The Birds of the Countryside

Birds, especially the common nesting species, represent excellent ecological indicators, thanks to some of their peculiar characteristics: they are animals sensitive to environmental changes, they are easily contactable especially during the reproductive period (when they show evident territorial behaviours, including singing), they allow the monitoring of habitats on a large scale and, occupying high levels of the food chain, reflect the changes also undergone by other taxa that occupy lower trophic levels.