Degraded habitats threaten bird survival, impacting pollination and natural predators.
Tropical agriculture landscapes in Peninsular Malaysia were studied to see how different habitats affect bird populations. Mist-netting was used to capture birds in fruit orchards, rubber tree plantations, and oil palm plantations. Out of 10 factors studied, only four were important for insect-eating birds (canopy cover, proximity to forest, habitat type, and month) and non-insect-eating birds (understory vegetation, tree density, habitat type, and month). The research found 180 birds from 37 species, with 86 insect-eating birds and 94 non-insect-eating birds. More research is needed to understand how habitat quality affects bird species and the benefits birds provide to humans.