Selection of Foraging Habitats by Woodlarks (Lullula arborea) Nesting in Pine Plantations

Abstract

(1) The selection of foraging habitats by five pairs of woodlarks (Lullula arborea L.) breeding on pine plantations, which had been replanted less than 6 years before the study, was investigated in Thetford Forest, Norfolk. (2) Marked differences were observed between the vegetation at feeding sites of the woodlarks and that at randomly selected sites within the same areas. (3) Logistic models were used to identify vegetation parameters that characterized the feeding sites. (4) The sites used for feeding had more grass less than 5 cm tall and bare ground than randomly selected sites. There was also evidence that the feeding sites had more moss and less tall grass (over 5 cm) and dead grass. (5) It is suggested that woodlarks prefer bare ground and short vegetation because at these sites they can forage by walking for invertebrate food for their young there. Because the preferred vegetation is mixed intimately with much other unsuitable tall vegetation, breeding woodlarks need a large home range. Conifer plantations more than 5 years old are not normally used for breeding because their ground vegetation is too tall and extensive, not because of the growth of the trees.