Males migrate farther than females in a differential migrant: an examination of the fasting endurance hypothesis

Abstract

Patterns of migration including connectivity between breeding and non-breeding populations and intraspecific variation in the distance travelled are important to study because they can affect individual fitness and population dynamics. Using data from 182 band recoveries across North America and 17 light-level geolocators, we examined the migration patterns of the northern flicker (Colaptes auratus), a migratory woodpecker. This species is unusual among birds because males invest more in parental care than females. Breeding latitude was positively correlated to migration distance because populations in the north appeared to travel farther distances than southern populations to find wintering locations with little snow cover.