Avian Diversity and Its Feeding Guilds in Respect to the Rural Landscape of District Barnala (Punjab)

Abstract

Avian diversity is a strong indication of the stability and integrity of structure and processes in an ecosystem. Though birds are adapted to almost every habitat and breed on almost all the continents of the earth, the majority of birds are linked to the agro-ecosystem to survive as agriculture offers an extremely predictable and concentrated food source; and birds also play a role in nutrient cycling, soil formation, and energy transfer in the ecosystems. Therefore, from the perspective of environmental monitoring, the assessment of bird assemblages in various ecosystems is prioritized. Due to the intensification of agriculture, Punjab's agro-ecosystem has undergone tremendous changes. The present study on avian diversity in the rural agricultural landscape (RurekeKalan, Sekha, Sanghera, and Cheema) of district Barnala, Punjab has been conducted from March 2022 to May 2022 using a Digital SLR camera (Canon 1300 D) binoculars (Nikon A211 16X50) to observe the birds. Thirty species of birds belonging to twelve orders have been recorded, order Passeriformes being the most dominant one. Common Myna and Blue Rock Pigeon were found to be the most prevalent as compared to other bird species. Omnivory was found to be dominant as compared to other feeding habits. Although the present work is in no way conclusive, it serves to give an approximate understanding of the fauna in the study site and also reveals that agricultural intensification is a major concern for avian diversity conservation. The present study provides baseline data to understand the precise functions that different species of birds play in agro-ecosystems and for future study regarding conservation, habitat preferences, seasonal variations, nest ecology, breeding biology, etc. of the avian species that have been observed in the study region.