Breeding bird community of the Montagne della Duchessa (Latium, central Italy)

Abstract

During 2014 spring we studied the breeding bird community of ‘Montagne della Duchessa’ Regional Nature Reserve (Latium, Italy). In the study area (5870 ha; altitude range: 800-2239 m a.s.l.) we performed 127 point counts (10 min long) among four macro-habitat types (arable crop, oak wood, beech wood, bushes and alpine meadow) distributed proportionally to their respective area. We found 88 breeding species (79 detected during point counts). Most abundant species were: Erithacus rubecula, Sylvia atricapilla and Corvus cornix. Most widespread species were: Erithacus rubecula, Fringilla coelebs, Sylvia atricapilla, Turdus merula, Phylloscopus collybita and Cyanistes caeruleus. In arable crops we detected a total of 54 species (Passer italiae, Sturnus vulgaris, Corvus cornix and Passer montanus the most abundant); in oak woods 34 species (Erithacus rubecula, Turdus merula, Cyanistes caeruleus, Sylvia atricapilla, Parus major, Phylloscopus collybita, Poecile palustris and Fringilla coelebs the most abundant); in beech woods 37 species (Erithacus rubecula, Fringilla coelebs, Sylvia atricapilla, Poecile palustris, Cyanistes caeruleus, Sitta europaea and Phylloscopus collybita the most abundant); in bushes and alpine meadows 33 species (Oenanthe oenanthe, Anthus spinoletta, Alauda arvensis, Carduelis cannabina and Anthus campestris the most abundant). In bushes and alpine meadows Richness, Abundance and Diversity were lowest. The collected data showed the important role of this Protected Area for some species of conservation concern.