Journal of Threatened
Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 April 2018 | 10(5): 11652–11658
Report
of the early winter migrants and resident birds in an inland wetland near Tundi Camp, Bajana, Gujarat
Abhishek Chatterjee
1, Sudeshna Ghoshal
2, Soumyajit Chowdhury
3 & Pinakiranjan
Chakrabarti 4
1,2,4 Department of Zoology, Vijaygarh Jyotish Ray College, Bejoygarh, Jadavpur, Kolkata,
West Bengal 700032, India
3 Department of Zoology, M.U.C.
WomenÕs College, B.C. Road, Bardhaman, West Bengal 713104,
India
3,4 Department of
Environmental Science, University of Calcutta, 35, Ballygunge
Circular Road, Kolkata, West Bengal 700019, India
1 abc26993@gmail.com, 2
sudeshnaghosalvjrc@gmail.com, 3 wildlifesc@gmail.com, 4 pinakirc1303@gmail.com
(corresponding author)
Abstract: The study is based on
the avian community observed in the region. In total, 1,079 individuals, 62 genera
and 79 species of birds belonging to 35 families have been recorded. Among them, the family Anatidae with 20.42% incidence is the most frequent;
immediately followed by the family Phoenicopteridae
(10.59% of occurrence). Little
Cormorant Phalacrocorax niger is the most abundant avian species
observed. The community consists of
44% resident; 36% resident-migrant and 20% migrant
bird species. It was observed that
the concerned community shows a considerable diversity and a correspondingly
low value of dominance. In the
feeding guild analysis, the insectivore guild has the most number of recorded avian
species. The feeding guild
affiliations also point out that the overall community is fairly rich in its
composition as it houses bird species belonging to various feeding guilds.
Keywords: Avifaunal diversity; Gujarat; Tundi camp; water-birds; wetland.
Abbreviations: NT - Near Threatened;
LC - Least Concern; RM - Resident-Migrant; R - Resident; M - Migrant; FU - Frugivore; N - Nectarivore; P - Piscivore; G- - Granivore; I -
Insect and other terrestrial invertebrate feeder; PL - Plankton feeder; IN - Aquatic
Invertebrate feeder; A - Amphibian feeder; OP - Ophidiovore;
RP - Reptile feeder; W - Weedivore; H - Herbivore; C
- Carrion feeder; PD - Predatory.
doi: http://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2459.10.5.11652-11658 | ZooBank:
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0CD4B27F-C987-4CD1-BD0A-090FB9822F45
Editor: Rajiv S. Kalsi, M.L.N. College, Yamunanagar, India. Date
of publication: 26 April 2018 (online & print)
Manuscript details:
Ms # 2459 | Received 23 April 2017 | Final received 18
April 2018 | Finally accepted 22 April 2018
Citation: Chatterjee, A., S. Ghoshal, S. Chowdhury & P. Chakrabarti (2018).
Report of the
early winter migrants and resident birds in an inland wetland near Tundi Camp, Bajana, Gujarat. Journal
of Threatened Taxa 10(5): 11652–11658; http://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2459.10.5.11652-11658
Copyright: © Chatterjee et al. 2018. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License. JoTT allows
unrestricted use of this article in any medium, reproduction and distribution
by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.
Funding: None.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: We are deeply indebted to Forest
Department, Government of Gujarat for permitting us to carry out our work. We
also express our heartiest gratitude to the accompanying students of the
Zoology Department, Vijaygarh Jyotish
Ray College for their help during the study.
Wetlands
are defined as lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic eco-systems
where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered
by shallow water (Mitsch & Gosselink
1986). Wetlands are among the most
productive ecosystems in the world and play vital role in flood control,
aquifer recharge, nutrient absorption and erosion
control. In addition, wetlands provide a home for a huge diversity of wildlife
such as birds, mammals, fish, frogs, insects and plants (Buckton
2007). Thus wetlands help in
maintaining biodiversity of flora and fauna. Wetland supports congregation of large
number of migratory and resident species of birds as it has high nutritional
value as well as productivity (Whittaker & Likens 1973; Gibbs 1993; Paracuellos 2006).
As per Ali & Ripley (1983), 273 species of birds in India can be
considered as waterfowls, the birds that depend on the wetland ecosystem. These birds use wetland habitats either
throughout or during certain parts of their life (Weller 1981).
Birds
are ideal bio-indicators and useful models for studying a variety of
environmental problems (Newton 1995).
Birds occupy a wide range of ecological positions (Sekercioglu
& Hakki 2006). In many respects biodiversity, both
present and past are better understood for birds than for any other major group
of organisms. One basic approach in generating an indicator of the state of
wildlife is to measure diversity through time. Species loss or gain could then be used
to gauge the trends in biodiversity (Van 1997). Thus the avifaunal diversity of a region
is a very prompt indicator of the environmental conditions of the concerned
place.
The
Little Rann of Kutch (LRK) is one of the more popular
tourist destinations in the state.
It is also internationally famous for its salt pans
and wetlands which harbor a vast variety of migratory
birds. In spite of its economic
importance; little scientific work has been done. Our work was aimed at filling that
gap. Hence, this study is of unique
importance, focusing mainly on the wide spectrum of birds that are available
there and on their feeding habits; which in turn reveal the composition of a
greater part of the ecological community present in the region.
materials
and methods
Study area
Gujarat
is located on the Tropic of Cancer (20.0166660N–24.1166660N
& 68.0666660E –74.0666660E); falls in the
sub-tropical climatic zone and has a varied climate and climatic regions (SACON
ENVIS Newsletter 2012). Kutch (22.6863880N–24.6963880N &
68.1627770E–71.91305550E), extending over
45,652sq.km. area lies in the western part of
Gujarat state and falls under the Desert bio-geographic zone and 3B
Desert-Kutch Province (Gajera et al. 2012). There are many natural seasonal wetlands
in Kutch. In total about 258
wetlands were delineated through satellite imageries. These wetlands cover approximately
21,772sq.km. area, which is more than 80% of the
entire Kutch region (Stanley 2004).
The
study was carried out in the vicinity of a forest camp located in the Wild Ass
Sanctuary, Little Rann of Kutch, Gujarat
which is locally known as the Tundi Camp (at
the intersection of 23.1472220N & 71.7413880E). The
camp is located at a distance of 12.2km (by road) due west from the nearest
landmark township of Bajana. We carried out our survey on an adjacent
wetland and its adjoining areas, which acted as a watering-hole
for the animal community of the region. The wetland extends from 23.1497220N–23.1508330N
& 71.7430550E–71.7488880E. It is fed by a
non-perennial river called the Okaro-Kharaghoda. The sites for study on the bank of the
wetland are marked in the satellite image given in Fig. 1. The place is entirely devoid of any
anthropogenic interventions. This
fact, on its own, makes the study far more interesting.
Bird species survey
The
survey was conducted in early and mid-December of 2013. During the surveys, birds were
identified early in the morning from 06:00–10:00 hr
and late afternoon from 16:00–18:30 hr when the
temperature was relatively warm (in the morning, the temperature usually
remains within 28–32 0C and in the evening it is usually
within 35–36 0C). Additional surveys had also taken place
between 20:00–22:30 hr for the identification
of nocturnal birds. Birds were
identified with the aid of standard field guide (Grimmett
et al. 2011). On every occasion,
the counting distance was restricted to around 50m for identification
purposes. Birds that flew overhead
but did not land in the sites were also recorded. The checklist was prepared following the
standardized common and scientific names of the birds of the Indian
subcontinent by Manakkadan & Pittie
(2001).
Statistical analyses
The
various richness (species, genus and family) indices, Shannon evenness (JÕ),
Shannon-Wiener diversity (HÕ), SimpsonÕs Diversity Index (l) and SimpsonÕs
index of dominance (DÕ) have been calculated (Bower et al. 1997). The various indices were computed using
the software, PAST [version 3.08] (Hammer et al. 2001). From the value of the Shannon-Wiener
diversity index, the effective number of species (ENS), a way of converting
diversity measures to an easily interpretable linear scale, has been derived (Jost 2006).
ShannonÕs diversity index is converted by taking its exponential; ENS=exp (HÕ), where, HÕ is the value of the Shannon-Wiener
diversity index (Jost 2006). Evenness ranges from 0 to 1 and as it
approaches 1, individuals are partitioned equally among species. High values of HÕ and low values of DÕ
indicate high species diversity (Bower et al. 1997).
Results
The
overall picture of the avifaunal community observed at the study-site is
provided in Table 1. Overall, 1079
individuals of 79 different species of birds, belonging to 62 different genera
and 35 families; have been recorded during the study period. The observed birds belonged to only two
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species categories, viz., Least Concerned (LC) and
Near Threatened (NT) [IUCN 2001].
Among the observed 79 avian species, 76 of them (96.2 percent), belong to the Least Concerned category; whereas,
only three bird species (3.8 percent)—the
Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala,
Oriental White Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus and Lesser Flamingo Phoenicopterus
minor, belong to the Near Threatened category.
In
the study, 35 families of birds were observed; among which family Anatidae has recorded the highest number of species (as
shown in Table 2). All the
different kinds of migration categories, viz., the resident (R) birds, the
resident-migrant (RM) birds and the migrant or migratory (M) birds have been
observed during the survey. 35 resident (44%), 28 resident-migrant (36%) and 16
migratory (20%) species were observed.
Therefore, in total, 44 migratory bird species have been recorded (Fig.
2); which account for 56 percent of the total species
observed.
Fourteen
(14) kinds of feeding guilds, viz., aquatic invertebrate-feeder, piscivore, insectivore, granivore,
frugivore, reptile-feeder, ophidiovore,
amphibian-feeder, nectarivore, weedivore,
plankton-feeder, herbivore, carrion-feeder and predatory were identified; among
the bird species observed (Ali & Ripley 1987) (Fig. 3). Here, the insectivore guild is the most
frequent one with thirty percent incidence and 45
species occurring under this shared category. Whereas, nectarivore
and plankton-feeder guilds are the least frequent with only two species
observed in each.
In
order to visually represent the diversity of the avian community a dominance-diversity
curve (Bower et al. 1997) has been plotted in Fig. 4. The values of the various diversity
indices have been provided in Table 3.
We have observed that the high values of the Simpson
diversity index (0.9676) indicates the high diversity observed.
Table 1. Checklist of the bird species
observed at Tundi Camp
|
Common name |
Family |
Scientific name |
Migration status |
Feeding habit |
IUCN Red List category |
1. |
Great White
Pelican |
Pelecanidae |
Pelecanus onocrotalus |
RM |
P |
LC |
2. |
Little Cormorant |
Phalacrocoracidae |
Phalacrocorax niger |
RM |
P |
LC |
3. |
Indian Cormorant |
Phalacrocoracidae |
Phalacrocorax fuscicollis |
RM |
P |
LC |
4. |
Grey Heron |
Ardeidae |
Ardea cinerea |
R |
P, A |
LC |
5. |
Purple Heron |
Ardeidae |
Ardea purpurea |
RM |
P, A, OP |
LC |
6. |
Large Egret |
Ardeidae |
Ardea alba |
R |
P, A |
LC |
7. |
Cattle Egret |
Ardeidae |
Bubulcus ibis |
R |
I, P, A |
LC |
8. |
Painted Stork |
Ciconidae |
Mycteria leucocephala |
RM |
P,IN |
NT |
9. |
Open Bill Stork |
Ciconidae |
Anastomus oscitans |
RM |
P,IN |
LC |
10. |
Black Ibis |
Threskiornithidae |
Pseudibis papillosa |
R |
I, G, RP |
LC |
11. |
Oriental White
Ibis |
Threskiornithidae |
Threskiornis melanocephalus |
R |
A, IN, I, W |
NT |
12. |
Eurasian
Spoonbill |
Threskiornithidae |
Platalea leucorodia |
RM |
A, IN, I, W |
LC |
13. |
Greater Flamingo |
Phoenicopteridae |
Phoenicopterus roseus |
RM |
IN, PL |
LC |
14. |
Lesser Flamingo |
Phoenicopteridae |
Phoenicopterus minor |
RM |
PL |
NT |
15. |
Bar-headed Goose |
Anatidae |
Anser indicus |
M |
H |
LC |
16. |
Brahminy Shelduck |
Anatidae |
Tadorna ferruginea |
RM |
IN, P, RP, C |
LC |
17. |
Spot-billed Duck |
Anatidae |
Anas poecilorhyncha |
RM |
W, H |
LC |
18. |
Lesser Whistling
Duck |
Anatidae |
Dendrocygna javanica |
RM |
H, G, IN, P |
LC |
19. |
Greylag Goose |
Anatidae |
Anser anser |
M |
W, IN |
LC |
20. |
Mallard |
Anatidae |
Anas platyrhynchos |
RM |
H |
LC |
21. |
Northern Pintail |
Anatidae |
Anas acuta |
M |
H, IN |
LC |
22. |
Comb Duck |
Anatidae |
Sarkidiornis melanotos |
R |
G, H, IN |
LC |
23. |
Common Teal |
Anatidae |
Anas crecca |
M |
G, H |
LC |
24. |
Gadwall |
Anatidae |
Anas strepera |
M |
H |
LC |
25. |
Tawny Eagle |
Accipitridae |
Aquila rapax |
R |
C, PD |
LC |
26. |
Brahminy Kite |
Accipitridae |
Haliastur indus |
R |
P, A, OP, I, PD |
LC |
27. |
Western Marsh
Harrier |
Accipitridae |
Circus aeruginosus |
M |
P, A, C, PD |
LC |
28. |
Booted Eagle |
Accipitridae |
Hieraaetus pennatus |
RM |
PD, RP |
LC |
29. |
BonelliÕs Eagle |
Accipitridae |
Hieraaetus fasciatus |
R |
PD |
LC |
30. |
Common Kestrel |
Accipitridae |
Falco tinnunculus |
RM |
I, RP, PD |
LC |
31. |
Osprey |
Pandionidae |
Pandion haliaetus |
RM |
P |
LC |
32. |
Demoiselle Crane |
Gruidae |
Grus virgo |
M |
W, G, RP, I |
LC |
33. |
Purple Swamphen |
Rallidae |
Porphyrio porphyrio |
R |
W, I, IN |
LC |
34. |
Common Moorhen |
Rallidae |
Gallinula chloropus |
RM |
H, I, IN |
LC |
35. |
Common Coot |
Rallidae |
Fulica atra |
RM |
IN, W, H |
LC |
36. |
Red-wattled Lapwing |
Charadriidae |
Vanellus indicus |
RM |
I, IN |
LC |
37. |
Green Sandpiper |
Scolopacidae |
Tringa ochropus |
M |
IN, I |
LC |
38. |
Common Snipe |
Scolopacidae |
Gallinago gallinago |
RM |
I |
LC |
39. |
Black-winged
Stilt |
Recurvirostridae |
Himantopus himantopus |
R |
IN |
LC |
40. |
Rock Pigeon |
Columbidae |
Columba livia |
R |
G |
LC |
41. |
Red Turtle Dove |
Columbidae |
Streptopelia tranquebarica |
R |
G |
LC |
42. |
Laughing Dove |
Columbidae |
Streptopelia senegalensis |
R |
G |
LC |
43. |
Spotted Owlet |
Tytonidae |
Athene brama |
R |
I, RP, PD |
LC |
44. |
Indian Little
Nightjar |
Caprimulgidae |
Caprimulgus asiaticus |
R |
I |
LC |
45. |
Little Swift |
Apodidae |
Apus affinis |
RM |
I |
LC |
46. |
Lesser Pied
Kingfisher |
Alcedinidae |
Ceryle rudis |
R |
P, A, IN |
LC |
47. |
Small Blue
Kingfisher |
Alcedinidae |
Alcedo atthis |
RM |
P, A, IN |
LC |
48. |
Little Green Bee-
Eater |
Meropidae |
Merops orientalis |
R |
I |
LC |
49. |
Indian Roller |
Coraciidae |
Coracias benghalensis |
R |
I, RP |
LC |
50. |
Common Hoopoe |
Upupidae |
Upupa epops |
RM |
I |
LC |
51. |
Eurasian Wryneck |
Picidae |
Jynx torquilla |
M |
I |
LC |
52. |
Indian Bush Lark |
Alaudidae |
Mirafra erythroptera |
R |
I, W |
LC |
53. |
Tawny Pipit |
Motacillidae |
Anthus campestris |
M |
I |
LC |
54. |
Paddyfield Pipit |
Motacillidae |
Anthus rufulus |
R |
I |
LC |
55. |
Yellow Wagtail |
Motacillidae |
Motacilla flava |
RM |
I |
LC |
56. |
Grey Wagtail |
Motacillidae |
Motacilla cinerea |
M |
I |
LC |
57. |
White Wagtail |
Motacillidae |
Motacilla alba |
M |
I |
LC |
58. |
White-eared
Bulbul |
Pycnonotidae |
Pycnonotus leucotis |
R |
FU, I |
LC |
59. |
Red-vented Bulbul |
Pycnonotidae |
Pycnonotus cafer |
R |
FU, I, H |
LC |
60. |
Bay-backed Shrike |
Laniidae |
Lanius vittatus |
R |
I, RP |
LC |
61. |
Long-tailed
Shrike |
Laniidae |
Lanius schach |
R |
I, RP, PD |
LC |
62. |
Isabelline Shrike |
Laniidae |
Lanius isabellinus |
M |
I |
LC |
63. |
Blue Rock Thrush |
Turdidae |
Monticola solitarius |
RM |
I, FU |
LC |
64. |
Blue Throat |
Muscicapidae |
Luscinia svecica |
RM |
I |
LC |
65. |
Isabelline Wheatear |
Muscicapidae |
Oenanthe isabellina |
RM |
I |
LC |
66. |
Pied Bushchat |
Muscicapidae |
Saxicola caprata |
M |
I |
LC |
67. |
Red-breasted
Flycatcher |
Muscicapidae |
Ficedula parva |
M |
I |
LC |
68. |
Indian Robin |
Muscicapidae |
Saxicoloides fulicatus |
R |
I |
LC |
69. |
Common Babbler |
Timalidae |
Turdoides caudata |
R |
I, FU, G |
LC |
70. |
Jungle Prinia |
Cisticolidae |
Prinia sylvatica |
R |
I |
LC |
71. |
Rufous-fronted Prinia |
Cisticolidae |
Prinia buchanani |
R |
I |
LC |
72. |
Zitting Cisticola |
Cisticolidae |
Cisticola juncidis |
R |
I |
LC |
73. |
Common Tailor
Bird |
Cisticolidae |
Orthotomus sutorius |
R |
I, N |
LC |
74. |
Booted Warbler |
Sylviidae |
Hippolais caligata |
RM |
I |
LC |
75. |
Clamorous-reed
Warbler |
Sylviidae |
Acrocephalus stentoreus |
R |
I |
LC |
76. |
Siberian
Chiffchaff |
Sylviidae |
Phylloscopus tristis |
M |
I |
LC |
77. |
Yellow-throated
Sparrow |
Passeridae |
Petronia xanthocollis |
R |
G |
LC |
78. |
Brahminy Starling |
Sturnidae |
Temenuchus pagodarum |
R |
FU |
LC |
79. |
Black Drongo |
Dicruridae |
Dicrurus macrocercus |
R |
I, N |
LC |
|
Common name |
Family |
Scientific name |
Migration status |
Feeding habit |
IUCN Red List category |
1. |
Great White
Pelican |
Pelecanidae |
Pelecanus onocrotalus |
RM |
P |
LC |
2. |
Little Cormorant |
Phalacrocoracidae |
Phalacrocorax niger |
RM |
P |
LC |
3. |
Indian Cormorant |
Phalacrocoracidae |
Phalacrocorax fuscicollis |
RM |
P |
LC |
4. |
Grey Heron |
Ardeidae |
Ardea cinerea |
R |
P, A |
LC |
5. |
Purple Heron |
Ardeidae |
Ardea purpurea |
RM |
P, A, OP |
LC |
6. |
Large Egret |
Ardeidae |
Ardea alba |
R |
P, A |
LC |
7. |
Cattle Egret |
Ardeidae |
Bubulcus ibis |
R |
I, P, A |
LC |
8. |
Painted Stork |
Ciconidae |
Mycteria leucocephala |
RM |
P,IN |
NT |
9. |
Open Bill Stork |
Ciconidae |
Anastomus oscitans |
RM |
P,IN |
LC |
10. |
Black Ibis |
Threskiornithidae |
Pseudibis papillosa |
R |
I, G, RP |
LC |
11. |
Oriental White
Ibis |
Threskiornithidae |
Threskiornis melanocephalus |
R |
A, IN, I, W |
NT |
12. |
Eurasian
Spoonbill |
Threskiornithidae |
Platalea leucorodia |
RM |
A, IN, I, W |
LC |
13. |
Greater Flamingo |
Phoenicopteridae |
Phoenicopterus roseus |
RM |
IN, PL |
LC |
14. |
Lesser Flamingo |
Phoenicopteridae |
Phoenicopterus minor |
RM |
PL |
NT |
15. |
Bar-headed Goose |
Anatidae |
Anser indicus |
M |
H |
LC |
16. |
Brahminy Shelduck |
Anatidae |
Tadorna ferruginea |
RM |
IN, P, RP, C |
LC |
17. |
Spot-billed Duck |
Anatidae |
Anas poecilorhyncha |
RM |
W, H |
LC |
18. |
Lesser Whistling
Duck |
Anatidae |
Dendrocygna javanica |
RM |
H, G, IN, P |
LC |
19. |
Greylag Goose |
Anatidae |
Anser anser |
M |
W, IN |
LC |
20. |
Mallard |
Anatidae |
Anas platyrhynchos |
RM |
H |
LC |
21. |
Northern Pintail |
Anatidae |
Anas acuta |
M |
H, IN |
LC |
22. |
Comb Duck |
Anatidae |
Sarkidiornis melanotos |
R |
G, H, IN |
LC |
23. |
Common Teal |
Anatidae |
Anas crecca |
M |
G, H |
LC |
24. |
Gadwall |
Anatidae |
Anas strepera |
M |
H |
LC |
25. |
Tawny Eagle |
Accipitridae |
Aquila rapax |
R |
C, PD |
LC |
26. |
Brahminy Kite |
Accipitridae |
Haliastur indus |
R |
P, A, OP, I, PD |
LC |
27. |
Western Marsh
Harrier |
Accipitridae |
Circus aeruginosus |
M |
P, A, C, PD |
LC |
28. |
Booted Eagle |
Accipitridae |
Hieraaetus pennatus |
RM |
PD, RP |
LC |
29. |
BonelliÕs Eagle |
Accipitridae |
Hieraaetus fasciatus |
R |
PD |
LC |
30. |
Common Kestrel |
Accipitridae |
Falco tinnunculus |
RM |
I, RP, PD |
LC |
31. |
Osprey |
Pandionidae |
Pandion haliaetus |
RM |
P |
LC |
32. |
Demoiselle Crane |
Gruidae |
Grus virgo |
M |
W, G, RP, I |
LC |
33. |
Purple Swamphen |
Rallidae |
Porphyrio porphyrio |
R |
W, I, IN |
LC |
34. |
Common Moorhen |
Rallidae |
Gallinula chloropus |
RM |
H, I, IN |
LC |
35. |
Common Coot |
Rallidae |
Fulica atra |
RM |
IN, W, H |
LC |
36. |
Red-wattled Lapwing |
Charadriidae |
Vanellus indicus |
RM |
I, IN |
LC |
37. |
Green Sandpiper |
Scolopacidae |
Tringa ochropus |
M |
IN, I |
LC |
38. |
Common Snipe |
Scolopacidae |
Gallinago gallinago |
RM |
I |
LC |
39. |
Black-winged
Stilt |
Recurvirostridae |
Himantopus himantopus |
R |
IN |
LC |
40. |
Rock Pigeon |
Columbidae |
Columba livia |
R |
G |
LC |
41. |
Red Turtle Dove |
Columbidae |
Streptopelia tranquebarica |
R |
G |
LC |
42. |
Laughing Dove |
Columbidae |
Streptopelia senegalensis |
R |
G |
LC |
43. |
Spotted Owlet |
Tytonidae |
Athene brama |
R |
I, RP, PD |
LC |
44. |
Indian Little
Nightjar |
Caprimulgidae |
Caprimulgus asiaticus |
R |
I |
LC |
45. |
Little Swift |
Apodidae |
Apus affinis |
RM |
I |
LC |
46. |
Lesser Pied
Kingfisher |
Alcedinidae |
Ceryle rudis |
R |
P, A, IN |
LC |
47. |
Small Blue
Kingfisher |
Alcedinidae |
Alcedo atthis |
RM |
P, A, IN |
LC |
48. |
Little Green Bee-
Eater |
Meropidae |
Merops orientalis |
R |
I |
LC |
49. |
Indian Roller |
Coraciidae |
Coracias benghalensis |
R |
I, RP |
LC |
50. |
Common Hoopoe |
Upupidae |
Upupa epops |
RM |
I |
LC |
51. |
Eurasian Wryneck |
Picidae |
Jynx torquilla |
M |
I |
LC |
52. |
Indian Bush Lark |
Alaudidae |
Mirafra erythroptera |
R |
I, W |
LC |
53. |
Tawny Pipit |
Motacillidae |
Anthus campestris |
M |
I |
LC |
54. |
Paddyfield Pipit |
Motacillidae |
Anthus rufulus |
R |
I |
LC |
55. |
Yellow Wagtail |
Motacillidae |
Motacilla flava |
RM |
I |
LC |
56. |
Grey Wagtail |
Motacillidae |
Motacilla cinerea |
M |
I |
LC |
57. |
White Wagtail |
Motacillidae |
Motacilla alba |
M |
I |
LC |
58. |
White-eared
Bulbul |
Pycnonotidae |
Pycnonotus leucotis |
R |
FU, I |
LC |
59. |
Red-vented Bulbul |
Pycnonotidae |
Pycnonotus cafer |
R |
FU, I, H |
LC |
60. |
Bay-backed Shrike |
Laniidae |
Lanius vittatus |
R |
I, RP |
LC |
61. |
Long-tailed
Shrike |
Laniidae |
Lanius schach |
R |
I, RP, PD |
LC |
62. |
Isabelline Shrike |
Laniidae |
Lanius isabellinus |
M |
I |
LC |
63. |
Blue Rock Thrush |
Turdidae |
Monticola solitarius |
RM |
I, FU |
LC |
64. |
Blue Throat |
Muscicapidae |
Luscinia svecica |
RM |
I |
LC |
65. |
Isabelline Wheatear |
Muscicapidae |
Oenanthe isabellina |
RM |
I |
LC |
66. |
Pied Bushchat |
Muscicapidae |
Saxicola caprata |
M |
I |
LC |
67. |
Red-breasted
Flycatcher |
Muscicapidae |
Ficedula parva |
M |
I |
LC |
68. |
Indian Robin |
Muscicapidae |
Saxicoloides fulicatus |
R |
I |
LC |
69. |
Common Babbler |
Timalidae |
Turdoides caudata |
R |
I, FU, G |
LC |
70. |
Jungle Prinia |
Cisticolidae |
Prinia sylvatica |
R |
I |
LC |
71. |
Rufous-fronted Prinia |
Cisticolidae |
Prinia buchanani |
R |
I |
LC |
72. |
Zitting Cisticola |
Cisticolidae |
Cisticola juncidis |
R |
I |
LC |
73. |
Common Tailor
Bird |
Cisticolidae |
Orthotomus sutorius |
R |
I, N |
LC |
74. |
Booted Warbler |
Sylviidae |
Hippolais caligata |
RM |
I |
LC |
75. |
Clamorous-reed
Warbler |
Sylviidae |
Acrocephalus stentoreus |
R |
I |
LC |
76. |
Siberian
Chiffchaff |
Sylviidae |
Phylloscopus tristis |
M |
I |
LC |
77. |
Yellow-throated
Sparrow |
Passeridae |
Petronia xanthocollis |
R |
G |
LC |
78. |
Brahminy Starling |
Sturnidae |
Temenuchus pagodarum |
R |
FU |
LC |
79. |
Black Drongo |
Dicruridae |
Dicrurus macrocercus |
R |
I, N |
LC |
Table 2. Family-wise distribution of the recorded bird genera and species
along with their respective percentage of occurrence.
|
Name of the
family |
No. of genera observed |
No. of species observed |
Percent occurrence in
sample |
1. |
Pelecanidae |
1 |
1 |
4.34 |
2. |
Phalacrocoracidae |
1 |
2 |
10.59 |
3. |
Ardeidae |
2 |
4 |
4.09 |
4. |
Ciconidae |
2 |
2 |
9.38 |
5. |
Threskiornithidae |
3 |
3 |
1.82 |
6. |
Phoenicopteridae |
1 |
2 |
5.14 |
7. |
Anatidae |
5 |
10 |
20.42 |
8. |
Accipitridae |
5 |
6 |
1.06 |
9. |
Pandionidae |
1 |
1 |
0.15 |
10. |
Gruidae |
1 |
1 |
1.36 |
11. |
Rallidae |
3 |
3 |
3.78 |
12. |
Charadriidae |
1 |
1 |
1.06 |
13. |
Scolopacidae |
2 |
2 |
0.60 |
14. |
Recurvirostridae |
1 |
1 |
1.82 |
15. |
Columbidae |
2 |
3 |
3.93 |
16. |
Tytonidae |
1 |
1 |
0.61 |
17. |
Caprimulgidae |
1 |
1 |
2.87 |
18. |
Apodidae |
1 |
1 |
5.30 |
19. |
Alcedinidae |
2 |
2 |
0.91 |
20. |
Meropidae |
1 |
1 |
3.93 |
21. |
Coraciidae |
1 |
1 |
0.45 |
22. |
Upupidae |
1 |
1 |
0.30 |
23. |
Picidae |
1 |
1 |
0.15 |
24. |
Alaudidae |
1 |
1 |
0.15 |
25. |
Motacillidae |
2 |
5 |
1.66 |
26. |
Pycnonotidae |
1 |
2 |
4.09 |
27. |
Laniidae |
1 |
3 |
0.45 |
28. |
Turdidae |
1 |
1 |
0.15 |
29. |
Muscicapidae |
5 |
5 |
1.66 |
30. |
Timalidae |
1 |
1 |
4.69 |
31. |
Cisticolidae |
3 |
4 |
0.91 |
32. |
Sylviidae |
3 |
3 |
0.45 |
33. |
Passeridae |
1 |
1 |
0.61 |
34. |
Sturnidae |
1 |
1 |
0.30 |
35. |
Dicruridae |
1 |
1 |
1.97 |
Table 3. Values of the
various indices
|
Name of the
indices |
Value |
Richness Indices |
||
1. |
Family Richness |
35 |
2. |
Genus Richness |
62 |
3. |
Species Richness |
79 |
Diversity Indices |
||
1. |
Simpson Diversity
Index |
0.9676 |
2. |
Shannon -Wiener
Index |
3.747 |
Dominance Index |
||
1. |
SimpsonÕs index
of dominance |
0.03236 |
Evenness Index |
||
1. |
Shannon evenness
Index |
0.5366 |
Discussion
Wetlands
and natural grasslands are important habitats for avian populations throughout
the world and the studied one is no exception. The overall condition of the wetland is
pretty good and it shows signs of a self-sustaining environment
which is mostly because of the very sparse human interventions. This enabled us to study the wetland at
its ecological prime.
The
dominance-diversity curve (in Fig. 4) has been plotted in order to get an idea
of the amount of diversity observed in the studied avian community. In this case, the trend-line on the
curve shows that the studied community exhibits a high amount of diversity; because of the petite angle of intersection and the
right-hand side alignment of the curve.
The
calculated values of the various diversity indices, especially that of the
Simpson Dominance (l) = 0.0324 proves that the community of avifaunal species
show very low dominance. On the
other hand, this depicts considerably high diversity of the avian
community. The maximum value of the
Simpson Diversity Index (DS) can be 1 (Magurran
2004). Here, its value is
0.9676. The value of the
Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index (HÕ) of the studied community depicts that the
chances of getting an individual of the same species in a random sample is
about 3.75; which points out to the considerably vast population size of almost
every species sampled during our study.
When converted to ENS, its value becomes approximately 42.39; which
means that a community with Shannon index of 3.75 has an equivalent diversity
as a community with almost 42 equally-abundant
species. This is further proved by
the fact that the value of Shannon Evenness Index (JÕ); which being quite close
to 0.5 shows that there is an intermediate amount of variance in the population
size of different avian species.
Species diversity is more positively correlated with evenness (Bock et
al. 2007). This testifies to the
sizeable diversity observed in the studied avian community. The overall
scenario, as is evident in the calculated values of these diversity indices
(Table 3), is that the sampled community is greatly diverse in its composition.
The
pie-chart depicting the Feeding Guilds of the various
avifauna (Fig. 3) observed, clearly shows that the community of this ecosystem
is also sufficiently rich and greatly diversified. Hence it is able to support birds
with such a varied spectrum of feeding habits.
Conclusion
On
the basis of our study, we can now conclude that the avian community observed
at the wetland shows little dominance, but a fair amount of diversity. In addition, the presence of the various
feeding guilds bear proof of the fact that the entire ecological community is
fairly diverse and show signs of a healthy environment.
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