Acadian FLycatcher (Empidonax virescens. n = 55). Indigo Bunting (Passerina
cyanea. n = 60). Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus, n = 41), and Woo
d Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina, n = 62) nests were monitored during 1995-19
96 in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, at the Sleepy Creek Wildlife
Management Area. The objective of this study was to relate the outcomes of
bird nests to surrounding habitat characteristics in an area that experienc
ed heavy tree mortality from prior defoliation by the gypsy moth (Lymantria
dispar). Large (> 22.9 cm dbh) standing snags in the nest patch were not a
ssociated with nest failure for any of the four bird species. Very large di
ameter (> 38.1 cm dbh) live trees and snags and reduced canopy cover increa
sed the chances of Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism only fo
r Indigo Buntings. Nest patches of all four species differed in vegetation
characteristics from random plots in similar habitat, typically by having g
reater densities of species' preferred nesting substrate in the nest patch.
Gypsy moth defoliation, which can result in an increase in snags and opene
d canopy, is not likely to be a devastating ecological event for shrub and
sub-canopy nesting avian species. and can create more nesting habitat for m
any species that use a dense forest understory.