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Moult migration in Bullock’s orioles (Icterus bullockii) confirmed by geolocators and stable isotope analysis

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Abstract

In contrast to the majority of migratory songbirds in North America, which moult on or near their breeding grounds, the Bullock’s oriole (Icterus bullockii) is reported to stop during fall migration to moult en route to the wintering grounds. These birds seem to take advantage of food resources during the Mexican monsoon season in the Southwestern USA and Northwestern Mexico. We studied a population of Bullock’s orioles at the northern limit of their breeding range in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, using a combination of light-level geolocators and stable hydrogen isotope analysis. We found evidence that supports the existence of moult migration in this species, with geolocators indicating that all birds appeared to stay in the Mexican monsoon region for moult in an extended stopover period during fall migration. Feathers were isotopically enriched with deuterium compared to predicted breeding isotope values and were significantly more negative than winter-grown claws, confirming that moult occurred somewhere between the breeding and wintering grounds. Stable isotope data were consistent with complete prebasic stopover moult in adults and complete contour feather and variable tail feather moult in first-year orioles. Our results confirm that this northern population of Bullock’s orioles employs a moult migration strategy and highlight the usefulness of combining geolocator and stable isotope studies.

Zusammenfassung

Bestätigung des Mauserzugs beim Bullocktrupial ( Icterus bullockii ) mit Hilfe von Geolokatoren und stabiler Isotope

Im Gegensatz zu den meisten ziehenden Singvögeln Nordamerikas, die in oder in der Nähe ihres Brutgebiets mausern, wird über den Bullocktrupial (Icterus bullockii) berichtet, dass er auf dem Herbstzug ins Überwinterungsgebiet unterwegs einen Mauserstopp einlegt. Diese Vögel nutzen anscheinend Nahrungsressourcen im Südwesten der USA und im Nordwesten Mexikos während der mexikanischen Monsunsaison. Wir haben eine Population des Bullocktrupials am nördlichen Rand seines Brutgebiets in Kamloops in Britisch-Kolumbien, Kanada, mit Hilfe einer Kombination von Helldunkelgeolokatoren und stabiler Wasserstoffisotopenanalyse untersucht. Wir fanden Hinweise, welche die Existenz von Mauserzug bei dieser Art unterstützen; Geolokatoren zeigten an, dass alle Vögel zur Mauser offenbar in der mexikanischen Monsunregion blieben und dafür einen längeren Stopp auf dem Herbstzug einlegten. Die Federn waren im Vergleich zu den vorhergesagten Brutgebiet-Isotopenwerten mit Deuterium-Isotopen angereichert und signifikant negativer als im Winter gewachsene Krallen, was bestätigt, dass die Mauser irgendwo zwischen Brut- und Überwinterungsgebiet erfolgte. Die stabilen Isotopdaten standen mit einer kompletten Postnuptialmauser im Rastgebiet bei Adulttieren und einer kompletten Konturfeder- und variablen Schwanzfedermauser bei einjährigen Tieren im Einklang. Unsere Ergebnisse bestätigen, dass diese nördliche Population von Bullocktrupialen einen Mauserzug machen, und unterstreichen die Nützlichkeit einer Kombination von Geolokatorstudien und stabilen Isotopenanalysen.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank D. Carlyle-Moses, and D. Green for insightful comments and suggestions on this manuscript. We would also like to thank S. Joly, O. Greaves, and J. Crawford for field assistance on this project and C. France for assistance with stable isotope analysis. Thank you also to the Dreger family, the owners of the Knutsford Campground and T. McLeod at Tranquille on the Lake for access to study sites and the Kamloops Naturalists Club for information on oriole locations. Funding was provided by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Discovery Grant to M. W. R. and a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Canada Graduate Scholarship to A. G. P.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, BC, Canada

    Andrew G. Pillar, Nancy J. Flood & Matthew W. Reudink

  2. Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC, USA

    Peter P. Marra

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  1. Andrew G. Pillar
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  2. Peter P. Marra
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Correspondence to Matthew W. Reudink.

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Communicated by C. G. Guglielmo.

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Pillar, A.G., Marra, P.P., Flood, N.J. et al. Moult migration in Bullock’s orioles (Icterus bullockii) confirmed by geolocators and stable isotope analysis. J Ornithol 157, 265–275 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-015-1275-5

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