Series of three images of a Northern Saw-whet Owl in mid-flight against a black background. A Motus tag is attached to its back.

Publications Library

Peer-reviewed publications by Motus collaborators which have used Motus data.

Credit:Brock and Sherri Fenton

Attribution Guidelines

Whenever Motus data is used for purposes outside of the Motus platform, projects, collaborators and organizations must be properly acknowledged. Project citations should be used anytime Motus data is used or displayed outside of the Motus platform (see below for more information). Please review the Motus Collaboration Policy for more information regarding data use, project citation and acknowledgement.

Displaying 1 - 67 of 67 results

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2022-05
Fall Migratory Behaviour and Cross-Seasonal Interactions in Semipalmated Plovers (Charadrius semipalmatus) Breeding in the Hudson Bay Lowlands, Canada

Marley Aikens

Departure decisions Flight orientation Migratory connectivity Migratory phenology Site importance Stopover duration -
2021-10-16
Drought at a coastal wetland affects refuelling and migration strategies of shorebirds

Alexandra M. Anderson, Christian Friis, Cheri L. Gratto-Trevor, Christopher M. Harris, Oliver P. Love, R. I. Guy Morrison, Sean W. J. Prosser, Erica Nol, Paul A. Smith

Stopover duration Weather Oecologia
2019-07-09
Migration Distance and Body Condition Influence Shorebird Migration Strategies and Stopover Decisions During Southbound Migration

Alexandra M. Anderson, Sjoerd Duijns, Paul A. Smith, Christian Friis, Erica Nol

Migration strategy Body condition Carry-over effects Departure decisions Flight speed Individual path choice Migration range Migratory physiology Stopover duration Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
2024-04-23
Ecological drivers of songbird stopover behaviour during migration in eastern New Brunswick

Andrew T. Beauchamp

Activity patterns Departure decisions Displacement Flight orientation Migratory physiology Stopover duration Weather -
2020-08-08
Stopover refueling, movement, and departure decisions in the White-throated Sparrow: the influence of intrinsic and extrinsic factors during spring migration

Andrew T. Beauchamp, Christopher G. Guglielmo, Yolanda E. Morbey

Activity patterns Departure decisions Displacement Migratory phenology Migratory physiology Stopover duration Journal of Animal Ecology
2025
Automated telemetry reveals migratory movements and stopover timing of an endangered saltmarsh passerine

Bri Benvenuti, Adam Smith, Chris Elphick, Nick Ernst, Adrienne Kovach, Kathleen O'Brien, Nancy Pau

Departure decisions Flight speed Individual path choice Stopover duration Avian Conservation and Ecology
2018-12
Investigating the effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure on avian pre-migratory fuelling and migration

Kristin Bianchini

Biodiversity management Contaminants Migratory connectivity Migratory speed Stopover duration -
2018-10-26
Assessment of Shorebird Migratory Fueling Physiology and Departure Timing in Relation to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Contamination in the Gulf of Mexico

Kristin Bianchini, Christy A. Morrissey

Biodiversity management Contaminants Site importance Stopover duration Environmental Science & Technology
2020-09-15
Differences in Migration Timing along the Midcontinental Flyway in Sanderling (Calidris alba) from Three Gulf of Mexico Staging Areas

Kristin Bianchini, David J. Newstead, Christy A. Morrissey

Migration strategy Individual path choice Migratory phenology Migratory speed Site importance Stopover duration Waterbirds
2024-10-01
Migratory behaviour of Ipswich Sparrows during spring

Sydney Bliss, Marty Leonard, Zoe Crysler, Phil Taylor

Departure decisions Flight distance Flight speed Stopover duration Canadian Journal of Zoology
2024-09
Length of Stay and Habitat Use of Shorebirds at Two Migratory Stopover Sites in British Columbia, Canada

Anne L. Blondin

Migratory phenology Migratory physiology Site importance Stopover duration -
2025
Lengths of Stay and Stopover Strategies of Western Sandpipers During Migration at Two Sites in British Columbia, Canada

Anne L. Blondin, Mark C. Drever, Scott A. Flemming, Wendy E. Easton, Mark Maftei, Yuri Zharikov, Nils Warnock, Erica Nol

Individual path choice Migratory physiology Site importance Stopover duration Ecology and Evolution
2024
Migration Ecology of Harris’s Sparrow in Nebraska: 2024 Report

Stephen J. Brenner, Joel G. Jorgensen

Stopover duration -
2022-09-23
Do departure and flight route decisions correlate with immune parameters in migratory songbirds?

Vera Brust, Cas Eikenaar, Florian Packmor, Heiko Schmaljohann, Ommo Hüppop, Gábor Á. Czirják

Body condition Departure decisions Disease Flight distance Individual path choice Migratory physiology Stopover duration Functional Ecology
2023-12-08
Irruptive fall migrations are linked to elevated breeding abundance but are not associated with body condition or stopover duration in Northern Saw-whet Owls

Shawn R Craik, Amélie Doucet, Mathieu Manuel, Chloé Roy, Taylor M Brown, Emilie J Knighton, Dave Shutler, Randy F Lauff, Danielle Ethier, Amy-Lee Kouwenberg, Philip D Taylor

Body condition Site importance Stopover duration Ornithology
2024
Understanding the spring migration ecology of sora and virginia rail in central illinois: a study utilizing automated telemetry

Chad A. Cremer

Activity patterns Departure decisions Site importance Stopover duration Weather -
2015-03-03
Breeding ground dispersal and fall migratory movements of Ipswich Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis princeps)

Zoe Crysler

Activity patterns Biodiversity management Breeding and postbreeding dispersal Departure decisions Migratory phenology Stopover duration -
2025
Habitat use and local movement of staging Lesser Yellowlegs ( Tringa flavipes ) differ between coastal and inland habitat in Atlantic Canada

Kathryn Danyk, Devin De Zwaan, Julie Paquet, Diana Hamilton

Site importance Stopover duration Journal of Field Ornithology
2023-11-10
Differential Migration Timing and the Form and Function of Avian Wings

Jessica E. Deakin

Migration strategy Activity patterns Body condition Departure decisions Departure preparation Individual path choice Migratory phenology Stopover duration -
2017-08
Behavioural Mechanisms of Protandrous Spring Migration in a Nearctic-Neotropical Songbird

Jessica E. Deakin

Departure decisions Migratory phenology Stopover duration -
2019-07-01
Sex differences in migratory restlessness behavior in a Nearctic–Neotropical songbird

Jessica E. Deakin, Christopher G. Guglielmo, Yolanda E. Morbey

Departure preparation Stopover duration The Auk: Ornithological Advances
2016
The effects of wind and fuel stores on stopover departure behavior across a migratory barrier

Bryant C. Dossman, Greg W. Mitchell, D. Ryan Norris, Philip D. Taylor, Christopher G. Guglielmo, Stephen N. Matthews, Paul G. Rodewald

Departure decisions Ecological barrier Stopover duration Weather Behavioral Ecology
2019-07-01
Long-distance migratory shorebirds travel faster towards their breeding grounds, but fly faster post-breeding

Sjoerd Duijns, Alexandra M. Anderson, Yves Aubry, Amanda Dey, Scott A. Flemming, Charles M. Francis, Christian Friis, Cheri Gratto-Trevor, Diana J. Hamilton, Rebecca Holberton, Stephanie Koch, Ann E. McKellar, David Mizrahi, Christy A. Morrissey, Sarah G. Neima, David Newstead, Larry Niles, Erica Nol, Julie Paquet, Jennie Rausch, Lindsay Tudor, Yves Turcotte, Paul A. Smith

Migration strategy Flight orientation Flight speed Migratory speed Stopover duration Weather Scientific Reports
2019-09-13
A neonicotinoid insecticide reduces fueling and delays migration in songbirds

Margaret L. Eng, Bridget J. M. Stutchbury, Christy A. Morrissey

Agricultural intensification Contaminants Departure decisions Migratory physiology Stopover duration Science
2025-07-09
Effects of severe weather on shorebirds: Evidence of disrupted refueling and delayed departure on southbound migration

Sophia M. Fraser, Devin R. De Zwaan, Hilary A. R. Mann, Julie Paquet, Diana J. Hamilton

Stopover duration Weather Ecosphere
2017-06-13
Fuel loads acquired at a stopover site influence the pace of intercontinental migration in a boreal songbird

Camila Gómez, Nicholas J. Bayly, D. Ryan Norris, Stuart A. Mackenzie, Kenneth V. Rosenberg, Philip D. Taylor, Keith A. Hobson, Carlos Daniel Cadena

Migratory physiology Migratory speed Stopover duration Scientific Reports
2021-09
Mapping Avian Movement in Minnesota

Alexis R. Grinde, Annie Bracey, Stephen Kolbe

Activity patterns Individual path choice Site fidelity Stopover duration Urban landscapes -
2022-03-18
Drivers and Direct Impacts of Lean Mass Dynamics on the Stopover Ecology and Migratory Pace of Nearctic-Neotropical Migrant Songbirds in Spring

Mariamar Gutierrez Ramirez

Ecological barrier Migratory physiology Stopover duration -
2022-10-17
Depleted lean body mass after crossing an ecological barrier differentially affects stopover duration and refueling rate among species of long-distance migratory birds

Mariamar Gutierrez Ramirez, Michael S. Griego, Joely G. DeSimone, Cory R. Elowe, Alexander R. Gerson

Ecological barrier Migratory physiology Stopover duration Functional Ecology
2021-08
Survival, Effects of Habitat Change, and Migratory Tactics of Nearctic-Neotropical Migratory Shorebirds

John A Herbert

Departure decisions Migratory connectivity Migratory speed Site fidelity Stopover duration Survival -
2022-02-03
Migration tactics and connectivity of a Nearctic-Neotropical migratory shorebird

John A. Herbert, David Mizrahi, Caz M. Taylor

Biodiversity management Departure decisions Ecological barrier Migratory connectivity Migratory speed Site importance Stopover duration Journal of Animal Ecology
2022-01-25
Effects of Experimental Malaria Infection On Migration of Yellow-rumped Warblers (Setophaga coronata)

Rebecca Howe

Activity patterns Disease Stopover duration -
2019-03-27
Spring Shorebird Migration Chronology and Stopover Duration at an Important Staging Site in the North American Central Flyway

Jessica E. Howell, Ann E. McKellar, Richard H. M. Espie, Christy A. Morrissey

Population estimates Site importance Stopover duration Waterbirds
2016-10-8
A field test of the effects of body composition analysis by quantitative magnetic resonance on songbird stopover behaviour

Lisa V. Kennedy, Yolanda E. Morbey, Stuart A. Mackenzie, Philip D. Taylor, Christopher G. Guglielmo

Flight orientation Stopover duration Journal of Ornithology
2025-09-22
Stopover departure decisions in spring: pre-Saharan migrants stay longer and are more selective for favourable wind than trans-Saharan migrants

Thomas Klinner, Thiemo Karwinkel, Florian Packmor, Heiko Schmaljohann

Departure decisions Flight orientation Stopover duration Movement Ecology
2023-12-06
Evidence of differing staging strategies between adult and juvenile Semipalmated Sandpipers highlights the importance of small staging sites in Atlantic Canada

Rebeca C Linhart, Diana J Hamilton, Julie Paquet, Cheri L Gratto-Trevor

Migration strategy Departure decisions Individual path choice Site importance Stopover duration Ornithology
2017-12-20
Postbreeding dispersal and staging of Common and Arctic Terns throughout the western North Atlantic

Pamela Loring, Robert Ronconi, Linda Welch, Philip Taylor, Mark Mallory

Breeding and postbreeding dispersal Residence time Site importance Stopover duration Avian Conservation and Ecology
2022-05-01
Experimental ghrelin administration affects migratory behaviour in a songbird

Sara Lupi, Yolanda E. Morbey, Scott A. MacDougall-Shackleton, Hiroyuki Kaiya, Leonida Fusani, Christopher G. Guglielmo

Departure decisions Migratory physiology Stopover duration Hormones and Behavior
2024
Antipredator Nest-Defense Behaviour and Post-Breeding Migration of Two Poorly Understood Subarctic Breeding Shorebirds, the Short-Billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus hendersoni) and the Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus)

Olivia R. Maillet

Breeding and postbreeding dispersal Departure decisions Flight orientation Flight speed Stopover duration -
2017-03
Effects of Extreme Tidal Events on Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) Migratory Stopover in the Bay of Fundy, Canada

Hilary A. R. Mann, Diana J. Hamilton, Julie M. Paquet, Cheri L. Gratto-Trevor, Sarah G. Neima

Site importance Stopover duration Waterbirds
2023-01-01
How Does the Creation of Temporary Wetland Habitat on Agricultural Fields in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley Affect the Abundance of Migratory Shorebirds?

Emma McCarley Counce

Population estimates Site importance Stopover duration -
2011-09-28
Migratory stopover in the long-distance migrant silver-haired bat, Lasionycteris noctivagans

Liam P. McGuire, Christopher G. Guglielmo, Stuart A. Mackenzie, Philip D. Taylor

Migration strategy Activity patterns Departure decisions Departure preparation Stopover duration Journal of Animal Ecology
2015-12-07
Shorebird use of western Hudson Bay near the Nelson River during migration, with a focus on Red Knot.

Ann E. McKellar, R. Kenyon Ross, R.I.Guy Morrison, Lawrence J. Niles, Ronald R. Porter, Joanna Burger, David J. Newstead, Amanda D. Dey, Paul A. Smith

Biodiversity management Migratory connectivity Site importance Stopover duration Wade Study
2020-08-25
Are movements of daytime and nighttime passerine migrants as different as day and night?

Bianca Michalik, Vera Brust, Ommo Hüppop

Migration strategy Departure decisions Migratory phenology Stopover duration Ecology and Evolution
2011-08-01
Passerines use Nocturnal Flights for Landscape-Scale Movements during Migration Stopover

Alexander M. Mills, Bethany G. Thurber, Stuart A. Mackenzie, Philip D. Taylor

Departure decisions Home range and territory Stopover duration The Condor
2022-04-08
Reduced diurnal activity and increased stopover duration by molting Swainson’s Thrushes

Ana Morales, Barbara Frei, Greg W Mitchell, Camille Bégin-Marchand, Kyle H Elliott

Activity patterns Departure decisions Migratory speed Stopover duration Survival Weather Ornithology
2017-01-05
Evaluation of sex differences in the stopover behavior and postdeparture movements of wood-warblers

Yolanda E. Morbey, Christopher G. Guglielmo, Philip D. Taylor, Ivan Maggini, Jessica Deakin, Stuart A. Mackenzie, J. Morgan Brown, Lin Zhao, David Stephens

Activity patterns Flight speed Individual path choice Migratory phenology Stopover duration Behavioral Ecology
2022-9-2
Length of stay and departure strategies of Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) during post-breeding migration in the upper Bay of Fundy, Canada

Sarah G. Neima, Rebeca C. Linhart, Diana J. Hamilton, Cheri L. Gratto-Trevor, Julie Paquet

Departure decisions Site importance Stopover duration Weather Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
2020-02-07
Stopover departure decisions in songbirds: do long-distance migrants depart earlier and more independently of weather conditions than medium-distance migrants?

Florian Packmor, Thomas Klinner, Bradley K. Woodworth, Cas Eikenaar, Heiko Schmaljohann

Departure decisions Migratory physiology Stopover duration Weather Movement Ecology
2017-01
Stopover movement patterns by Blackpoll and Canada Warblers across southeastern Canada during fall migration: an automated radio-telemetry study

Alain Parada Isada

Departure decisions Stopover duration Weather -
2023-10-19
Moult migrant Tennessee Warblers undergo extensive stopover in peri-urban forests of southern Quebec

Vanessa Poirier, Barbara Frei, Mathilde Lefvert, Ana Morales, Kyle Hamish Elliott

Departure decisions Home range and territory Migratory phenology Site importance Stopover duration Urban landscapes Canadian Journal of Zoology
2024-01-01
Peri-urban forest margins are important stopover sites for moult-migrating songbirds

Vanessa Poirier, Kyle H. Elliott, Barbara Frei

Home range and territory Site importance Stopover duration Urban landscapes Journal for Nature Conservation
2023-04-21
Age and Sex Differences in Stopover Behaviours and Flight Performance in Black-throated Blue Warblers

Patricia Rokitnicki

Departure decisions Flight speed Individual path choice Migration range Stopover duration Weather -
2023-07-04
The urge to breed early: Similar responses to environmental conditions in short- and long-distance migrants during spring migration

Georg Rüppel, Ommo Hüppop, Heiko Schmaljohann, Vera Brust

Departure decisions Ecological barrier Industrial development Stopover duration Weather Ecology and Evolution
2023-02-08
Departure, routing and landing decisions of long-distance migratory songbirds in relation to weather

Georg Rüppel, Ommo Hüppop, Sander Lagerveld, Heiko Schmaljohann, Vera Brust

Departure decisions Individual path choice Landing decisions Stopover duration Weather Royal Society Open Science
2023
South Atlantic Bight – a final stop for Ruddy Turnstones migrating to the Arctic

Felicia Sanders, Adam Smith, Janet Thibault, Deborah Carter, Maina Handmaker, Fletcher Smith

Migratory speed Site importance Stopover duration Weather Journal of Field Ornithology
2020-07-08
A quasi-experimental approach using telemetry to assess migration-strategy-specific differences in the decision-making processes at stopover

Heiko Schmaljohann, Thomas Klinner

Body condition Departure decisions Flight orientation Migratory physiology Stopover duration BMC Ecology
2019-02-28
Stopover departure behavior and flight orientation of spring-migrant Yellow-rumped Warblers (Setophaga coronata) experimentally exposed to methylmercury

Chad L. Seewagen, Yanju Ma, Yolanda E. Morbey, Christopher G. Guglielmo

Contaminants Departure decisions Flight orientation Migratory physiology Stopover duration Journal of Ornithology
2018-02
Tracking Migratory Bird Movements in the Gulf of Maine with Automated Radio Telemetry and Stable Hydrogen Isotope Markers

Jennifer Smetzer

Migration strategy Activity patterns Colony attendance Flight orientation Individual path choice Industrial development Site importance Stopover duration -
2018-05-09
Prolonged stopover and consequences of migratory strategy on local-scale movements within a regional songbird staging area

Jennifer Smetzer, David King

Migration strategy Migratory speed Stopover duration The Auk
2023-07-10
Spring migration patterns of red knots in the Southeast United States disentangled using automated telemetry

Adam D. Smith, Felicia J. Sanders, Kara L. Lefevre, Janet M. Thibault, Kevin S. Kalasz, Maina C. Handmaker, Fletcher M. Smith, Tim S. Keyes

Flight speed Individual path choice Site importance Stopover duration Weather Scientific Reports
2021-04-02
Factors Influencing Stopover and Movement of Migratory Songbirds within the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge

Jessica Tatten

Migration strategy Flight speed Individual path choice Stopover duration -
2024-12-12
Effects of immune status on stopover departure decisions are subordinate to those of condition, cloud cover and tailwind in autumn‐migrating common blackbirds Turdus merula

Tjomme van Mastrigt, Kevin D. Matson, Sander Lagerveld, Xinrou S. Huang, Willem F. De Boer, Henk P. Van Der Jeugd

Disease Migratory physiology Stopover duration Weather Journal of Avian Biology
2024-12-21
Euphagus carolinus (Rusty Blackbird) from two different breeding populations in northeastern North America exhibit chain migration yet use the same region for stopover

Jacob Walker, Camille Bégin-Marchand, Alexandre Terrigeol, Jean-François Therrien, Pascal Côté, Levi Burford, Carol R Foss, Junior A Tremblay

Departure decisions Flight speed Migratory connectivity Migratory phenology Site importance Stopover duration Ornithological Applications
2025
Insights from a decade of using the Motus network to track boreal bird species from Observatoire d’oiseaux de Tadoussac, Québec to temperate and tropical wintering grounds

Jacob Walker, Jean-François Therrien, Camille Bégin-Marchand, Pascal Côté, Alexandre Terrigeol, François Gagnon, Junior A. Tremblay

Flight distance Flight speed Individual path choice Migratory phenology Stopover duration Journal of Field Ornithology
2015
Patterns and correlates of songbird movements at an ecological barrier during autumn migration assessed using landscape-and regional-scale automated radiotelemetry

Bradley K. Woodworth, Greg W. Mitchell, D. Ryan Norris, Charles M. Francis, Philip D. Taylor

Departure decisions Ecological barrier Flight orientation Individual path choice Stopover duration Weather Ibis
2018-04-25
Automated telemetry reveals staging behavior in a declining migratory passerine

James R. Wright, Luke L. Powell, Christopher M. Tonra

Migration strategy Flight distance Flight speed Industrial development Migratory phenology Site fidelity Stopover duration The Auk

Attribution Formatting

Project citation format:

[Institution | Collaborators]. [Project Name and Number]. [Years of project activity]. Data accessed from Motus Wildlife Tracking System, Birds Canada. Available: https://motus.org/. Accessed: [Date].

*Institutions or collaborators, project name and number, and years of project activity can be identified through project profiles on the Motus website.

Collaborators are encouraged to acknowledge Motus in any written work, popular or peer-reviewed publications, oral presentations, social media, or websites. Collaborators are also encouraged to acknowledge Motus as a program of Birds Canada in close collaboration with a diverse network of organizations, businesses and individuals.

If Motus tools (e.g. Motus website, visualizations, output tables) are used in your analysis or communications, the citation should be as follows:

Motus Wildlife Tracking System. [Year]. Birds Canada, Port Rowan, Ontario. Available: https://motus.org. Accessed: [Date].

Motus RBook citation:

Birds Canada (2024). motus: Fetch and use data from the Motus Wildlife Tracking System. https://motusWTS.github.io/motus/.

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