Caught Again? Do Recapture Rates of Banded American Goldfinches Differ Between the Sexes?

Abstract

Beaver Creek Reserve (BCR) is located in Fall Creek, WI. It is adjacent to the Eau Claire River and consists of 400 acres of diverse habitats. BCR has over 20 years of bird banding experience. The American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) is the most frequently captured and banded songbird at BCR. A common assumption in the bird banding community is that male birds are recaptured more frequently than females. Our research investigated the question of rates of capture and recapture between males and females. We also examined the amount of time between the first and second capture to identify if one sex was recaptured quicker than the other was.