Use of Cornfields by Birds during the Breeding Season: The Importance of Edge Habitat

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Abstract
Birds were censused in the center and perimeter of cornfields and in adjacent edge habitats to assess how edge habitat affected cornfield use by birds during the breeding season. Cornfields were bounded either by predominantly herbaceous vegetation or by woodland. Fifty bird species were observed in woodland edges compared with 23 in herbaceous edges; bird abundance in woodland edges was more than seven times that in herbaceous edges. Although the number of bird species and the number of birds were less in cornfields than in adjacent edge habitats, neither bird species richness nor total bird abundance in cornfields was influenced significantly by the type of edge habitat (herbaceous vs. woodland). In contrast, bird species composition within cornfields bordered by herbaceous habitat differed from that in cornfields adjacent to woodland habitat. More bird species and about five times more birds used the perimeters of cornfields than the centers, demonstrating a significant edge effect. Consequently, bird abundance in cornfields decreases logarithmically as field size increases. Most of the bird species that used cornfields regularly or occasionally are ground-feeding omnivores during the breeding season, whereas the species that rarely or never frequented cornfields are mainly insectivores that forage on woody vegetation. Continuing land-use practices that increase crop field size and eliminate woody vegetation from edge habitats will affect both the species richness and abundance of the avifauna associated with cornfields.

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