Composition and density of breeding bird community in Mediterranean [Istria Peninsula] and continental oak [Quercus robur L.] forests in Croatia

The breeding bird community and structural characteristics of vegetation of the last Croatian mediterranean (Istria Penninsula) oak forest (Quercus robur L.) were compared to those in similar continental oak forests in Croatia. The structure and coverage of the vegetation for both forests were estimated. The line transect method was used for analysing bird community and circular plot method for habitat mapping. Densities were calculated for 17 interior forest bird species, giving an average total density of 880.6 ± 81.4 pairs km⁻². In the mediterranean forest typically continental species were missing or present in low densities. Not a single mediterranean species inhabited forest interior. Insectivorous sedentary species dependent on winter prey availability were more numerous in the mediterranean than in continental forest. The results showed that the difference between mediterranean and continental oak forests was greater in quantitative characteristics than in taxonomic composition of the breeding bird community.