Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens) breeding demography across a gradient of savanna, woodland, and forest in the Missouri Ozarks

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Better knowledge of bird response to savanna and woodland restoration is needed to inform management of these communities. We related temporal and habitat variables to breeding demography and densities of the Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens) across a gradient of savanna, woodland, and forest. We determined nest success, clutch size, young fledged, and breeding densities and evaluated support for relationships with year, nest stage, date, nest height, tree cover, and percent forest in a 10-km radius. One hundred and twenty-eight of 310 nests (41.3%) fledged young. The most supported nest-survival model included nest stage and percent forest in the landscape. Daily nest survival was greater in the incubation than in the nestling stage and increased substantially with decreasing forest in the landscape. Four nests (1.3%) were parasitized by Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater). Eastern WoodPewee density increased 83% over a range of 10–170% tree cover (percent tree stocking). Increased nest s...