Bird community composition

Abstract

Neotropical migrants are birds that breed in North America and winter primarily in Central and South America. Longterm population studies of birds in the Eastern United States indicated declines of some forest-dwelling birds, many of which winter in the Neotropics (Peterjohn and others 1995). These declines were attributed to loss of wintering and breeding habitat due to deforestation and fragmentation, respectively. Many species of Nearctic migrants-birds that breed in the northern regions of North America and winter in the Southern United States--are also experiencing population declines. Because large areas of undisturbed, older, bottomland hardwood forests often contain large numbers of habitat specialists, including forest-interior neotropical migrants and wintering Nearctic migrants, these forests may be critical in maintaining avian diversity.

Parent Publication

• The Coosawhatchie Bottomland Ecosystem Study: A Report on the Development of a Reference Wetland

Citation

Antrobus, T.J.; Guilfoyle, M.P.; Barrow, W.C., Jr.; Hamel, Paul B.; Wakeley, J.S. 2000. Bird community composition. In: Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-38. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. p. 32-33.