Associations of Small Migratory and Resident Birds with Two Scrub Habitats During Late Winter and Spring in the Northern Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico

Abstract

Abstract We used mist nets to survey small migrant and resident birds of scrub habitats in arroyos and adjacent uplands of the northern Chihuahuan Desert during late February–early May 1993–1997. We captured 723 individuals of 49 species. Species diversity was greater in arroyos than in adjacent uplands. Black-throated sparrows (Amphispiza bilineata), white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys), and green-tailed towhees (Pipilo chlorurus) were captured most frequently. Rates of capture for residents, short-distance migrants, and Neotropical migrants were higher in arroyos than in adjacent shrubland and showed an increase after mid-April caused by an influx of Neotropical migrants heading north to their breeding grounds. Our results suggest that arroyos are important as stopover sites during spring for many migrants, especially Neotropical migrants, as they cross the northern Chihuahuan Desert.