Study on avifaunal diversity of Wainganga river basin at Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh

Abstract

The avian diversity plays an important role in the ecological balance of an ecosystem and acts as an excellent indicator of environmental changes. The present study was carried out in the Wainganga River basin at Balaghat district to document the diversity, habitat strata, migration, and conservation status of avifauna. A total of 117 species of birds belonging to 18 orders and 53 families have been recorded in this study from December 2020 to July 2021. Out of the 117 species of birds, 110 species were Resident (R), 5 were winter migrant (WM) and 2 were summer migrant (SM). According to IUCN Red List version 3.1.7, 113 species were Least Concern (LC), 3 species were near threatened (NT), 1 species was vulnerable (VU). The presence of Near Threatened (NT) and Vulnerable (VU) species indicates the importance of present study sites.