Evaluating the effectiveness of forest bird monitoring by sound recording on Amami-Oshima Island, Japan

Abstract

We compared point count and sound recording survey results for the conservation and monitoring of birds in the subtropical evergreen broadleaf forests of Amami-Oshima Island, Japan. We conducted surveys at five sites in the morning and at night between April 22 and May 6 (breeding season) in 2015 and obtained similar data on the composition of bird species, including for conservationally important bird species, such as Zoothera dauma major and Garrulus lidthi, using both methods. Recorded Luscinia komadori and Otus elegans song or call frequencies were significantly correlated with abundance as estimated by point counts, suggesting that the sound recording method can be used to estimate the abundance of these species.