Avifauna of the Mudeungsan (Mt.) region of Gwangju Metropolitan City

Abstract

This study was conducted in order to analyze the avifauna of the hiking trail and roads near the Mudeungsan (Mt.) region of Gwangju Metropolitan City between July of 2008 and March of 2009 over a total of 4 sessions, each in summer, fall, winter and spring. A total of 6,779 birds of 76 species, 31 families and 12 orders were observed during the study period. The most dominant species was the yellow-throated bunting (Emberiza elegans) (12.2%), followed by, in decreasing order, the mandarin duck (Aix galericulata) (8.8%), the long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus) (8.3%), the brown-eared bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis) (7.6%), the great tit (Parus major) (7.1%) and the azure-winged magpie (Cyanopica cyana) (5.5%), marking dominance of over 5%. In terms of seasons, winter showed the highest individual count at 2,844 birds of 53 species, while summer showed the lowest count, at 784 individual counts of 39 species. Furthermore, 7 species of passage migrant birds, which are rare in South Korea, were recorded in the region of Mudeungsan. Furthermore, 9 natural monument and government-protected endangered species of the mandarin duck, long-billed ring plover, sparrow hawk, northern goshawk, Chinese sparrow hawk, Eurasian buzzard, cinereous vulture, common kestrel and the little cuckoo, were observed during the study.