Migratory Species
Global Migration and Conservation
State of the World’s Migratory Species: Interim Report (2026) | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2026-03
Updates the global status of CMS-listed migratory animals, highlighting worsening extinction risk, population declines, habitat gaps, and conservation priorities.
Migratory Species Summit Adopts New Marine Protections Amid Extinction Warnings | Mongabay Staff | Mongabay | 2026-04
Reports on new international protections adopted for dozens of migratory animals, with a strong focus on marine species and transboundary conservation.
Outlook for Migratory Species Worsens Amid Habitat Loss and Avian Flu | Mongabay Staff | Mongabay | 2026-03
Summarizes evidence that many treaty-listed migratory species are declining as habitat loss, disease, overexploitation, and climate pressures intensify.
State of the World’s Migratory Species Report (2024) | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2024-02-12
The first global assessment of migratory species reviews population trends, extinction risk, major threats, and actions needed across entire migration routes.
Appendix I & II of CMS | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2026-06-27
Explains the treaty appendices covering endangered migratory species and species that require or would benefit from international cooperation.
Introduction to the Convention on Migratory Species | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | n.d.
Explains why conservation of animals that cross national borders requires coordinated protection of habitats, routes, and populations across range states.
Convention Text | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 1979
Provides the legal definition of a migratory species and the obligations countries accept to conserve threatened migratory animals and their habitats.
Fact Sheets on Migratory Species | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2026
Collects species-focused fact sheets on caribou, pronghorn, mule deer, bats, elephants, antelopes, raptors, and other migratory wildlife.
By Land, Air, and Water—USGS Science Supporting Fish and Wildlife Migrations | Mona Khalil et al. | U.S. Geological Survey | 2022-06-22
Surveys migration science across birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians, bats, and insects, emphasizing the importance of migration corridors.
Migration Matters | U.S. Geological Survey | U.S. Geological Survey | 2023-06-19
Introduces research on how animals use migration corridors and how managers can protect those routes from development, disturbance, and climate change.
Ecosystem Services from Transborder Migratory Species | U.S. Geological Survey | U.S. Geological Survey | 2017-10-17
Examines how migratory animals deliver pollination, pest control, recreation, and other benefits that depend on habitats spread across multiple jurisdictions.
Spatial Subsidies: Quantifying Linkages with Migratory Species | U.S. Geological Survey | U.S. Geological Survey | 2017-07-14
Explores how distant ecosystems support the benefits people receive from migratory wildlife and why conservation must account for the full annual cycle.
What Is Migration? | National Park Service | National Park Service | 2023
Introduces migration as a recurring ecological strategy used by wildlife to follow seasonal resources and suitable conditions.
Twelve Epic Migratory Journeys Animals Take Every Spring | Brian Handwerk | Smithsonian Magazine | 2019-04-19
Profiles spectacular migrations by caribou, whales, birds, insects, and other animals and explains the ecological pressures that drive them.
Climate Change Is Redrawing the Map of Species Migration | Earth.Org Staff | Earth.Org | 2026
Looks at how warming temperatures and altered ecosystems are changing where species move and complicating assumptions about predictable range shifts.
Bird Migration and Flyways
Reconnecting the Skies: Linking Flyways for Migratory Seabirds Across Continents | Mongabay Staff | Mongabay | 2026-08-21
Describes new research identifying global marine flyways used by long-distance seabirds and the need for coordinated protection across national waters and the high seas.
Voices of the Flyways: Diana Eusse | BirdLife International | BirdLife International | 2026-08-06
Profiles conservation work along the Americas flyway and shows how migratory birds connect distant landscapes, countries, and communities.
World Migratory Bird Day: Birds Reveal the Health of Our World | BirdLife International | BirdLife International | 2026-05-09
Uses migratory birds as indicators of ecosystem health and emphasizes the need to conserve connected habitats along entire flyways.
The Basics of Bird Migration: How, Why, When, and Where | Cornell Lab of Ornithology | All About Birds | 2026
Explains the major drivers, timing, distances, and strategies of bird migration, from short elevational movements to intercontinental journeys.
Navigation: How Birds Find Their Way When They Migrate | Cornell Lab of Ornithology | All About Birds | 2026
Reviews the multiple cues birds use to navigate, including celestial information, landmarks, magnetic fields, and learned routes.
The Flyways Birds Use to Migrate Across Continents | Cornell Lab of Ornithology | All About Birds | 2026
Explains how hundreds of millions of birds follow recurring continental and oceanic routes known as flyways.
Explore Global Flyways This World Migratory Bird Day | BirdLife International | BirdLife International | 2025-05-10
Introduces major global flyways and highlights the immense numbers of birds and countries linked by seasonal migration.
World Bank and BirdLife International Launch Historic Conservation Push | BirdLife International | BirdLife International | 2025-10-06
Covers a multinational effort to protect critical habitats along the African-Eurasian Flyway and connect conservation work across three continents.
How Bird Migration Keeps the Planet Connected | Nikita Gyanesh | Wetlands International | 2025-10-10
Explains how migratory birds link wetlands and ecosystems across hemispheres and why local habitat protection can have global effects.
How Do Migrating Birds Know Where to Go? | WWT | Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust | 2025-11-01
Explores how birds orient and navigate along established flyways and how inherited behavior and environmental cues guide their journeys.
Flyway Conservation | RSPB | Royal Society for the Protection of Birds | 2025-08-23
Describes international habitat protection and restoration along the East Atlantic Flyway, where birds depend on linked sites across many countries.
Climate Resilience for Migratory Birds and People Along the East Atlantic Flyway | Wetlands International | Wetlands International | 2025-05-07
Profiles an 11-country initiative designed to strengthen wetlands, migratory bird habitat, and community resilience along the East Atlantic Flyway.
Global Marine Flyways Identified for Long-Distance Migrating Seabirds | British Antarctic Survey | British Antarctic Survey | 2025-02-17
Summarizes tracking data from 48 long-distance seabird species to identify shared marine migration corridors across the world’s oceans.
Combating Threats to Endangered Birds on the Americas Flyway | Wetlands International | Wetlands International | 2024-10-21
Highlights efforts to reduce habitat loss and other threats affecting migratory birds along the interconnected Americas flyway.
Shared Skies: Monarchs & Migratory Birds | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | 2024-10-11
Shows how monarch butterflies and neotropical migratory birds depend on overlapping networks of native plants, water, stopover habitat, and international cooperation.
The Wonder of Migration and the Flyway of Life | National Audubon Society | Audubon | 2025
Explains the four major North American flyways and why stopover sites are essential for birds moving between breeding and wintering areas.
Where Do Birds Go Offshore? The Answers May Be Blowing in the Wind | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | 2024-03-19
Describes research collaborations using offshore wind infrastructure to improve knowledge of bird, bat, and butterfly movements over the ocean.
Conserving at Flyway Scales | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | 2023-10-12
Explains why wetlands conservation for migratory birds is organized around flyways rather than political boundaries.
Motus Stations: Tracking Migrations from Coast to Coast | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | 2023-05-31
Describes a continent-wide automated radio telemetry network that tracks tagged birds and other small migratory animals over long distances.
How Migratory Birds Connect Countries | BirdLife International | BirdLife International | 2023-03-29
Uses tracking data to map the geopolitical connections created by migratory landbirds and raptors across the African-Eurasian flyway.
Wetlands—A Vital Lifeline for Migratory Birds | Wetlands International Europe | Wetlands International | 2023-05-08
Explains why migratory birds depend on a chain of wetlands for feeding, resting, breeding, and winter survival.
Report on the Conservation Status of Migratory Waterbirds of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway | Wetlands International | Wetlands International | 2022-07-19
Assesses the conservation status of hundreds of migratory waterbird populations using one of the world’s largest and most threatened flyways.
Is Bird Migration Getting More Dangerous? | Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Living Bird / All About Birds | 2021
Examines growing hazards to migrating birds, including artificial light, habitat loss, collisions, and changing environmental conditions.
Tens of Millions of Western Birds Depend on These Two Regions During Migration | National Audubon Society | Audubon | 2021
Highlights key western stopover regions used by vast numbers of birds traveling the Pacific Flyway.
Migratory Service Stations: How Wetlands Help Birds Migrate | WWT | Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust | 2020-11-02
Explains how staging wetlands function as refueling and resting sites that can determine whether migrants complete their journeys successfully.
The Great Migration: Flyway Home | WWT | Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust | 2019-10-01
Follows long-distance waterbird movements into the United Kingdom and emphasizes protecting habitat at every stage of the flyway.
The Evolution of Bird Migration | Cornell Lab of Ornithology | Living Bird / All About Birds | 2017-04-11
Explores how migration evolves and why different bird species move over dramatically different distances and routes.
The Flyways Concept Can Help Coordinate Global Efforts to Conserve Migratory Birds | BirdLife International | BirdLife DataZone | 2015
Argues that protecting migratory birds requires coordinated conservation across the full chain of breeding, stopover, and wintering sites.
Trans-equatorial Migration of Short-tailed Shearwaters Revealed by Geolocators | British Antarctic Survey | British Antarctic Survey | 2014-12-22
Reports tracking of Short-tailed Shearwaters moving across the equator, demonstrating the scale and complexity of oceanic seabird migration.
Arctic Terns Confirmed to Have the Longest Animal Migration in the World | British Antarctic Survey | British Antarctic Survey | 2010-01-12
Describes geolocator research that mapped the enormous annual pole-to-pole migration of Arctic terns.
Global Flyways | BirdLife International | BirdLife International | n.d.
Provides an overview of the major global migration corridors used by billions of birds crossing continents, deserts, mountains, and oceans.
East Asian-Australasian Flyway | BirdLife International | BirdLife International | n.d.
Introduces the migration route linking Arctic breeding grounds with East and Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.
Migratory Birds | BirdLife International | BirdLife DataZone | n.d.
Summarizes the global threats to migratory birds and the need for coordinated action on habitat, hunting, infrastructure, and flyway protection.
Bird Migration Explorer | National Audubon Society | Audubon | n.d.
Interactive migration resource covering more than 450 bird species and the places and threats they encounter throughout their annual cycles.
Pacific Flyway | National Audubon Society | Audubon | n.d.
Examines climate-related threats to birds and habitats along the Pacific Flyway, including drought, fire, extreme heat, and urbanization.
Marine Migratory Species
Leatherback Turtle | NOAA Fisheries | NOAA Fisheries | 2026-08-03
Profiles one of the world’s most far-ranging reptiles, including trans-Pacific migrations between tropical nesting beaches and rich temperate feeding grounds.
Atlantic Salmon Fish Passage and Dams | NOAA Fisheries | NOAA Fisheries | 2026-08
Explains how dams and other barriers affect Atlantic salmon that must migrate between freshwater rivers and the ocean.
North Atlantic Right Whale | NOAA Fisheries | NOAA Fisheries | 2026-08
Describes seasonal whale movements along the Atlantic coast and the conservation challenges created by ship strikes and fishing-gear entanglement.
Loggerhead Turtle | NOAA Fisheries | NOAA Fisheries | 2026-07
Explains the long-distance movements loggerheads make between juvenile ocean habitats, coastal feeding areas, and natal nesting beaches.
Green Turtle | NOAA Fisheries | NOAA Fisheries | 2026-07
Describes adult green turtles migrating between coastal feeding grounds and nesting beaches where they return to reproduce.
Southern Right Whale | NOAA Fisheries | NOAA Fisheries | 2026-07
Covers annual movements between high-latitude feeding areas and lower-latitude breeding grounds in the Southern Hemisphere.
Sea Turtles | NOAA Fisheries | NOAA Fisheries | 2026
Provides an overview of sea turtle species that migrate hundreds or thousands of miles between feeding habitats and nesting beaches.
Gray Whale Calf Count Increases from All-Time Low | NOAA Fisheries | NOAA Fisheries | 2026
Reports on calves observed during the northward gray whale migration and what the count may indicate about population condition.
Gray Whale | NOAA Fisheries | NOAA Fisheries | 2026
Profiles a whale famous for one of the longest annual mammal migrations, traveling between Arctic feeding areas and Mexican breeding lagoons.
Humpback Whale | NOAA Fisheries | NOAA Fisheries | 2026
Describes humpback migrations between productive high-latitude feeding grounds and tropical or subtropical breeding and calving waters.
Where the Leatherbacks Roam | NOAA Fisheries | NOAA Fisheries | 2025
Highlights satellite-tracking research that identified important Atlantic foraging areas and migration corridors used by leatherback turtles.
Greater Atlantic Region Sea Turtle Program | NOAA Fisheries | NOAA Fisheries | 2026
Explains seasonal north-south movements of sea turtles along the U.S. Atlantic coast as ocean temperatures warm and cool.
Highly Migratory Species | NOAA Fisheries | NOAA Fisheries | 2025
Introduces tunas, sharks, swordfish, billfish, and other pelagic fishes whose migrations cross national and international boundaries.
Atlantic Highly Migratory Species | NOAA Fisheries | NOAA Fisheries | 2026
Explains management of migratory tunas, sharks, swordfish, and billfish that range across the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf.
Climate Change Charts a Dangerous Course for the World’s Largest Fish | Conservation International | Conservation International | n.d.
Discusses how warming seas may shift whale shark movements toward heavily trafficked shipping routes, increasing collision risk.
Migratory Fish and Freshwater Connectivity
World Fish Migration Day | NOAA Fisheries | NOAA Fisheries | 2026
Profiles salmon, steelhead, eels, sturgeon, shad, and other fishes that depend on free movement between freshwater and marine habitats.
Reopening Rivers for Migratory Fish | NOAA Fisheries | NOAA Fisheries | 2026-07
Explains how dam removal, culvert replacement, and habitat restoration reconnect spawning and nursery habitat for migratory fish.
Successful Fish Passage Efforts Across the Nation | NOAA Fisheries | NOAA Fisheries | 2025
Reviews river-restoration projects that help salmon, shad, alewives, sturgeon, and other migratory fish reach spawning and rearing habitat.
Fun Facts About Amazing Atlantic Salmon | NOAA Fisheries | NOAA Fisheries | 2025
Introduces the Atlantic salmon life cycle, including the smolt migration from freshwater to the ocean and the later return to natal rivers.
What Is a Fish Ladder? | NOAA National Ocean Service | NOAA | 2024
Explains how engineered fish ladders help salmon and other migratory fish move around dams and other river barriers.
In the News: Salmon & Steelhead Reintroduction Efforts | U.S. Geological Survey | U.S. Geological Survey | 2024
Discusses reintroducing migratory salmon and steelhead to upstream habitats that were historically blocked by large dams.
Riverscapes, Dam Removal and River Restoration | U.S. Geological Survey | U.S. Geological Survey | 2022
Uses the Elwha River as an example of how dam removal can reopen extensive habitat to salmon, lamprey, trout, and other migratory fishes.
USGS Fish Passage Research Helps Fish Get to Spawning Grounds | U.S. Geological Survey | U.S. Geological Survey | 2018
Explains the ecological and economic importance of helping migratory fish reach upstream spawning habitat.
Fish Passage | U.S. Geological Survey | U.S. Geological Survey | n.d.
Collects research on barriers and passage technologies for migratory fishes, including American eels moving between freshwater and the ocean.
When Can Salmon Be Seen Migrating to Their Spawning Area? | U.S. Geological Survey | U.S. Geological Survey | n.d.
Summarizes the seasonal timing of Pacific and Atlantic salmon runs as adults migrate upstream to spawn.
How Far Do Salmon Travel? | U.S. Geological Survey | U.S. Geological Survey | n.d.
Explains that salmon may travel hundreds of miles from natal streams to the ocean and then range widely before returning to reproduce.
Not Just Sea Life: Migratory Fish, Birds and Mammals Also Fall Foul of Plastic | Mongabay Staff | Mongabay | 2021-09
Shows why animals that move across many habitats can encounter plastic pollution repeatedly along their migration routes.
Terrestrial Mammal Migrations
Can South Sudan’s Great Antelope Migration Be Saved? | National Geographic Staff | National Geographic | 2026
Examines one of the world’s largest overland wildlife migrations and the challenge of balancing conservation, development, and local livelihoods.
USGS Mapping of Western Mule Deer Migration Featured in New Global Atlas | Communications and Publishing | U.S. Geological Survey | 2024-09-09
Highlights the longest documented mule deer migration and its inclusion in a global atlas of ungulate movements.
Mapped: 33 New Big Game Migrations Across American West | U.S. Geological Survey | U.S. Geological Survey | 2024
Adds dozens of mapped routes for mule deer, elk, pronghorn, and other ungulates, helping managers identify bottlenecks and priority corridors.
Ungulate Migrations of the Western United States, Volume 3 | U.S. Geological Survey | U.S. Geological Survey | 2023
Maps migration routes and seasonal ranges for western ungulates, providing detailed corridor information for land and wildlife management.
Ungulate Migration in a Changing Climate | U.S. Geological Survey | U.S. Geological Survey | 2022
Assesses how warming, altered snowpack, drought, vegetation changes, and extreme events may affect elk, mule deer, and pronghorn migration.
New Maps Document Big-Game Migrations Across the Western United States | U.S. Geological Survey | U.S. Geological Survey | 2020
Describes a collaborative effort to map migration routes used by mule deer, elk, pronghorn, moose, and bison across the American West.
A Warming Arctic Is Changing Animal Migrations | Earth.Org Staff | Earth.Org | 2020
Examines how rapid Arctic warming is changing the timing and movement of migratory animals such as caribou.
How Botswana Revived Africa’s Largest Mammal Migration | National Geographic Staff | National Geographic | 2018
Explains how removing fences and reconnecting landscapes helped restore long-distance zebra migration in Botswana.
Longest Migration Among African Mammals Discovered | Jennifer S. Holland | National Geographic | 2014-05-27
Reports the discovery of a roughly 300-mile zebra migration across Namibia and Botswana, demonstrating how much large-animal movement can remain undocumented.
The Best U.S. National Parks to See Wildlife Migrations—By Land, Air, and Sea | National Geographic Staff | National Geographic | 2026
Highlights parks where visitors can observe seasonal movements of bison, whales, birds, monarchs, and other migratory wildlife.
Marine Mammal Monday: Magnificent Migrations | The Marine Mammal Center | The Marine Mammal Center | n.d.
Uses gray whale migration data to explore how changing ocean conditions may alter one of the longest mammal migrations.
How to See the Gray Whale Migration and Help Save a Life | The Marine Mammal Center | The Marine Mammal Center | 2023-02-15
Describes gray whales’ long annual journey between Arctic feeding grounds and Mexican breeding lagoons and offers context for coastal observations.
Photo-Identification Field Research: Meet the Whales | The Marine Mammal Center | The Marine Mammal Center | n.d.
Uses photo-identification to follow individual whales and document changing patterns in gray whale migration and San Francisco Bay use.
Monarchs, Bats, Insects, and Tracking Technology
Save the Monarch | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | 2026-07
Summarizes the decline of North American monarchs and conservation actions aimed at sustaining their long-distance migration and overwintering sites.
Monarch Butterfly Migration Map | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | 2025
Maps the eastern and western North American monarch populations, their breeding ranges, and their distinct overwintering destinations.
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | n.d.
Provides a species overview emphasizing the monarch’s extraordinary multigenerational migration and the habitat losses contributing to its decline.
Five Super Stops on the Monarch Migration Trail | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | 2021
Highlights refuge sites where migrating monarchs can find nectar and shelter during their long journey across North America.
The Phenomenal Monarch Migration | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | 2021
Explains the unusual long-lived monarch generation that flies thousands of miles south to Mexico and delays reproduction until the return journey begins.
Wind Energy | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | n.d.
Reviews collision risks to migratory tree-roosting bats and notes that fatalities peak during late-summer and fall migration.
Technology Has Taught Us Much About Migratory Birds—But Can It Save Them? | Earth.Org Staff | Earth.Org | 2022
Reviews advances in tracking technology and how movement data can guide conservation decisions for migratory species.
How Scientists Are Using the Internet to Better Track Animals | Earth.Org Staff | Earth.Org | 2020
Describes the ICARUS concept of using space-based receivers to track large numbers of small animals and build a global picture of migration.
Martin Wikelski: Investigating Migratory Patterns of Wildlife | National Geographic | National Geographic | 2021
Profiles a scientist developing global animal-tracking systems to study migration, environmental change, disease spread, and conservation.
Why Unusually Large Swarms of Dragonflies Are Everywhere in the Bay Area | SFGATE Staff | SFGATE | 2026-08
Examines a recent surge in dragonfly abundance and notes that some species migrate seasonally through California along routes also used by raptors.
Global Migratory Species Conservation
New Report: Decline of Populations of Migratory Species Covered by UN Treaty Worsens | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2026-03-05
The latest global assessment finds that population declines among internationally protected migratory species have worsened, reinforcing the need for stronger conservation across borders.
40 Migratory Animal Species Receive New or Upgraded Protection | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2026-03-29
Governments agreed to new or stronger protections for dozens of migratory birds, aquatic animals and terrestrial species at CMS COP15 in Brazil.
Global Experts Find Climate Change Is Threatening Earth’s Animal Migrations | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2025-10-02
Scientists describe how warming, altered rainfall, extreme weather and changing ecosystems are disrupting migration timing, routes and habitats worldwide.
New Maps Document World’s Largest Land Animal Migration | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2025-04-30
Detailed tracking reveals the enormous seasonal movements of white-eared kob and tiang across South Sudan and Ethiopia.
Governments Endorse New Programme to Protect Central Asia’s Migratory Mammals | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2025-10-16
Central Asian governments agreed on cooperative measures to safeguard migration corridors and habitats used by seventeen large mammal species.
New UN Task Force Targets Illegal Taking of Migratory Birds | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2025-05-21
Ten countries formed a regional task force to combat unsustainable hunting and trapping of migratory birds in South-West Asia.
Momentum Builds for Stronger National Laws on Migratory Species | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2025-09-01
Governments and legal experts examine how domestic laws can translate international migratory-species commitments into enforceable conservation measures.
Pastoralism and Migratory Species | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2025
Examines the connections among pastoralism, rangeland management, transhumance and migratory wildlife conservation.
Samarkand Strategic Plan on Migratory Species | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2025
Describes international efforts to establish targets, indicators and monitoring systems for migratory-species conservation.
Renewable Energy and Migratory Species | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2024
Addresses the impacts of wind power, transmission infrastructure and other energy development on wildlife moving across migration routes.
Revised CMS Appendices Enter Into Force | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2024-05-17
Explains changes to the international lists of migratory species requiring coordinated conservation.
Amendments to the Appendices of the Convention | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2024
Details new species added to CMS protection following COP14.
Historic UN Wildlife Meeting Concludes With Major Actions | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2024-02-17
Summarizes international agreements addressing flyways, threatened mammals, sharks and other migratory wildlife.
Landmark UN Report: World’s Migratory Species Are in Decline | UNEP | United Nations Environment Programme | 2024-02-12
Reports that nearly half of CMS-listed migratory species have declining populations and more than one-fifth face extinction.
Uniting to Protect Migratory Species for the Benefit of All | Inger Andersen | United Nations Environment Programme | 2024-02-12
Discusses the ecological importance of migrating wildlife and the need for nations to cooperate across political borders.
Major UN Meeting on Migratory Species Conservation Opens in Uzbekistan | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2024-02-12
Introduces the major international negotiations on conservation of animals whose movements cross national boundaries.
UN Launches First-Ever Live Map of Large Mammal Migrations | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2024-09-04
Describes a global interactive atlas mapping migrations of antelopes, zebras, guanacos and other hoofed mammals.
Migratory Species and National Biodiversity Strategies | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2024
Provides guidance for incorporating migration corridors and migratory wildlife into national biodiversity planning.
International Day for Biological Diversity and Migratory Species | Amy Fraenkel | Convention on Migratory Species | 2024
Explains how ecological connectivity for migratory animals relates to international biodiversity targets.
CMS COP14 Champions for Migratory Species | CMS Secretariat | Convention on Migratory Species | 2024-02-12
Highlights governments and organizations supporting work on migration corridors, illegal bird killing and conservation of Central Asian mammals.
Migration Science, Ecology, and Climate
A Cross-Species Perspective on Migration in the Anthropocene | Magda Bou Dagher Kharrat et al. | npj Climate Action | 2026-08-20
Compares migration across animals, plants and humans and considers mobility as an ecological response to rapid environmental change.
Marine Megavertebrate Migrations Connect the Global Ocean | Lily K. Bentley et al. | Nature Communications | 2025-05-08
Maps migration connections for more than one hundred marine species, demonstrating how animals link distant national waters and the high seas.
Migrating Baleen Whales Transport High-Latitude Nutrients to Tropical Ecosystems | Joe Roman et al. | Nature Communications | 2025-03-10
Shows how whale migrations move nutrients from productive polar feeding grounds into nutrient-poor tropical breeding regions.
Monsoon Winds Create an Expressway for Migratory Shorebirds | Hengjun Xiao et al. | Communications Earth & Environment | 2025-12-04
Satellite tracking demonstrates how migrating shorebirds exploit monsoon winds to increase speed and lower the energetic cost of travel.
Southern Ocean Humpback Whales Are Shifting to an Earlier Return Migration | Rebecca Dunlop et al. | Scientific Reports | 2025-07-02
Long-term observations indicate humpback whales are changing migration timing as Southern Ocean conditions change.
Migratory Behaviour of Humpback Whales Under Climate Change | Virginie Millien et al. | Scientific Reports | 2025-02-01
Investigates how climate variability may be changing the timing and geography of southeastern Pacific humpback whale migrations.
Direct Mortality Due to Humans Threatens Migratory Shorebirds | D. Liang et al. | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2025-09-09
Finds that hunting, fisheries interactions and bird-deterrence practices are causing significant mortality along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway.
Low Migratory Connectivity in a Shorebird With Contrasting Population Trends | Researchers | Scientific Reports | 2024
Tracking research examines how differences in wintering regions can affect populations belonging to the same migratory shorebird species.
China’s Intertidal Mariculture as a Lifeline for a Threatened Shorebird Flyway | Researchers | Nature Communications | 2025-12-09
Finds that some aquaculture landscapes unexpectedly provide important feeding habitat for migrating shorebirds.
Scope for Waterfowl to Speed Up Migration to a Warming Arctic | Hans Linssen et al. | Nature Climate Change | 2025-09-09
Examines whether Arctic-breeding waterfowl can adjust migration speed sufficiently to keep pace with increasingly early springs.
Long-Distance Migration Promotes Genetic Diversity in Boreal Birds | T. M. Pegan et al. | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2025-05-20
Investigates evolutionary relationships between long-distance seasonal migration and genetic diversity among boreal bird species.
Synchrony of Bird Migration With Global Dispersal of Avian Influenza | Qiqi Yang et al. | Nature Communications | 2024-02-06
Compares bird migration timing with the geographic spread of avian influenza and identifies groups particularly exposed to disease movement.
Migratory Lifestyle Carries No Added Overall Energy Cost in a Songbird | Researchers | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2024
Physiological monitoring of partially migratory blackbirds challenges assumptions that migration necessarily increases total annual energy expenditure.
I Track Bird Movement to Enhance Conservation Efforts | Nikki Forrester | Nature | 2024-11-04
Profiles research using tracking technology to understand movements and protect declining migratory birds.
The Influence of Social Cues on Timing of Animal Migrations | William K. Oestreich et al. | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2022-10-24
Reviews how information from other animals influences when migrants begin or alter their journeys.
Evolutionary Causes and Consequences of Ungulate Migration | Joel O. Abraham et al. | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2022-05-05
Investigates how migration evolved repeatedly among hoofed mammals and how it relates to grasslands, seasonality and body size.
Compensation for Wind Drift During Raptor Migration Improves With Age | Fabrizio Sergio et al. | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2022-06-09
Tracking reveals how raptors cope with crosswinds and how migration performance changes among surviving older birds.
Migrant Birds and Mammals Live Faster Than Residents | Researchers | Nature Communications | 2020
Compares life-history strategies of migratory and resident vertebrates and explores evolutionary tradeoffs associated with migration.
Migratory Coupling Between Predators and Prey | Nathan B. Furey et al. | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2018-11-22
Explores cases in which predators themselves move long distances in response to migrations of their prey.
Animal Migration | Silke Nebel | Nature Education Knowledge | 2010
Provides a broad scientific introduction to migration in birds, mammals, insects, fish and marine organisms.
Migratory Birds and Flyways
There and Back Again—The Journeys of Two Wood Thrush | Mark LaBarr | Audubon | 2026-08-17
Tracking Wood Thrushes reveals journeys between northeastern breeding forests and tropical wintering grounds in Central America.
Cholao and Its Incredible Migratory Route Across the Americas | Audubon Americas | Audubon | 2026-06-17
Satellite tracking follows a Lesser Yellowlegs from Colombia through the Gulf of Mexico to breeding habitat in northern North America.
Chimney Swift Migration Is Full of Mysteries | Kelsey Barnett-Fischels | Audubon | 2026
Researchers are using tagged rehabilitated Chimney Swifts to investigate poorly understood migration routes.
Beidler Forest to the Bahamas: Journey of a Secretive Songbird | Ben Graham | Audubon | 2026-06-18
Geolocators reveal migration routes used by Swainson’s Warblers traveling between the southeastern United States and Caribbean.
Tuning In to Spring Migration | Anna Vallery | Audubon | 2026-03-17
Introduces radar, acoustic monitoring and tracking technologies that allow scientists and the public to follow migrations in real time.
New Data Reveals Golden-winged Warbler Migration Mysteries | Brittany Salmons | Audubon | 2026-02-17
Geolocator records reveal how small warblers time risky nonstop flights across the Gulf of Mexico.
Center for Birds of Prey’s First Motus Visitor | Karina Jiménez | Audubon | 2026-04-27
An American Kestrel became the first tagged migrant detected by a new Motus tracking station in Florida.
Signals in the Sky | Samara Villasenor | Audubon | 2026-05-18
Explains how an expanding network of Motus radio towers tracks birds, bats and insects moving through the Pacific Northwest.
Where Do Vaux’s Swifts Spend the Night? | Maddie Burakoff | Audubon | 2026
Community scientists map communal roosts that provide important resting places during Vaux’s Swift migration.
Audubon Center at Riverlands: A Hemispheric Crossroads | Audubon Upper Mississippi River | Audubon | 2026
Describes an important Mississippi River stopover used by birds moving between Arctic, temperate and tropical habitats.
Spring Migration Is Always Exciting | Kevin Poague | Audubon | 2026-05-15
Observations from the Great Plains demonstrate how prairie habitats support migrating grassland birds, warblers and waterfowl.
Adopt-a-Flyway Program to Enhance Migratory Bird Habitat | Margo Rosenbaum | Audubon | 2026-07-28
A Minnesota initiative aims to restore hundreds of acres of privately and publicly managed habitat along the Mississippi Flyway.
Release the Chicks: Banding Great Lakes Piping Plovers | Audubon Great Lakes | Audubon | 2026-07-02
Banding endangered Piping Plovers helps researchers follow survival and migration between Great Lakes breeding beaches and southern wintering areas.
Migrating Common Nighthawk Tracked From Maine to Florida | Renée Wilson | Audubon | 2025-10-07
A Motus receiver in Florida detected a Common Nighthawk originally tagged in Maine during its southbound migration.
A Buff-breasted Sandpiper Connects Florida to Habitat North and South | Col Lauzau | Audubon | 2025-09-09
Uses an individual shorebird to illustrate how Florida beaches connect Arctic breeding areas with South American wintering grounds.
From Bodega Bay to the Salton Sea—A Shorebird’s Journey | Dan Orr | Audubon | 2025-06-06
Western Sandpipers demonstrate the importance of linked wetlands along the Pacific Flyway.
Scientists Can Now Track the Roseate Tern’s Migration | Jill Langlois | Audubon | 2025
Tracking reveals movements between northeastern North American breeding colonies and important coastal sites in Brazil.
Scientists Can Now Track How High Songbirds Fly Over the Ocean | Halle Parker | Audubon | 2025
New tracking techniques reveal flight altitudes of songbirds making dangerous overwater migrations.
Where Do Hummingbirds Go in the Winter? | Anna Gibbs | Audubon | 2025-01-17
Reviews the remarkably varied migration strategies used by North American hummingbirds.
A Kaleidoscopic Variety of Migrating Hummingbirds Out West | Douglas Main | Audubon | 2025
Explores the early southbound movements of hummingbird species across the western United States.
The Monumental Effort to Understand Migrating Shorebirds | Shaela Adams | Audubon | 2024-07-02
Hundreds of observers survey western wetlands to determine where shorebirds concentrate during migration.
The New PBS Nature Special Highlights Epic Shorebird Migrations | Felice Stadler | Audubon | 2024-02-05
Discusses extraordinary migrations of godwits, curlews and Red Knots and the conservation challenges affecting their flyways.
As Spring Shifts Earlier, Migrating Birds Struggle to Keep Up | Maddie Burakoff | Audubon | 2024-03-07
Examines mismatches between migration schedules and increasingly early seasonal food availability caused by warming temperatures.
Toolkit to Address Human Disturbance on Shorebirds | Audubon | Audubon | 2024-04-19
Compiles strategies for protecting migratory shorebirds from vehicles, recreation, dogs and other disturbance at coastal stopover sites.
Nesting Season and Migratory Coastal Birds | Bethany Carl Kraft | Audubon | 2024-04-04
Highlights conservation efforts for coastal birds that use beaches for nesting, migration and wintering.
A New Golden Age of Observation Is Revealing Night Migration | Audubon Magazine | Audubon | n.d.
Describes how radar, tracking technology and community science are revealing the scale of nocturnal bird migration.
A Pioneering Collaboration Opens a New Window Into Bird Migration | Audubon Magazine | Audubon | n.d.
Examines efforts to integrate tracking and population data across the full annual cycles of migratory birds.
Fall Migration Is Already Underway | Audubon | Audubon | 2020
Explains why southbound migration begins surprisingly early for many Arctic shorebirds and western seabirds.
Improving Stopover Habitat for Birds | Michele Berger | Audubon | 2012
Discusses efforts to identify and improve critical resting and feeding habitat for migratory songbirds.
Chicago’s Rose the Piping Plover Reaches Florida | Audubon | Audubon | 2021
Tracks a banded Great Lakes Piping Plover to its regular winter territory on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Is the Secret to Saving Migratory Birds in the Meal Prep? | Smithsonian National Zoo Staff | Smithsonian Magazine | 2020-12-17
Explains the importance of food availability and stopover habitat for songbirds and shorebirds making long-distance seasonal journeys.
The Next Frontier: Unraveling Tropical Bird Migration | Leila Nilipour | Smithsonian Magazine | 2018-10-13
Explores the comparatively poorly understood migrations of birds moving within tropical South America.
Migratory Shorebird Populations Plummeting Globally | BirdLife International | BirdLife International | 2024-10-28
Reports major declines among shorebirds whose survival depends on networks of coastal and wetland stopover sites.
Global Bird Weekend Celebrates the World’s Flyways | BirdLife International | BirdLife International | 2024-09-27
Introduces notable species and conservation challenges along several of the planet’s major bird migration routes.
Empowering Communities to Safeguard Migratory Bird Havens in Africa | BirdLife International | BirdLife International | 2024-08-28
Shows how locally led conservation projects protect critical sites along the East Atlantic Flyway.
Migratory Species Connect Our World—Now We Must Protect Them | BirdLife International | BirdLife International | 2026-03-23
Examines the international policy actions required to conserve birds and other species whose migrations span multiple countries.
Building Momentum for Flyway Conservation | BirdLife International | BirdLife International | 2026-03-20
Describes efforts to integrate development finance, habitat protection and international cooperation across the African-Eurasian Flyway.
Marine and Long-Distance Migrants
How to See Pacific Salmon Make Their Epic Annual Migration | Melissa Hobson | National Geographic | 2026-08-21
Follows Pacific salmon returning from the ocean to natal rivers in one of North America’s most dramatic annual wildlife movements.
The Ice That Once Saved Bowhead Whales Is Vanishing | Bethany Brookshire | National Geographic | 2026-04-30
Examines the relationship among bowhead whale movements, Arctic sea ice, historical hunting and modern climate change.
Gray Whale | National Geographic Staff | National Geographic | n.d.
Profiles the gray whale’s extraordinary annual journey between Arctic feeding areas and breeding lagoons off Mexico.
Salmon | National Geographic Staff | National Geographic | 2021
Explains the salmon life cycle and the demanding migration from freshwater to the ocean and back again to spawn.
What a Trip! The Toughest Animal Migrations on Earth | National Geographic Staff | National Geographic | 2016-03-26
Compares extreme migrations by birds, mammals and insects, including long nonstop flights across oceans.
Lucy Alice Hawkes Is Tracking Animal Migration to the Ends of the Earth | National Geographic Staff | National Geographic | 2023-07-21
Profiles research tracking tuna, turtles, birds and other mobile animals to understand how and why they migrate.
Earth’s Migratory Animals Are in Peril | Lina Zeldovich | Smithsonian Magazine | 2024-02-12
Reviews the global CMS assessment and explains ecological services provided by migrating animals.
Birds, Bats and Bugs: The Teeming World Above Our Heads | Ari Daniel | Smithsonian Magazine | 2025-10-23
Explores aeroecology and emerging technologies for studying animals moving through the atmosphere.
The Best U.S. National Parks for Wildlife Migrations | Susan B. Barnes | National Geographic | 2026-06-24
Highlights elk, bison, whales, birds and insects whose seasonal migrations pass through national parks.
Mapping Where Marine Megafauna Move | Simon Harold | Nature Ecology & Evolution | 2026
Discusses large-scale tracking research identifying important movement corridors used by highly migratory marine vertebrates.
Insect Migration, Tracking, and Additional Species
Butterflies Are in Dramatic Decline Across North America | Smithsonian Magazine Staff | Smithsonian Magazine | 2026
Uses western monarchs to illustrate the causes and conservation implications of widespread butterfly declines.
An Epic Monarch Migration Faces New Threats | Joshua Hammer | Smithsonian Magazine | 2021-05
Examines climate change, habitat loss and pesticides threatening monarchs along their multi-thousand-mile migration route.
What I Learned Biking the 10,000-Mile Migration Route of Monarch Butterflies | Sara Dykman | Smithsonian Magazine | 2021-04-14
Follows a cyclist who traveled from Mexico to Canada and back while documenting monarch migration and conservation.
Five Surprises That Emerged From Monarch Butterfly Genomes | Smithsonian Magazine Staff | Smithsonian Magazine | 2014
Genetic research provides clues about the evolutionary origins and geographic spread of monarch migratory behavior.
Scientists Are Still Baffled by Monarch Migration | Smithsonian Magazine Staff | Smithsonian Magazine | 2015
Explores unanswered questions about population trends and the monarch’s unusual multigenerational migration.
Researchers Record Trillions of Migrating Insects | Jason Daley | Smithsonian Magazine | 2016-12-29
Radar research reveals enormous seasonal insect migrations involving trillions of individual animals.
Butterflies Take Flight in New 3-D IMAX Film | Leah Binkovitz | Smithsonian Magazine | 2012-10-19
Discusses the monarch’s remarkable navigation and long-distance migration between North America and central Mexico.
Monarch Tracking Gets a High-Tech Upgrade in Coastal California | Colleen Grant | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | 2026-02-02
Tiny radio transmitters are being tested to reveal how western monarchs move among overwintering and feeding habitats.
World Migratory Bird Day 2026: Every Bird Counts | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | 2026-01-27
Highlights how public observations contribute data on migratory populations, timing, distribution and habitat use.
Migratory Bird Annual Status Reports | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | 2025-09-02
Describes large-scale surveys used to monitor waterfowl and other migratory bird populations across North America.
Join the Monarch Blitz | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | 2025-07-21
A continent-wide community-science project gathers observations of monarchs and milkweed to improve understanding of population trends.
Partnering to Conserve Monarchs Across North America | Bridget Macdonald | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | n.d.
Explains multinational conservation of a butterfly whose migration links Canada, the United States and Mexico.
The Kaleidoscope of Monarch Migration | Ali Crowley | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | 2024-09-12
Describes the 3,000-mile southbound monarch migration and the habitats butterflies require to rest and refuel along the way.
Understanding Monarch Migration in the Southeast | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | 2024-04-18
Examines evidence that eastern monarch migration patterns may be changing and describes citizen-science efforts to track those changes.
Migration: It’s a Risky Journey! | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | 2023
Explains why birds migrate and examines the energetic demands, habitat needs and hazards they encounter during long-distance movements.
Recent Bird Sightings on the Upper Mississippi River | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service | 2022
Documents the seasonal arrival of ducks, swans, pelicans and other migrants using the Upper Mississippi River corridor.
Monarch Butterfly Facts and Migration | National Geographic Staff | National Geographic | n.d.
Explains the monarch life cycle and the extraordinary fall generation that migrates from northern North America to central Mexico.
Early Efforts to Understand Bird Migration | Nature Editors | Nature | 2025-09-30
Looks back at the development of scientific ideas about bird migration and attempts to explain how migratory behavior works.
Animal Migration Research Collection | Nature Portfolio | Scientific Reports / Nature Portfolio | 2023
Collects research on migration mechanisms, climate impacts, ecological interactions, conservation and animal movement across many taxa.
Migration and the Aerial Biosphere | Ari Daniel | Smithsonian Magazine | 2025-10-23
Examines how radar and other technologies are revealing previously hidden migrations of birds, bats and insects through the atmosphere.
