Small forest fragments may play a major role in fragmented areas, but there is scarce empirical data totest this hypothesis. To understand in which context birds can use small Atlantic Forest fragments, wetested the presence of 11 bird species in 30 small fragments (4–10 ha), in a range of matrices (eucalyptus-pasture), and in different landscape configurations. The results showed that landscape composition is a good predictor for presence of birds in small fragments and their use can be further associated with matrixtype. Considering the number of species, and the species Chiroxiphia caudata, we found a pattern in which models that consider the matrix composition are the most plausible. Relative importance of the variable sindicates that matrix is the most important single variable among the selected species (five among eight). This suggests that small fragments are effective for increasing connectivity, mainly in landscapes with ahigher percentage of permeable matrix.
