Site Fidelity of Shrubland and Forest Birds

Abstract

Abstract. In eastern North America, most early-successional woody habitats are ephemeral and succeed to forests within a few decades. Consequently, for shrubland birds patches of habitat are generally suitable for breeding for only a short time. This has led some authors to suggest that shrubland birds should show little fidelity to former breeding sites and frequently disperse to new, more suitable patches. Similarly, one would expect birds of mature forests to have greater site fidelity because their habitats are more stable. Understanding the dispersal strategies of shrubland birds has important implications for the management and conservation of these declining species. Therefore, I used meta-analysis to compare rates of site fidelity of migratory shrubland and forest passerines that breed in eastern North America. For adult birds, site fidelity of shrubland (estimate ± SE = 0.353 ± 0.022) and forest species (0.364 ± 0.036) was similar. Philopatry of yearling birds to their natal site was lower but si...