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An annotated checklist of the birds of Silsako Beel, Guwahati

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Leons Mathew Abraham¹, Rupom Bhaduri² and Jaydev Mandal³

  1. Junior Research Fellow, Khanapara Veterinary College, College of Veterinary Science, AAU, Khanapara, Guwahati-781022, 2. Research Scholar, Centre For the Environment, IIT Guwahati-781022 & 3. Assistant Professor, Department of Zoology, Madhab Choudhury College, Barpeta-781301

 

Introduction

Guwahati, the largest city of the Northeastern states of India is one of the most biodiverse cities in the country (Purakayastha, 2018). The Brahmaputra and the Nilachal hill ranges provide a wide range of habitats, natural and human modified, in the form of wetlands, forest patches, chars, grasslands, agricultural fields and human settlements. These mosaic patches of habitats harbor several species of birds or avifauna (Das, 2011; Saikia et al., 2015). Despite being a bustling city, a numbers of lakes (beel in Assamese), small to large, are present within Guwahati (ref). The role of these urban wetlands is multifarious in controlling urban floods, groundwater recharge, bioremediation, maintaining biodiversity, providing livelihood etc. (Min et al., 2010; Acreman and Holden, 2013; Bhatia and Goyal, 2013). However, over the course of time, all such wetlands underwent several threats to its area and water quality due to continuous anthropogenic pressures (Bhattacharyya and Kapil, 2010).

The Silsako beel in the Kamrup Metropolitan district is one such lesser known wetlands located in the heart of the city (Sahoo and Sreeja, 2014). It is surrounded by expanding areas of urban settlements. However, the water of the beel has got unfathomably polluted as it continuously receives silt, solid waste and sewage from the adjacent areas. Also, there has been a steep climb in the rise of build-up land around the beel which has compromised with the ecological space of the wetland. Although, the beel is locally known to host several species of birds, there has been no literature to understand the various species present and the habitat it offers. Thus, a study was conducted with an objective to scientifically document the diversity of avifauna in the Silsako beel. Findings of the study have been tabulated in the form of a checklist, providing status (IUCN, Residential and Abundance) for each of the species. 

Methods

Study area      
Silsako beel is located within the geographical coordinates of 26Ú 172 153 N latitude and 91Ú 502 11.63 E longitude in the heart of Guwahati city. The beel is surrounded by Satgaon, Hengrabari and Methgaria where most of the settlements exist. This area is also distantly bordered by a protected area Amchang Wildlife Sanctuary in the east, Narengi in the north, VIP road connecting Narengi and Six mile in the west and Chachal to its west (Kar et al., 2014).

Field survey

Field surveys were done on foot by walking around and along the wetland and repeated on random days for three years from November, 2018 to November, 2020. A total of 30 field visits were carried out, that comprised 125 hours of observation.

The surveys for recording the birds were done without giving emphasis to find a particular species. All birds seen or heard were identified using field guide/s (Grimmet et al. 1999). The equipment used for the survey were Olympus 10 x 50 DPS I binoculars and a Camera- Sony HSC 300. All the checklists were submitted to eBird.org (www.ebird.org) a citizen science platform for people who take interest in birds and the records are made publicly accessible. All the species in this checklist are corroborated with photographs and videos combined with field notes.

Results

The survey done in the past three years resulted in the documentation of 111 species of birds (Table 1). Despite the poor water quality, the beel supported a diversity of birds belonging to 13 families, out of which 30 species are migratory. Furthermore, we found that this lake is occasionally visited by Greater Adjutant (Leptoptilos dubius) a species which falls under the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red list category Endangered (EN) species. Two species, Lesser Adjutant (Leptoptilos javanicus) and Oriental Darter (Anhinga melanoglaster) which are categorized as Near Threatened (NT) were also recorded from the beel

Conclusion

This checklist construes that Silsako beel is rich in avifauna despite the ongoing threats to its ecosystem. The poor water quality has made the place unsuitable for migratory waterfowl in the past few years, which was evident from the low count of water birds during the survey. However, other migratory species like waders, shrikes, chats and warblers, which do not completely depend on water for survival, are still fairly common in and around the wetland. The beel is currently being utilized in an unsustainable manner which can lead to further degradation of its ecology in the near future if not maintained well. This annotated checklist thus indicates the ecological importance of the habitat offered by the beel and can help in developing further conservation strategies from a policy perspective.

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank the team of BioNE online magazine for giving us an opportunity to share our work.

References

Acreman, M. and Holden, J. (2013). ‘How Wetlands Affect Floods’, Wetlands, 33: 773–786. doi: 10.1007/s13157-013-0473-2.

Bhatia, M. and Goyal, D. (2013). ‘Analyzing Remediation Potential of Wastewater Through Wetland Plants : A Review’, Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy, doi: 10.1002/ep.

Bhattacharyya, K. G. and Kapil, N. (2010). ‘Impact of urbanization on the quality of water in a natural reservoir : a case study with the Deepor Beel in Guwahati city , India’, Water and Environment Journal, 24: 83–96. doi: 10.1111/j.1747-6593.2008.00157.x.

Das, J. (2011).‘Species diversity of water birds in Deepor Beel, Assam’, Journal of Research in Biology, 1(5): 363-369.

Sullivan, B.L.; Wood, C.L.; Iliff, M.J.; Bonney, R.E.; Fink, D. and Kelling, S. (2009). ‘eBird: a citizen-based bird observation network in the biological sciences, Biological Conservation. 142: 2282-2292.

Grimmet, R.; Inskipp, C. and Inskipp, T. (1999).Pocket Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontnent’. Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

Kar, A., Goswami, N. K. and Saharia, D. (2014). ‘Biological resources of Silsako Wetland in Kamrup Metro District of Assam : uses of macrophytes and icthyofauna’, Pleione, 8(1).: 79–88.

Min, J.; Perkins, D. B. and Jawitz, J. W. (2010). ‘Wetland-Groundwater Interactions in Subtropical Depressional Wetlands, Wetlands, 30: 997-1006. doi: 10.1007/s13157-010-0043-9.

Purakayastha, J. (2018).‘Urban biodiversity: an insight into the terrestrial vertebrate diversity of Guwahati, India, Journal of Threatened Taxa, 10: 12299-12316.

Sahoo, S. N. and Sreeja, P. (2014).‘A methodology for determining runoff based on imperviousness in an ungauged peri-urban catchment, Urban Water Journal, doi: 10.1080/1573062X.2013.765491.

Saikia, M. K. et al. (2015).‘New records of forest birds in North and South Bank Landscapes of Assam , India, Journal of New Biological Reports, 4(2): 169-176.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 1: Comprehensive checklist of birds from the Silsako wetland, surveyed during 2018 to 2020

                        BIRDS IUCN STATUS RESIDENTIAL STATUS ABUNDANCE
Anseriformes      
Anatidae (Ducks, geese, swans)      
1.      Lesser Whistling Duck LC R O
Columbiformes      
Columbidae (Pigeons)      
2.      Spotted Dove LC R C
3.      Red-collared Dove LC R O
4.      Eurasian-collared Dove LC R O
5.      Yellow-footed Green Pigeon LC R C
Cuculiformes      
Cuculidae (Cuckoos)      
6.      Greater Coucal

 

LC R FC
7.      Lesser Coucal LC R O
8.      Asian Koel LC R C
9.      Plaintive Cuckoo LC R C
Gruiformes      
Rallidae      
10.  White-breasted Waterhen LC R C
11.  Grey-headed Swamphen LC R C
12.  Common Moorhen LC R C
Pelecaniformes      
Ciconiidae (Storks)      
13.  Greater Adjutant Stork EN R R
14.  Lesser Adjutant Stork NT R R
15.  Asian Openbill LC R C
Ardeidae (Herons)      
16.  Yellow Bittern LC R C
17.  Cinnamon Bittern LC R C
18.  Black-crowned Night Heron LC R FC
19.  Indian Pond Heron LC R C
20.  Purple Heron LC R C
21.  Great Egret LC   O
22.  Intermediate Egret LC   FC
23.  Little Egret LC   O
24.  Cattle Egret LC R C
25.  Little Cormorant LC R C
26.  Oriental Darter NT R O
Charadriiformes      
Charadtiidae (Plovers and Lapwings)      
27.  Grey-headed Lapwing LC M C
28.  Red-wattled Lapwing LC R C
Rostratulidae (Painted Snipes)      
29.  Greater Painted Snipe LC R O
Jacanidae(Jacanas)      
30.  Bronze-winged Jacana LC R C
Scolopacidae (Sandpipers and allies)      
31.  Temmicks Stint LC M C
32.  Common Snipe LC M C
33.  Common Sandpiper LC M C
34.  Wood Sandpiper LC M FC
35.  Green Sandpiper LC M C
Accipiteriformes      
Accipitridae (Kites, hawks and eagles)      
36.  Oriental Honey Buzzard LC R C
37.  Booted Eagle LC M O
38.  Black Kite LC R C
39.  Black-eared Kite LC M C
Stringiformes      
Tytonidae (Barn Owls)      
40.  Barn Owl LC R O
Stringidae (Owls)      
41.  Brown Hawk Owl LC R O
42.  Asian Barred Owlet LC R FC
43.  Spotted Owlet LC R C
44.  Collared Scops Owl LC R C
Bucerotiformes      
Upupiae (Hoopoes)      
45.  Eurasian Hoopoe LC M O
Piciformes      
Picidae (Woodpeckers)      
46.  Eurasian Wryneck LC M C
47.  Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker LC R C
48.  Lesser Flameback

Ramphastidae (Toucans and barbets)

LC R C
49.  Lineated Barbet LC R C
50.  Blue-throated Barbet LC R C
51.  Coppersmith Barbet LC R C
Coraciiformes      
Meropidae (Bee-eaters)      
52.  Green Bee-eater LC R C
53.  Blue-tailed Bee-eater LC M C
54.  Indochinese Roller LC R C
Acledinidae (Kingfishers)      
55.  Common Kingfisher LC R C
56.  White-throated Kingfisher LC R C
Falconiformes      
Falconidae      
57.  Common Kestrel LC M FC
Pscittaciformes      
Pscitticulidae (Old world parrots)      
58.  Rose-ringed Parakeet LC R C
Passeriformes      
A.     Camphiphagidae (Minivets and cuckooshrikes)      
59.  Large Cuckooshrike LC R O
B.     Oriolidae (Orioles      
60.  Black-hooded Oriole LC R C
C.     Aegithinidae (Ioras)      
61.  Common Iora LC R C
Dicruridae (Drongos)      
62.  Black Drongo LC R C
63.  Hair-crested Drongo LC R O
Laniidae (Shrikes)      
64.  Brown Shrike LC M C
65.  Long-tailed Shrike LC M FC
66.  Grey-backed Shrike LC M C
Corvidae (Crows and jays)      
67.  Rufous Treepie LC R C
68.  House Crow LC R C
69.  Large-billed Crow LC R C
Dicaeidae (Flowerpeckers)      
70.  Plain Flowerpecker LC R C
71.  Crimson Sunbird LC R C
72.  Purple Sunbird LC R C
Ploceidae (Weavers)      
73.  Baya Weaver LC R FC
Estrildidae (Waxbills)      
74.  Scaly-breasted Munia LC R C
75.  Chestnut Munia LC R C
Passeridae (Sparrows)      
76.  House Sparrow LC R C
77.  Eurasian Tree Sparrow LC R C
Mottacilidae (Wagtails and Pipits)      
78.  Olive-backed Pipit LC M FC
79.  Rosy Pipit LC M C
80.  Paddyfield Pipit LC R C
81.  Richards Pipit LC M C
82.  Citrine Wagtail LC M C
83.  White Wagtail LC M C
Paridae (Tits, chickadees)      
84.  Cinereous Tit LC R C
Alauidae (Larks)      
85.  Bengal Bushlark LC R C
Cisticolidae (Cisticolas)      
86.  Zitting Cisticola LC R C
87.  Plain Prinia LC R C
88.  Common Tailorbird LC R C
Locustellidae (Bush warblers)      
89.  Rufous-rumped Grasshopper Warbler      
90.  Striated Grassbird LC R C
Acrocephalidae (Brush, reed and swamp warlers)      
91.  Thick-billed Warbler LC M C
Hirundinidae (Swallows)      
92.  Red-rumped Swallow LC M FC
93.  Streaked Swallow LC M O
94.  Barn Swallow LC M C
95.  Grey-throated Martin LC R C
Pycnonotidae (Bulbuls)      
96.  Red-whiskered Bulbul LC R C
97.  Red-vented Bulbul LC R C
Phylloscopidae (Old world leaf warblers)      
98.  Dusky Warbler LC R C
99.  Tickells Leaf Warbler LC R C
Zosteropidae (white-eyes)      
100.   Indian White-eye LC R C
Leiothrichidae ( Babblers, laughing thrushes, and allies)      
101.   Jungle Babbler LC R C
Sturnidae (Starlings)      
102.   Asian Pied Starling LC R C
103.   Chestnut-tailed Starling LC R C
104.   Jungle Myna LC R C
105.   Great Myna LC R C
106.   Common Myna LC R C
Muscicapidae (Chats and flycatchers)      
107.   Bluethroat LC M C
108.   Siberian                                Rubythroat LC M C
109.   Oriental Magpie Robin LC R C
110.   Taiga Flycatcher LC M C
111.   Siberian Stonechat LC M C

 

Table 2: Expansion of abbreviations used to define the status of birds

Abbreviation LC NT EN M R C FC O
Expansion Least Concern Near Threatened Endan-gered Migrant Resident Common Fairly Common Occasional

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