Changes in an Assemblage of Small Birds in the Understorey of Dry Sclerophyll Forest in Southwestern Australia After Fire

Abstract

Changes in the numbers and types of small birds caught in mist-nets in the understorey of dry sclerophyll forest in south-western Australia were recorded for three years after a low intensity fire. There were few changes in the species composition of the assemblage but abundances of the 6-8 most numerous and relatively sedentary species were approximately halved. Many marked individuals (22%) were recaptured up to three years after the fire. After the fire, the number of prey taxa recorded from the faeces of birds caught fell from twelve to six, and the birds ate proportionately more ants and fewer beetles. Ants eaten after the fire were smaller than those eaten before it.