Bell C.P. (2005) The origin and development of bird migration: comments on Rappole and Jones, and an alternative evolutionary model. ARDEA 93 (1): 115-123

A recent presentation of a model of the evolution of avian migration by Rappole and Jones (2002) fails to address issues raised in a critique of an earlier presentation of the model, and instead draws a contrast with the largely discarded idea of migrants as fugitive species. It also ignores recent ideas about the origin of migration and the role of partial migration and breeding dispersal in the development of migration strategies, which directly challenge the evolutionary scenario implied by the model. I develop further the critique of Rappole and Jones’ hypothesis, and propose an alternative approach to study of the evolution of migration based on the recognition that the origin, modification and diversity of migration patterns are separate, though interrelated problems, that can potentially be resolved using a variety of complementary analytical tools.