The migratory records of the Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) in the arid ecosystems of western South America

Abstract

The Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus) is an American boreal migratory bird that arrives in the lowlands of the eastern slope of the Andes in South America during its non-breeding season. However, there are some historical migratory records of this species on the western slope of the Andes, but the information is poor and scattered. Here we present a comprehensive analysis of the migratory patterns of the Eastern Kingbird, giving more attention to the migratory route throughout the arid ecosystems in western Peru and Chile. We modeled monthly density heatmaps and evaluated the annual migratory movements of the bird in the southern hemisphere using the records available in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility repository. We found that the species frequents the arid ecosystems of western South America often than previously published. We recognized that the species follows the same pattern of migration in both the western and eastern humid areas South America; nevertheless, we identified that the species is present year-round in northern South America, mainly in Colombia, with some records during the breeding season (April–August) in Peru and Chile. We strongly recommend the use of citizen science datasets to elucidate the migratory patterns of other boreal migratory bird species.