Bird Migration

The word “migration” has come from the Latin word migrara which means going from one place to another.
Many birds have the inherent quality to move from one place to another to obtain the advantages of the favourable
condition.
In birds, migration means two-way journeys—onward journey from the ‘home’ to the ‘new’ places and back
journey from the ‘new’ places to the ‘home’. This movement occurs during the particular period of the year and the
birds usually follow the same route. There is a sort of ‘internal biological clock’ which regulates the phenomenon.
Definition:
According to L. Thomson (1926), bird migration may be described as “changes of habitat periodically recurring
and alternating in direction, which tend to secure optimum environmental conditions at all times”.
Bird migration is a more or less regular, extensive movements between their breeding regions and their wintering
regions.

2. Types of Bird Migration:

All birds do not migrate, but all species are subject to periodical movements of varying extent. The birds which live
in northern part of the hemisphere have greatest migratory power.
Migration may be:
(i) Latitudinal,
(ii) Longitudinal,
(iii) Altitudinal or Vertical,
(iv) Partial,
(v) Total,
(vi) Vagrant or Irregular,
(vii) Seasonal,
(viii) Diurnal and
(ix) Nocturnal.
(i) Latitudinal migration:
The latitudinal migration usually means the movement from north to south, and vice versa. Most birds live in the
land masses of the northern temperate and subarctic zones where they get facilities for nesting and feeding during
summer. They move towards south during winter.
An opposite but lesser movement also occurs in the southern hemisphere when the seasons are changed. Cuckoo
breeds in India and spends the summer at South-east Africa and thus covers a distance of about 7250 km.
Some tropical birds migrate during rainy season to the outer tropics to breed and return to the central tropics in dry
season. Many marine birds also make considerable migration. Puffinus (Great shearwater) breeds on small islands
and migrates as far as Greenland in May and returns after few months.
It covers a distance of 1300 km. Penguins migrate by swimming and cover a considerable distance of few hundred
miles. Sterna paradisaea (Arctic tern) breeds in the northern temperate region and migrates to the Antarctic zone
along the Atlantic. It was observed that Sterna covers a distance of 22 500 km during migration!
(ii) Longitudinal migration:
The longitudinal migration occurs when the birds migrate from east to west and vice- versa. Starlings (Sturnus
vulgaris), a resident of east Europe and west Asia migrate towards the Atlantic coast. California gulls, a resident
and breed in Utah, migrate westward to winter in the Pacific coast.
(iii) Altitudinal migration:
The altitudinal migration occurs in mountainous regions. Many birds inhabiting the mountain peaks migrate to low
lands during winter. Golden plover (Pluvialis) starts from Arctic tundra and goes up to the plains of Argentina
covering a distance of 11 250 km (Fig. 9.54).
Birds migrate either in flocks or in pairs. Swallows and storks migrate a distance of 9650 km from northern Europe
to South Africa. Ruff breeds at Siberia and travels to Great Britain, Africa, India and Ceylon thus travelling a
distance of 9650 kilometers.
(iv) Partial migration:
1|Page
All the members of a group of birds do not take part in migration. Only several members of a group take part in
migration. Blue Jays of Canada and northern part of United States travel southwards to blend with the sedentary
populations of the Southern States of U.S.A. Coots and spoon bills (Platalea) of our country may be example of
partial migration.
(v) Total migration:
When all the members of a species take part in the migration, it is called total migration.
(vi) Vagrant or irregular migration:
When some of the birds disperse to a short or long distance for safety and food, it is called vagrant or irregular
migration. Herons may be the example of vagrant or irregular migration. Other examples are black stork (Ciconia
nigra), Glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus), spotted eagle (Aquila clanga), and bee eater (Merops apiaster).
(vii) Daily migration:
Some birds make daily journey from their nests by the influence of environmental factors such as temperature,
light, and humidity also. Examples are crows, herons and starlings.
(viii) Seasonal migration:
Some birds migrates at different seasons of the year for food or breeding, called seasonal migration, e.g., cuckoos,
swifts, swallows etc. They migrate from the south to the north during summer. These birds are called summer
visitors. Again there are some birds like snow bunting, red wing, shore lark, grey plover etc. which migrate from
north to south during winter. They are called winter visitors.
Nocturnal and Diurnal Flight:
(i) Diurnal migration:
Many larger birds like crows, robins, swallows, hawks, jays, blue birds, pelicans, cranes, geese, etc. migrate during
daytime for food.

These birds are called diurnal birds and generally migrate in flocks.
(ii) Nocturnal birds:
Some small-sized birds of passerine groups like sparrows, warblers, etc. migrate in darkness, called nocturnal birds.
The darkness of the night gives them protection from their enemies.

3. Causes of Migration:
Most species of birds migrate more or less on schedule and follow the routes in a regular fashion. The actual
causative factors determining the course and direction of migration are not clearly known.
The following factors may be related to the problems of migration:
i. Instinct and Gonadal changes:

2|Page
It is widely accepted that the impulse to migrate in birds is possibly instinctive and the migration towards the
breeding grounds is associated with gonadal changes.
ii. Scarcity of food and day length:
Other factors, viz., scarcity of food, shortening of daylight and increase of cold are believed to stimulate migration.
Migration in birds depends upon two important factors— stimulus and guidance.
Scarcity of food and fall of daylight are believed to produce endocrinal changes which initiate bird migration.
iii. Photoperiodism:
The increase of day length (Photoperiodism) induces bird’s migration. The day length affects pituitary and pineal
glands and also caused growth of gonads which secret sex hormones that are the stimulus for migration. In India,
Siberian crane, geese, swan those come from central Asia, Himalayas, begin to return from March and onwards
with the increase of day length.
iv. Seasonal variation:
The north-to-south migrations of birds take place under stimulus from the internal condition of the gonads which
are affected by seasonal variation.
v. Light:
The experiments of Rowan with Juncos (summer visitor to Canada) have established that light plays an important
role in the development of gonads, which has indirect role on migration. If the gonads undergo regression, the urge
for migration is not felt. So the seasonal changes in illumination appear to be a crucial factor for determining
migration.
Despite all these suggestions, it is not clear how birds — through successive generations — follow the same route
and reach the same spot. The instinctive behaviours like migration, breeding, moulting are phasic occurrences in
the annual cycle which are possibly controlled by the endocrine system. In all migratory birds, accumulation of fat
takes place for extra fuel during prolonged flight in migration.

4. Guiding Mechanisms in Bird Navigation:

For more than a century the celestial navigations of birds have fascinated the ornithologists. Different explanations
have been advanced to explain how birds navigate. It is difficult to generalize on the means of orientation and
navigation in migration. The different groups of birds with different modes of existence have evolved different
means of finding their way from one place to another (Pettingill, 1970).
The other reasons may be:
Fat deposition:
Migratory birds become greedy and fat is deposited in the subcutaneous region of the body. The fat deposition
plays an important role in the migration of birds. Birds, those migrate a long distance, reserve enough fat which
provides energy in their arduous journey and helps the birds to reach its destination, following a particular route.
After fat deposition, restlessness (Zugunruhe) is seen among birds for migration.
Inherited instinct:
Birds that take part in migration or follow a more or less definite goal, evidently possess an inherited instinct. Both
the direction and the goal must have been implanted in the bird’s genetic code when a population can adjust to a
particular location or environment.
Experienced Lead the Flock:
The theory is sometimes advanced that old and experienced birds lead the way and thereby lead the whole route
and show the whole route the younger generation. This theory may be applicable to some birds like swans, geese
and cranes because they fly in flocks but not applicable in all species where old and youngs migrate at different
times and mainly youngs start ahead of the adult.
Werner Ruppell of Germany, a leading experimenter on avian migration, found that Starlings of Berlin find their
way back to their nestling places from about 2000 km away. A sea bird named Manx shearwater collected from the
western coast of England after being flown by plane to Boston was found back in its nest in England within 12
days.
The shearwater had flown its own way about 4940 km across the unknown Atlantic Ocean! The golden plover of
North America migrates from its winter home in the Hawaiian islands to its breeding place in northern Canada.
3|Page
This bird lacks webbed feet and it is quite natural that it must fly for several weeks over thousands of kilometers of
ocean to reach its destination. The birds have wonderful power of navigation and orientation to find their
destination even under odd conditions.
There are many theories regarding the phenomenon of migration in birds.
Various theorists propose that birds are guided by a number of agencies:
a. Earth’s magnetic field—as the guiding factor:
Some ornithologists believed about the existence of a “magnetic sense” as the important factor in the power of
“geographical orientation”. The theory was conceived as early as 1885 but conducted by Yeagley in 1947 and
1951. Yeagley suggested that birds are sensitive and guided by the earth’s magnetic field.
The Coriolis force arising from rotation of the earth plays the guiding role in migration of birds. The basic question
of the theory may be asked — “can birds detect such minute differences in the earth’s magnetic field and can
these forces affect bird’s behaviour?”
Attempts to demonstrate by experimental evidences have not supported Yeagley’s experiment. Experiments, in
which the earth’s magnetic field was changed, had no effect on the direction which the birds undertook.
b. Sun—the guiding agent in diurnal migration:
The concept that birds are guided by the position of the sun was advanced by Gustav Kramer in Germany and G. V.
T. Matthews in England. They have shown by intensive experimentations those homing pigeons and many wild
birds use the sun as the compass and that they possess a ‘time sense’ or ‘internal clock’ which allows them to take
account of motion of the sun across the sky.
Kramer (1949, 1957, 1961) performed experiments on Starlings (diurnal migrants) and showed that these birds use
the sun for setting their migratory course. When the sky remains clear, the Starlings succeed in taking the right
direction.
If the sky remains overcast they become bewildered and fail to orient themselves. Mechanical placement of a
mirror which deflects rays of the sun result into considerable deviation of orientation to a predictable extent. The
experiments of Kramer and others failed to explain the navigation and orientation of night migrants. This aspect
was extensively worked out by E.G.F. Sauer (1958).
c. Stars—the guiding agent in nocturnal migration:
The warblers and many other birds orient themselves during navigation by the sun during daytime. But the warblers
as well as many other birds navigate mainly at night. What sorts of system do these birds use to the pathways
during navigation at night?
Sauer performed experiments on white throat warblers to give an insight to the problem. Sauer put the birds in a
cage placed in a planetarium having an artificial replica of natural sky. When the light of the planetarium was
poorly illuminated, i.e., when the stars were not visible, the warbelers failed to orient themselves.
When the illumination was better and the planetarium sky matched with the natural night sky, the birds followed up
the proper direction. It has also been shown by Sauer that a warbler which has spent its life in a cage (i.e., never
navigated in natural sky) has an inborn ability to follow the stars to navigate along the usual route the members of
the species follow.
Sauer has suggested that the warblers possess hereditary mechanism to orient themselves by the stars during
nocturnal migration. The warbler can adjust the direction perfectly at the latitude.
Suggestions have been advanced by many workers that the configuration of the coastline possibly helps in
navigation, but Sauer has disproved the idea and advocated that the birds are exclusively guided by the stars during
night.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
d. The ‘compass’ and the ‘internal clock’ in bird migration:
It is a known fact that millions of birds fly to their winter ‘home’ in every autumn. In doing so they cover often
thousands of kilometers from their native ‘home’. In the following spring they again return to their breeding
grounds. This is a regular biological phenomenon in avian life.
It has been established that the young birds caught during migration, when released afterwards, follow exactly the
original route their undisturbed fellows followed. This phenomenon suggested the presence of a sort of ‘compass’
the birds use during navigation.
4|Page
But Kramer’s experiment gave a clue to the problem. The position of the sun is vital in controlling the navigation
pathways. During the day the position of the sun in the sky is changed from east to west via the south. Despite such
changes birds tried to navigate in the same direction. This means they have the inherent ability to make appropriate
allowance for the time of day.
How do the birds know the time of day? They have possibly a built-in timekeeping mechanism (internal clock)
which is synchronized with the earth’s rotation. The ‘internal clock’ can be made to synchronize with external
happenings.
Existence of biological clocks is a property of living organisms. It is not confined to animals, it is found in plants
and even in simple cells too. It is a common experience that if we are in the habit of getting up every day at a
particular time, we frequently wake up at the same time. Besides, many of our bodily functions have a rhythm of
their own. These are possibly controlled by an ‘internal clock’ of which we are normally unaware.
Telemetry means methods of tracking of the movement of birds or other migratory animals by using radio. This is
the most promising method that has been applied to trace the route of bird’s migration. The method consists of
attaching a small radio transmitter, weighing about 2-3 gm. that sends periodic signals or “beeps”.
The miniature transmitter can be placed on birds and it does not interfere flight and the signals can be detected by
means of a receiving set mounted on vehicles or aero planes that can detect the routes of migratory birds.
Though there are some limitations of telemetry but this technology gives encouraging results. More recently
researchers are engaged largely to track the routes of the migratory birds with the aid of satellites and radar tracking
instruments.

5. Disadvantages of Bird Migration:

i. Many youngs are not, able to reach the destination because they die during the course of the continuous and
tiresome journey.
ii. Sudden changes in the climate such as storms and hurricanes, strong current of wind, fog are the causes for the
death of a sizeable number of migrants.
iii. Sometimes man-made high tours and light houses cause the death of migratory birds.
iv. Man themselves are responsible for the death of the migrants. They shoot at these poor birds just for their own
leisure and amusement.

The Basics of Bird Migration: How, Why, and Where

Why do birds migrate?
The Cornell Lab’s Dr. Kevin McGowan takes you through six of the most common questions about bird migration
in this highlights video drawn from a 2023 webinar.
Show Transcript
Birds migrate to move from areas of low or decreasing resources to areas of high or increasing resources. The two
primary resources being sought are food and nesting locations. Here’s more about how migration evolved.
Birds that nest in the Northern Hemisphere tend to migrate northward in the spring to take advantage of burgeoning
insect populations, budding plants and an abundance of nesting locations. As winter approaches and the availability
of insects and other food drops, the birds move south again. Escaping the cold is a motivating factor but many
species, including hummingbirds, can withstand freezing temperatures as long as an adequate supply of food is
available.
Types of migration
The term migration describes periodic, large-scale movements of populations of animals. One way to look at
migration is to consider the distances traveled. The pattern of migration can vary within each category, but is most

5|Page
variable in short and medium distance migrants. Long-distance migrants face arduous journeys, yet it is undertaken
by about 350 species of North American birds.

Permanent residents do not migrate. They are able to find adequate supplies of food year-round.

Short-distance migrants make relatively small movements, as from higher to lower elevations on a mountainside.

Medium-distance migrants cover distances that span a few hundred miles.

Long-distance migrants typically move from breeding ranges in the United States and Canada to wintering
grounds in Central and South America.
Origins of long-distance migration
6|Page
While short-distance migration probably developed from a fairly simple need for food, the origins of long-distant
migration patterns are much more complex. They’ve evolved over thousands of years and are controlled at least
partially by the genetic makeup of the birds. They also incorporate responses to weather, geography, food sources,
day length, and other factors.
For birds that winter in the tropics, it seems strange to imagine leaving home and embarking on a migration north.
Why make such an arduous trip north in spring? One idea is that through many generations the tropical ancestors of
these birds dispersed from their tropical breeding sites northward. The seasonal abundance of insect food and
greater day length allowed them to raise more young (4–6 on average) than their stay-at-home tropical relatives (2–
3 on average). As their breeding zones moved north during periods of glacial retreat, the birds continued to return
to their tropical homes as winter weather and declining food supplies made life more difficult. Supporting this
theory is the fact that most North American vireos, flycatchers, tanagers, warblers, orioles, and swallows have
evolved from forms that originated in the tropics.
Get Your BirdCast

When, where, and how far will birds migrate?

The BirdCast program helps answer these questions by using radar to create real-time maps of nocturnal bird
migration. It can even predict busy migration nights with its 3-day migration forecasts.
Information like this can also help with important conservation decisions, such as the placement of wind turbines.
And by predicting high-migration nights, cities can reduce building lights to prevent the deaths of millions of birds.
Read more about the BirdCast Lights Out initiative.
Accurate migration models can also inform researchers of the behavioral aspects of migration, how migration
timing and pathways respond to changing climate, and whether linkages exist between variation in migration
timing and subsequent changes in bird population size.
How to Use BirdCast Dashboard to See Your Local Migration in Detail
What triggers migration?
The mechanisms initiating migratory behavior vary and are not always completely understood. Migration can be
triggered by a combination of changes in day length, lower temperatures, changes in food supplies, and genetic
predisposition. For centuries, people who have kept cage birds have noticed that the migratory species go through a
period of restlessness each spring and fall, repeatedly fluttering toward one side of their cage. German behavioral
scientists gave this behavior the name zugunruhe, meaning migratory restlessness. Different species of birds and
even segments of the population within the same species may follow different migratory patterns.
How do birds navigate?
Migrating birds can cover thousands of miles in their annual travels, often traveling the same course year after year
with little deviation. First-year birds often make their very first migration on their own. Somehow they can find
their winter home despite never having seen it before, and return the following spring to where they were born.

7|Page
The secrets of their amazing navigational skills aren’t fully understood, partly because birds combine several
different types of senses when they navigate. Birds can get compass information from the sun, the stars, and by
sensing the earth’s magnetic field. They also get information from the position of the setting sun and from
landmarks seen during the day. There’s even evidence that sense of smell plays a role, at least for homing pigeons.
Some species, particularly waterfowl and cranes, follow preferred pathways on their annual migrations. These
pathways are often related to important stopover locations that provide food supplies critical to the birds’ survival.
Smaller birds tend to migrate in broad fronts across the landscape. Studies using eBird data have revealed
that many small birds take different routes in spring and fall, to take advantage of seasonal patterns in weather and
food.
Migration hazards
Taking a journey that can stretch to a round-trip distance of several thousand miles is a dangerous and arduous
undertaking. It is an effort that tests both the birds’ physical and mental capabilities. The physical stress of the trip,
lack of adequate food supplies along the way, bad weather, and increased exposure to predators all add to the
hazards of the journey.
In recent decades long-distant migrants have been facing a growing threat from communication towers and tall
buildings. Many species are attracted to the lights of tall buildings and millions are killed each year in collisions
with the structures. The Fatal Light Awareness Program, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and BirdCast’s Lights
Out project, have more about this problem.
Studying migration

Each spring, about 500,000 Sandhill

Cranes and some endangered Whooping Cranes use Nebraska’s Platte River as a staging habitat during their
northward migration.
Scientists use several techniques in studying migration, including banding, satellite tracking, and a relatively new
method involving lightweight devices known as geolocators. One of the goals is to locate important stopover and
wintering locations. Once identified, steps can be taken to protect and save these key locations.
Each spring approximately 500,000 Sandhill Cranes and some endangered Whooping Cranes use the Central Platte
River Valley in Nebraska as a staging habitat during their migration north to breeding and nesting grounds in
Canada, Alaska, and the Siberian Arctic.
What is a migrant trap?

8|Page
 Giant live oak trees, like these
in High Island, Texas, attract many of our most beautiful birds after their spring journey across the Gulf of Mexico.
Clockwise from top left: Baltimore Oriole, Indigo Bunting, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Bay-breasted Warbler, Blue
Grosbeak, Scarlet Tanager, Black-throated Green Warbler, Orchard Oriole, Black-and-white Warbler,
Blackburnian Warbler.
Some places seem to have a knack for concentrating migrating birds in larger than normal numbers. These “migrant
traps” often become well known as birding hotspots. This is typically the result of local weather conditions, an
abundance of food, or the local topography.
For example, small songbirds migrating north in the spring fly directly over the Gulf of Mexico, landing on the
coastlines of the Gulf Coast states. When, storms or cold fronts bring headwinds, these birds can be near exhaustion
when they reach land. In such cases they head for the nearest location offering food and cover—typically live-oak
groves on barrier islands, where very large numbers of migrants can collect in what’s known as a “fallout.” These
migration traps have become very popular with birders, even earning international reputations.
Peninsulas can also concentrate migrating birds as they follow the land and then pause before launching over water.
This explains why places like Point Pelee, Ontario; the Florida Keys; Point Reyes, California; and Cape May, New
Jersey have great reputations as migration hotspots.
Spring migration is an especially good time for those that feed birds in their backyard to attract species they
normally do not see. Offering a variety of food sources, water, and adding natural food sources to the landscape can
make a backyard attractive to migrating songbirds.
Range maps
Weekly abundance of Common Yellowthroat across North America. From eBird Data, 2008-2022. Fink, D., et.al.
2023. eBird Status and Trends, Data Version: 2022; Released: 2023. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New
York.
It’s always a good idea to use the range maps in your field guide to determine if and when a particular species
might be around. Range maps are especially useful when working with migratory species. However, they can be
confusing: ranges of birds can vary year-to-year, as with irruptive species such as redpolls. Also, the ranges of
some species can expand or contract fairly rapidly, with changes occurring in time periods shorter than the
republication time of a field guide. (The Eurasian Collared-Dove is the best example of this problem.)
These limitations are beginning to be addressed by data-driven, digital versions of range maps. The maps are made
possible by the hundreds of millions of eBird observations submitted by birdwatchers around the world. “Big Data”
analyses are allowing scientists to produce animated maps that show a species’ ebb and flow across the continent
throughout a calendar year—as well as understand larger patterns of movement.

9|Page