Open lands are essentially two-dimensional habitats, lacking the vertical component of forest and shrub habitats. Birds of open habitats must nest on the ground, or on artificial structures or nearby cliffs. However, most open-country birds use the power of flight to add a vertical dimension to one or more aspects of their activities; thus, Horned Larks and Bobolinks use song-flights as part of their courtship rituals; Northern Harriers and Short-eared Owls fly low over marshes and fields, continuously searching for their small-mammal prey; and European Starlings rise into the air in a dense cloud to confuse the attack of a passing Peregrine Falcon. (Birds of prey are discussed in further detail in T11.4.) Permanently open habitats were scarce in Nova Scotia before Europeans began clearing the forests for agriculture or settlement (see T12.10), and thus the few open-country birds here include most of the introduced species, which were pre-adapted to such places, e.g., Ring-necked Pheasant, Gray Partidge, Rock Dove, Starling and House Sparrow. This Document Includes:
Densities and Communities Bird Use of Open Habitats Outside the Breeding Season
Associated Topics:
T11.2 Forest and Edge-habitat Birds T11.4 Birds of Prey T11.5 Freshwater Wetland Birds and Waterfowl T12.11 Animals and Resources Associated Habitats:Copyright © The Province of Nova Scotia, Canada |
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