Returning home: Movement strategies of subandean birds in a modified landscape

Abstract

We documented movement of a long-distant migrant (Swainson’s Thrush Catharus ustulatus) and two understory resident species (Chestnut-capped Brush-finch Buarremon brunneinuchus and Streak-capped Treehunter Thripadectes virgaticeps) in a fragmented landscape dominated by a pasture matrix in a Sub- Andean region of central Colombia. Swainson’s Thrush had no detectable difficulties traversing a pasture matrix and returning to the capture site. Chestnut-capped Brush-finch and Streak-capped Treehunter (understory resident species) avoided making lengthy flights and used stepping-stones and nearby corridors to ease their movement. Providing stepping stones such as live fences and isolated trees and maintaining corridors can enhance functional connectivity in regions with fragmented forests, aiding the conservation of bird species.