Survival and Movement of the Endangered Amami Woodcock Scolopax mira Revealed Through Banding on Amami-Oshima Island

Bird banding, a valuable survey method for understanding avian biology, can be applied to the conservation of endangered species. In this study, a banding survey of the endangered Amami Woodcock Scolopax mira, which is endemic to the Ryukyu Archipelago in southwestern Japan, was conducted to accumulate fundamental ecological data. This species is frequently observed on forest roads at night; therefore, banding was conducted concurrently with a nighttime monitoring survey performed via a motor vehicle census. Over the 17-year study period, 704 individuals were captured and marked, of which 258 individuals (37%) were resighted. The average interval between marking and resighting was less than one year, with only 14 individuals (5%) resighted after more than three years. The low resighting rate may reflect the species' short lifespan, but it is plausible that fewer individuals appear on the road over time, with resighted individuals representing a small fraction of the population. Distances between marked and resighted points were calculated for 119 individuals, revealing an average distance of 548 m, indicating the species' notable site fidelity. However, some individuals were occasionally observed on islands further south within the archipelago during the non-breeding season, suggesting that the species exhibits partial migration, although the ecological significance of this behavior remains unclear. Banding can play a crucial role in efforts to conserve the Amami Woodcock population; therefore, we intend to continue this banding survey to contribute further essential data for the species' conservation.