SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL ABUNDANCE PATTERNS OF RUDDY QUAIL-DOVES (GEOTRYGON MONTANA) NEAR MANAUS, BRAZIL

We analyzed patterns of abundance of Ruddy Quail-Doves (Geotrygon mont ana) based on 12 years of mist-net data (457 captures) from terra firm e forest near Manaus in central Amazonian Brazil. Unlike most understo ry birds at the study site, G. montana varied greatly in abundance. Qu ail-doves disappeared for months and then reappeared, usually during t he wet season. In some months they became one of the most frequently n etted birds. Quail-doves avoided isolated forest fragments of one ha, although abundance did not differ among fragments of 10 ha, 100 ha, an d continuous forest. Peak abundance varied among years, as did the tim ing of peak abundance. In general, the annual pattern of quail-dove ab undance was correlated with the annual rainfall pattern. Considering a ll 12 years of data, however, quail-dove abundance during a given thre e-month period was not correlated with rainfall during that period, bu t with rainfall in the same period in the previous year. No quail-dove s were recaptured more than a few weeks part; thus individual birds di d not return to the same site from year to year. Since quail-doves fee d mainly on fallen fruit, these results suggest that they may range ov er wide areas to exploit regional differences in fruit production.