Bird observations from Walong Reserve Forest, Arunachal Pradesh, India

Authors:
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
This study was aimed at documenting the winter bird diversity in the pine and secondary forest dominated landscape of Walong Reserve Forest in Arunachal Pradesh bordering China and Myanmar. Walong is one of the least explored regions in India but rich in bird diversity, as it is part of Ditchu Reserve Forest, designated as one of the Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas. This is the first comprehensive study that highlights important species found in this region, as no published bird list is available for the region. We conducted random surveys in 2021, 2022 and 2023, especially during winter months and documented 117 species belonging to 77 genera, 42 families and 11 orders during our surveys in the Walong area of Arunachal Pradesh. Family Muscicapidae was the dominant group with 9 genera and 21 species with an RDi value of 17.9%, followed by Leiothrichidae (5 genera and 7 species) and Phylloscopidae (1 genus comprising 7 species of warblers) with an RDi value of 6%. Sighting of the Critically Endangered White-bellied Heron Ardea insignis was the highlight of the survey, as Walong is the new extended range for the species, further north of its earlier known distribution in India. We also recorded a further nesting record of the Lord Derby’s Parakeet Psittacula derbiana, as the species has extended its range to India from the neighbouring China.

This publication has 12 references indexed in Scilit: