Recent Advances in Research of Understudied Bird Migration Systems

Bird migration research is primarily focused on birds that breed in Europe and North America, whereas the migration of birds that breed in most of the Southern Hemisphere and some regions of the Northern Hemisphere (e.g., in Asia) continues to be understudied. Such a gap in research is unfortunate, given that bird diversity is higher at tropical and austral latitudes than at boreal/northern latitudes, suggesting that we are missing a large fraction of the diversity of migration strategies employed by birds across the planet. In this Research topic, we hope to fill in some of these gaps by presenting recent research on the movements of birds in these understudied systems.

This Research Topic is focused on the movements of birds that breed in any part of Africa, Asia, Australia, Mesoamerica, South America, and the Caribbean. Research can include studies that employ any methodology, from citizen science to the use of tracking technology. Research on different migration types is also welcome, including classical migration, dispersive migration (i.e., lacking directionality during the non-breeding period), and nomadism. Overall, the primary goal of this Research topic is to further our understanding of how and why birds migrate in relatively understudied species and regions.

Keywords: migration, ornithology, dispersive migration, nomadism, classical migration, tracking technology

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.