Densities and Habitats of the Tawny PipitAnthus campestrisin the Wielkopolska Region (W Poland)

The material was collected in a large plot (100 km2) in west-central Poland in 2004–2005. The average density was 85.5 breeding pairs/100 km2 and was similar during both years of the study. The vegetation structure (visibility of the territory surroundings, and height and density of the under-storey vegetation) was described for 82 pipit territories in 2004, and for 33 additional territories in 2005. The same information on habitat variables was collected in randomly selected localities. Tawny Pipits use nesting sites with very short vegetation and with a high number of areas free of vegetation or only covered with dry mosses. The available data on the Tawny Pipit's habitat in different European localities show that the species is able to occupy a much wider range of habitats. Destruction of habitats, for example, for the construction of a new motorway, influenced pipit numbers and distribution in the study area; even so, the studied population remains the densest and most stable in the geographical range of the species. Although the study area contains Tawny Pipits and other interesting species from a conservation point of view, protection of the land may be very difficult owing to changes in habitats that are being destroyed both by infrastructure investments, and also by the financial support farmers receive from the European Union, which allows them to cultivate more land and thus destroy bird habitats.