A Method for Describing and Comparing Avian Habitats.

Summary. Detailed studies of ecological distribution and habitat specificity require objective, quantitative data which are rarely available in the reference system customarily used for designating habitat relations. A scheme of habitat description was developed and tested in a variety of situations in Africa and North America based on the selection of a set of measurable features or dimensions, each of which was graduated for quantitative or qualitative evaluation. A procedure for recording measurements in the field is described. Examples are presented showing how quantitative habitat data may be applied in erecting vegetation formulae of various degrees of refinement, in making semi‐pictorial habitat diagrams, and in analyzing subtle differences in habitat selection by different species or populations.