Habitat dependent avifaunal diversity along the coastline of Raigad district, (M.S.), India

Abstract

Present study envisages bird diversity along various shores of Dist. Raigad, Maharashtra, India. The study was carried out from year 2012-2015 using point count, total count and vehicle transect method. Notable diversity of birds depending upon habitat morphology was observed during the study which revealed total 46 bird species belonging to 12 families. The sandy rocky shore of Akshi showed highest bird diversity i.e. 37 species followed by sandy shore of Revdanda that revealed 32 species whereas; at muddy rocky shore of Salav I and muddy shore of Salav II showed 19 and 18 bird species respectively. The data was also interpreted for migratory status which revealed 30% resident and 70% migratory birds underlining importance of such coastal habitats. As per the IUCN red list, 89% of the species found were Least Concern category, 9% from Near Threatened category while 2% species were Endangered.