Habitat requirements of Henslow's Sparrows wintering in silivicultural lands of the Gulf Coastal Plain

Henslow's Sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii) is one of several grassland bird s pecies that has declined during the last several decades. Although several studies have characterized the habitat requirements of breeding Henslow's S parrows, winter habitat requirements for the species remain poorly known. T he purpose of our study was to identify habitat variables associated with o ccupancy by Henslow's Sparrow on silvicultural lands in the core of its win ter range in the Gulf Coastal Plain. Forty-one study sites were chosen on l ands managed for timber production in Baldwin County, Alabama. Henslow's Sp arrows selected moist sites that occurred as pitcher plant bogs or as trans ition areas between wet pitcher plant bogs and drier upland areas. A multip le logistic regression model identified the density of the grass Panicum ve rrucosum and the density of pitcher plants as the variables best able to ex plain the presence of Henslow's Sparrows. Sites occupied by Henslow's Sparr ows had higher herbaceous vegetation densities and had been disturbed by ti mber harvest and/or fire more recently than unoccupied sites. Within occupi ed sites, Henslow's Sparrows chose areas with higher densities of herbaceou s vegetation, especially P. verrucosum.