Most of us are noticing the movements of birds this time of year,
observing many species we like to think are returning to their ranges
farther south, where they spend most of the year. It turns out that it
might make more sense to regard them as local birds that merely
vacation there to avoid the cold season, and that long ago these species
colonized Middle and South America from their origins here.
        This interesting hypothesis has been presented in an article from lead
author Ben Winger of the University of Chicago (see for example
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/0731/1405000111.abstract   and
http://sciencelife.uchospitals.edu/2014/08/04/study-traces-evolutionary-origins-of-migration-in-new-world-birds/).
Many Ohio birders will remember Ben, who hails from Cleveland and was a
member of the birding scene here a decade ago. As a high-school student
in 2003 for example, he published an article in the Ohio Cardinal about
molt in migrant dowitchers in Ohio (26#3:125-136). Two years ago he was
among a crew exploring high-mountain habitats of Peru that discovered a
species new to science! We can look forward to more interesting work
from him.
Bill Whan
Columbus


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