ABSTRACT Wetlands of the many areas of kachchh region are reduced day to day by the natural processes as well as developmental activities and as a result the population of birds depend upon these wetlands are under threat. This paper was attempted to assess the composition of avifauna in Lakhara, a fragmented wetland inside the Kachchh Biosphere Reserve. Regular survey was made in year 2009 to observe and identifying the avifauna using standard field guide and field equipments. A total of 57 species of bird recorded during the whole survey period and their feeding and threatened status was also analyzed. A good number of birds recorded in Lakhara wetland in spite of the small area. Most of the recorded birds of this wetland were belong to the Least Concern category of IUCN red list, 2010 and Schedule IV of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Lakhara wetland is also proved to be an important bird area of Kachchh for conservation aspects

A K R Mahato

M H Koladiya

M Pardeshi

CiteSeerX

Cibtech Journal of Zoology ISSN: 2319–3883 (Online) 
An Open Access, Online International Journal Available at http://www.cibtech.org/cjz.htm  
2014 Vol. 3 (1) January-April, pp.37-41/Koladiya et al. 
Research Article 
© Copyright 2014 | Centre for Info Bio Technology (CIBTech)  37 
 
STATUS OF AVI-FAUNA IN LAKHARA WETLAND, KACHCHH 
BIOSPHERE RESERVE, GUJARAT, INDIA 
*M.H. Koladiya, A.K.R. Mahato
 
and M. Pardeshi
 
Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology (GUIDE), Bhuj-370001, Kachchh, Gujarat 
*Author for Correspondence 
 
ABSTRACT 
Wetlands of the many areas of kachchh region are reduced day to day by the natural processes as well as 
developmental activities and as a result the population of birds depend upon these wetlands are under 
threat. This paper was attempted to assess the composition of avifauna in Lakhara, a fragmented wetland 
inside the Kachchh Biosphere Reserve. Regular survey was made in year 2009 to observe and identifying 
the avifauna using standard field guide and field equipments. A total of 57 species of bird recorded during 
the whole survey period and their feeding and threatened status was also analyzed. A good number of 
birds recorded in Lakhara wetland in spite of the small area. Most of the recorded birds of this wetland 
were belong to the Least Concern category of IUCN red list, 2010 and Schedule IV of the Indian Wildlife 
(Protection) Act, 1972. Lakhara wetland is also proved to be an important bird area of Kachchh for 
conservation aspects.      
 
Keywords: Status, Avifauna, Wetland, Lakhara, Kachchh 
 
INTRODUCTION 
Wetlands form an important area for birds and in supporting species diversity and to regulate the 
ecological web (Mitsch and Gosselink, 1986; Guadagnin, et al., 2005). The land  use land cover  changes  
by increasing  urbanization  and  conversion  of open  space to agriculture are primary  factors on  the  
loss  of natural wetlands.  Natural wetlands are in decline throughout the world as the human population 
grows and as a result the dependent aquatic bird species are under threat (Czech and Parson, 2002). The 
avian species richness in this area is largely due to presence of water bodies (Ghosh et al., 1996) and is 
essential on building sound conservation programs for water bird assemblages (Guadagnin, et al., 2005). 
The distribution and diversity of avian species in India is well documented by Ali and Ripley (1983), Ali 
(1996), Grimmett (1998), Kazmierczak (2000) and Rasmussen PC, Anderton (2005). The documentation 
of avian species present in Kachchh was attempted by some author notably; Stoliczka (1872), Lester 
(1904) and Ali (1945). Later on few works like Hussain et al., (1992), Tiwari et al., (2006) and Pardesi et 
al., (2010) are available on the distribution of birds in kachchh.  
About 243 species of water bird found in India (Kumar et al., 1995). The diversity, composition and 
structure of water bird community in fragmented wetlands have been poorly documented in particular to 
the Kachchh region. Thus, the present survey was conducted to document and assesses the avifauna found 
in Lakhara wetland, a fragmented wetland present in arid region of Kachchh Biosphere Reserve, Gujarat.  
 
MATERIAL AND METHODS 
Study Area 
The study was carried out in Lakhara wetland (23
0
 23' N and 70
0
 7' E) situated in the south-eastern part of 
Banni grassland in the region of Kachchh Biosphere Reserve, Gujarat (Fig 1). Lakhara wetland is 
perennial wetland with one to two month dried in a year or very less availability of water. The 
surrounding area of this wetland is a part of Banni grassland, now the areas are dominated by Prosopis 
juliflora, an invasive species of plant.  The climate of the study area falls under arid and semi arid, the 
temperature is high during most of the time and it reaches a maximum of 48
0
-49
0
 C during May-June and 
the winter temperature goes down to 8
0
-10
0
 C during the month of January. The total annual rainfall, 
occurring through south-west monsoon between June and September, is very low with an average of 317 
mm per year and droughts are a recurring phenomenon. 
Cibtech Journal of Zoology ISSN: 2319–3883 (Online) 
An Open Access, Online International Journal Available at http://www.cibtech.org/cjz.htm  
2014 Vol. 3 (1) January-April, pp.37-41/Koladiya et al. 
Research Article 
© Copyright 2014 | Centre for Info Bio Technology (CIBTech)  38 
 
 
 
Methodology 
Observations were made during the winter and monsoon season of year 2009 covering whole surrounding 
areas of the wetland of size 2 km
2
 approximately.  Birds were mostly observed during the time between 
600 to 1000 hr in the morning and 1600 to 1800 hr. in afternoon. Observations were made with the aid of 
8×40 Nikon binoculars and camera. Identification of birds was made using field guides (Ali and Ripley, 
1987; Grimmet et al., 1999) and only those species with confirmed identity are reported in this paper. The  
feeding status  of  birds are  categorized as   carnivore (C ) , grainivore (G), herbivore (H), insectivore (I), 
omnivore (O)  and piscivore (P) after (Ali and Ripley, 1987; Grimmet et al., 1999).   The threatened status 
of the recorded bird species were tabulated using the Red list category of IUCN, 2010 and Indian Wildlife 
(Protection) Act, 1972. The checklist was prepared using standardized common and scientific names of 
the birds following Manakadan and Pittie (2001).  
 
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION  
A total of 57 species of avifauna belonging to 44 genera, 27 families and of 9 orders were recorded during 
the whole survey period. Out of total recorded species,  the aquatic bird represented 31 species (Table 1) 
belonging to 26 genera, 14 families and 5 orders and rest of the  26 species under 18 genera, 13 families 
and 6 orders were terrestrial bird species (Table 2). Among the recorded aquatic bird species, most of 
them were under order Ciconiiformes (21) and only one species recorded under order Charadriiformes. 
On analysis of the feeding status of the recorded species of aquatic birds it was found that, the 12 species 
were omnivore, 7 species piscivore, 6 species insectivore, 4 species herbivore and 2 species were 
carnivore.   Similarly, 19 out of 26 species of terrestrial bird recorded in Lakhara wetland boundary were 
belong to the order Pesseriformes and only species of each of the families viz., Galliformes, 
Coraciiformes, Apodiformes and Ciconiiformes were recorded during the survey periods.  Reviewing the 
feeding status of the terrestrial bird observed in Lakhara wetland, it was found that, 16 species were 
insectivorous, 6 species were granivorous, 3 species were omnivorous and only one species was 
carnivorous habit.    
Cibtech Journal of Zoology ISSN: 2319–3883 (Online) 
An Open Access, Online International Journal Available at http://www.cibtech.org/cjz.htm  
2014 Vol. 3 (1) January-April, pp.37-41/Koladiya et al. 
Research Article 
© Copyright 2014 | Centre for Info Bio Technology (CIBTech)  39 
 
Table 1: Check list of aquatic bird species recorded in Lakhara wetland, Kachchh, Gujarat, India 
Sr. No Family Scientific Name Common Name FS IUCN, 2013 IWPA, 1972 
 
Order: Anseriformes 
1 
Anatidae 
Sarkidiornis melanotos Comb Duck H LC Sch. IV 
2 Anas clypeata Northen Shoveler H LC Sch. IV 
 
Order: Coraciiformes 
3 Alcedinidae Alcedo atthis Common Kingfisher P LC Sch. IV 
4 Dacelonidae Halcyon smyrnensis White-throated Kingfisher P LC Sch. IV 
5 Cerylidae Ceryle rudis Pied Kingfisher P LC Sch. IV 
 
Order: Gruiformes 
6 
Gruidae 
Grus grus Common Crane O LC Sch. IV 
7 Grus antigone  Sarus Crane O VU Sch. IV 
8 
Rallidae 
Fulica atra Common Coot H LC Sch. IV 
9 Gallinula chloropus Common Moorhen H LC Sch. IV 
 
Order: Ciconiiformes 
10 
Scolopacidae 
Tringa stagnatilis Marsh Sandpiper I LC Sch. IV 
11 Tringa ochropus Green Sandpiper I LC Sch. IV 
12 Tringa glareola Wood Sandpiper I LC Sch. IV 
13 Actitis hypoleucos Common Sandpiper I LC Sch. IV 
14 Calidris minuta Little Stint I LC Sch. IV 
15 Charadridae Vanellus indicus Red-Wattled Lapwing I LC Sch. IV 
16 Anhingidae Anhinga melanogaster Oriental Darter  P NT Sch. IV 
17 
Phalacrocoracidae 
Phalacrocorax fuscicollis Indian Cormorant P LC Sch. IV 
18 Phalacrocorax carbo Great Cormorant P LC Sch. IV 
19 
Ardeidae 
Bubulcus ibis Cattle Egret O LC Sch. IV 
20 Ardeola grayii Indian Pond Heron O LC Sch. IV 
21 Ardea cinerea Grey Heron O LC Sch. IV 
22 Ardea goliath Golieth Heron  O LC Sch. IV 
23 Nycticorax nycticorax Black-Crowned Night-Heron O LC Sch. IV 
24 Casmerodius albus Great Egret O LC Sch. IV 
25 Egretta garzetta Little Egret O LC Sch. IV 
26 Mesophoyx intermedia Intermediate Egret O LC Sch. IV 
27 
Threskiornithidae 
Pseudibis papillosa Red -naped Ibis  O LC Sch. IV 
28 Platalea leucorodia Eurasian Spoonbill O LC Sch I, Part III 
29 
Ciconidae 
Mycteria leucocephala Painted Stork C NT Sch. IV 
30 Anastomus oscitans Asian Openbill-Stork C LC Sch. IV 
 
Order: Charadriiformes 
31 Laridae Sterna aurantia River Tern P LC Sch. IV 
Cibtech Journal of Zoology ISSN: 2319–3883 (Online) 
An Open Access, Online International Journal Available at http://www.cibtech.org/cjz.htm  
2014 Vol. 3 (1) January-April, pp.37-41/Koladiya et al. 
Research Article 
© Copyright 2014 | Centre for Info Bio Technology (CIBTech)  40 
 
Table 2: Check list of terrestrial bird species recorded in Lakhara Wetland, Kachchh, Gujarat. 
Sr. No Family Scientific Name Common Name FS IUCN, 2013 IWPA, 1972 
 
Order: Galliformes 
1 Phasianidae Francolinus pondicerianus Grey Francolin G LC Sch. IV 
 
Order: Coraciiformes 
2 Meropidae Merops orientalis Green Bee-eater I LC Sch. IV 
 
 
Order: Apodiformes 
3 Apodidae Apus affinis House Swift I LC Sch. IV 
 
Order: Columbiformes 
4 
Columbidae 
Columba livia Blue Rock Pigeon G LC Sch. IV 
5 Streptopelia decaocto Eurasian Collared Dove G LC Sch. IV 
6 Streptopelia tranquebarica Red Collared Dove G LC Sch. IV 
 
Order: Ciconiiformes 
7 Pteroclididae Pterocles indicus Painted Sandgrouse G LC Sch. IV 
 
Order: Passeriformes 
8 
Corvidae 
Corvus splendens House Crow I LC Sch. IV 
9 Corvus macrorhynchos Jungle Crow C LC Sch. IV 
10 Dicrurus macrocerus Black Drongo I LC Sch. IV 
11 Muscicapidae Saxicoloides fulicata Indian Robin I LC Sch. IV 
12 
Sturnidae 
Sternus roseus Rosy Starling O LC Sch. IV 
13 Acridotheres tristis Common Myna O LC Sch. IV 
14 Acridotheres ginginias Bank Myna O LC Sch. IV 
15 
Hirundinidae 
Hirundo rustica Barn Swallow I LC Sch. IV 
16 Hirundo smithii Wire-tailed Swallow I LC Sch. IV 
17 Hirundo daurica Red-Rumped Swallow I LC Sch. IV 
18 Delichon urbica Northern House-Martin I LC Sch. IV 
19 
Pycnonotidae 
Pycnonotus cafer Red-Vented Bulbul I LC Sch. IV 
20 Pycnonotus leucotis White-eared Bulbul I LC Sch. IV 
21 
Sylvidae 
Orthotomus sutorius Common Tailorbird I LC Sch. IV 
22 Hippolais caligata Booted Warbler I LC Sch. IV 
23 Alaudidae Calandrella raytal Short-toed lark G LC Sch. IV 
24 
Passeridae 
Motacilla alba White Wagtail I LC Sch. IV 
25 Motacilla flava Yellow Wagtail I LC Sch. IV 
26 Motacilla cinerea Grey Wagtail I LC Sch. IV 
 
FS=Feeding status, C=Carnivore, G=Granivore, H=Herbivore, I=Insectivore, O=Omnivore and P= Piscivore, IUCN= International Union for Conservation of 
Nature and Natural Resources, VU= Vulnerable, NT= Near Threatened, LC= Least Concern. IWPA= Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, Sch. = Schedule 
Cibtech Journal of Zoology ISSN: 2319–3883 (Online) 
An Open Access, Online International Journal Available at http://www.cibtech.org/cjz.htm  
2014 Vol. 3 (1) January-April, pp.37-41/Koladiya et al. 
Research Article 
© Copyright 2014 | Centre for Info Bio Technology (CIBTech)  41 
 
In view of the threatened status of the recorded aquatic species of avifauna, one species Sarus crane (Grus 
antigone) is under vulnerable category, 2 species viz., Oriental Darter (Anhinga melanogaster), Painted 
stork (Mycteria leucocephala) under Near Threatened (NT) category and rest of the species are under 
least conceren under of red list category of IUCN, 2010. The all terrestrial bird species recorded in 
Lakhara wetland during the survey period were fall under the least concern category of IUCN Red list, 
2010. According to the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, all the bird species recorded during the 
survey were belongs to Schedule IV category except Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) recorded 
in Lakhara wetland is under Schedule I, Part III category.   
Conclusions  
Lakhara is an important wetland provide feeding and breeding ground for large number aquatic and 
terrestrial species of avifauna in an around in spite of its small size. It support large number of bird 
population and proved to be an important wetland for the conservation of rare and threatened birds.     
 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  
We are grateful to the Dr. V. Vijaykumar, Director IC, Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology, Bhuj for his 
support and providing facility. We are also grateful to Dr. S. F. W. Sunderraj, Scientist, GUIDE for his 
suggestion and encouragements. We are like to thanks Dr. P. N. Joshi, Scientist, Dr. Somasundaram, Mr. 
Nikunj Gajera and Mr. Yatin Patel of GUIDE for their helps in manuscript writing.    
 
REFERENCES 
Ali S (1945). The birds of Kutch (Kutch: Oxford University Press).  
Ali S (1996). Book of Indian Birds (Bombay Natural History Society) 345. 
Ali S and Ripley SD (1983). A Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (Bombay Natural 
History Society, Oxford University Press, Bombay) 165. 
Czech HA and Parsons KC (2002). Agricultural Wetlands and Waterbirds: A Review. The International 
Journal of Waterbird Biology 25(2) 56-65 
Grimmett R, Inskipp C and Inskipp T (1998). Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (London: Christopher 
Helm, A and C Black).  
Guadagnin DL, Peter ÂS, Fernando L, Perello C and Maltchik L (2005). Spatial and Temporal 
Patterns of Waterbird Assemblages in Fragmented Wetlands of Southern Brazil. The International 
Journal of Waterbird Biology 28(3) 261-272 
Hussain SA, Akhtar SA and Tiwari JK (1992). Status and distribution of White-winged Black Tit 
Parus nuchalis in Kachchh, Gujarat, India. Bird Conservation International 2 115-122 
Javed S and Rahmani AR (1993). Ecology of the Grasslands of Indian Plains with Special Reference to 
their Fauna (Bombay: Bombay Natural History Society). 
Kazmierczak K (2000). A Field Guide to the Birds of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bhutan, Bangladesh, 
and Maldives (Mountfield: Pica Press).  
Kumar A, Sati JP, Tak PC and Alfred JRB (2005). Handbook on Indian wetland birds and their 
conservation (Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata) 472. 
Lester CD (1904). The Birds of Kutch (Bhuj, Kutch: Kutch Darbar).  
Manakadan R and Pittie A (2001). Standardized common and scientific names of the birds of the Indian 
subcontinent. Buceros 6(1) 1-37. 
Mitsch WI and Gosselink IG (1986). Wetlands (Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York).  
Pardesi M, Gajera N and Joshi PN (2010). Kachchh Biosphere Reserve: Rann and Biodiversity. Research 
Journal of Forestry 4(2) 72-76. 
Rasmussen PC and Anderton JC (2005). Birds of South Asia: The Ripley’s guide (Washington D.C. and 
Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edition).  
Stoliczka F (1872). Notice of the Mammals and Birds inhabiting Kachh [Cutch]. Journal of the Asiatic Society 
of Bengal XLI(Part II CLXXVII) 211-258. 
Tiwari JK, Varu SN and Langa AO (2006). Eurasian Sparrow hawk Accipiter nisus in Kachchh, Gujarat, 
India. Indian Birds 2(4) 107. 


Online) An Open Access

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=200CE49B840D1F323377B676E5ECFC5B?doi=10.1.1.1079.2110&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Online) An Open Access

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

CiteSeerX