issue of The Auk we bring together studies of migration in nine species of birds, including a first ever study of austral migration using geolocators in a South American species. The topics of study are diverse, ranging from descriptions of rate and direction of movement, unexpected lengthy use of stopover sites, to analysis of the integration of timing and location of molt with migration, and even the use of geolocators to validate migration data collected using other methods. It is our hope that this compendium stimulates further study of migration by tweaking the imaginations of current and future researchers.

Eyes Upon The World: Archival Light-level Geolocators

Long-distance Bird Migration within South America Revealed by Light-level Geolocators

Alex E. Jahn, Douglas J. Levey, Víctor R. Cueto, Jesús P. Ledezma, Diego T. Tuero, James W. Fox, and Diego Masson

Integrating Information from Geolocators, Weather Radar, and Citizen Science to Uncover a Key Stopover Area of an Aerial Insectivore

Andrew J. Laughlin, Caz M. Taylor, David W. Bradley, Dayna LeClair, Robert G. Clark, Russell D. Dawson, Peter O. Dunn, Andrew Horn, Marty Leonard, Daniel R. Sheldon, Dave Shutler, Linda A. Whittingham, David W. Winkler, and D. Ryan Norris

Prolonged Spring Migration in the Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)

Paul A. Callo, Eugene S. Morton, and Bridget J. M. Stutchbury

Migration Timing and Wintering Areas of Three Species of Flycatchers (Tyrannus) Breeding in the Great Plains of North America

Alex E. Jahn, Víctor R. Cueto, James W. Fox, Michael S. Husak, Daniel H. Kim, Diane V. Landoll, Jesús P. Ledezma, Heather K. LePage, Douglas J. Levey, Michael T. Murphy, and Rosalind B. Renfrew

Migration of the Common Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus): A Eurasian Songbird Wintering in Highly Seasonal Conditions in the West African Sahel

Mikkel Willemoes Kristensen, Anders P. Tøttrup, and Kasper Thorup

Using Geologgers to Investigate Bimodal Isotope Patterns in Painted Buntings (Passerina ciris)

Andrea Contina, Eli S. Bridge, Nathaniel E. Seavy, Jonah M. Duckles, and Jeffrey F. Kelly

Do Archival Light-level Geolocators and Stable Hydrogen Isotopes Provide Comparable Estimates of Breeding-ground Origin?

Michael T. Hallworth, Colin E. Studds, T. Scott Sillett, and Peter P. Marra

Light-level Geolocators Reveal Strong Migratory Connectivity and Within-winter Movements for a Coastal California Swainson’s Thrush (Catharus Ustulatus) Population

Renée L. Cormier, Diana L. Humple, Thomas Gardali, and Nathaniel E. Seavy

Consistent Range-wide Pattern in Fall Migration Strategy of Purple Martin (Progne subis), Despite Different Migration Routes at the Gulf of Mexico

Kevin C. Fraser, Bridget J. M. Stutchbury, Patrick Kramer, Cassandra Silverio, John Barrow, David Newstead, Nanette Mickle, Tim Shaheen, Paul Mammenga, Kelly Applegate, Eli Bridge, and John Tautin