During spring of 1988 and winter of 1988-89, we sampled songbird popul
ations and habitat characteristics along two belt transects extending
across the broad, forested floodplain of the Cache River, Arkansas, US
A. Objectives were to compare avian abundance and species richness amo
ng floodplain forest zones and to investigate bird species distributio
ns in relation to the wetness gradient. Forest zones differed in struc
ture, flooding regime, and use by birds. The tupelo/baldcypress zone,
in particular, provided habitat unlike that in the higher oak-dominate
d zones and supported a number of bird species that were much less abu
ndant elsewhere. Distributions of chimney swifts (Chaetura pelagica),
prothonotary warblers (Protonotaria citrea), and great crested flycatc
hers (Myiarchus crinitus) were skewed toward wetter sites, whereas sum
mer tanagers (Piranga rubra), red-eyed vireos (Vireo olivaceus), and o
thers were skewed toward drier sites.