Bird community of Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park, Assam

Abstract

A total of 284 species of birds have been recorded in Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park during field surveys carried out in 2013-2016 and records from previous observers. This includes five Critically Endangered (Baer's pochard Aythya baeri, Bengal florican Houbaropsis bengalensis, Red-headed vulture Sarcogyps calvus, White-rumped vulture Gyps bengalensis, and Slender-billed vulture Gyps tenuirostris), five Endangered (Greater adjutant Leptoptilos dubius, Egyptian vulture Neophron percnopterus, Steppe eagle Aquila nipalensis, Pallas’s fish eagle Haliaeetus leucoryphus, and Long-tailed grass babbler Laticilla cinerascens), 10 Vulnerable (Common pochard Aythya ferina, Lesser adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus, Woolly necked stork Ciconia episcopus, Indian spotted eagle Clanga hastata, Greater spotted eagle Clanga clanga, Finn's weaver Ploceus megarhynchus, Bristled grassbird Chaetornis striata, Marsh babbler Pellorneum palustre, Swamp francolin Francolinus gularis, and Slender-billed babbler Chatarrhaea longirostris), and 17 Near Threatened birds. Siltation of wetlands, proliferation of Bombax ceiba, and invasive alien plant species are the major threats to the avifauna of the park. Keywords: Assam, Birds, Grassland, Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park, Threatened species