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Migration is long-range, seasonal movement from one region or habitat to another. This common strategy, carried out by many different organisms around the world, is an adaptive response that typically corresponds to changes in an organism’s environment, like resource availability or climate. Migrations can involve huge groups of thousands of animals as well as single individuals traveling alone and can range from thousands of kilometers to just a few hundred meters.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Thermal Imaging to Study Stress Non-invasively in Unrestrained Birds

Thermal Imaging to Study Stress Non-invasively in Unrestrained Birds

Published on: November 6, 2015

Migratory restlessness in an equatorial nonmigratory bird.

Barbara Helm¹, Eberhard Gwinner

¹Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Andechs, Germany. helm@orn.mpg.de

|March 25, 2006

Summary

Migratory restlessness, or Zugunruhe, is not limited to migratory birds. This study shows resident African stonechats exhibit Zugunruhe, demonstrating its role in endogenous programs for periodic movement in non-migratory species.

Area of Science:

Animal behavior
Avian migration
Chronobiology

Background:

Migratory restlessness (Zugunruhe) in birds provides insights into migration and endogenous behavior.
Zugunruhe has been studied primarily in migratory species, with limited research on non-migratory birds.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the presence and characteristics of Zugunruhe in a non-migratory bird species.
To determine if Zugunruhe in non-migratory birds is endogenously controlled and photoperiod-timed.

Main Methods:

Recording Zugunruhe in African stonechats, a resident passerine species.
Analyzing the timing of Zugunruhe in relation to photoperiod cues.

Main Results:

African stonechats exhibit regular Zugunruhe, indicating it's part of their endogenous program.

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Zugunruhe in these resident birds is precisely timed by changes in photoperiod.

Conclusions:

Endogenous programs for periodic movement, including Zugunruhe, are present in non-migratory birds.
These programs may be activated when movement becomes necessary, explaining migration flexibility.
Studying Zugunruhe in resident birds offers new perspectives on migration systems and avian responses to global change.