Do migrating White-crested Elaenia, Elaenia albiceps chilensis, use stop-over sites en route to their breeding areas? Evidence from the central Monte desert, Argentina
Víctor R. Cueto A B C , M. Cecilia Sagario A and Javier Lopez de Casenave AA Desert Community Ecology Research Team (ECODES), Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires and IEGEBA (UBA-CONICET). Piso 4, Pabellón 2, Ciudad Universitaria, C1428EHA, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
B Centro de Investigación Esquel de Montaña y Estepa Patagónica (CIEMEP), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) and Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia SJB, Sarmiento 849, U9200 Esquel, Chubut, Argentina.
C Corresponding author. Email: vcueto@conicet.gov.ar
Emu 116(3) 301-304 https://doi.org/10.1071/MU15078
Submitted: 5 August 2015 Accepted: 17 December 2015 Published: 10 March 2016
Abstract
Very few bird species are able to complete a single long migratory flight. Instead, a far more common strategy is that birds rest and feed almost every day, accomplishing their journeys in a series of short flights. We evaluated if White-crested Elaenia (Elaenia albiceps chilensis) displays evidence of en route migratory disposition in the central Monte desert, Argentina. Recaptures and resights were lower for White-crested Elaenias than for Greater Wagtail-tyrants (Stigmatura budytoides; resident) and Southern Scrub-flycatchers (Sublegatus modestus; spring-summer visitor). The latter species showed site fidelity between years, but White-crested Elaenia did not. Percentage of individuals with cloacal protuberance was similar among the species, but individuals with brood patches were recorded only in Greater Wagtail-tyrants and Southern Scrub-flycatchers. White-crested Elaenias showed low, medium and high fat stores, while the other species presented no fat or low fat stores. White-crested Elaenia had a high level of fruit consumption, while the other species consumed fruits occasionally or not at all. Our results support the hypothesis that the White-crested Elaenia uses the Monte desert as a stop-over area during its spring flight, and yield novel insights to fill a gap in our knowledge about the annual cycle of migrant birds in the Neotropics.
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