A comparative study of breeding bird communities in representative habitats of the Sárosfő Nature Reserve area

Abstract

This paper presents the results of breeding bird community surveys conducted in 2010 in the Sárosfő Nature Reserve area. The main goal was to determine species richness, diversity, density- and dominance structures in the bird communities of different forest, meadow and reed habitats. Bird community composition data were obtained by conducting standard transect counts carried out twice during the breeding season. The method used was suitable for recording pigeon- (Columbiformes), woodpecker- (Piciformes) and passerine bird (Passeriformes) species. A total of 44 bird species were encountered. Diversity was the highest in the riverine ash-alder woodland habitat and the lowest in the reedbed habitat. Breeding bird community structure comparison between the different habitats was estimated using single linkage cluster analysis based on the Morisita-Horn similarity index that well emphasized the separation of three habitat groups (reed bed, open and forest habitats). The results showed that the rich mosaic habitat structure of the relatively small area provides optimal nesting and feeding grounds not only for waterfowl related to the fishponds but also for passerine bird communities.