Roberts et al. • WILDFIRE AND GRASSLAND BIRDS 
29 
prescribed fires. Wintering Cassin’s Sparrows in 
Arizona responded negatively to burning after a 
prescribed fire, but Grasshopper Sparrows showed 
no response (Gordon 2000). Abundance of 
Grasshopper and Cassia's sparrows increased 
after a prescribed fire in Texas mesquite (Prosopis 
spp.) savanna (Lee 2006). Prescribed fire in North 
Dakota mixed-grass prairie decreased populations 
of most species during the breeding season 
following the fires (Grant el al. 2010); however. 
3 years after the prescribed fires, avian popula¬ 
tions had increased and stabilized, recovering in a 
similar time span as in our study. Many species, 
including Grasshopper Sparrows and Western 
Meadowlarks, were positively correlated with 
use of prescribed fire in mixed-grass prairies 
(Madden et al. 1999). Western Meadowlarks in 
prairie Canada declined in abundance during the 
breeding season following prescribed fire, but had 
comparable densities on burned and unburned 
areas 3 years post-fire (Pylypec 1991). 
We found an apparent temporary shift in avian 
community composition following wildfires due 
to species-specific shifts associated with life- 
history traits and vegetation preferences. The 
avian community appeared to be similar to that 
on unburned plots of similar grass types 3 years 
following the wildfires. This was consistent with 
vegetation recovery (Rideout-Hanzak et al. 2011). 
A homogeneous landscape in grasslands decreases 
the diversity of grassland birds (Fuhlendorf et al. 
2006) and the grassland bird community reaches 
peak densities with increased periodic disturbance 
in short-grass and mixed-grass landscapes. Two of 
the most common species detected on short-grass 
plots. Grasshopper Sparrow and Horned Lark, are 
among 20 common North American birds expe¬ 
riencing the steepest population declines (Butcher 
and Niven 2007). The area burned by the EAC 
wildfires may not only provide important habitat 
for continued persistence of species of concern, 
but fire may be an integral component of habitat 
health for the avian community. 
Persistence of a diverse and abundant avian 
community is dependent on periodic disturbances 
such as wildfire or prescribed fire, grazing, and 
drought to provide patches of habitat in varying 
stages of growth after disturbance (Fuhlendorf and 
Engel 2001). Prescribed fire has been used to 
mimic wildfire effects and reduce wildfire 
potential (Pattison 1998). Rideout-Hanzak et al. 
(2011) suggest the EAC fires may not have 
created drastically different conditions than a 
prescribed fire in this ecosystem; this was 
corroborated by the avian community response. 
The wildfires may have been ecologically bene¬ 
ficial in providing similar services to plants and 
soil as historic fire regimes on the Southern High 
Plains. The combination of varying grazing 
regimes and periodic prescribed fire in the Texas 
panhandle would facilitate development of a 
mosaic of grassland patches in varying stages of 
recovery from disturbance, and offer a wide 
variety of niches for grassland birds. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
We thank the many landowners who allowed access to 
their properties for this research This study was funded by 
the Natural Resources Conservation Serv ice. Texas Parks 
and Wildlife Department, and Texas Tech University. 
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