To halt the rapid decline of many migratory birds, conservationists must understand which plants provide high-quality avian habitats and actively target those plants in conservation efforts. I used emerging automated tracking and genetic technologies to quantify resource- and space-use across the breeding season to determine the specific plant resources that provide relative high-quality habitat for a declining neotropical migratory bird, the Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris). I addressed this critical gap in our understanding of avian conservation by 1) cataloging seasonal variation in resource abundance provided by plant communities, 2) quantifying resource use through fecal DNA metabarcoding analysis, and 3) quantifying fine-scale bird space use in relation to plant communities/ food abundance using automated radio telemetry units. This work strengthens conservation efforts by identifying the highest-value plant communities for birds.