An investigation on the altitudinal distribution of forest birds was conducted on Yaku-shima Island, south-western Japan, in May and June, 1983. Four assemblages of dominant bird species were recognized in the varying plant communities ranging from the coast to the mountains ; Parus varius, Ficedula narcissina, Zosterops japonica, Cettia squameiceps and Hypsipetes amaurotis were observed in evergreen broad-leaved forest (40-900 m), P. ater, P. varius, F. narcissina and Troglodytes troglodytes in Cryptomeria forest with evergreen broad-leaved trees (900-1200m), C. diphone, P. ater, T. troglodytes and Erithacus akahige in Cryptomeria forest with deciduous trees (1200-1555m), and C. diphone in Pseudosasa scrub (1555-1935m). Garrulus glandarius, H. amaurotis, F. narcissina and C. squameiceps resided in habitats different from those of conspecific populations on the Japanese mainland. The low-diversity bird communities of Yaku-shima Island are comprised of a small number of species. In both the Cryptomeria and evergreen broad-leaved forest, the richness of insectivorous species foraging in the lower forest layer and insect/frugivorous species was greater than that of the bird communities of the same forests on the mainland.
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