2000 Volume 48 Issue 3 Pages 197-204,237
Bird community and vegetation structure were surveyed in a forest, dominated by Fagus crenata, Acer shirasawanum and Picea jezoensis, with a high density of sika deer Cervus nippon in Ohdaigahara, central Japan, during the breeding season from 1994 to 1998. The average density and number of species were 409 pairs/100 ha and 20 species, respectively, and were stable throughout the five years. The most dominant species was Parus ater, followed by Parus major, Sitta europaea, Troglodytes troglodytes and Tarsiger cyanurus. Birds nesting in undergrowth were absent and those in low-canopy were low in density and number of species. This result was related to the small amount of foliage for their nesting sites, which were overgrazed by deer.