The University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS) was founded in 1909.
Age-specific differences in habitat selection by the American Redstart
Title | Age-specific differences in habitat selection by the American Redstart |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 1974 |
Authors | Howe HF |
Journal | The Auk |
Volume | 91 |
Pagination | 161-162 |
Keywords | SETOPHAGA |
Abstract | The American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) is unusual among parulids because males retain immature plumage until after the first breeding season. On the basis of this character, age-specific differences in habitat occupation have been reported. In 1969 I sampled some redstart habitats near Pellston, Michigan. The age-specific differences I found in the habitats were not the same preferences the Fickens noted. The present report may be a useful step toward describing the habitats redstarts use across their entire range as a species. Taken together, the present report and the Fickens’ study document in part the diversity of habitats used by first-year and adult male redstarts in different regions. If, as the Fickens have reported, adult males exclude first-year males from "optimal" habitats, comparative study of the species’ ecology in different geographical regions should yield a clearer definition of the "optimal" habitat than now exists. |