Regional patterns of habitat use by a Threatened forest bird, the Bicknell’s Thrush, in Quebec.

Conservation of threatened species often uses habitat models to inform management of habitat and populations. We examined habitat use by Bicknell’s thrush (Catharus bicknelli Ridgway, 1882), a federally Threatened species, in two Appalachian regions, shaped by forestry activities, of southern Quebec. Within its breeding range, the species inhabits mountain tops and forests subjected to various logging activities. We assessed the role of vegetation and topography at two spatial scales, as well as spatial relationships with Swainson’s thrush (Catharus ustulatus Nuttall, 1840), identified as potential competitor by some authors. In both regions, Bicknell’s thrush were most likely to be reported at high elevations, in forest stands with high tree stem densities that underwent little or no stem reduction from forestry activities. Swainson’s thrush was present at all sites were Bicknell’s thrush were reported. These results are consistent with findings from studies in northeastern parts of its breeding range. We conclude that forest stand thinning should be kept to a minimum throughout the high-altitude nesting habitat of Bicknell’s thrush.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author