ABSTRACT Migratory birds have evolved diverse migration strategies in response to a variety of factors, but information about the detailed migration patterns of Asian songbirds is not yet available. To understand the short-distance migration pattern of declining Yellow-throated Buntings (Emberiza elegans) in East Asia, we analyzed stable isotopes from the outermost tail feathers (rectrices) of individual buntings collected in Korea and Japan. Temporal changes in feather hydrogen (δ2Hf) and oxygen (δ18Of) isotopic values at stopover islands suggested that northern populations start migration earlier than southern populations, especially in autumn. Latitudinal gradient in δ2Hf values of three wintering populations implied that northern breeders wintered farther north than southern breeders. The migration pattern of this bunting, known as Type II chain migration, was also inferred from hydrogen isotope-based geographic assignments of feather growth origins. Our data demonstrate that stable isotope analysis may help to bridge current knowledge gaps in songbird migration despite coarsely mapped isoscapes and as-of-yet undetermined isotope calibration functions in Asia.

中文翻译：

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基于同位素地理分配揭示的黄喉鹀迁移模式

摘要 候鸟已根据各种因素进化出多种迁徙策略，但尚无关于亚洲鸣禽的详细迁徙模式的信息。为了了解东亚黄喉鹀（Emberiza elegans）衰落的短距离迁徙模式，我们分析了在韩国和日本收集的个体鹀最外层尾羽（直纹）的稳定同位素。中途停留岛羽毛氢 (δ2Hf) 和氧 (δ18Of) 同位素值的时间变化表明，北方种群比南方种群更早开始迁移，尤其是在秋季。三个越冬种群的 δ2Hf 值的纬度梯度表明，北方繁殖者比南方繁殖者在更北的地方越冬。这种彩旗的迁徙模式，被称为 II 型链迁移，也可以从基于氢同位素的羽毛生长起源地理分配推断出来。我们的数据表明，稳定同位素分析可能有助于弥合目前在鸣禽迁徙方面的知识差距，尽管亚洲有粗略的等值线图和尚未确定的同位素校准功能。