Short-term avian responses to experimental variable-density thinning: Initial stand attributes outweigh effects of management in Austral temperate rainforests

•Bird abundance and richness varied across two secondary Austral Temperate forest types.•Individual body condition of a frugivorous species was better in mixed-evergreen than in Nothofagus forests.•Initial stand attributes outweighed short-term effects of Variable Density Thinnings for birds in these forests.•In geographical regions with a high tree diversity restoration thinnings should explicitly target tree composition.