The birds of Araku, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India

T Selva Kumar,P.A Azeez,Rachna Chandra

doi:10.11609/jott.o2108.662-5

Abstract

Avifaunal survey carried out from December 2006 to September 2007 in Araku Valley, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, revealed the presence of a total of 147 species of birds belonging to 43 families. One-hundred-twelve species of birds in Araku Valley were resident breeders, 23 species winter visitors, nine species local migrants, two species passage migrants and one species summer visitor. Many bird species were seen in more than one habitat for nesting, roosting and foraging. The dominant feeding guild of birds was insectivorous. Four globally threatened species, namely, the Purple Wood-Pigeon Columba punicea Blyth, 1842, the Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga Pallas, 1811, the Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni Fleischer, 1818 and the Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus (S.G. Gmelin, 1770), were recorded during the survey from the area

Highlights

Common Hoopoe Upupa epops, Plain Prinia Prinia inornata and White-rumped Shama Copsychus malabaricus were commonly nesting in the scrub jungle and wooded forests
Fuel wood collection, customary hunting, forest fire and cutting trees are amongst threats from the locals
With gradual increase in population, podu cultivation with shorter cycles has led to drastic loss of natural resources, causing serious erosion of the surface soil, in the slopes, repeated with short-period cycles, the podu cultivation has serious long-standing impacts

Summary

Introduction

They largely depend on local forest and natural resources for livelihood. Silver oak plantation, scrub jungle, well wooded forest and Phoenix dominated plateaus. Opportunistic surveys in the nearby villages, valleys and plains were done to document a comprehensive checklist of birds of the area. The birds in Araku Valley include four globally threatened species (BirdLife International 2001), namely - the Purple Wood-Pigeon Columba punicea, Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga, Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni and Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus (Table 2).

Results

Conclusion