Danley et al. looked at the effects of rotational grazing in conjuncture with prescribed burns on the species richness and abundance of grassland passerine birds in the northwestern mixed-grass prairie of North Dakota. The makeup of the bird population changed little during the grazing treatment, with an increase cowbird abundance. The post-fire grazing treatment was nearly identical to the common species found in the northern mixed prairie. The chestnut-collared longspur was quite rare, but the authors stated that longspur is found in areas of heavy grazing. The other two species absent were the lark bunting and the red-winged blackbird. The lark bunting was rare because it is a nomadic species sporadically found on the wildlife refuge and the blackbird is found primarily in wetland habitats which were excluded from the experiment. Danley et al. stated that a mix of moderate rotational grazing and prescribed fire can be an adequate management tool for exotic grass removal, while maintaining species diversity of passerine birds.
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