Birds Of A Great Basin Sagebrush Habitat In East Central Nevada

Bird censuses were taken on 11 study plots along an elevational gradient ranging from 5,250 to 11,400 feet. Each plot represented a different vegetative type or zone: shadscale, shadscale-Wyoming big sagebrush, Wyoming big sagebrush, Wyoming big sagebrush-pinyon/juniper, pinyon/juniper, pinyon/juniper-mountain big sagebrush, mountain big sagebrush, mountain big sagebrush-mixed conifer, mixed conifer, mixed conifer-alpine, and alpine. Eighty-nine bird species were observed. The total number of birds and bird species followed a skewed bell-shaped distribution. Some birds were quite narrow in their choice of vegetative zones while others showed very little selectivity. Both total number of individual birds and bird species appeared to reach highest values in study plots with a substantial component of mountain big sagebrush.

Birds are indicators of vegetation structure and ecological conditions. The singing activity of birds declines during late-morning periods, which can affect estimates of abundance and conclusions regarding vegetative conditions indexed by birds. Therefore, it is important to quantify periods of bird activity so biologists can plan studies. We determined hourly detections from singing males of 22 nongame bird species in ponderosa pine, quaking aspen, and grassland vegetation types in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Detections of 12 of 22 species differed among 1-hr intervals after sunrise. Detections of yellowrumped warblers, Townsend's solitaires, red-breasted nuthatches, western tanagers, and American robins decreased on count-episodes more than 4 hrs after sunrise. Detections of dusky flycatchers declined on count-episodes more than 3 hrs after sunrise and detections of black-capped chickadees were greatest during the first hour after sunrise and declined afterward. Detections of many other species from songs or calls decreased on count-episodes more than 5 hrs after sunrise. We recommend that bird counts in the Black Hills be completed within 4 hrs after sunrise so estimates of bird abundance are not affected by reduced singing among males.