Breeding Birds of North Dakota
Environmental Relationships of Breeding Birds
Faunistic Composition of Breeding Birds
The breeding birds of North Dakota are composed of four distinct faunistic elements. Each of these elements represents a group of species that show similar biogeographical relationships. One primary group, referred to as the North-central Avifauna, includes typical species of the northern prairie region on the central plains that are of paramount importance throughout the state. The other groups, of secondary importance, are restricted to somewhat limited populations that are of local occurrence wherever appropriate habitat conditions are found. These, referred to as the Eastern, Western, and Northern Avifaunas, include species that are best represented in major biotic regions, or biomes, outside of the state boundaries.
North-central Avifauna
The typical species occupy various upland and wetland habitats that represent natural successional stages leading to and including the climax mixed-grass prairie associations. A total of 56 species of birds are representative. These include seven species largely endemic within the northern mixed-grass prairie regions--the Marbled Godwit, Sprague's Pipit, Lark Bunting, Baird's Sparrow, Le Conte's Sparrow, Clay-colored Sparrow, and Chestnut-collared Longspur--and 49 pandemic species. The species in the latter group also are of regular occurrence in other major biotic regions.Characteristic Species
Eared Grebe Marbled Godwit Western Grebe American Avocet Pied-billed Grebe Wilson's Phalarope White Pelican Franklin's Gull Double-crested Cormorant Forster's Tern American Bittern Black Tern Black-crowned Night Burrowing Owl Heron Short-eared Owl Trumpeter Swan Common Nighthawk Canada Goose Horned Lark Gadwall Bank Swallow Mallard Long-billed Marsh Wren Pintail Sprague's Pipit Blue-winged Teal Common Yellowthroat Northern Shoveler Bobolink Canvasback Western Meadowlark Redhead Red-winged Blackbird Ruddy Duck Yellow-headed Blackbird Ferruginous Hawk Brown-headed Cowbird Marsh Hawk Lark Bunting Sharp-tailed Grouse Savannah Sparrow Whooping Crane Baird's Sparrow Sandhill Crane Grasshopper Sparrow Sora Le Conte's Sparrow American Coot Sharp-tailed Sparrow Piping Plover Vesper Sparrow Killdeer Clay-colored Sparrow Upland Plover Chestnut-collared Willet Longspur
Eastern Avifauna
Species that typify this group are represented by considerable populations in various habitats within the eastern half of the state but occur more sparingly in the western half. Many of these 71 species are especially conspicuous in woodland biotic communities located on floodplains and bluffs along major streams, on prominent hills and escarpments, and as concentric bands that adjoin the shores of permanent lakes. Man-created woodland habitats including tree-claims, shelterbelts, and residential areas of towns and farmsteads are commonly utilized as well. Some of these species are also characteristic of other avifaunas.Characteristic Species
Least Bittern Blue Jay Green Heron Common Crow Great Blue Heron Black-capped Chickadee Wood Duck White-breasted Nuthatch Cooper's Hawk House Wren Red-tailed Hawk Short-billed Marsh Wren Bald Eagle Brown Thrasher American Kestrel1 Gray Catbird Greater Prairie Chicken American Robin Virginia Rail Veery Least Tern Eastern Bluebird Mourning Dove1 Cedar Waxwing Passenger Pigeon Loggerhead Shrike1 Black-billed Cuckoo Yellow-throated Vireo Screech Owl Red-eyed Vireo Great Horned Owl Warbling Vireo Barred Owl Black-and-white Warbler Long-eared Owl Yellow Warbler Whip-poor-will Chestnut-sided Warbler Chimney Swift American Redstart Ruby-throated Ovenbird Hummingbird Common Grackle Belted Kingfisher Baltimore Oriole Downy Woodpecker Orchard Oriole Hairy Woodpecker Scarlet Tanager Red-headed Woodpecker American Goldfinch Yellow-shafted Flicker Dickcissel Pileated Woodpecker Cardinal Eastern Kingbird Rose-breasted Grosbeak Great Crested Flycatcher Indigo Bunting Eastern Phoebe Eastern Rufous-sided Willow Flycatcher Towhee Least Flycatcher Lark Sparrow1 Eastern Wood Pewee Chipping Sparrow1 Purple Martin Field Sparrow1 Rough-winged Swallow Song Sparrow Barn Swallow
1Species also characteristic of Western Avifauna.
Western Avifauna
This group involves 37 species that are quite prominent in the southwestern quarter of North Dakota and are represented by fairly large, local populations in the northwestern quarter. The breeding ranges of a few species also extend into the eastern half of the state. Most species occupy the habitat complexes of the western badlands but also occur in various types of woodland communities and in xerophytic tracts of the northern shrub desert.Characteristic Species
Turkey Vulture Rock Wren Sharp-shinned Hawk Common Raven Swainson's Hawk Mountain Bluebird Golden Eagle Loggerhead Shrike2 Prairie Falcon Audubon's Warbler Peregrine Falcon Yellow-breasted Chat Merlin Brewer's Blackbird American Kestrel2 Bullock's Oriole Sage Grouse Black-headed Grosbeak Mountain Plover Lazuli Bunting Long-billed Curlew Spotted Rufous-sided California Gull Towhee Mourning Dove2 Lark Sparrow2 Poor-will Chipping Sparrow2 Red-shafted Flicker Brewer's Sparrow Western Kingbird Field Sparrow2 Say's Phoebe McCown's Longspur Western Wood Pewee Bell's Vireo Cliff Swallow Black-billed Magpie
2Species also characteristic of Eastern Avifauna.
Northern Avifauna
Thirty-one breeding species are considered to belong to this group. These species are characteristic of habitats within the trans-continental taiga forest belt of Canada. Populations of most of these species within North Dakota are best represented in the northeastern quarter, particularly in areas along the Canadian border. A few species also occur locally in the southeastern and northwestern quarters of the state. Many are associated with boreal types of forest that are dominated by quaking aspen, balsam poplar, and paper birch. Others are largely restricted to scattered fens or to certain types of large lakes. In addition, planted groves of conifers, especially spruce, are occupied by a few species.Characteristic Species
Common Loon Ruffed Grouse Red-necked Grebe Yellow Rail Horned Grebe Common Snipe American Wigeon Spotted Sandpiper American Green-winged Ring-billed Gull Teal Common Tern Black Duck Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Ring-necked Duck Tree Swallow Lesser Scaup Red-breasted Nuthatch White-winged Scoter Philadelphia Vireo Bufflehead Northern Waterthrush Common Goldeneye Mourning Warbler Hooded Merganser Purple Finch Common Merganser Red Crossbill Broad-winged Hawk Pine Siskin Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow
Proportional Populations of the Breeding Avifaunas
The population proportions of the four faunistic groups that comprise the state breeding avifauna were determined from field data obtained during a state-wide study of breeding bird populations in 1967 (Stewart and Kantrud 1972). Excluding exotic introduced species, a total of 11,824 breeding pairs were recorded on randomly selected sample units throughout the state. Of this total, about 80 percent were represented by the 56 species that are characteristic of the primary North-central faunistic group, and about 20 percent of the breeding pairs were represented by the 139 species that are typical of the secondary faunistic groups. Proportions of the three secondary groups varied as follows: Eastern, 13 percent; Western, 6 percent; and Northern, 1 percent.Previous Section -- Environmental Attributes of North Dakota
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