Avifaunal diversity of Tsirang District with a new country record for Bhutan

Abstract

Birds play a vital role in ecosystems. Studying avifaunal diversity therefore has a noteworthy role in indicating nature’s ecological balance in the environment. A total of 749 bird species have so far been recorded in Bhutan. We present a comprehensive checklist of birds of Tsirang, District which largely lies outside Bhutan’s protected area system. The data was collected through opportunistic encounters and with regular field visits to a range of locations in different seasons. One-fourth of the country’s total avifauna and a new species recorded for Bhutan, The Plum-headed Parakeet Psittacula cyanocephala was recorded as part of this study. In all, 285 avian species belonging to 18 orders and 65 families including one globally ‘Critically Endangered’, three ‘Vulnerable’, and a ‘Near Threatened’ species were recorded during the survey. The high species richness of birds in the study area reveals that it includes good habitats for birds in Bhutan. Similar studies are suggested in other areas contiguous to the protected areas in Bhutan including the current study area. This should aid in understanding of the factors driving the differences in bird diversity within and outside the protected areas so as to facilitate informed conservation actions in future.