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1 November 2010 Habitat Occupancy by Rusty Blackbirds Wintering in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley
Jason D. Luscier, Sarah E. Lehnen, Kimberly G. Smith
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Abstract

The Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) has declined by 90% since the 1960s, possibly from conversions of forested wetlands in the southeastern U.S. to agriculture. Because its habitat use during the nonbreeding season had not been quantified, we estimated occupancy rates of Rusty Blackbirds wintering in the lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley in relation to habitat type (four types of bottomland forest and adjacent agricultural fields), tree density, canopy cover, and water cover. In January and February, we surveyed 89 sites eight times during 2006, 117 and 109 sites 10 times during 2007 and 2008, respectively. Occupancy of individual birds, estimated from their presence or absence at a site, was generally high and greater in 2006 (0.71) than during either 2007 (0.43) or 2008 (0.37). Occupancy of flocks, estimated from presence or absence of ≥20 individuals, was highest in 2006 (0.46), lowest in 2007 (0.17), and intermediate in 2008 (0.30), possibly because of water levels fluctuating from year to year. Rusty Blackbirds were not as specialized in habitat use as expected; habitat characteristics did not consistently predict occupancy of either individuals or flocks. Occupancy of individuals increased with canopy cover during 2007, and occupancy of flocks decreased with tree density during 2006. In 2008, occupancy of individuals increased with tree density and was higher in wet bottomland forest (0.51) than in other habitats (0.31–0.35). Further research is needed to determine whether this lack of habitat specificity is widespread and possibly the result of diverse food requirements during the nonbreeding season.

© 2010 by The Cooper Ornithological Society. All rights reserved. Please direct all requests for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press's Rights and Permissions website, http://www.ucpressjournals.com/reprintInfo.asp.
Jason D. Luscier, Sarah E. Lehnen, and Kimberly G. Smith "Habitat Occupancy by Rusty Blackbirds Wintering in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley," The Condor 112(4), 841-848, (1 November 2010). https://doi.org/10.1525/cond.2010.100147
Received: 30 July 2010; Accepted: 1 August 2010; Published: 1 November 2010
KEYWORDS
bottomland hardwood forests
Euphagus carolinus
forested wetlands
Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley
occupancy
Rusty Blackbird
winter habitat use
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