MICROHABITAT FEATURES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SONG PERCHES OF PAINTED AND INDIGO BUNTINGS (PASSERIFORMS: CARDINALIDAE) IN NORTHEAST TEXAS

摘要

Microhabitat features surrounding the song perches of 26 Indigo Buntings (Passerina cyanea) and 24 Painted Buntings (Passerina ciris) in northeast Texas were compared to determine whether these species were segregated according to habitat. Analyses of the physical structure of vegetation in randomly selected field sites and randomly selected wooded sites surrounding the song perches failed to identify any parameters that differed between Indigo and Painted Buntings. However, the species of trees used as song perches and the species of trees identified in areas surround in the song perches of the two species did differ. The data suggest that the two species occur in similar microhabitats, but may be ecologically segregated at a different scale, or through floristic associations rather than through the physical structure of the habitat.