Woodland bird assemblages on the New England Tablelands, northeastern New South Wales

Abstract

There is concern that bird species are declining in many parts of the world, particularly in rural landscapes where clearing and fragmentation of habitat has been most extensive. The present study assesses the conservation status of 137 land birds that occur on the New England Tablelands in northeastern New South Wales, Australia. Only a quarter of these species are abundant and widespread, seemingly unaffected or favoured by current land management practices. The remainder are either extinct on the New England Tablelands (6 spp.), are declining (18 spp.), are vulnerable due to an apparent dependence on healthy woodland (35 spp.) or may have always been uncommon on the Tablelands (45 spp.). Predictive models indicate that bird species richness on the Armidale Plateau, an upland region on the New England Tablelands, tends to be greater where mistletoes, large trees, fallen timber and understorey vegetation are present. More species, tend also to occur close to water-courses and in woodland sites where the herbaceous vegetation is well developed. Lower bird species richness tends to be where eucalypt dieback is extensive. The gum-box woodland, that occurs on the richer soils at lower altitude,. had fewer bird species than expected. This may be due to this woodland type having been extensively cleared, and that which remains being highly degraded. Another factor may be the increased abundance of territorial species, such as the noisy miner 'Manorina melanocephala' and fuscous honeyeater 'Lichenostomus fuscus', in gum-box woodland.