A bird community of lowland rainforest in New Guinea. I. Composition and density of the avifauna

Abstract

The birds in a plot of 2.5 ha of lowland rainforest at Brown River, Papua New Guinea were studied for two years. In the plot 165 species were recorded at an estimated density of 690 birds per 10 ha. Most species were sedentary and there were few migrants. Montane forms occurred as temporary visitors to fruiting or flowering trees, or as outliers of communities in nearby foothill forest. The proportion of frugivorous species is much higher than in other tropical regions, for which lack of mammalian competition is considered the main reason. The lowland avifauna of New Guinea is considered more a continental avifauna than a depauperate island one. © 1980 CSIRO. All Rights Reserved.