After the breeding season, grownup birds must molt (or shed) all of their feathers. This plumage refresh helps to interchange worn-out feathers, essential for environment friendly flight and thermoregulation. Whereas most songbirds bear molting close to or at their breeding grounds, sure species undertake a distinct technique. These birds undertake a small migration earlier than their important journey to their wintering grounds, particularly to molt. These people are known as ‘molt migrants.’
At one in all Bird Lab’s banding stations in Southwestern PA, we banded two Tennessee Warblers (Leiothlypis peregrina) within the midst of molting all their feathers. On condition that Tennessee Warblers breed within the Boreal Forest, figuring out these people as molt migrants was comparatively simple. Three weeks later, upon recapture, we noticed that each people had almost accomplished their molting course of. This commentary means that they had been seemingly getting ready to start their migration to their nonbreeding grounds within the close to future.
Understanding the migratory conduct of molt migrants contributes to a deeper comprehension of the intricate mechanisms that govern hen migration. It highlights the importance of particular areas that cater to the distinctive wants of birds throughout essential phases of their annual life cycle.
All hen banding is carried out beneath State and Federal permits by extremely educated people for analysis functions. Information is collected effectively and birds are launched unhurt.
