MIchael Murphy

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

Assessing migration of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) at broad spatial and temporal scales Jason R. Courter, Ron J. Johnson, William C. Bridges, and Kenneth G. Hubbard The signs of global climate change are ever clearer such that even conservative politicians are grudgingly acknowledging its existence. Not surprisingly, therefore, organisms are responding, and as Courter et al. show, change can be extensive with potential implications for the bird’s biology. Courter et al. utilize resurrected citizen science data from the North American Bird Phenology Program that date back to the late 19th century, and combine them with recent citizen science data, to document advancement of up to 18 days in spring arrival dates of migrant Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in North America. Indications are that migrants delay departure from more southerly locations in North America in warmer winters and springs, and that migration speed has slowed in recent times so that arrival at more northern locations is possibly delayed in relation to local phenology, creating potential mismatches between arrival and availability of early spring food. Finally, the study carries an important message for us all: the ability of these authors to conduct a temporal analysis of arrival date of this extent speaks to the foresight of our predecessors and obligates us to continue for those that will follow us. Life-history tradeoffs in Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis): Implications for assessment of territory quality M. Zachariah Peery and R. J. Gutiérrez Demographic studies of California Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) driven by threats of extinction from loss of critical old growth forest habitat, and more recently, invasion of said habitats by congeneric Barred Owls (Strix varia), have set the standard for comprehensive population studies of long-lived vertebrates. The detailed long-term data sets and thorough statistical analyses have provided a sound foundation for the development of management plans that will hopefully prevent the extinction of this deep forest icon. A possibly unintended benefit is that the available data can also be used to test life history theory in ways that are rarely possible. Peery and Gutiérrez took advantage of this opportunity to test for trade-offs between number of offspring fledged and their survival. Interestingly, young fledged as pairs had higher survival as fledglings, subadults, and adults than young fledged as either singletons or triplets. The poor success of singletons possibly reflects either low parental or territory quality, while the reduced success of triplets no doubt represents a classic true intergenerational cost of reproduction. Still, the cost of fledging three young was not great enough to offset the gain in fitness from producing a third fledgling. Although “costs” exist, they do not appear to be great enough to compromise the use of offspring production to help managers evaluate territory/habitat quality for the purposes of planning and managing forests.

In 2011 we began highlighting articles that we believe deserve special attention from our members and hopefully increase interest in the journal in readers who are not members now. Below are my choices for this issue of The Auk. One species but two patterns: Populations of the Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica) differ in spring migration timing Nathan R. Senner Hudsonian Godwits (Limosa haemastica) annually migrate between Argentina and Chile and Arctic and subarctic breeding grounds in an elliptical route down the Atlantic flyway in fall, to then return north along midcontinental and Pacific coastal routes in spring. Timing is critical and climate change has the potential to alter phenologies and lead to mistimed arrival dates. Senner used 37 and 23 years of data from Alaskan and Manitoban breeding populations, respectively, to show that climate change produced entirely different effects at the two sites. Alaskan godwits arrived 9 days earlier whereas godwits in Manitoba arrived nearly 11 days later than they did in the 1970s. The coastal Alaskan site creates greater predictability and buffering against climate change and godwits appear to use information from the previous year to accurately time their arrival. By contrast, midcontinental populations can closely approach the breeding grounds and use local cues to time their arrival, but increasingly poor weather in early spring associated with climate change has led to a progressive delay in arrival. Senner’s results highlight the role of ecological constraints in limiting migratory timing, and that not all populations of the same species respond identically to the earth’s changing climate. El Niño–Southern Oscillation influences annual survival of a migratory songbird at a regional scale Joseph A. LaManna, T. Luke George, James F. Saracco, M. Philip Nott, and David F. DeSante LaManna and colleagues use records from nearly 11,000 Swainson’s Thrushes (Catharus ustulatus) banded through the MAPS program along the Pacific coast states to evaluate the extent to which adult survival varies with large-scale climatic events, including El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), North Atlantic Oscillation, and Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Survival did not vary with geographic origin of the bird, or with any of the regional climate processes other than ENSO. The authors examined several alternative mechanisms for the effect of ENSO on survival. Survival increased with increasing dry-season precipitation along the spring migration route of thrushes in western Mexico and southern California, presumably because rainfall increased primary productivity and food supplies for migrants. Survival increased by as much as 15–20% over the observed range of spring rainfall, and thus the potential for ENSO to influence demography of west coast populations was substantial. Numerous passerine species travel the same route as Swainson’s Thrushes, which suggests that other species may be affected by the same large-scale weather phenomena.

In 2011 we began highlighting articles that we believe deserve special attention from our members and hopefully increase interest in the journal in readers who are not members now. Below are my choices for this issue of The Auk. Widespread cryptic dichromatism and ultraviolet reflectance in the largest radiation of Neotropical songbirds: Implications of accounting for avian vision in the study of plumage evolution. Kevin J. Burns and Allison J. Shultz Burns and Shultz report results of an exhaustive survey of plumage dichromatism of species in the Cardinalidae (cardinals and grosbeaks) and Thraupidae (tanagers) and show that UV reflectance is widespread, and dichromatism is far more extensive in these two large groups than previously thought. Given the importance of color for sexual and natural selection, and behavior generally, Burns and Shultz’s findings should cause us all to now look at birds with a far more discerning (if ill-equipped) eye! Feather growth rate and mass in Nearctic passerines with variable migratory behavior and molt pattern. Iván de la Hera, David F. DeSante, and Borja Milá Despite its importance for birds, we are still ignorant of many aspects of molt and much remains to be learned. North temperate-zone breeding birds generally molt after breeding, but de la Hera and his colleagues show that migratory behavior and speed and timing of molt are related. Patterns are further complicated for passerine species that breed in western North America because some undergo a stopover molt within the Mexican monsoon region midway through migration, and these species have the shortest molt duration among all Nearctic passerines.

EDITOR'S CHOICE Michael Murphy, Editor Starting with the October 2011 issue of The Auk, we are highlighting articles that we believe deserve special attention from our members and hopefully increase interest in the journal in readers who are not members now. Below are my choices for this issue of The Auk. Film Documentation of the Probably Extinct Imperial Woodpecker (Campephilus imperialis) Martjan Lammertink, Tim W. Gallagher, Kenneth V. Rosenberg, John W. Fitzpatrick, Eric Liner, Jorge Rojas-Tomé, and Patricia Escalante Lammertink et al. present the only known film record of the Imperial Woodpecker (Campephilus imperialis), and results of their recent surveys at the site where the film was made in 1956. The authors conclude that this majestic species, the world’s largest woodpecker, probably went extinct in the late 20th century due to logging of large pines and to human persecution. Brood Size and Late Breeding are Negatively Related to Juvenile Survival in a Neotropical Migratory Songbird Scott A. Tarof, Patrick M. Kramer, James R. Hill III, John Tautin, and Bridget J. M. Stutchbury Tarof et al. provide one of the most thorough descriptions to date of first year survival for a migratory songbird. They show that the probability of return declines steadily over the season, mortality in the first few weeks after leaving the nest is low, and that most mortality occurs after the young depart on their first fall migration. Negative effects of brood size on survival appear to be restricted to the immediate weeks after fledging. Cover art by Evaristo Hernández-Fernández