Swainson's Thrushes do not show strong wind selectivity prior to crossing the Gulf of Mexico.

ABSTRACT: During long-distance fall migrations, nocturnally migrating Swainson's Thrushes often stop on the northern Gulf of Mexico coast before flying across the Gulf. To minimize energetic costs, trans-Gulf migrants should stop over when they encounter crosswinds or headwinds, and depart with supportive tailwinds. However, time constrained migrants should be less selective, balancing costs of headwinds with benefits of continuing their migrations. To test the hypotheses that birds select supportive winds and that selectivity is mediated by seasonal time constraints, we examined whether local winds affected Swainson's Thrushes' arrival and departure at Ft. Morgan, Alabama, USA at annual, seasonal, and nightly time scales. Additionally, migrants could benefit from forecasting future wind conditions,

SUBMITTER: Bolus RT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5660249 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature