ABSTRACT
The present study has been conducted on the agricultural landscapes of a trending local tourist spot, named Bortir Bil of Beraberia, North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India with an objective to assess the avian diversity from April to August. Field surveys have been carried out following the line transect method. A total of 43 bird species are recorded belonging to the ten orders and 23 families. Order- Passeriformes (18 species, 41.86%) is the dominant order followed by Pelecaniformes (7 species, 16.28%), Charadriiformes (4 species, 9.30%), and others. With a relative diversity (RDi) value of 16.28, Family- Ardeidae is the most diverse family in the study area. The comparative study of local status assessment and global population trend revealed that Eastern Yellow Wagtail (Motacilla tschutschensis), which holds globally declining status, are common in the study site. According to the IUCN status of the documented birds, two bird species viz. Red-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus) and Lesser Adjutant (Leptoptilos javanicus) are of ‘Vulnerable’ (VU) category, one bird species- Painted Stork (Mycteria leucocephala) is of ‘Near Threatened’ (NT) category and the rest are of ‘Least Concerned’ (LC) category. This area has also been found to have potential habitats for both grassland birds and waterbirds. Although several anthropogenic activities and urbanization may cause the natural habitat loss of the study area which may lead to loss of avifaunal diversity of the agricultural landscapes of Bortir Bil.
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