Eastern North American forests are degraded due to land use history and are threatened by numerous factors that further reduce their structural complexity, which contributes to population declines of many taxa. As such, many agencies and their conservation partners are employing habitat centric conservation efforts. Increased availability of airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data provides an opportunity to quantify fine-scale structural habitat characteristics for forest wildlife. One such species of conservation concern, the eastern whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus), requires diverse forest structural conditions to meet its breeding season habitat requirements. We used airborne LiDAR data and autonomous recording units (ARUs) to identify elements of forest structure that influence whip-poor-will breeding season abundance in Pennsylvania, USA. Specifically, we applied a machine-learning classifier for whip-poor-will song to audio recordings obtained from 851 ARUs that were deployed in forested landscapes and then created daily detection histories to estimate whip-poor-will relative abundance. Whip-poor-wills were detected at 334 survey locations (41 %). Abundance exhibited positive linear relationships with percent forest cover and percent oak forest and a negative linear relationship with percent impervious cover. Whip-poor-will abundance was also influenced by forest structure, with abundance exhibiting a quadratic relationship with two LiDAR-derived covariates; canopy heterogeneity and height within 300 m. Using these results, we predicted whip-poor-will abundance and habitat management potential. Whip-poor-will conservation in our study region will depend on public and private land efforts that maintain heavily forested, oak dominated landscapes that are managed using practices that increase canopy height diversity among and within stands.

Knowledge of space use provides insight into a species' habitat requirements needed for conservation. Little is known about space use of the near threatened Kirtland's Warbler ( Setophaga kirtlandii) ) wintering in The Bahamas, and how the warbler's home range size and core area overlap among individuals and vary with sex and age, food availability, winter season, and habitat characteristics. To address these knowledge gaps, we used radio telemetry to determine sedentary home range size (95% adaptive kernel), core area (50% AK), and overlap for 27 radio-tagged warblers during two winters on Eleuthera, The Bahamas. Warblers monitored for similar to 3 weeks each had a median sedentary home range of 8.87 ha (range: 0.53-118.50 ha) and a median core area of 1.04 ha (range: 0.05-12.69 ha). Foliage of the warbler's principal fruit species ( Lantana involucrata, Erithalis fruticosa, Chiococca alba) ) was present in more warbler core area plots than in outlier plots (telemetry fix points outside the 95% AK home range) or in random plots within the landscape. Both size of home range and core areas increased with site disturbance age - consistent with declines in fruit abundance associated with age of vegetation. Warbler core areas displayed little pairwise overlap in two sites, "RS" and "MR," examined during October-December (RS, (x) over bar = 1.49%; MR, (x) over bar = 0.55%) and at a site in January-February (MR, (x) over bar = 3.32%), indicating areas of exclusive use or territoriality. In contrast, a fruit-rich site ("OH") in March-April had higher pairwise overlap in core areas (OH, (x) over bar = 8.56%), which may have resulted in competition for fruit. Our findings re-emphasize the importance of conservation at a landscape scale if spatiotemporal variation in food resources increases or become more concentrated prior to migration with extreme weather due to global climate change.

Conservationists spend considerable resources to create and enhance wildlife habitat. Monitoring how species respond to these efforts helps managers allocate limited resources. However, monitoring efforts often encounter logistical challenges that are exacerbated as geographic extent increases. We used autonomous recording units (ARUs) and automated acoustic classification to mitigate the challenges of assessing Eastern Whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus) response to forest management across the eastern USA. We deployed 1263 ARUs in forests with varying degrees of management intensity. Recordings were processed using an automated classifier and the resulting detection data were used to assess occupancy. Whip-poor-wills were detected at 401 survey locations. Across our study region, whip-poor-will occupancy decreased with latitude and elevation. At the landscape scale, occupancy decreased with the amount of impervious cover, increased with herbaceous cover and oak and evergreen forests, and exhibited a quadratic relationship with the amount of shrub-scrub cover. At the site-level, occupancy was negatively associated with basal area and brambles (Rubus spp.) and exhibited a quadratic relationship with woody stem density. Implementation of practices that create and sustain a mosaic of forest age classes and a diverse range of canopy closure within oak (Quercus spp.) dominated landscapes will have the highest probability of hosting whip-poor-wills. The use of ARUs and a machine learning classifier helped overcome challenges associated with monitoring a nocturnal species with a short survey window across a large spatial extent. Future monitoring efforts that combine ARU-based protocols and mappable fine-resolution structural vegetation data would likely further advance our understanding of whip-poor-will response to forest management.

Numerous studies report proximity to land cover edges decreases avian nesting success, yet variation among species, sites, and nesting guilds obscures overall patterns. Nest success is a key demographic parameter, and edges are often created from anthropogenic disturbance; therefore, further understanding of nest success and edges should inform bird conservation efforts. We performed a meta-analysis to examine effects of edges on mature forest and shrubland bird nest survival in eastern North America. Sixteen studies fit our inclusion criteria, comprising data for 11 mature forest and 9 shrubland species. Nest success for mature forest birds declined with proximity to edges. Additionally, random effects of species and study explained a relatively large amount of variance in nest survival. We did not find a significant edge effect for shrubland birds, but only two data points (averaged within studies) were greater than 100 meters from an edge. Thus, in studies we compiled, an impact of edges was only apparent for forest species that nested far from edges. An interactive effect of distance-to-edge and nest placement (low vs. higher nesting height) did not significantly influence nest survival. Single-species analyses showed a relationship between distance-to-edge and nesting success for Hermit Thrush ( Catharus guttatus ), though small sample sizes may have limited our ability to detect relationships for other species. Overall, core areas greater than 250 m from edges tend to have higher nest success for mature forest birds, information that will help managers and conservationists when maintaining habitat for both forest and shrubland bird communities.

Forests are valuable for a wide variety of reasons, including biodiversity and carbon sequestration and storage. As such, in the U.S., various parties have proposed large-scale forest management efforts to enhance biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration. Others, in contrast, argue that forests should not be harvested and have used legal action to prevent timber harvest on public lands. However, given that modern forests in the U.S. are reduced in extent compared to pre-settlement times, are subject to a reduced rate of natural disturbances but experience novel disturbances such as invasive pests and elevated fire risk, and are out of ecological balance due to past human activities, we suggest that active management is not only aligned with forest sustainability but necessary to conserve the maximum feasible range of forest biodiversity. In many areas of the U.S., species most in need of conservation depend on open canopy or early seral forest conditions, both of which can be created or maintained by forest harvest. We suggest that forest management for wood products simultaneously produces these needed conditions, whereas setting aside forests from management only benefits a subset of biodiversity. Although areas not subjected to forest harvest are important landscape components, active management is also needed to restore once-common forest types such as oak (Quercus spp.) woodland, mitigate invasive pests, reduce fire risk, and manage for species that need early seral or disturbed conditions, which are declining on the landscape. We document the current unbalanced conditions and the need for management with a focus on the eastern U.S. to demonstrate the issues.

AbstractDifferential use of resources among bird species has been examined extensively in diet and nesting sites, but few studies have assessed this regarding avian nest materials. We assessed the structure and composition of nests in a group of co‐existing passerine shrubland birds at a site in Massachusetts, USA. We found, measured, collected, and dissected nests, and then weighed nest materials in morphological groups (e.g., bark, twigs, feathers) to determine if our seven focal species were using different nest materials. Among species, we compared proportional material masses in complete nests, and also separately in the exterior, structural part of the nest and the interior, cup lining. We found that the proportional masses of all 17 material types that we examined in nests differed among species. The compositions of nests among all seven bird species were distinct in multivariate ordination space and only a few pairs of species had substantial niche overlap. Proportional masses of materials within discrete sections (exterior and interior) also varied among species. Although some differences in nest composition could be partially explained by bird species size, nest materials differed even within the three larger bodied species and within four smaller bodied species. Our study builds upon previous studies that have shown species‐specificity in avian nest composition and supports the notion that birds using the same environment have distinct niches in relation to the materials placed in their nests. Niche partitioning due to interspecific competition could partially explain our findings, as certain materials are limited as resources, and searching for suitable nest materials is energetically costly. Additionally, other factors, such as partitioned nest sites, may have led to differential nest material use. We recommend further research to help elucidate underlying mechanisms of nest composition partitioning in birds and potentially other nest‐building taxa.

Habitat management can directly impact Setophaga discolor (Prairie Warbler) abundance and distribution. Despite regional declines, Prairie Warbler populations at Camp Edwards (Bourne, MA) have increased. To investigate habitat-management effects on Prairie Warbler populations at Camp Edwards, we used a dynamic-occupancy model to analyze a long-term monitoring dataset collected across 84 point-count sites from 2013 to 2022. The model results indicated that Prairie Warbler colonization and extinction probabilities were impacted by management (measured in years since disturbance). Colonization probability was highest initially after disturbance, then subsequently decreased for similar to 50 years, and extinction probability also decreased for similar to 25 years. Both probabilities remained low before increasing at similar to 75 years since disturbance. The increase in colonization probability >75 years since disturbance may have been an artifact of our study design and incomplete disturbance records. We also found that latitude and longitude significantly affected colonization probability, likely a result of how habitat types are distributed across the base. These results inform how Prairie Warblers respond to long-term management, suggesting that habitat management could improve colonization rates and sustain Prairie Warbler populations.

Abstract Forest management affects conditions for both early‐ and late‐seral organisms, and managers and conservationists require information for balancing the ostensibly opposing habitat needs of both these guilds. We conducted meta‐analyses that examined silvicultural systems with a range of postharvest retention and their impacts on mature‐forest and shrubland bird species densities in eastern North America during the breeding season. Densities of mature‐forest bird species generally declined as canopy tree retention and basal area decreased, although some mature‐forest species had similar densities among unharvested and partially harvested (e.g., first‐entry shelterwood) stands, and others had their highest densities in shelterwoods. We conducted a previous meta‐analysis study, which showed most shrubland bird species in the region increase with harvest intensity, but some shrubland species had similar densities in clearcuts and shelterwoods. Given the contrasting effects of harvest intensity on the two avian guilds, we used Partners‐in‐Flight conservation values to generate objective community‐wide conservation indices relative to postharvest tree retention. Clearcuts and shelterwoods typically had the highest conservation values, and unharvested and lightly thinned stands (70%–100% tree retention) had the lowest conservation scores. Many declining shrubland bird species of conservation concern are abundant in low‐retention stands, thus elevating the conservation value of these stands. Additionally, high conservation values of harvested stands with 40%–70% tree retention represent the presence of both shrubland and mature‐forest species; the latter are potentially responding to enhanced understory structure needed for avian nesting or foraging. In contrast, contemporary closed‐canopy forests in eastern North America are generally characterized by low structural diversity and are mid‐seral stands due to historical patterns of land use and tree harvesting. Although avian community conservation values were lowest in high‐retention stands and many other threatened, non‐avian taxa depend on open‐canopy, managed forests, managers should note that late‐seral, unharvested stands can provide important habitat for old‐growth‐dependent taxa and any intensive forestry should also take into account other factors. Considering the growing interest in using postharvest retention of canopy trees to meet ecological objectives, our novel synthesis can assist managers in assessing species‐specific and community‐wide avian responses to tree retention levels along the entire gradient of canopy treatments.

The Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chyrsoptera) and Blue-winged Warbler (Vermivora cyanoptera) are both Neotropical migratory species of elevated conservation concern that overlap in distribution on their Central American wintering grounds, yet the extent to which they overlap in terms of habitat use is unknown, potentially hindering conservation efforts. We surveyed these two species along habitat and elevational gradients within a coffee-growing landscape during 2016 and 2017 in Yoro, Honduras. We used playback with a mobbing track known to enhance detections of female warblers, since examining sexual habitat segregation was another objective of our study. Habitat occupied by these two species differed, with male Golden-winged Warblers occurring in landscapes dominated by humid forest/coffee (forest with some dense shade coffee, which were indistinguishable with remote sensing at our sites) at higher elevations than male Blue-winged Warblers, which were positively associated with the amount of agriculture in the landscape. Six of seven female Golden-winged Warblers were encountered in shade coffee, however, this association was not significant, likely due to small sample size and low detectability. The association between male Golden-winged Warblers and humid forest/coffee and elevation, and contrasts in habitat use between male and female Golden-winged Warblers, are consistent with prior research in the region. Furthermore, the landscape associations of these non-breeding Vermivora species mirror their breeding landscape associations, with Golden-winged Warblers occupying more forested landscapes and Blue-winged Warblers occupying more agricultural landscapes. The use of shade coffee by female Golden-winged Warblers and Blue-winged Warblers suggests agroforestry could be a promising tool for conserving wintering populations of these species, although this result should be viewed with caution given that use of shade coffee is reported to elevate predation risk in other migratory species, and may not provide habitat for forest-dependent resident birds.

The quality of any scientific journal depends on the critical evaluations provided by its manuscript reviewers. Editors rely on their assessments in deciding what manuscripts to publish and in improving the quality of those that are published. The editorial office and the Wilson Ornithological Society thank the following individuals who served as reviewers of manuscripts submitted to the Wilson Journal of Ornithology, with reviews received between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021 (names in bold indicate those who contributed 2 or more reviews).

Abstract Pinus rigida (Pitch Pine)–Quercus ilicifolia (Scrub Oak) barrens require active management to maintain, but the effects of forest management on snakes and game birds is poorly understood. We conducted vegetation surveys and examined incidental encounter data of a variety of snake and game bird species on a managed pine barren in Montague, MA, from 2008 to 2018. We recorded 73 observations, including 44 Coluber constrictor constrictor (Northern Black Racer) and 7 Meleagris gallopavo (Wild Turkey) nests. All of our observations were in managed habitats (Scrub Oak, treated Pitch Pine, and powerline corridors) which had low (<30%) tree canopy cover. Observed densities of Northern Black Racers did not significantly vary among these open-canopy habitats, or with time since treatment between 2 to 8 years since initial harvest in treated Pitch Pine. We did not conduct extensive surveys in unmanaged, closed-canopy Pitch Pine forests; thus, we were unable to determine the relative use by racers and game birds of unmanaged versus managed habitats. Nevertheless, snakes and game birds were using and nesting in the managed habitats at least to some extent. Our findings on racers and game birds from this study are preliminary, but combined with results from other studies, they suggest that ecosystem management in pine barrens can benefit snakes and game birds, along with a wide variety of other taxa.

Abstract Wood warblers (Parulidae) eat insects, spiders and other small arthropods, fruit, and nectar, but have also been documented preying on vertebrates. We conducted a literature review to determine which species of Parulidae have been observed capturing or consuming vertebrate species, such as small lizards, amphibians, and fish. We also include information and discussion of three previously unpublished observations: 1) a Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia) photographed with a bark anole (Anolis distichus) in its mouth on San Salvador Island, The Bahamas, 2) a Black-and-white Warbler that had small lizard bones (Anolis spp.) in its stomach contents in Jamaica, and 3) a Yellow-throated Warbler (Setophaga dominica) photographed preying on a brown anole (Anolis sagrei) in Florida, USA. The latter observation was particularly interesting as the brown anole shed its tail and briefly escaped before being recaptured by the warbler. Including these three unpublished events, our literature review found 24 separate records of 12 Parulidae species preying on vertebrates. The majority of predation records were of lizards (58%), with an additional 25% predation records of amphibians and 17% of fish. We hypothesize that vertebrate predation by wood warblers is opportunistic and potentially limited by the difficulty in capturing, handling, and consuming larger vertebrate prey. There is also non-mutually exclusive evidence to suggest birds exhibit plasticity in prey items, partially switching to larger, more difficult-to-handle vertebrate prey during taxing periods when invertebrate prey are less available. Our study synthesizes previous work and can assist future research in better understanding trophic interactions, foraging efficiency and prey size, evolution, and the natural history of both warblers and their vertebrate prey. Keywords bird diet, caudal autotomy, foraging efficiency, non-breeding, predatory behavior, Squamata Resumen Revisión de la depredación de vertebrados por parte de parúlidos (Parulidae) y descripción de tres nuevas observaciones • Los parúlidos (Parulidae) se alimentan de insectos, arañas y otros pequeños artrópodos, frutas y néctar; pero también se ha documentado que depredan vertebrados. Realizamos una revisión bibliográfica para determinar qué especies de Parulidae han sido observadas capturando o consumiendo especies de vertebrados, como pequeños lagartos, anfibios y peces. También incluimos información y discutimos tres observaciones inéditas: 1) un individuo de Mniotilta varia fotografiado con un lagarto de la especie Anolis distichus en el pico en la isla de San Salvador, Bahamas, 2) otro individuo de Mniotilta varia que tenía pequeños huesos de Anolis spp. en su contenido estomacal en Jamaica, y 3) un indidividuo de Setophaga dominica fotografiado mientras depredaba a otro de Anolis sagrei en Florida, Estados Unidos. Esta última observación fue especialmente interesante, ya que el lagarto soltó la cola y escapó brevemente antes de ser recapturado por el ave. Incluyendo estos tres eventos no publicados, en nuestra revisión de la literatura encontramos 24 registros separados de 12 especies de Parulidae que cazan vertebrados. La mayoría de los registros de depredación fueron de lagartos (58%), mientras que otro 25% se correspondió con anfibios y un 17% con peces. Nuestra hipótesis es que la depredación de vertebrados por parte de parúlidos es oportunista y potencialmente limitada por la dificultad de capturar, manipular y consumir presas vertebradas de mayor tamaño. También existen evidencias no excluyentes que sugieren que las aves muestran plasticidad en sus presas y pueden cambiar parcialmente a presas vertebradas de mayor tamaño y más difíciles de manejar durante los periodos más exigentes, en los que las presas invertebradas están menos disponibles. Nuestro estudio resume trabajos anteriores y puede ayudar en futuras investigaciones a comprender mejor las interacciones tróficas, la eficiencia de forrajeo y el tamaño de las presas, la evolución y la historia natural tanto de los parúlidos como de sus presas vertebradas. Palabras clave autotomía caudal, conducta depredadora, dieta de las aves, eficiencia de forrajeo, no reproductivo, Squamata Résumé Examen de la prédation des vertébrés par les parulines (Parulidae) et description de trois nouvelles observations • Les parulines (Parulidae) se nourrissent d’insectes, d’araignées et d’autres petits arthropodes ainsi que de fruits et de nectar, mais il a aussi été constaté qu’elles peuvent s’attaquer aux vertébrés. Nous avons réalisé une étude bibliographique pour déterminer quelles espèces de Parulidae ont été observées capturant ou consommant des vertébrés, tels que des lézards, des amphibiens et des poissons de petite taille. Nous incluons également des informations et une discussion sur trois observations inédites : 1) une Paruline noir et blanc (Mniotilta varia) photographiée avec dans le bec un anolis (Anolis distichus), sur l’île de San Salvador, aux Bahamas ; 2) une Paruline noir et blanc dont l’estomac contenait des os de petits anolis (Anolis spp.), en Jamaïque ; et 3) une Paruline à gorge jaune (Setophaga dominica) photographiée en train de capturer un anolis brun (Anolis sagrei) en Floride, aux États-Unis. Cette dernière observation était particulièrement intéressante, car l’anolis brun a perdu sa queue et s’est brièvement échappé avant d’être repris par la paruline. En incluant ces trois observations non publiées, notre étude bibliographique fait état de 24 enregistrements distincts de 12 espèces de Parulidae capturant des vertébrés. Les mentions de prédation concernaient majoritairement des lézards (58 %), mais aussi des amphibiens (25 %) et des poissons (17 %). Nous supposons que la prédation des vertébrés par les parulines est opportuniste et potentiellement limitée par la difficulté à capturer, manipuler et consommer des proies vertébrées plus grandes. Il existe également des éléments non mutuellement exclusifs qui indiquent que les oiseaux font preuve de plasticité dans le choix de leurs proies, se tournant partiellement vers des proies vertébrées plus grandes et plus difficiles à manipuler lors des périodes où les proies invertébrées sont moins disponibles. Notre étude synthétise les travaux antérieurs et pourra aider les recherches futures à mieux comprendre les interactions trophiques, l’efficacité de la recherche de nourriture et la taille des proies, l’évolution et le cycle de vie des parulines et de leurs proies vertébrées. Mots clés autotomie caudale, comportement de prédation, efficacité de la recherche de nourriture, espèce non nicheuse, régime alimentaire des oiseaux, Squamata

Throughout the eastern deciduous forests of North America, a lack of disturbance coupled with advancing ecological succession in many regions has led to forests dominated by even-aged sawtimber with very little in the early successional stage. Monitoring of response of these target species to early successional communities created through Working Lands for Wildlife and Regional Conservation Partnership Programs have been completed. ARU-based regional monitoring protocol was used to assess whip-poor-will occupancy across various landscapes contexts, silvicultural treatments, and forest types in the Appalachian Mountain and New England regions. Researchers conducted milkweed, monarch egg, and larvae surveys simultaneously with the pollinator surveys. Preliminary results support that increasing milkweed and nectar-rich plants within alder and upland early successional communities will provide valuable resources for the monarchs and other pollinators in the northern Great Lakes.--

Abstract Birds experience a sequence of critical events during their life cycle, and past events can subsequently determine future performance via carry‐over effects. Events during the non‐breeding season may influence breeding season phenology or productivity. Less is understood about how events during the breeding season affect individuals subsequently in their life cycle. Using stable carbon isotopes, we examined carry‐over effects throughout the annual cycle of prairie warblers (Setophaga discolor), a declining Nearctic–Neotropical migratory passerine bird. In drier winters, juvenile males that hatched earlier at our study site in Massachusetts, USA, occupied wetter, better‐quality winter habitat in the Caribbean, as indicated by depleted carbon isotope signatures. For juveniles that were sampled again as adults, repeatability in isotope signatures indicated similar winter habitat occupancy across years. Thus, hatching date of juvenile males appears to influence lifetime winter habitat occupancy. For adult males, reproductive success did not carry over to influence winter habitat occupancy. We did not find temporally consecutive “domino” effects across the annual cycle (breeding to wintering to breeding) or interseasonal, intergenerational effects. Our finding that a male's hatching date can have a lasting effect on winter habitat occupancy represents an important contribution to our understanding of seasonal interactions in migratory birds.

Summary Cyclonic storms (often called hurricanes, typhoons, or cyclones) often cause population declines in vulnerable bird species, and the intensity of these storms appears to be increasing due to climate change. Prior studies have reported short-term impacts of hurricanes on avifauna, but few have examined long-term impacts. Over two decades (1993–2018), we periodically surveyed a subspecies of West Indian Woodpecker Melanerpes superciliaris nyeanus on San Salvador, a small island in The Bahamas, to determine its distribution on the island, habitat use, and effects of hurricanes on abundance and population size. We conducted passive and playback surveys, supplemented with mist-netting. Woodpeckers were found only in the northern part of San Salvador, despite extensive surveys throughout other accessible areas of the island. Birds occupied areas with taller coppice adjacent to sabal palm Sabal palmetto groves, which were used for nesting. After hurricanes with >160 kph winds passed over San Salvador, woodpecker densities declined to 35–40% of pre-hurricane densities, but generally recovered back to pre-hurricane densities within 2–3 years. Based on an estimated density of woodpeckers within a ~1,400 ha occupied area, we calculated a population size of approximately 240 individuals (CI = 68-408). However, the population declined to far lower numbers immediately following hurricanes. Under IUCN Red List criteria, M. s. nyeanus classifies as ‘Critically Endangered’, and could be especially sensitive to future hurricanes if they occur at a high enough frequency or intensity to prevent the population from rebounding. Given the small size, isolation, and vulnerability of this population, we recommend preservation of the core habitat, continued monitoring, and further research. Our study shows that small, threatened bird populations can be resilient to the effects of hurricanes, but increased intensity of hurricanes, in combination with other threats, may limit this resilience in the future.

ABSTRACT Capsule In a single-year study, attaching geolocators to male Prairie Warblers Setophaga discolor, one of the smallest species to date to carry geolocators, decreased return rates but had no effect on inter-annual territory fidelity. Aims To examine the effects of light-level geolocators on return rates and inter-annual territory fidelity of adult, male Prairie Warblers migrating to and from their non-breeding grounds. Methods During the 2016 breeding season we captured adult male Prairie Warblers at two sites in northeastern USA and attached geolocators and colour rings to one group of birds, and only colour rings to another group of birds. During the 2017 breeding season, we estimated return rates to the sites and inter-annual territory fidelity (i.e. distance between territory locations from one year to the next) for the birds that returned to the sites. We compared return rates and territory fidelity between birds with and without geolocators. Results Geolocators significantly decreased return rates of male Prairie Warblers to the study sites by 0.18 (95% credible interval [CI]: −0.37 to 0.01) from 2016 to 2017. Birds that returned exhibited a range of distances between estimated locations of territories in each year (7–2104 m), but the differences in distances between birds with and without geolocators were not statistically significant. Conclusion Although return rates were lower for Prairie Warblers with geolocators, these effects should not necessarily disqualify their use. Rather, the magnitude of the negative effects on individuals needs to be considered against the benefits and reliability of the information gained for the population or species. We recommend the effects of geolocators and other tracking tags should be studied and reported in conjunction with the main objectives of the study for which the tags are being used.

Forest management planning requires the specification of measurable objectives as desired future conditions at spatial extents ranging from stands to landscapes and temporal extents ranging from a single growing season to several centuries. Effective implementation of forest management requires understanding current conditions and constraints well enough to apply the appropriate silvicultural strategies to produce desired future conditions, often for multiple objectives, at varying spatial and temporal extents. We administered an online survey to forest managers in the eastern US to better understand how wildlife scientists could best provide information to help meet wildlife-related habitat objectives. We then examined more than 1000 review papers on bird–vegetation relationships in the eastern US compiled during a systematic review of the primary literature to see how well this evidence-base meets the information needs of forest managers. We identified two main areas where wildlife scientists could increase the relevance and applicability of their research. First, forest managers want descriptions of wildlife species–vegetation relationships using the operational metrics of forest management (forest type, tree species composition, basal area, tree density, stocking rates, etc.) summarized at the operational spatial units of forest management (stands, compartments, and forests). Second, forest managers want information about how to provide wildlife habitats for many different species with varied habitat needs across temporal extents related to the ecological processes of succession after harvest or natural disturbance (1–2 decades) or even longer periods of stand development. We provide examples of review papers that meet these information needs of forest managers and topic-specific bibliographies of additional review papers that may contain actionable information for foresters who wish to meet wildlife management objectives. We suggest that wildlife scientists become more familiar with the extensive grey literature on forest bird–vegetation relationships and forest management that is available in natural resource management agency reports. We also suggest that wildlife scientists could reconsider everything from the questions they ask, the metrics they report on, and the way they allocate samples in time and space, to provide more relevant and actionable information to forest managers.

Songbirds of many species acquire their songs by imitating the songs of conspecific singers. Conclusive evidence of such imitation comes from controlled laboratory studies, but such studies do not reveal when and where songbirds learn their songs under natural conditions. To determine the timing and location of song learning in a population of prairie warblers, we compared the songs of yearling prairie warblers of known hatching location to the songs of other birds in the yearlings' natal and first breeding areas. The comparisons yielded a likely model song (and model singer) for each of the song types used by the focal yearlings. We supplemented our findings from the song comparisons with inferences drawn from an analysis of local geographic variation in songs. This analysis revealed that shared song types showed no tendency to be geographically clustered within the study area. Taken together, our data suggest that prairie warblers learn their songs during the hatch year, at locations somewhat distant (mean distance 1,437 m) from their natal site, most likely as birds wander about during the post-fledging period.

The effects of forest management on native fauna are of key interest to managers and conservationists. Individual studies have expanded our knowledge of management impacts, but meta-analyses of multiple studies are needed to summarize and integrate findings into a more generalizable form. Most meta-analyses on the effects of tree harvesting have focused on mature forest taxa because of concerns for these species; however, early-successional specialists, such as shrubland birds in the eastern United States, are also of key conservation concern. Using data from 34 studies that examined the effects of silvicultural treatments on bird communities, we conducted a meta-analysis to determine the effects of tree retention on a suite of bird species reported to be associated with shrubland habitats within the northeastern United States. Of 21 putative shrubland bird species for which we had sufficient sample sizes for analyses, most (62%) exhibited monotonic declines of density with increasing tree retention, defined as percent basal area or canopy cover retained. Five other species (24%) exhibited quadratic relationships with tree retention. Finally, three additional species (14%) considered to be shrubland birds did not exhibit significant relationships with tree retention. We also calculated density estimates of shrubland birds in three categorical classifications of basal area retention corresponding to common management regimes: regeneration harvests with little retention (clearcut and seed-tree methods), regeneration harvests with moderate retention (shelterwoods), and high retention management regimes (commercial thinning, selection methods, no management). Many of the shrubland species had high densities in clearcuts as well as in stands with low levels (5-25%) of mature tree retention, and some species had equally high densities in stands with moderate tree retention (30-70%), supporting the use of retention forestry approaches, which can provide other benefits associated with mature trees. Overall, our findings provide managers and conservationists with robust, quantitative relationships of shrubland birds with tree retention. Managers can use these quantitative relationships for more detailed planning and evaluation of silvicultural projects, more so than what was feasible using previous findings of shrubland bird responses to discrete silvicultural treatments from disparate studies.