A Preliminary Checklist of Avian Fauna from Raimona National Park of Assam, India

Nilutpal Mahanta¹, Nazrul Islam^2, , Rathin Barman², Sanatan Deka², Uditya Borkataki³, Tanisha Chhetri³, Sanswrang Basumatary⁴ and Moklesur Rahman⁴

¹Department of Zoology, Assam Don Bosco University, Sonapur, Assam, India

²Wildlife Trust of India, F-13, Sector-8, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

³Department of Zoology, Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam, India

⁴Department of Botany, Bodoland University, Kokrajhar, Assam, India

Cite this paper:
Nilutpal Mahanta, Nazrul Islam, Rathin Barman, Sanatan Deka, Uditya Borkataki, Tanisha Chhetri, Sanswrang Basumatary and Moklesur Rahman. A Preliminary Checklist of Avian Fauna from Raimona National Park of Assam, India. Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences. 2022; 10(11):652-664. doi: 10.12691/aees-10-11-1

Abstract

Birds play very essential ecological functions such as pest control, pollination, seed dispersal as well as nutrient dynamics and they are very good indicators of the ecosystem health in a landscape. Biodiversity inventory and their conservation including ecosystem restoration at landscape level has recently emerged as a global priority for effective management planning to ensure ecosystem stability and ecological functionality. This study aims to create a baseline database of avifaunal assemblages from the recently recognized Raimona National Park in the state of Assam, India. This new protected area is located in the Bhabar belt covering 422 km² area under the Kachugaon forest division of the state. The systematic grid-based line transect method was followed from November 2020 to April 2021 and confirmed the presence of total 227 avian species from the study area among which 7 species were globally threatened. The area also harbours the suitable habitat of critically endangered White-bellied heron (Ardea insignis Hume, 1878). Extensive research and long-term monitoring will be very crucial in the near future for the inventory of more avian fauna along with their conservation in the Raimona National Park.

Keywords:
bird status ripu reserve forest kachugaon sal forest raimona avian conservation

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References:

[1]	Wenny D.G., Devault T.L., Johnson M.D., Kelly D., Sekercioglu C.H., Tomback D.F. and Whelan C.J, “The need to quantify ecosystem services provided by birds”. The auk, 128(1), 1-14, 2011.
[2]	Sekercioglu C.H, “Bird functional diversity and ecosystem services in tropical forests, agroforests and agricultural areas.” Journal of Ornithology, 153(1), 153-161, 2012.
[3]	Sekercioglu Ç.H., Wenny D.G. and Whelan, C.J. (Eds.), “Why birds matter: avian ecological function and ecosystem services”. University of Chicago Press, London, 368 pp.
[4]	Saikia P.K. and Bhattacharjee P.C, “The present status of Waders and other Water Birds of Brahmaputra Valley, Assam, India”. Stilt, 17, 65-70, 1990.
[5]	Saikia P.K., Saikia M.K., Bhattacharjee P.C., Kalita J., Dutta D., Sarma R. and Saikia D.J, “Diversity of Bird Fauna in North East India”. Journal of Assam Science Society, 41(4), 379-396, 2000.
[6]	Upadhyaya S. and M. Raj, “Study on Avian Biodiversity of North-east India with Special Reference to the Conservation of Threatened Species”. International journal of Bio-resource and Stress Management, 4(2), 270-277, 2013.
[7]	Choudhury A, The Birds of Assam. Gibbon Books & WWF-India, NE Regional Office, Guwahati, Assam, India, 2000, 236 pp.
[8]	Devi O.S., Islam M., Das J. and Saikia P.K, “Avian-fauna of Gauhati University Campus, Jalukbari, Assam”. The Ecoscan. 6 (3&4), 165-70, 2012.
[9]	Jokimaki J. and Kaisanlahti‐Jokimaki M.L, “Spatial similarity of urban bird communities: a multiscale approach”. Journal of Biogeography, 30(8), 1183-1193, 2003.
[10]	Fusco J., Walker E., Papaïx J., Debolini M., Bondeau A. and Barnagaud J.Y, “Land Use Changes Threaten Bird Taxonomic and Functional Diversity Across the Mediterranean Basin: A Spatial Analysis to Prioritize Monitoring for Conservation”. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9, 612356.
[11]	Rather H.A., Shrivastava P., Gautam V., Ahmad N., Ganie R.A.D. and Hurra W.A, “Effects of anthropogenic activities on bird diversity in an urban waterbody (Bhoj Wetland), Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India”. International Journal of Fauna and Biological Studies, 9(2), 21-24, 2022.
[12]	Narasimmarajan, K., Chetri D., Ri, C. and Mathai M.T, “Bird Species of conservation concern along the Brahmaputra River in Assam, Northeast India”. Podoces, 8(2), 31-37, 2013.
[13]	Islam N., Barman R., Deka S., Borkataki U., Chhetri T., Basumatary S., Rahman M. and Sinha B, “Richness and relative abundance of mammalian fauna in Raimona national park, Assam, India”. International Journal of Fauna and Biological Studies, 8(5), 39-44, 2021.
[14]	Green M.J., How R., Padmalal U.K.G.K. and Dissanayake S.R.B, “The importance of monitoring biological diversity and its application in Sri Lanka”. Tropical Ecology, 50(1), 41-56, 2003.
[15]	UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), “Becoming #GenerationRestoration: Ecosystem restoration for people, nature and climate”. Nairobi, 2021. https://www.unep.org/resources/ecosystem-restoration-people-nature-climate.
[16]	Goswami R.C, Working Plan for the Forest Reserves of the Kachugaon Division, 1983- 84 to 1998-1999, Part I & Part II, Social Forestry Division, Kokrajhar, Assam, India. 1983, 122 pp.
[17]	Hilaly S, “Railways and colonialism: The Kachugaon forest tramway in Assam”. Global Journal of Indian History and Culture, 1(1), 45-57, 2016.
[18]	Wary J, “Incredible Tram of Goalpara Forest. Indian Historical Review, 43(1), 135-148, 2016.
[19]	Rahmani A.R., Islam M.Z. and Kasambe R.M, “Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas in India: Priority Sites for Conservation (Revised and updated)”. Bombay Natural History Society, Indian Bird Conservation Network, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and BirdLife International (U.K.), 2016. Pp. 1992 + xii
[20]	Narzary G.S, “Forest related activities for livelihood in ripu reserve forest”. Doctoral Thesis. Submitted to Department of Geography, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, India, 2013,196 pp.
[21]	Mukherjee R.P. and Saha S.S, “The Golden Langurs (Presbytis geei Khajuria, 1956) of Assam”. Primates, 15, 327-340, 1974.
[22]	Champion H.G. and Seth S.K, A revised survey of the forest types of India. Natraj Publishers, Dehradun, India. 1968, 404 pp.
[23]	Sutherland W.J. (Ed.), Ecological census techniques: A Handbook, Cambridge University Press, New York, 2006, 408 pp.
[24]	Grimmett R., Inskipp C., Inskipp T, Birds of the Indian Subcontinent: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. Bloomsbury Publishing India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India, 2016, 528 pp.
[25]	Ali S. and Ripley S.D. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan. Compact edition. Oxford University Press and BNHS, Mumbai, India, 1983, 3121 pp.
[26]	Choudhury A, The Birds of Assam. Gibbon Books & WWF-India, NE Regional Office, Guwahati, Assam, India, 2000, 236 pp.
[27]	UCN (International Union of Conservation and Nature) Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2021-3. 2021. https://www.iucnredlist.org/.
[28]	Sivakumar, S., Varghese, J.E.E.J.O. and Prakash, V.I.B.H.U, “Abundance of birds in different habitats in Buxa Tiger Reserve, West Bengal, India”. Forktail, 22, 128-133, 2006.
[29]	Zhongming Z., Linong L., Xiaona Y., Wangqiang Z. and Wei L, “Biodiversity Baseline Assessment: Phipsoo Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan”. Asian Development Bank, Philipines, 2018, 143 pp.
[30]	Hilaluddin and Sharma. K, “Survey of three divisions of Bodoland Territorial Council for addition into protected area network”. In V. Menon, R. Kaul, R. Dutta, NVK. Ashraf & P. Sarkar (Eds). Bringing Back Manas-Conserving the forest and wildlife of Bodoland Territorial Council, New Delhi, Wildlife Trust of India, 66-84, 2008.
[31]	Mahanta N., Saikia P.K. and Saikia M.K, “Avifaunal Assemblages of Jhanjimuk-Kokilamukh IBA Complex of Jorhat Assam India-A Potential Ramsar Site of Assam”. Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 7(3), 101-109, (2019).
[32]	Saikia P.K. and Rabha A, Studies on the status and diversity of avian fauna in Manas Biosphere Reserve, Assam. In Rabha et al. eds. Manas: A Set of Technical Article Edition. Reception Committee of the Closing Ceremony of Manas Centenery Celebration. Department of Forest & Torurism, BTC and Manas Tiger Project, 2006, 68-86.