First full annual cycle tracking of a declining aerial insectivorous bird, the Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor), identifies migration routes, nonbreeding habitat, and breeding site fidelity

Over one third of North American bird species are in decline, and for many species, we still lack fundamental biogeographic information such as migration routes and nonbreeding areas. Identifying causes of declines is limited because tracking many species throughout their annual cyclewith high precision and accuracy is challenging. Common Nighthawks( Chordeilesminor (J.R. Forster, 1771)) have declined throughout much of their range and have yet to have their migratory and nonbreeding areas identified and characterized. We tracked Common Nighthawksby deploying a new 3.5 g Pinpoint GPS- Argostag on adult males. Seven of 10 (70%) tags uploaded locations, providing the first data on migration, nonbreeding habitat, and annual site fidelity to breeding areas. Birds used similar loop migration routes and overwinteredin Brazil’s Cerrado and Amazon regions. Nonbreeding season roosting home rangeswere 148.22 ± 121 ha (mean ± SE) and included forest, grassland, and cropland. Breeding home-rangefidelity was hig...