Foliage Preference and Habitat Utilization by Migrating Warblers

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Foliage Preference and Habitat Utilization by Migrating Warblers Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 4-1977 Foliage Preference and Habitat Utilization by Migrating Warblers John Calvin Stiner Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons Recommended Citation Stiner, John Calvin, "Foliage Preference and Habitat Utilization by Migrating Warblers" (1977). Master's Theses. 2194. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/2194 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FOLIAGE PREFERENCE AND HABITAT UTILIZATION BY MIGRATING WARBLERS by John Calvin Stiner A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the Degree of Master of Arts Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan April 1977 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Doctor Richard Brewer for his special counsel throughout this study and Doctors Joseph Engemann and Clarence Goodnight for their suggestions and comments. I am also grateful to the staff of W. K. Kellogg Forest for the assistance they rendered. A note of appreciation goes to my wife, Edie, for her cheerful encourage­ ment throughout all phases of this study. The vegetational analysis was funded by a grant from the Upjohn Company of Kalamazoo. John Calvin Stiner Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 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University Microfilms International 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 USA St. John’s Road, Tyler's Green High Wycombe, Bucks, England HP10 8HR Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. MASTERS THESIS 13-9832 STINER, John Calvin FOLIAGE PREFERENCE AND HABITAT UTILIZATION BY MIGRATING WARBLERS. Western Michigan University, M.A., 1977 Ecology Xerox University MicrofilmsAnn , Arbor, Michigan 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I INTRODUCTION ................................... 1 II STUDY AREAS ................................... 3 Oak-Hickory A r e a ........................... 3 Pine A r e a ................................... 5 Spruce Areas ............................... 6 III M E T H O D S ........................................ 8 Vegetational Analysis ....................... 8 Bird Census ................................. 10 IV R E S U L T S ....................................... 16 Vegetational Preference ..................... 16 Habitat Utilization ......................... 18 Habitat Utilization by Non-Warbler and Kinglet Species ............................. 27 V DISCUSSION..................................... 31 Black-and-white Warbler ..................... 31 Blue-winged Warbler ......................... 41 Tennessee Warbler ........................... 43 Nashville Warbler ........................... 47 Magnolia Warbler ........................... 50 Cape May W a r b l e r ........................... 57 Myrtle Warbler ............................. 62 Black-throated Green Warbler .............. 68 Blackburnian Warb l e r ....................... 75 Chestnut-sided Warbler . .............. 80 Bay-breasted Warbler ....................... 83 O v e n b i r d ................................... 88 American Redstart ........................... 92 Golden-crowned Kinglet ..................... 95 Ruby-crowned Kinglet ....................... 101 Comparison with Parnell ..................... 104 Comparison of the Areas at Kellogg Forest . 107 Preferences for Species of Trees .......... 109 Heights Frequented at Kellogg Compared to Other Studies ............................... Ill Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER PAGE Difference in Behavior Between Vegeta­ tions ....................................... 113 Comparison of Behavior Between Seasons . 114 Relationship of the Black-capped Chickadee to the Warblers and K i n g l e t s .............. 116 Relationship of the Red-eyed Vireo to the Warblers and Kinglets ....................... 117 Factors Governing Selection ................ 118 VI S U M M A R Y .......................................... 122 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................... 125 TABLES AND F I G U R E S ............................. 129 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE 1 Characteristics of the oak-hickory canopy .... 129 2 Characteristics of the oak-hickory understory . 130 3 Relative frequency of the oak-hickory shrubs and h e r b s ....................................... 131 4 Relative frequency of the pine area shrubs and h e r b s ........................................... 131 5 Number of visits and hours spent in each study area in each season for both warbler and kinglet observations ................................... 132 6 Foliage preference exhibited in each season and with the seasons combined at Kellogg Forest using the chi-square te s t ....................... 133 7 Total number of observations and birds per hour values for each species in each s e a s o n ......... 135 8 The number of warblers, warblers per hour, king­ lets, and kinglets per hour recorded in each season for each study p l o t ............ ... 137 9 Warbler and kinglet species recorded in each study area in each s e a s o n ........................ 138 10 Occurrence of each species in the various strata of the deciduous a r e a ..................... 140 11 Habitat utilization in each vegetation by each species......................................... 141 12 Habitat utilization in the deciduous area - spring versus f a l l ............................. 143 13 Distribution of the warblers and kinglets over the different height increments in each area . 144 14 Occurrence of five non-warbler and kinglet spe­ cies in the various strata of the deciduous area. 145 15 Habitat utilization by six non-warbler and kinglet species ................................. 146 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIS T OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1 Foraging height in the deciduous area - spring versus f a l l ............................... 147 2 Height at which each species occurred 66% or more of the time for a given activity and vegetation t y p e ............................................. 148 3 Song height versus forage height during the two spring periods ................................. 149 4 Magnolia Warbler foraging position in the spruce c a n o p y ........................................... 150 5 Bay-breasted Warbler foraging position in the spruce canopy .................................. 151 6 Cape May Warbler foraging position in the spruce c a n o p y ........................................... 152 7 Tennessee Warbler foraging and singing positions in the spruce ca n o p y .............................. 153 8 Golden-crowned Kinglet foraging position in the spruce canopy.... .................................. 154 9 Golden-crowned Kinglet foraging position in the pine canopy ....................................... 155 10 Golden-crowned Kinglet foraging position in the deciduous subcanopy ..............................
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