American Woodcock Winter Distribution and Fidelity to Wintering Areas

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Abstract
We examined winter distribution and fidelity to wintering areas for the American Woodcock (Scolopax minor), which exhibits reversed, sexual size dimorphism. Band-recovery data revealed no difference in winter distributions of different age/sex classes for woodcock from the same breeding areas. Similarly, band recoveries from woodcock banded on wintering grounds revealed no difference in fidelity to wintering sites. Males may winter north of a latitude that is optimal for survival based on physiological considerations, but they gain a reproductive advantage if they are among the first to arrive on the breeding grounds. This may explain our results, which indicate males and females have similar distribution patterns during winter.