Habitat Selection by Chestnut-cheeked Starling during the Breeding Season in the Northern Tohoku Region

Abstract

Habitat selection by Chestnut-cheeked Starlings Agropsar philippensis was studied in Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture, Japan. The location and numbers of Chestnut-cheeked Starling and White-cheeked Starling Spodiopsar cineraceus were recorded along one-kilometer-long transects in 172 survey plots during May, June and July 2022. Chestnut-cheeked Starlings were observed from early May to early July. Multiple comparison tests indicated that significantly more individuals were observed in urban areas, farmland, and urban/farmland areas, than in forests. From the results of Generalized Linear Model (GLM) analysis, the best model that considered urban areas, rice fields, and other agricultural areas, was considered optimal for the species. The model that considered urban areas, rice fields, other agricultural areas, and rivers was also selected as a useful model. For White-cheeked Starlings, the model that considered urban areas, rice fields, other agricultural areas, and rivers was selected. Our results showed that the two species have discontiguous distributions — Chestnut-cheeked Starling has a strong preference for urban areas, whereas White-cheeked Starling prefers farmland areas. Since Chestnut-cheeked Starlings inhabit areas that are in close proximity to humans, human activity likely has a significant impact on them.