Duration and Rate of Spring Migration of Kirtland's Warblers

Abstract

The duration of migration of the endangered Kirtland's Warbler (Setophaga kirtlandii) has not been previously documented. We estimated the average duration of spring migration for five male Kirtland's Warblers by observing uniquely color-banded individuals at or near both the beginning and end of spring migration in Eleuthera, The Bahamas, and Michigan, respectively. We estimated the average duration of spring migration for these five individuals to have been no more than 15.8 days (range 13–23 days) and the average distance traveled to have been 144.5 km/day (96.1–169.1 km/day).