Bird Community Composition and Current Status in and Around Selected Wetlands of District Sirsa, Haryana (India)

Abstract

District Sirsa endows with diverse plantations, agricultural fields and several water bodies that serve as foraging, roosting, nesting and breeding sites for avian species. Field surveys were conducted for a period of one year from October 2019 to September 2020, with the help of Scan sampling, Line transect and Point count method. During the entire study period, a total of 129 species comprising 99 genera, 50 families and 18 orders were recorded at selected wetlands. Among these species, 82 species were Residents, 35 species were winter migrants and 12 species were summer migrants. Order Passeriformes was the dominated taxa consisting 48 species in 21 families, whereas families Anatidae and Scolopacidae were highly diversified (12 species each) possessing high RDi value (9.30 each) in relation to other families. Of the total 129 species, six species were observed as Nearthreatened and single species was vulnerable as per IUCN; three species listed under Schedule-I, single species under Schedule-V and remaining 125 species under Schedule-IV of IWPA, 1972, whereas six species under appendices of CITES, 2012. The selected wetlands serve as most suitable habitat for both residential and migratory species and could establish as breeding ground as well as protected sites for avian communities.