The structure and dynamics of an assemblage of small birds in a semi-arid eucalypt woodland in south-western Australia

Abstract

The small birds present in 25 ha of dry sclerophyll woodland near Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, were monitored twice weekly over 18 months. The birds that fed solely upon invertebrates were largely resident and their abundances fluctuated little. The numbers of species and the abundances of honeyeaters varied much more, but with no clear relationship to the nectar present in the erratically flowering eucalypts present. Some resident meliphagid honeyeaters were either predominantly gleaners or only opportunistic flower-feeders. Only larger-scale studies are likely to resolve patterns among the more mobile birds in such assemblages.