The results of bird censuses from 13 Chilean habitats are presented. Any one habitat supports a slighly higher bird species diversity than structurally similar habitats in North America and Australia. The bird species turnover between habitats in the same locale, in contrast to other temperate areas, is very low–an island characteristic. Turnover between geographically distinct habitats within Chile is comparable to that between adjacent habitats in North America. Chilean birds exhibit wide habitat tolerance in narrow geographic areas, whcih is attributed to a slow development rate of this bird fauna. Character convergence, where similarities in appearance have evolved to faciliate interspecific aggression and aggregation, is a byproduct of this type of distribution.