The Density of Downland Birds

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Abstract
Counts of individual birds in grassy fields in the region of Blewbury, Wantage, and Lambourne (England) were made in the winter, pre-breeding, and breeding-seasons, 1940, each series covering 26 miles in 13 hrs. To compensate for differences in conspicuousness of different spp. and hence the width of the effective census strip, the normal distance at which each sp. could be identified was detd. With these figures the actual density of each sp. per sq. mile was computed. The conspicuousness of a sp. varies with position on ground or in flight, song and call-notes, weather, time of day, and flocking. Characters entering into the conspicuousness and identification of several spp. are listed. The total population per 100 acres was computed as 14, 35, and 32 individuals, respectively, for the 3 periods above mentioned.

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