page_title: Reverse migration (birds)
section_title: Reverse migration is genetic or learned behaviour
hierarchical_section_title: Reverse migration (birds) / Reverse migration is genetic or learned behaviour
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Une antenne réceptrice du réseau Motus localisé dans la Réserve nationale de faune du cap Tourmente, Québec, Canada English: Antenna of the Motus Wildlife Tracking System in the Cap Tourmente National Wildlife Area, Quebec, Canada
context_page_description: Reverse migration also called reverse misorientation is a phenomenon in bird migration where a bird will fly in the opposite direction of what is species typical during the migration time.
  If a bird sets off in the opposite direction, shown by the orange arrow, it will end up in Western Europe instead of South East Asia. This is a mechanism that leads to birds such as Pallas's warbler turning up thousands of kilometres from where they should be. Keith Vinicombe suggested that birds from east of Lake Baikal in Siberia could not occur in western Europe because the migration routes were too north-south. Most of these lost young birds perish in unsuitable wintering grounds, but there is some evidence that a few survive, and either re-orient in successive winters, or even return to the same area.
context_section_description: Some large birds such as swans learn migration routes from their parents. However, in most small species, such as passerines, the route is genetically programmed, and young birds can innately navigate to their wintering area. Sometimes this programming goes wrong, and the young bird, in its first autumn, migrates on a route 180° from the correct route. This is shown in the diagram, where the typical migration route is shown in red but a reverse migration has occurred as seen in orange in the image.
  So with some species such as swans that the migration route is learned and reverse migration could occur from learning improper route from parents or other birds.
  As migration is most often genetically programmed before birth into most birds there can be rare variations and defects that change the migration programming. These variations will account for some but not all of the reverse migration cases. After these birds have changed their migration path, if they survive they may breed with others who also follow this different migration route and reproduce. The offspring from these birds and subsequent generations may now follow the new, genetically programmed migration route.
caption: A station like this can be used to track transmitters on birds for tracking.
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