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AN OUTLINE OF THE ECOLOGY AND BREEDING SEASONS OF BIRDS OF THE LOWLAND FOREST REGION OF BRITISH GUIANA
Author(s) -
Davos T. A. W.
Publication year - 1953
Publication title -
ibis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.933
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1474-919X
pISSN - 0019-1019
DOI - 10.1111/j.1474-919x.1953.tb00706.x
Subject(s) - dry season , habitat , evergreen , clearing , ecology , geography , evergreen forest , vegetation (pathology) , wet season , understory , secondary forest , seasonal breeder , agroforestry , forestry , environmental science , biology , canopy , medicine , finance , pathology , economics
SUMMARY.1 A brief outline of the topography of British Guiana is given. 2 The climate of the lowland forest region, which has two wet and two dry seasons, is described. The forest trees flower mainly in the long, and fruit in the short, dry season. 3 The natural vegetation of the coastland and of the lowland forest region is briefly described. 4 It is shown that man has effect on bird life only as the agent responsible for forest clearings, and the secondary forest that results from them and from forest fires. 5 The long‐established and comparatively large clearing at Mazaruni Station is described. 6 The bird communities of the evergreen forest and of forest clearings, and more briefly those of river, scrub and savanna habitats, are described. 7 It is shown that the principal breeding season falls in the first half of the year, especially in and at the close of the short dry season. A weak second peak of activity occurs in September. The forest birds are more strictly seasonal than those of clearings. Instances of restricted and special nesting seasons are given. 8 The breeding seasons of the lowland forest region of British Guiana and of other tropical regions are compared.