Breeding Birds In Britain Research Articles

Abundance, biomass and energy use of native and alien breeding birds in Britain

We quantify the contribution of alien species to the total breeding population numbers, biomass and energy use of an entire taxonomic assemblage at a large spatial scale, using data on British birds from 1997 and 2013. A total of 216 native and 16 alien bird species were recorded as breeding in Great Britain across the two census years. Only 2.8–3.7% of British breeding bird individuals were alien, but alien species co-opted 11.9–13.8% of the energy used by the assemblage, and contributed 19.1–21.1% of assemblage biomass. Neither the population sizes nor biomasses of native and alien species differed, on average, in either census, but alien species biomass is higher than native species biomass for a given population size. Species richness underestimates the potential effects of alien bird species in Britain, which have disproportionately high overall biomass and population energy use. The main driver of these effects is the ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus), which comprised 74–81% of alien biomass, yet the breeding population of this species is still only a small fraction of the estimated 35 million birds released in the UK in autumn. The biomass of this release exceeds that of the entire breeding avifauna, and suggests that the pheasant should have an important role in structuring the communities in which it is embedded.

Habitat associations of breeding Meadow Pipits Anthus pratensis in the British uplands

Habitat associations of Meadow Pipits breeding in British upland 1 km and 10 km squares were investigated using data from the British Trust for Ornithology's (BTO) Breeding Bird Survey (BBS, 1994–97), The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland 1988–1991 and habitat data from the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology's (ITE) Land Cover Survey (1994). Meadow Pipit density was highest in 200 m sections of BBS 1 km transects containing unenclosed grass moor, heather and bog, but there was no difference in Meadow Pipit density between these habitat types. Meadow Pipit density (number of individuals per 1 km square) increased with heather cover up to about 7.5 200 m sections (of ten per 1 km square) of heather, but fell thereafter. There was a positive association between Meadow Pipit density and the extent of grass moor cover. The ITE Land Cover data gave results that were consistent with the BBS habitat data at both the 1 km and 10 km square scale. There was a non-linear relationship between hill grass cover and Meadow Pipit abundance, which reached a maximum when hill grass covered between 40%and 60% of a square. Our results suggest that a mosaic of heather, bog and grassland may be the optimum habitat for Meadow Pipits. Recent changes in land management practices may have led to the disappearance or degradation of these mosaics in some areas. Meadow Pipits are widespread and easily counted. We suggest that this species might be a useful bioindicator of changes in heather and grassland ratios that result from land management practices such as grazing and rotational burning, though further research is required.

The Historical Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland: 1875-1900, by Simon Holloway [Review

The Historical Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland: 1875-1900, by Simon Holloway [Review

A consideration of some of the changes in distribution of “common birds” as revealed by The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland

A consideration of some of the changes in distribution of “common birds” as revealed by <i>The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland</i>

The Historical Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland 1875-1900

The Historical Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland 1875-1900

The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland: 1988-1991, by David Wingfield Gibbons, James B. Reid, and Robert A. Chapman [Review

The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland: 1988-1991, by David Wingfield Gibbons, James B. Reid, and Robert A. Chapman [Review

The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland. Compiled by J. T. R. Sharrock for the British Trust for Ornithology. Poyser, Berkhamsted, £10. - Minsmere, by Herbert Axell. Hutchinson, £7.50.

The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland. Compiled by J. T. R. Sharrock for the British Trust for Ornithology. Poyser, Berkhamsted, £10. - Minsmere, by Herbert Axell. Hutchinson, £7.50. - Volume 14 Issue 2

The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland, by J. T. R. Sharrock. T. &amp; A. D. Poyser, Berkhamsted, England: 477 pp., illustr., 26.6 × 20 × 3.5 cm, £10.00, 1976.

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