Habitat selection in the dunnock prunella modularis in northern england

Abstract

The habitat preferences of the Dunnock Prunella modularis, and their seasonal dependence, werestudied in an area on the west side of Sheffield, South York-shire, England. Preferences were determined from counts on transects in subur-ban gardens, deciduous woodland, coniferous woodland, farmland and moorland in both summer and winter. Dunnocks were found throughout the studyarea, even on open moorland and conifer plantations more than 300 m above sea level. In addition a wide, but inexplicable, year to year variation was observed in the number of birds found in deciduous woodland. The number of registrations per km varied significantly between habitats, with the highest count occurring in gardens. However, no statistically significant changes in the proportion of birds in each habitat were detected between summer and winter. © 1991 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.