A PRELIMINARY SURVEY ON DIVERSITY OF AVIFAUNA IN KATWA, PURBA BURDWAN, WEST BENGAL, INDIA

Birds are used as bio-indicator due to their sensitivity to minor environmental changes. A survey was done from July 2022 to February 2023 to study the avifaunal diversity of Katwa. A total of 67 bird species were recorded during the study period. The species were categorized in three namely common resident (CR), not common resident (NCR) and migratory (M) of which 40 are common resident, 24 are not common resident and 3 are migratory. The found common birds species were house crow, common myna, red vented bulbul, house sparrow, spotted dove, asian koel, little ringed plover etc. Among the not common resident avifauna were Long-legged Buzzard, Cotton teal, Pied-cuckoo, Grey Wagtail, yellow Wagtail, White Wagtail etc. and the three migratory birds were Common Pochard, Red-crested Pochard and Northern Pintail. Katwa and adjoining Ajay Baadh has wide variety of trees, wetland, grassland and agricultural land which is the major contributing factor for the rich avifaunal diversity found during the short study period. This is a preliminary effort for documentation of the avifauna, but more studies and suitable conservation strategies are required in the study area.