Importance of forests and urban areas for non-migratory thrushes

Thrushes are widely distributed species and have an important role in maintaining biodiversity and landscape connectivity, mainly due their high abundance, movement capability and degree of frugivory and seed dispersal. In this study, we compared the use of the landscape by these birds in two different environments: rural and urban. Sampling was conducted in a rural area in Itatiba city and another in an urban area in Rio Claro, within the State of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil, Two species of thrushes of the genus Turdus spp. were monitored (T. leucomelas and T. rufiventris) by radio telemetry (n = 10, rural; n = 12, urban). The habitat selection (Research Selection Function) as evaluated using homerange areas and following the protocol designs II and III. Six landscape classes were measured: forest, construction, pasture, abandoned pasture, agriculture and water; and for the rural area forest edge distance was also calculated. There was no significant difference between the two species. In urban environments the selection is positive for forest areas, showing a dependency for forest structure. For rural areas, the selection was positive for both forest and urbanized areas, showing a wider range in the choice of habitat, and their adaptability. The selection was positive when approaching the forest edges in rural areas. We conclude that, despite being considered generalists, both species are plastic and select mainly forest formations in spite of their context (rural vs urban), primarily in rural areas.