Birds Foraging Guilds in Xujiaba Evergreen Broad-leaved Forest of Ailao Mountain

The bird community of the middle-mountain moist evergreen broad-leaved forest, Xujiaba, Ailao Mountain, were directly observed from March to April in 2006. Throughout the observation, 14 345 times of free foraging behavior were observed. The study adopted the method of line transect without estimations. Partitioning occurs primarily by structure of forging behavior of birds. Through cluster (Furthest Neighbor) , the 62 birds species were divided into 11 vertical spatial perch guilds；(G1) ground gleaning foraging guild; (G2) ground scratching foraging guild; (G3) canopy aerial foraging/gleaning foraging guild; (G4) canopy aerial foraging guild; (G5) trunk barking foraging guild; (G6) brush of bamboo pole barking foraging guild; (G7) trunk bough searching foraging guild; (G8) canopy bough searching foraging guild; (G9) canopy gleaning foraging guild; (G10) underbrush foliage/trunk/ground gleaning foraging guild; and (G11) brush gleaning foraging guild. The results indicate that each guild partitions the fooding space and the food resource in this area because of the different perch substrate, foraging substrate and foraging methods. In each guild, bird species can be further divided mainly by foraging height, so that the fooding space and the food resource get further division in the guild, which minimizes the competition between species. Finally, all species in the community can reach dynamic balance. At the same time, the numbers and structures of the bird foraging guild are different in various vegetation types. There are more bird species in the climax community, and their ecology-like status are much more different.