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Habitat Associations Of Migrating And Overwintering Grassland Birds In Southern Texas, Lawrence D. Igl, Bart M. Ballard

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

We report on the habitat associations of 21 species of grassland birds over- wintering in or migrating through southern Texas, during 1991-1992 and 1992-1993. Ninety percent of our grassland bird observations were made during winter and spring, and only 10% occurred during fall. Grassland species made up a high proportion of the total bird densities in grassland and shrub-grassland habitats, but much lower proportions in the habitats with more woody vegetation. Fewer grassland species were observed in grassland and woodland than in brushland, parkland, and shrub-grassland habitats. Grassland birds generally were found in higher densities in habitats that had woody …