Habitat of birds in ponderosa pine and aspen/birch forest in the Black Hills, South Dakota

Birds with both eastern and western distributions occur in the Black Hills of western South Dakota. This forest is mostly ponderosa pine (Pinus ponder osa) and is managed for timber. Logging alters forest characteristics and t he bird community. We studied habitat relations of breeding songbirds at th e stand- and site-level scares in ponderosa pine and quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)/paper birch (Betula papyrifera) forest. Sixty bird species we re observed less than or equal to 50 m from count points. Species richness was greater in aspen/birch than in ponderosa pine. Species richness was gen erally lower in ponderosa pine with >40% overstory canopy cover (OCC) than in ponderosa pine with less than or equal to 40% OCC and than aspen/birch o f any structural stage. Seven bird species were associated with the pondero sa pine, while four species were associated with aspen/birch. Bird associat ions at the stand-level were further refined by OCC and diameter-at-breast- height (DBH) structural stage of each forest type. Habitats for most birds in the Black Hills can be managed using current forest inventory descriptio ns that include OCC and DBH. However, Red-naped Sapsuckers (Sphyrapicus nuc halis), Red-breasted Nuthatches (Sitta canadensis), White-breasted Nuthatch es (S. carolinensis), Ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapillus, and Western Tanagers (Piranga ludoviciana) were strongly associated with site-level vegetation characteristics. Snag density, snag condition, and deciduous trees beneath the ponderosa pine canopy should be included in forest inventories to bette r quantify habitats for these birds.