A checklist of
avian fauna at Jeypore Reserve Forest, eastern Assam,
India with special reference to globally threatened and endemic species in the
Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot
Prasanta Kumar Saikia 1 & Oinam Sunanda Devi 2
1 Associate Professor, 2 ResearchScholar,
Animal Ecology and Wildlife Biology Lab, Department of Zoology, Gauhati University, Guwahati,
Assam 781014, India
Email: 1 saikiapk@rediffmail.com (corresponding author), 2sunan_o@rediffmail.com
Date of publication (online): 26 April 2011
Date of publication (print): 26 April 2011
ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)
Editor: Dipankar Ghose
Manuscript
details:
Ms # o2340
Received 05 November 2009
Final received 04 February 2011
Finally accepted 20 March 2011
Citation: Saikia, P.K.
& O.S. Devi (2011). A checklist of avian fauna at JeyporeReserve Forest, eastern Assam, India with special reference to globally
threatened and endemic species in the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot. Journal of Threatened Taxa 3(4): 1711–1718.
Copyright: PrasantaKumar Saikia & Oinam Sunanda Devi 2011. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows
unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes,
reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and
the source of publication.
Acknowledgements: The authors acknowledge the Department
of Science and Technology, Government of India, for financial support to
conduct the field survey of avian fauna in north and south bank landscapes of
Eastern Himalayan biodiversity Hotspot. The authors are also thankful to the
Ministry of Environment and Forests Government of Assam for providing
permission to conduct the survey work.
Abstract: Avifaunal survey
of an Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot area - JeyporeReserve Forest was carried out from July 2007 to July 2009. Altogether 270
species of avian fauna belonging to 56 families were identified during the
survey, of which 58 species were frugivorous, 34
omnivorous, 15 carnivorous, 22 picivorous, five grainivorous and 136 were insectivorous in nature. Of all
the bird species recorded, 14 were globally threatened species, five were
endemic to this region, 153 were resident common species, 87 resident rare
species, 16 migratory common species and 14 were migratory rare species. The
endemic species recorded in the study area were Anorrhinus tickelli, Sphenocichla humei, Pellorneum palustre, Yuhina bakeri and Heterophasia pulchella. The globally threatened species include two Critically
Endangered, Gyps indicus and Gyps bengalensis,one Endangered, Cairina scutulata, four Vulnerable, Leptoptilos javanicus, Francolinus gularis, Columba punicea, Turdoides longitostris, and seven Near Threatened, Anhinga melanogaster,Arborophila atrogularis, Anorrhinus tickelli, Buceros bicornis, Sphenocichla humei, Pellorneum palustre and Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus.
Keywords: Biodiversity hotspot, birds, Eastern Himalaya,
endemic, globally threatened.
For figures, images, tables -- click here
The Jeypore Reserve Forest is one among
the few remaining tropical forest patches of eastern Assam which is a part of
the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot region. This reserve is relatively undisturbed in
terms of intrusions and disruptions by humans compared to other protected areas
of the state. Jeyporealong with five other protected areas form the Upper DihingWest Complex, an Important Bird Area (IBA) of eastern Assam, IBA Site No. IN-AS-45 (Islam & Rahmani 2004). Together they form the largest contiguous
tropical rainforest area extent in the whole Brahmaputra Valley (Choudhury 1996). These sites are famous for the largest known population of the
Endangered White-winged Duck Cairina scutulata (Choudhury 1996, 1998). Apart from this, the area also harbours five species of hornbills including the rarer
Brown Hornbill Anorrhinus tickelli and the Rufous-necked Hornbill Aceros nipalensis (Choudhury 2000). Due to its unique habitat and terrain, the
site harbours a large diversity of avian fauna
including endemic and globally threatened species. Past studies on avifauna of the reserve
forest are restricted to a few personal comments and observations but detailed
avifaunal surveys were not done specifically. Data on avian fauna of the reserve is deficient even though it is a part
of an important IBA of eastern Assam which provides refuge to a large number of
endemic and threatened species. Detailed
ecological studies of the endemic and globally threatened species are required
for their conservation. Therefore, the
present study was conducted to provide up to date information about the avian
diversity of the reserve forest and their habitat utilization patterns in order
to provide baseline information for future conservation programmes.
Study Area
The JeyporeReserve Forest (JRF) is located at Dibrugarh District
of eastern Assam which falls between 27006’– 27016’N and
95021’–95029’E (Fig. 1). The total area of the JRF is 108km2. The terrain of the area varies with slightly
undulating plains to hills which are the foothills of the PatkaiRange. The JRF is continuous with the
forests of Arunachal Pradesh. Burhi-Dihing and the Dilli rivers
form a part of the boundary of the reserve. Many small perennial streams and nullahs also
flow within the forest. Swamps and
grassland patches also occur inside the forest (Kakati2004). This forest is a part of an
important IBA-the Upper Dihing West Complex, IBA Site
No. IN-AS-45 and was notified as a reserve forest way back in 1888 (Kakati 2004). The
habitat is tropical rainforest, Champion & Seth
(1968) described it as “Assam Valley tropical wet evergreen forest” (category
1B/C1) also called the upper Assam Dipterocarpus – Mesua forest. The forest is
characterized by a top canopy dominated by Dipterocarpus macrocarpus reaching heights of 50m, a middle canopy dominated by Mesua ferrea and Vatica lanceaefolia and undergrowth consisting of woody shrubs such as Saprosma ternatum, Livistonia jenkinsiana and canes Calamus erectus, etc., (Kakati2004). Bamboo species such as Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Pseudostachyum polymorphum and climbers such as Derris oblonga are common. The major fauna of the reserve include large mammals such as Elephant Elephas maximus, Barking Deer Muntiacus muntjak, Bengal Tiger Panthera tigris, Leopard Panthera pardus, Clouded Leopard Neofelis nebulosa, Wild Boar Sus scrofa, etc. Primates such as Hoolock Gibbon Hoolock hoolock, Capped Langur Trachypithecus pileatus and Rhesus Macaque Macaca mulatta are also found in the reserve. Rock Python Python molurus and Banded Krait Bungarus fasciatus are some notable reptilian species. Besides these major faunas the reserve also harboursa large diversity of butterflies and arachnid species. Although the forest is located in a matrix of
tea plantations, settled agriculture and rural settlements, the degree of
disturbance is much less compared to other protected areas of the state. The peripheral areas of the forest are
encroached by the local people for tea plantations but the core area of the
forest is intact and without any disturbance.
Methods
Field surveys were conducted for a period of two years starting
from July 2007 up to July 2009 covering all the seasons i.e. Summer(March–June), Monsoon (July–October) and Winter (November–February). The surveys followed line
transect and point count methods (Bibby et al.
1992). Altogether 16 permanent line
transects of 2km length and 50m breadth each were laid randomly, four transects
each on all the major habitats of the forest closed canopy, grassland, open
canopy and degraded areas near the forest edge. Also point counts were conducted along the line transects of each habitat
on different days. Points were of 50m
radius, at least 100m apart from each other to avoid overlap and counts were of
5min duration. In each habitat, 15 point
count surveys were carried out. All the
counts were carried out early morning, during the first three hours after
sunrise as counts need to be carried out at the time of highest bird activity
(Buckland et al. 1993). Opportunistic
observations were also added to the list so as not to miss any species during
the survey period. Feeding guilds were
classified as per direct observations and available literatures Ali &
Ripley (1987). Birds were identified
using field guide books of Ali & Ripley (1987) and Grimmettet al. (2000). The common and scientific
names of the birds given in the checklist followed the Birds of the World,
recommended English names (Gill & Wright 2006). The threatened status of the birds given in
the checklist is as per IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (Birdlife
International 2001a,b). The common-rare, resident-migratory status of the birds are classified as per Saikia & Saikia (2000).
C – Common species which are encountered frequently (eight times during 10
survey trips).
R – Rare species which are encountered less frequently (1-2 times
during 10 survey trips).
R – Residents, species found in the study area throughout the
year.
WM – Winter Migrants, species found in the study area only during
the winter.
SM – Summer Migrants, species visiting the area during the summer
seasons.
Vr – Vagrants, species that are not regular, winter migrants or
breeding migrants and hence a stray bird sighting.
Results
A total of 270 species of birds belonging to 56 families were
identified during the survey (Table 1). Of these, 58 species were frugivorous, 34 omnivorous, 15 carnivorous, 22 piscivorous, five granivorous and
136 were insectivorous in their feeding guild. Out of 270 species of birds, 14 were globally threatened species and
five endemic species including 30 migratory species, of which 25 were winter
migrants, five summer migrants and one vagrant species. Family Timaliidaedominates the list with 35 species belonging to 20 genera followed by family Muscicapidae with 20 species under 14 genera and family Columbidae followed close by with 15 species belonging to
six genera. Nine species out of these
270 are new records of the area belonging to the families, viz., Nectariniidae (3), Dicacidae (1),Sittidae (1), Muscicapidae(1), Pittidae (1), Psittacidae(1) and Charadridae (1). Out of the 270 species, 153 are resident
common species, 87 are resident rare species, 16 are migratory common species
and 14 are migratory rare species. Brown
Hornbill Anorrhinus tickelli, Wedge-billed Wren-Babbler Sphenocichla humei,Marsh Babbler Pellorneum palustre,White-naped Yuhina Yuhina bakeri and Beautiful Sibia Heterophasia pulchella are
the five endemic species. The 14
globally threatened species include two Critically Endangered species,
Long-billed Vulture Gyps indicus and Indian
White-backed Vulture Gyps bengalensis, one
Endangered species, White-winged Duck Cairina scutulata, four Vulnerable species, Lesser Adjutant Stork Leptoptilos javanicus, Swamp Francolin Francolinus gularis, Purple
Wood Pigeon Columba punicea,Slender-billed Babbler Turdoides longitostris and seven Near Threatened species viz. Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster,White-cheeked Partridge Arborophila atrogularis, Brown
Hornbill Anorrhinus tickelli, Great Pied
Hornbill Buceros bicornis, Wedge-billed
Wren-Babbler Sphenocichla humei, Marsh Babbler Pellorneum palustre and Greater
Grey-headed Fish-Eagle Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus.
Discussion
Eastern Assam falls under the endemic bird area of Eastern Himalaya which is one of the most important biodiversity hotspot regions harbouring wide varieties of plants and animals inhabiting a diversified habitat mosaic (Stattersfield et al. 1998). The JeyporeReserve Forest is one among the few remaining tropical forest patches of eastern Assam which is unique for its varied flora and fauna. The high diversity of frugivorousand insectivorous birds reveals the quality of the forest habitat. Apart from these, the study records 14 globally threatened species including two Critically Endangered species and five endemic species, which also adds to the uniqueness of this small forest patch. The site should be given first priority for conservation of rare and endemic galliforme species such as Grey Peacock Pheasant Polyplectron bicalcaratum, Kaleej Pheasant Lophura leucomelanos, White-cheeked Partridge Arborophila atrogularis and Rufous-throated Partridge Arborophila rufogularis. Beside galliformes, the forest also harbours the endangered White-winged Duck Cairina scutulata. Out of the five species of hornbills found in JRF (Choudhury 2000), four species have been recorded from the site during present survey, except the Rufous-necked Hornbill Aceros nipalensis, which has not been encountered yet. Since the reserve is continuous with the Patkai Range of Arunachal Pradesh, it provides a unique habitat not only for birds but also to many large and small carnivores, herbivores, primates and reptiles. The Insect diversity is also high including a large number of unknown arachnids for which detailed studies are required immediately. Thus the site is an ideal place for conservation of endemic and globally threatened birds and also to a large number of important flora and fauna. Due to the increase in human population the forest is presently facing disturbance in the edges which will increase in due course of time if proper conservation measures are not taken up immediately. Conservation awareness programmesamong the local people is required to sensitise the people about the sustainable use of the forest resources to conserve it for future generations.
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