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Seasonality of a forest bird community in Hong Kong, South China
Author(s) -
KWOK H.K.,
CORLETT RICHARD T.
Publication year - 1999
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.1999.tb04264.x
Subject(s) - parus , frugivore , insectivore , geography , ecology , seasonality , corvidae , generalist and specialist species , habitat , biology
We studied the composition of a secondary forest bird community in Hong Kong (22 ° N) between December 1992 and June 1995, using the variable point count method. The visual detectability of each bird species had a significant positive relationship with body length. A total of 71 bird species was recorded but three resident habitat‐generalists, the Great Tit Parus major, Light‐vented Bulbul Pycnonotus sinensis and Japanese White‐eye Zosterops japonicus, accounted for 65% of the mean total bird density of 38 per ha. The number of species seen was highest between December and April and lowest from July to September, but the total bird density was highest between December and June and lowest from August to September. The main breeding season was from March to August. Insectivores and insectivore‐frugivores accounted for 80% of the species and 98% of the total bird density. The percentages of migrant species and individuals are similar to those reported at equivalent latitudes in North America. Bird community diversity and composition differed considerably from that of larger, older forest areas in South China, presumably as a result of differences in forest age, area and isolation.