Possible Intra-Regional Bird Migration in Trinidad and Tobago

Abstract

The position of Trinidad and Tobago at the southern end of the West Indies island chain, linking them to the South American continent, raises some interesting problems relating to bird migration. The best-known routes involve species that breed in North America or West Indies and migrate south to or through Trinidad and Tobago during the boreal winter. Because most of these populations have been studied for many years, and also because banding studies, primarily originating in North America, have provided valuable information on the movements of individuals, we are able to form a fairly accurate picture of where these species are at any time of year, and why they move from place to place.