Habitats

Classification by habitat can be helpful but has limitations. Many birds are always found in one type of habitat, but others migrate according to season, breeding ground and food supply. A further difficulty arises because forest and woodland habitat covers widely different environments or biomes. For instance, a tropical forest biome is very differerent from its temperate equivalent. Similarly, the bush or veldt biome of sub-saharan Africa contrasts vividly with the scrub and moorland biomes of Europe. And there are usually very different birds found in the local ecosystems of sand dunes, beaches and river estuaries from those found on in the ecosystems of cliffs and rocky coastlines. Please bear these reservations in mind as you view birds and their habitat. The accompanying notes should help. To keep it simple I shall generally use the term "habitat".  On a regional scale, embracing the interaction between climate, vegetation and animal life the accurate term is "biome". Within each biome there are a number of more local "ecosystems" for instance mangrove swamps, deltas, freshwater lakes and woodlands. Habitat refers to most localised, intimate relationship between a species and their immediate enviroment.