Migrations: Molt Migration

BirdNote^®

Molt Migration

Written by Ariana Remmel

This is BirdNote.
[American Goldfinch ML 105487]
This American Goldfinch is unmistakable in his bright yellow breeding plumage. Come late summer in the northern United States, though, and his feathers begin to look a little ragged. The bird is getting ready to migrate south for the winter. And after its last migration, a busy breeding season, and exposure to the elements, it’s time for a new set of feathers.
While the goldfinch is growing new flight feathers in a process called molting, he’s not as nimble on the wing. That makes it awkward to gather food — and he’s more vulnerable to predators. Yikes! Just to be safe, this goldfinch makes a pit stop at a secondary location, away from the breeding ground, to undergo the indignities of molting.
[American Goldfinch ML 105487]
Lots of songbirds make these migratory detours to change out their feathers, usually between their big spring and fall journeys. It’s called molt migration. Birds in the West are more likely to travel farther from their breeding grounds to find safe havens, but scientists are noticing this behavior in bird species across the U.S.
To protect birds during this exposed stage, molt migration habitats could be important targets for future conservation efforts. 
For BirdNote, I’m Mark Bramhill.
###
Senior Producer: John Kessler
Production Manager: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Digital Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. American Goldfinch ML 105487 recorded by G. Keller.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2021 BirdNote      October 2021    Narrator: Mark Bramhill
ID# migration-36-2021-10-25       migration-36

Reference: https://birdpop.org/docs/pubs/Pyle_et_al_2018_Molt_Migration.pdf