Incorporating the latest research on bird migration, this concise, critical assessment offers contemporary readers a firm grasp of what defines an avian migrant, how the organism came to be, what is known about its behavior, and how we can resolve its enduring mysteries.

Table of Contents

• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• 1 Introduction
• Development of Human Understanding of Migration
• Origins of Migration
• Types of Migration
• Patterns of Migration Within Species
• Adaptations for Migration
• 2 Breeding Period
• Beginning the Cycle: Arrival at the Breeding Grounds
• Site Fidelity and Dispersal
• Habitat Selection
• Interval Between Arrival and Reproduction
• Reproduction
• 3 Postbreeding Period
• Purposes of the Postbreeding Period
• Movements and Habitat Use During the Postbreeding Period
• Duration of the Postbreeding Period
• Timing and Siting of the Prebasic Molt in Relation to Other Major Life Cycle Events
• 4. Fall Transient Period
• Preparation for Departure
• Cues for Departure
• Timing of Departure Within the Fall Transient Period
• Timing of Departure Within the Circadian Period
• Migratory Flight
• Migration Route
• Orientation and Navigation
• Stopover
• 5. Wintering Period
• Arrival
• Social Structure During the Nonbreeding Period
• Nonbreeding/Winter Distribution
• 6. Spring Transient Period
• Preparation for Departure
• Cues for Departure
• Timing of Departure Within the Spring Transient Period
• Timing of Departure Within the Circadian Period
• Migratory Flight (Zugstimmung)
• Migration Route
• Orientation and Navigation
• Stopover
• Climate Change
• 7. Population Ecology
• Theory
• Population Change
• Causes of Migrant Population Change
• 8. Evolution and Biogeography
• The Theory
• Exaptations Versus Adaptations for Migration
• Genetics of Migration
• Rapid Development of Migration
• Reaction Norms
• Population Differentiation
• Ornithogeography and Migration Patterns
• The World's Principal Migration Systems
• 9. Migratory Birds and Pathogen Movement
• West Nile Virus
• Avian Influenza
• 10. Connectivity and Conservation
• Connectivity
• Conservation
• 11. Conclusion
• Migration as a Life History Strategy
• Appendix A. Population Dynamics of Periodic Breeders
• Generalized Single-Habitat Logistic Models
• Multiple-Habitat Models
• Discrete Models
• Metamorphic and Spawning Species with Non-Overlapping Generations
• Threshold Effects
• Summary
• Appendix B. Age-Structured Periodic Breeders
• Age-Independent Periodic Breeders
• Age-Structured Models
• Summary
• References