A checklist of bird communities In Tamhini Wildlife Sanctuary, the northern Western Ghats, Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Bird communities in Tamhini Wildlife Sanctuary in the northern Western Ghats were studied using line transect and point count methods from the year 2011 to 2013. The updated checklist of birds at the Sanctuary is now represented by 164 bird species. The present study reported 35 new records to the area, while 15 earlier reported bird species were not observed. Overall, 55 insectivorous, 19 omnivorous, 14 granivorous, nine piscivorous, eight frugivorous, eight carnivorous and six nectarivorous species were observed. Out of these, 98 were residents, 17 winter visitors, three vagrant visitors and one was summer migrant. Four restricted range species were recorded from the Sanctuary as Nilgiri Wood Pigeon Columba elphinstonii, Malabar Grey Hornbill Ocyceros griseus, White-bellied Blue Flycatcher Cyornis pallipes and Crimson-backed Sunbird Leptocoma minima. Human activities such as pruning, cutting, grazing, fires, quarrying, trailing and camping were also reported in and around the Sanctuary.

Keywords

• avifauna
• checklist
• human activities
• tamhini
• western ghats.