Avifauna of Chamba District , Himachal Pradesh , India with emphasis on Kalatop-Khajjiar Wildlife Sanctuary and its surroundings

The avifaunal diversity of Chamba District of Himachal Pradesh with emphasis on Kalatop-Khajjiar Wildlife Sanctuary and its surrounding was observed for a period of one year between 2012 and 2013.  We observed 95 species of birds belonging to 12 orders and 40 families.  Of this diversity, 41 species were abundant to common, 34 occasional and 20 rare.  Most species were resident (83 species, including two species whose population increased during winters) and the rest were migrants (including nine winter migrating species and three summer migrating species).  A total of 302 species of birds have been reported from Chamba District between 1884 and present. Analysis of recent published literature in conjunction with the present study reveals that 178 species of birds have been reported from Chamba District since 2000.  The present study reports 11 new records for the district.


INTRODUCTION
Birds play vital roles in an ecosystem as they control pest populations through predation and scavenging, pollinate, and disperse seeds, leading to increase in plant coverage, and are also recognized as biological indicators (Gregory et al. 2003).Of the 9026 species of birds distributed across the world, India harbours about 1300 species, belonging to 88 families (Manakadan & Pittie 2001;Rasmussen & Anderton 2005).From the 1900s, detailed surveys of the Himalayan foothills cataloguing the birdlife were conducted.The oldest avifaunal surveys in Chamba District of Himachal Pradesh were conducted by Marshal (1884) and Littledale (1898), reporting a number of game birds, like the Cheer Pheasant, Western Tragopan, Himalayan Monal, Khalij Pheasant and the Chukor Partridge.The most recent studies of this area include that of Singh (2011) and Singh & Banyal (2013).Tak (1987), Mahabal (1992), Thakur et al. (2002), Pandey (1993) and Thakur ( 2008) also published notes on bird diversity in some selected areas of the Chamba District.
The present study deals with the distribution and status of avifauna of Kalatop-Khajjiar Wildlife Sanctuary and its surroundings, with observation on birds from other areas of Chamba District, Himachal Pradesh.
The study was conducted from 05 May 2012 to 30 April 2013 and summarizes all the birds sighted.Streams, forests, grasslands and various potential bird habitats were explored to study the bird diversity.Surveys were carried out in early mornings and late evening hours (as the peak activity of birds lasts 1 or 2 hours after sunrise and before sunset) (Thakur 2010).Birds were sighted with the help of field binoculars (Olympus 8x40 magnification) and were photographed with Nikon D70s and Sony Camera with 70-300 mm zoom.Calls of some birds were also recorded.Identification was carried out with the help of various field guides like Ali (1949), Ali & Ripley (1983a,b), and Grimmett et al. (1999).The nomenclature is after Manakadan & Pittie (2004), and taxonomic arrangement is following Gill & Donsker (2014).The data recorded in each survey was kept separate and thus analyzed for relative abundance on the basis of frequency of sightings, as per MacKinnon &Phillips (1993) andThakur (2008).The birds are categorized as A -Abundant (sighted more than 50 times), C -Common (sighted up to ten times), O -Occasional (sighted five times) and R -Rare (sighted once).Based on the presence/absence method, residential status of birds has been computed and different categories like resident, winter visitor and summer visitor were assigned.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
During the year-long study, a total of 95 avian species belonging to 12 orders and 40 families were recorded (Table I Marshal (1884).

Great Barbet Megalaima virens (Boddaert, 1783)
Abundant.Resident.Widely distributed in almost all forested regions of Chamba District.Calls were also frequently recorded.This species has been earlier reported only by Singh & Banyal (2013).

Phalacrocorax carbo Anser indicus Birds of Chamba Shah et al.
, Images 1-95).Of the total species recorded, 19 species have been found to be abundant, 22 common, 34 occasional and 20 rare in occurrence.Eighty-one species

Motacilla cinerea (Tunstall, 1771)
Occasional.Winter Visitor.Recorded on the Ravi river bed in Chamba.This species has been earlier reported only bySingh (2011).31.

Oriental Tree Pipit Anthus hodgsoni (Richmond, 1907)
Occasional.Resident/Winter visitor.Recorded in Bhaloli near Chamba township.Seen throughout the year, local populations increase during winter months.This species is the first record for the Chamba District.32.

Upland Pipit Anthus sylvanus (Blyth, 1845)
Rare.Resident.Recorded in dry grasslands covered with stones in Gajnui and Jot areas of Chamba.This species has been earlier reported only bySingh (2011).33.

of Chamba Shah et al. 60. Streaked Laughingthrush Garrulax lineatus (Vigors, 1831)
Abundant.Resident.Recorded in thick shrubrey of almost all parts of Chamba.This species has been earlier reported by all recent workers.

Olivaceous Leaf-Warbler Phylloscopus griseolus (Blyth, 1847)
Common.Resident.Recorded in Gajnui, Jot, Talai, Miyari and Kalatop-Khajjiar Wildlife Sanctuary.This species was mostly found on Berberis sp.This is the first report of this species from Chamba District.

67. Brooks' Leaf-Warbler Phylloscopus subviridis (Brooks, 1872)
Abundant.Winter visitor.Recorded in Gajnui, Jot, Kalatop-Khajjiar Wildlife Sanctuary and Chamba.This species is commonly found in dense shrubs throughout Chamba District.This is the first report of this species from Chamba District.