Avian migration and dispersal

The movements of birds are among their most captivating traits. The regular seasonal movements of avian migrants are remarkably diverse: phalaropes (Phalaropus species) from the high Arctic spend their non‐breeding season in upwelling areas on open tropical seas; Northern Wheatears (Oenanthe oenanthe) traverse most of the northern hemisphere in their back‐and‐forth movements to ancestral wintering areas in Africa; and Resplendent Quetzals (Pharomachrus mocinno) travel from one side of Costa Rica’s mountainous spine to the other and back again in their annual search for fruiting trees. Birds migrate great distances to find suitable habitats, and they also engage in dispersal from the location where they hatched to their adult breeding sites.