Arizona Sunbirds and Minnesota Snowbirds: two species of the elderly seasonal migrant genus 1,2

Abstract

Using comparable definitions and two statewide surveys, it is estimated that the elderly seasonal migration rate is higher in Arizona during the summer (10.1%) than it is in Minnesota during the winter (9.2%). More attention is given to the Arizona seasonal migrants, or Sunbirds, since they have not been studied as much as Snowbirds. While Sunbirds are similar in many ways to Snowbirds, they tend to be older. This age difference, along with a tendency for both types of seasonal migrants to have been recent permanent migrants, suggests that permanent migration may be a precursor to seasonal migration.