The term deciduous forest is used to describe a type of forest in which the dominant species of trees and other woody vegetation that make up the forest are those species that shed their leaves during the cold months of the year and re-grows new leaves the next spring in time for the growing season.

Deciduous forests occur in several regions throughout the world including eastern North America, the British Isles, eastern Europe, New Zealand, eastern Australia, and northeast Asia. These regions though diverse, share some characteristics. They all experience seasonal changes in temperature and precipitation. As a consequence, the trees found in deciduous forests are specially adapted to withstand these environmental changes throughout the year.

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Migration, like flight, is a phenomenon not limited to birds. In general, migration is the annual movement of animals between their breeding grounds and wintering sites. Migration occurs in response to changing seasons and is predictable and repeated each year.

Migration is not the only type of animal movement. Some animals travel long distances foraging for food. Some animals move to new locations as soon as they are old enough to venture beyond the location where they were born. Such movement is called dispersal. Animals may also move out of an area at unpredictable times due to harsh conditions or limited resources (this is called irruptions or invasions). The key to migration is that it is predictable, seasonal, and repeated each year.

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