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It has been suggested that birds migrate faster in spring than in autumn because of competition for arrival order at breeding grounds and environmental factors such as increased daylight. Investigating spring and autumn migration performances is important for understanding ecological and evolutionary constraints in the timing and speed of migration. We compiled measurements from tracking studies and found a consistent predominance of cases showing higher speeds and shorter durations during spring compared to autumn, in terms of flight speeds (airspeed, ground speed, daily travel speed), stopover duration, and total speed and duration of migration. Seasonal differences in flight speeds were generally smaller than those in stopover durations and total speed/duration of migration, indicating that rates of foraging and fuel deposition were more important than flight speed in accounting for differences in overall migration performance. Still, the seasonal differences in flight speeds provide important support for time selection in spring migration.

Knowledge about migratory connectivity, the degree to which individuals from the same breeding site migrate to the same wintering site, is essential to understand processes affecting populations of migrants throughout the annual cycle. Here, we study the migration system of a long-distance migratory bird, the Montagu's harrier Circus pygargus, by tracking individuals from different breeding populations throughout northern Europe. We identified three main migration routes towards wintering areas in sub-Saharan Africa. Wintering areas and migration routes of different breeding populations overlapped, a pattern best described by 'weak (diffuse) connectivity'. Migratory performance, i.e. timing, duration, distance and speed of migration, was surprisingly similar for the three routes despite differences in habitat characteristics. This study provides, to our knowledge, a first comprehensive overview of the migration system of a Palaearctic-African long-distance migrant. We emphasize the importance of spatial scale (e.g. distances between breeding populations) in defining patterns of connectivity and suggest that knowledge about fundamental aspects determining distribution patterns, such as the among-individual variation in mean migration directions, is required to ultimately understand migratory connectivity. Furthermore, we stress that for conservation purposes it is pivotal to consider wintering areas as well as migration routes and in particular stopover sites.

Migration is a common strategy used by birds that breed in seasonal environments. Selection for greater migration efficiency is likely to be stronger for terrestrial species whose migration strategies require non-stop transoceanic crossings. If multiple species use the same transoceanic flyway, then we expect the migration strategies of these species to converge geographically towards the most optimal solution. We test this by examining population-level migration trajectories within the Western Hemisphere for 118 migratory species using occurrence information from eBird. Geographical convergence of migration strategies was evident within specific terrestrial regions where geomorphological features such as mountains or isthmuses constrained overland migration. Convergence was also evident for transoceanic migrants that crossed the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic Ocean. Here, annual population-level movements were characterized by clockwise looped trajectories, which resulted in faster but more circuitous journeys in the spring and more direct journeys in the autumn. These findings suggest that the unique constraints and requirements associated with transoceanic migration have promoted the spatial convergence of migration strategies. The combination of seasonal atmospheric and environmental conditions that has facilitated the use of similar broad-scale migration strategies may be especially prone to disruption under climate and land-use change.

The small size of the billions of migrating songbirds commuting between temperate breeding sites and the tropics has long prevented the study of the largest part of their annual cycle outside the breeding grounds. Using light-level loggers (geolocators), we recorded the entire annual migratory cycle of the red-backed shrike Lanius collurio, a trans-equatorial Eurasian-African passerine migrant. We tested differences between autumn and spring migration for nine individuals. Duration of migration between breeding and winter sites was significantly longer in autumn (average 96 days) when compared with spring (63 days). This difference was explained by much longer staging periods during autumn (71 days) than spring (9 days). Between staging periods, the birds travelled faster during autumn (356 km d–1) than during spring (233 km d–1). All birds made a protracted stop (53 days) in Sahelian sub-Sahara on southbound migration. The birds performed a distinct loop migration (22 000 km) where spring distance, including a detour across the Arabian Peninsula, exceeded the autumn distance by 22 per cent. Geographical scatter between routes was particularly narrow in spring, with navigational convergence towards the crossing point from Africa to the Arabian Peninsula. Temporal variation between individuals was relatively constant, while different individuals tended to be consistently early or late at different departure/arrival occasions during the annual cycle. These results demonstrate the existence of fundamentally different spatio-temporal migration strategies used by the birds during autumn and spring migration, and that songbirds may rely on distinct staging areas for completion of their annual cycle, suggesting more sophisticated endogenous control mechanisms than merely clock-and-compass guidance among terrestrial solitary migrants. After a century with metal-ringing, year-round tracking of long-distance migratory songbirds promises further insights into bird migration.

Aim Knowledge of broad‐scale biogeographical patterns of animal migration is important for understanding ecological drivers of migratory behaviours. Here, we present a flyway‐scale assessment of the spatial structure and seasonal dynamics of the Afro‐Palaearctic bird migration system and explore how phenology of the environment guides long‐distance migration. Location Europe and Africa. Time period 2009–2017. Major taxa studied Birds. Methods We compiled an individual‐based dataset comprising 23 passerine and near‐passerine species of 55 European breeding populations, in which a total of 564 individuals were tracked during migration between Europe and sub‐Saharan Africa. In addition, we used remotely sensed primary productivity data (the normalized difference vegetation index) to estimate the timing of vegetation green‐up in spring and senescence in autumn across Europe. First, we described how individual breeding and non‐breeding sites and the migratory flyways link geographically. Second, we examined how the timing of migration along the two major Afro‐Palaearctic flyways is tuned with vegetation phenology at the breeding sites. Results We found the longitudes of individual breeding and non‐breeding sites to be related in a strongly positive manner, whereas the latitudes of breeding and non‐breeding sites were related negatively. In autumn, migration commenced ahead of vegetation senescence, and the timing of migration was 5–7 days earlier along the Western flyway compared with the Eastern flyway. In spring, the time of arrival at breeding sites was c. 1.5 days later for each degree northwards and 6–7 days later along the Eastern compared with the Western flyway, reflecting the later spring green‐up at higher latitudes and more eastern longitudes. Main conclusions Migration of the Afro‐Palaearctic landbirds follows a longitudinally parallel leapfrog migration pattern, whereby migrants track vegetation green‐up in spring but depart before vegetation senescence in autumn. The degree of continentality along migration routes and at the breeding sites of the birds influences the timing of migration on a broad scale.

Migration is challenging for birds, especially juveniles, who experience high mortality rates during migration. The challenge is exacerbated in the Anthropocene, contributing to widespread population declines. Conservation efforts focused on increasing juvenile survival could bolster population recovery. Understanding how age structure of the migrant community shifts throughout migration could inform conservation efforts and future questions of migration ecology. However, it is unknown whether the age structure of the migrant community shifts spatially or temporally during migration. To answer these questions, we first analyzed age‐related differences in migration speed and timing of departure during fall migration using 6 567 747 banding encounters, as variability in these components of migration could generate shifts in community demographics. We found widespread differences in migration speed (km d−1) with adults being faster than juveniles in most species, and departure timing differences tied to adult molt. Our analyses revealed shifts in community demographics, with the proportion of juveniles within the community decreasing at northerly latitudes throughout migration. We also determined that demographics have shifted over 53 years, with the proportion of juveniles increasing in the north, and decreasing in the south. Our findings contribute to our knowledge of migration ecology, and our understanding of community shifts over time.

Aim: Seasonal migration is a common strategy used by terrestrial birds that breed in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Evidence suggests that long-distance migrants have limited flexibility in migratory behaviour during the onset of migration but greater flexibility during the migration journey. Here, we examine how two geographical factors are correlated with en-route flexibility. Due to stronger time-selection pressures, we expected species with longer migration distances to have greater en-route variation, that increases when large ecological barriers to migration are present. Location: Western Hemisphere. Methods: We estimated annual population-level migration trajectories for 55 terrestrial bird species over 7 years (2009-15) based on occurrence information from eBird. We calculated migration speed and annual variation in migration speed, timing and location. We examined these metrics as a function of migration distance for species in the eastern (n= 41) and western n = 14) migration flyways. The eastern flyway contains two large ecological barriers to migration, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Results: Spring migration speeds exceeded autumn migration speeds in both flyways. Migration speeds were faster in the eastern flyway during both seasons. Annual variation in migration speed increased as migration distances increased in both flyways during both seasons. Annual variation in migration timing and location increased as migration distance increased in the eastern flyway during both seasons. In the western flyway, annual variation in migration timing and location increased as migration distance increased, but only during the autumn migration. Main conclusions: Increasing time-selection pressures related to migration distance and ecological barriers were associated with greater en-route variation in migratory behaviour. Variation in migration speed was most consistently associated with variation in migratory behaviour, whereas variation in migration timing and location differed by season and was strongest when large ecological barriers were present. Our results suggest that the capacity to respond to environmental variation during migration increases as migration distances increase.

Knowledge about migratory connectivity, the degree to which individuals from the same breeding site migrate to the same wintering site, is essential to understand processes affecting populations of migrants throughout the annual cycle. Here, we study the migration system of a long-distance migratory bird, the Montagu's harrier Circus pygargus, by tracking individuals from different breeding populations throughout northern Europe. We identified three main migration routes towards wintering areas in sub-Saharan Africa. Wintering areas and migration routes of different breeding populations overlapped, a pattern best described by ‘weak (diffuse) connectivity’. Migratory performance, i.e. timing, duration, distance and speed of migration, was surprisingly similar for the three routes despite differences in habitat characteristics. This study provides, to our knowledge, a first comprehensive overview of the migration system of a Palaearctic-African long-distance migrant. We emphasize the importance of spatial scale (e.g. distances between breeding populations) in defining patterns of connectivity and suggest that knowledge about fundamental aspects determining distribution patterns, such as the among-individual variation in mean migration directions, is required to ultimately understand migratory connectivity. Furthermore, we stress that for conservation purposes it is pivotal to consider wintering areas as well as migration routes and in particular stopover sites.

Optimal migration theory suggests specific scaling relationships between body size and migration speed for individual birds based on the minimization of time, energy, and risk. Here we test if the quantitative predictions originating from this theory can be detected when migration decisions are integrated across individuals. We estimated population‐level migration trajectories and daily migration speeds for the combined period 2007–2011 using the eBird data set. We considered 102 North American bird species that use flapping or powered flight during migration. Many species, especially in eastern North America, had looped migration trajectories that traced a clockwise path with an eastward shift during autumn migration. Population‐level migration speeds decelerated rapidly going into the breeding season, and accelerated more slowly during the transition to autumn migration. In accordance with time minimization predictions, spring migration speeds were faster than autumn migration speeds. In agreement with optimality predictions, migration speeds of powered flyers scaled negatively with body mass similarly during spring and autumn migration. Powered fliers with longer migration journeys also had faster migration speeds, a relationship that was more pronounced during spring migration. Our findings indicate that powered fliers employed a migration strategy that, when examined at the population level, was in compliance with optimality predictions. These results suggest that the integration of migration decisions across individuals does result in population‐level patterns that agree with theoretical expectations developed at the individual level, indicating a role for optimal migration theory in describing the mechanisms underlying broadscale patterns of avian migration for species that use powered flight.

Aim Investigate whether birds use vegetation green‐up, a measure of spring arrival, as a cue to shift their migration speed in response to climate change by examining: (1) how green‐up moves in the landscape, (2) how bird migratory speed responds to green‐up, (3) how species traits affect migratory speed and (4) how migration speed affects arrival time at breeding sites. Location Eastern North America. Time Period 2002 to 2017. Major Taxa Studied Fifty‐five species of eastern North American Passerines. Methods We calculated speed at the migration front using arrival dates derived from 16 years of eBird data with a linear regression. Similarly, we calculated the advancement speed of forest vegetation green‐up using satellite data. Green‐up effects on bird speed were tested using generalised additive models. Results On average, songbirds migrate northward during spring at a mean speed of 63 km/day. We observed strong non‐linear effects of latitude, with bird migration speed accelerated and green‐up speed slowed as the distance from the equator increased. Annual and spatial variation in bird migration speed depended on the local green‐up date and how quickly green‐up was advancing northward: years with earlier and faster green‐up were associated with higher migration speeds. Bird arrival relative to green‐up was strongly influenced by two variables: how early green‐up was and how fast birds were migrating. Main Conclusions The variation of bird migration speed with green‐up suggests birds can shift migration speed to ‘catch up’ with earlier springs. However, the stronger effect of green‐up date compared to migration speed suggests that birds do not fully compensate for arrival time by simply migrating more quickly. Climate change will likely outpace birds' ability to speed up their migration and adapt to new phenological regimes.