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RESEARCH ARTICLE Avian Fauna of Khajjiar Lake, District Chamba, HimachalPradesh, India Vikram Singh • H. S. Banyal Received: 5 April 2012/Revised: 27 June 2012/Accepted: 15 July 2012 Ó Zoological Society, Kolkata, India 2012 Abstract Avifauna of Khajjiar lake revealed the presenceof 77 species of birds belonging to 62 genera, 12 orders and31families.InthisareaMuscicapidaeisthemostrepresentedfamily with 22 species belonging to 15 genera followed byAccipitridae and Corvidae (six species each), Paridae,Phasianidae, Columbidae and Picidae (three species each).20 species of birds were local and the rest 57 seasonal-localandlongrangemigrantsOfthe57species,35wereseasonal-local migrants, four were winter visitors and ten were sum-mer visitors. Moreover, Khajjiar lake supported eight suchspecies which showed winter and summer influx. Of these,sixshowedsummerinflux,whereas,winterinfluxwasshownbytwospeciesonly.Dataonrelativeabundanceshowedthat25 species of birds were very common, 30 common, 21uncommon and one rarely seen in the area. Keywords Biodiversity Á Avian Á Birds Á Khajjiar H.P. Introduction There are about 9,026 species belonging to more than1,800 genera, 182 families and 30 orders of the avesthroughout the world while India harbours 1,166 speciesunder 405 genera. About 1,300 species of breeding, stagingand wintering birds belonging to 88 families and 22 ordersare reported from India by Manakadan and Pittie (2001).Around 600 species of birds are known from different partsof Himachal Pradesh (Besten2004; Mahabal2005). In Himachal Pradesh, maximum avifauna was found inShiwalik area and a few reported from Greater and TransHimalayan area of Lahaul & Spiti and Kinnaur districts of Himachal Pradesh. With subsequent increase in altitudethere is decrease in avifauna. However, percentage of summer visitors, seasonal altitudinal migrants and residentbirds endemic to Himalaya were found to be increasingfrom Shiwalik to Trans-Himalayan zone. The residentialstatus, food habits and altitudinal ranges of a total 447avian species found in different ecogeographic zones of Himachal Pradesh have been reported (Mahabal2005).Earlier studies on the birds of Himachal Pradesh wereinitiated during British period because of the presence of theImperial Summer capital at Shimla, as summarised by Ali(1949) and Ali and Ripley (1983). Many investigators have studied the diversity, distribution, seasonal migration etc. of birdsfromvariouspartsofHimachalPradesh(Mahabal1992;Gastonetal.1993;Thakuretal.2010)butverylittleisknown about the birds of lower areas of the western Himalayas.It becomes pertinent to study different biological aspectsof birds present in the Himalayan belt especially theirdiversity, threatened status, conservation measures. Thebirds of Chamba district, though have invited the attentionof various field ornithologists in the past (Tak 1987) butnone of them paid any attention to the birds of this area.Thakur et al. (2002) has prepared a checklist of birds of Khajjiar–Kalatop wild life, but the information is scanty. Inthis article a comprehensive study including ecology of birds has been made. Study Area and Methodology KhajjiarLake‘‘TheMiniSwitzerlandofHimachalPradesh’’ispresentinthewestern partofChambadistrictofHimachalPradesh. Khajjiar Lake has a clump of reeds and grasses V. Singh Á H. S. Banyal ( & )Department of Biosciences, Himachal Pradesh University,Shimla 171 005, Himachal Pradesh, Indiae-mail:
[email protected] 123 Proc Zool SocDOI 10.1007/s12595-012-0049-9 T H E Z O O L O G I C A L S O C I E T Y K O L K A T A Table 1 Systematic list of birds of Khajjiar lake area of district Chamba (Himachal Pradesh)S. No. Taxon R. A. R. S. F. H. Order: CiconiiformesFamily: Ardidae 1. Cattle Egret— Bubulcus ibis (Linnaeus, 1758) R/LM VC AqA Order: FalconiformesFamily: Accipitridae 2. Black Kite— Milvus migrans (Boddaert, 1783) R VC OM3. Bearded Vulture— Gypaetus barbatus (Linnaeus, 1758 ) R C SC4. Egyptian Vulture— Neophron percnopterus (Linnaeus, 1758) R/LM C SC5. Himalayan Griffon— Gyps himalayensis (Hume, 1869) R VC SC6. Cinereous Vulture— Aegypius monachus (Linnaeus, 1766) WV Ra SC7. Black Eagle —Ictinaetus malayensis (Temminck, 1822) R/LM UC CR Order: GalliformesFamily: Phasianidae 8. Koklass Phesant— Pucrasia macrolopha (Lesson, 1829) R/LM C OM9. Impeyan Monal— Lophophorus impejanus (Latham, 1790) R UC VgM10. Kaleej Pheasant— Lophura leucomelanos (Latham, 1790) R C GR Family: Recurvirostridae 11. Black-winged Stilt— Himantopus himantopus (Linnaeus, 1758) SV UC OM Order: ColumbiformesFamily: Columbidae 12. Blue Rock Pigeon— Columba livia (Gmelin, 1789) R VC GR13. Oriental Turtle-Dove— Streptopelia orientalis (Latham, 1790) R/LM VC GR14. Wedge-tailed Green-Pigeon— Treron sphenura (Vigors, 1832) R/SV C FR Order: PsittaciformesFamily: Psittacidae 15. Slaty-headed Parakeet— Psittacula himalayana (Lesson, 1832) R/LM VC FR16. Plum-headed Parakeet— Psittacula cyanocephala (Linnaeus, 1766) R/SV C FR Order: CuculiformesFamily: Cuculidae 17. Common Cuckoo— Cuculus canorus (Linnaeus, 1758) R/LM VC I Order: StrigiformesFamily: Strigidae 18. Asian Barred Owlet— Glaucidium cuculoides (Vigors, 1831) R/LM C I,CR Order: CaprimulgiformesFamily: Caprimulgidae 19. Large-tailed Nightjar— Caprimulgus macrurus (Horsfield, 1821) SV C I Order: ApodiformesFamily: Apodidae 20. House Swift— Apus affinis (J.E. Gray, 1830) R C I Order: CoraciiformesFamily: Alcedinidae 21. White-breasted Kingfisher— Halcyon smyrnensis (Linnaeus, 1758) R VC AqA, I22. Greater Pied Kingfisher— Megaceryle lugubris (Temminck, 1834) R C AqA Family: Upupidae 23. Common Hoopoe— Upupa epops (Linnaeus, 1758) WV C I Order: PiciformesFamily: Capitonidae 24. Great Barbet— Megalaima virens (Boddaert, 1783) R/LM UC FR,IProc Zool Soc 123 Table 1 continuedS. No. Taxon R. A. R. S. F. H. Family: Picidae 25. Himalayan Pied Woodpecker— Dendrocopos himalayensis (Jardine and Selby, 1831) R/LM VC I26. Scaly-bellied Green Woodpecker— Picus squamatus (Vigors, 1831) R UC I27. Black-naped Green Woodpecker— Picus canus (Gmelin, 1788) R/LM UC I Order: PasseriformesFamily: Hirundinidae 28. Red-rumped Swallow— Hirundo daurica (Linnaeus, 1771) R/SV C I Family: Motacillidae 29. Large Pied Wagtail— Motacilla maderaspatensis (Gmelin, 1789) R/LM UC I Family: Campephagidae 30. Long-tailed Minivet— Pericrocotus ethologus (Bangs and Phillips, 1914) SV C I Family: Pycnonotidae 31. Himalayan Bulbul— Pycnonotus leucogenys (Gray, 1835) R VC FR32. Black Bulbul— Hypsipetes leucocephalus (P.L.S. Muller, 1776) R C FR Family: Laniidae 33. Bay-backed Shrike— Lanius vittatus (Valenciennes, 1826) WV UC CR Family: Muscicapidae 34. Blue-headed Rock-Thrush— Monticola cinclorhynchus (Vigors, 1832) SV UC I35. Chestnut-bellied Rock-Thrush— Monticola rufiventris (Jardine and Selby, 1833) R/LM UC I36. Blue Whistling-Thrush— Myiophonus caeruleus (Scopoli, 1786) R/LM C CR37. White-collared Blackbird— Turdus albocinctus (Royle, 1840) R/LM UC I,FR38. Grey-winged Blackbird— Turdus boulboul (Latham, 1790) R/WV UC I39. Mistle Thrush— Turdus viscivorus (Linnaeus, 1758) R/LM UC I40. White-capped Redstart— Chaimarrornis leucocephalus (Vigors, 1831) R/LM C I41. Plumbeous Redstart— Rhyacornis fuliginosus (Vigors, 1831) R/LM C I42. Spotted Forktail— Enicurus maculatus (Vigors, 1831) R/LM UC AqA43. Common Stonechat— Saxicola torquata (Linnaeus, 1766) R/LM VC I44. Grey Bushchat— Saxicola ferrea (Gray, 1846) R/LM VC I45. Streaked Laughingthrush— Garrulax lineatus (Vigors, 1831) R/LM VC I46. Variegated Laughingthrush— Garrulax variegatus (Vigors, 1831) R/LM VC I, FR47. Rufous Sibia— Heterophasia capistrata (Vigors, 1831) R/LM VC I48. Common Chiffchaff— Phylloscopus collybita (Vieillot, 1817) WV UC I49. Greenish Leaf-Warbler— Phylloscopus trochiloides (Sundevall, 1837) R/LM UC I50. Gold-spectacled Flycatcher-Warbler— Seicercus burkii (Burton, 1836) SV UC I51. Sooty Flycatcher— Muscicapa sibirica (Gmelin, 1789) SV C I52. Little Pied Flycatcher— Ficedula westermanni (Sharpe, 1888) SV C I53. Ultramarine Flycatcher— Ficedula superciliaris (Jerdon, 1840) SV C I54. Verditer Flycatcher— Eumyias thalassina (Swainson, 1838) SV UC I55. Rufous-bellied Niltava— Niltava sundara (Hodgson, 1837) SV VC I Family: Aegithalidae 56. Red-headed Tit-— Aegithalos concinnus (Gould, 1855) R/LM C I Family: Paridae 57. Spot-winged Crested Tit— Parus melanolophus (Vigors, 1831) R/LM C I58. Great Tit— Parus major (Linnaeus, 1758) R VC I59. Green-backed Tit— Parus monticolus (Vigors, 1831) R/WV C I Family: Sittidae 60. White-cheeked Nuthatch— Sitta leucopsis (Gould, 1850) R/LM C I Family: Certhiidae Proc Zool Soc 123 exaggeratedly called an island in it. Fed by slim streams thissmall lake rests in the centre of large glade of Khajjiar. Thisglade is greenish in its turf and contains in its centre a smalllake having approximate area of 5,000 sq. yards.Khajjiar Lake lies 32 ° 26 0 N and 76 ° 32 0 E about 6,300 feet(1,920 meters) above sea level between Chamba and Dal-housie. The average depth of this lake is stated to bethirteen feet as per district gazetteer. Khajjiar Lake hasthick forest of Kalatop sanctuary surrounding its soft greengrass. There is a ‘golden’ domed temple at the edge of thismeadow, dedicated to the deity ‘Khajjinag’, from whomthe area derives its name.Khajjiar Lake is situated in Khajjiar–Kalatop wild lifesanctuary. This small sanctuary lies in the catchments of the Ravi river, located in western part of Chamba District.It is one of the oldest preserved forests of state (notified on01. 07. 1949). Total area of sanctuary is 2,026.89 hectares(20.69 sq. km). Its mean annual rainfall is 800 mm.Temperature varies from - 10 to 35 ° C. The climate of Khajjiar summers being mild and winters cold and bitter. Itexperiences south-western monsoon rains in July–September.The vegetation consists of mature mixed Blue Pine and Deodarforests, with some Green Oak and Tree Rhododendron.Stratified random sampling technique (Snedecore andCochran1993) was followed for studying the birds. Thestrategies were mainly based upon the principle of explora-tion of a portion of the individuals in the whole population.The important aspect, like the activity of birds was kept inconsideration.Sincethepeakactivityinmostbirdslastsfor1or 2 h after sunrise or before sunset, so monitoring was doneeither in early morning or late evening hours.Birds were observed with the aid of 10 9 50 superZenith prismatic field binocular. Field identifications werecarried out with the help of various field guides (Ali andRipley1983; Kazmierczak 2000). The nomenclature fol- lowed here is after Manakadan and Pittie (2001).Residential status of the birds has been worked out anddifferent status categories like resident, winter visitor andsummer visitor have been assigned strictly with reference tothe study area on the basis of presence or absence method. Table 1 continuedS. No. Taxon R. A. R. S. F. H.61. Bar-tailed Tree-Creeper— Certhia himalayana (Vigors, 1832) R/SV C I Family: Zosteropidae 62. Oriental White-eye— Zosterops palpebrosus (Temminck, 1824) R C OM Family: Emberizidae 63. Crested Bunting— Melophus lathami (Gray, 1831) R/LM VC GR64. Rock Bunting— Emberiza cia (Linnaeus, 1766) R/LM C GR Family: Fringillidae 65. Yellow-breasted Greenfinch— Carduelis spinoides (Vigors, 1831) R/LM VC GR66. Black-and-Yellow Grosbeak— Mycerobas icterioides (Vigors, 1831) R/LM UC FR Family: Passeridae 67. House Sparrow— Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) R VC GR68. Cinnamon Tree Sparrow— Passer rutilans (Temminck, 1835) R/SV VC GR Family: Sturnidae 69. Common Myna— Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus, 1766) R VC OM70 Jungle Myna— Acridotheres fuscus (Wagler, 1827) R C FR Family: Dicruridae 71. Black Drongo— Dicrurus macrocercus (Vieillot, 1817) R VC OM Family: Corvidae 72. Eurasian Jay— Garrulus glandarius (Linnaeus, 1758) R/LM VC OM73. Black-headed Jay— Garrulus lanceolatus (Vigors, 1831) R/LM UC OM74. Yellow-billed Blue Magpie— Urocissa flavirostris (Blyth, 1846) R/LM UC OM75. Red-billed Blue Magpie— Urocissa erythrorhyncha (Boddaert, 1783) R/SV C OM76. Grey Treepie— Dendrocitta formosae (Swinhoe, 1863) R C OM77. Jungle Crow— Corvus macrorhynchos (Wagler, 1827) R VC OM AqA aquatic animal, C common, CR carnivorous, F. H. feeding habits, FR frugivorous, GR graminivorous, I insectivorous, OC occasional, OM omnivorous, R resident, RA relative abundance, Ra rare, RS residential status, R/LM resident with local movements, R/WV resident with winterinflux, R/SV resident with summer influx, SC scavengers, SV summer visitor, UC uncommon, VC very common, VgM vegetable matter, WV winter visitorProc Zool Soc 123 The birds that showed irregular trend of sighting and pop-ulation fluctuations (non-seasonal) have been placed underresident with local movements (R/LM) category.The data recorded in each survey from areas around theKhajjiar lake was kept separate and analysed for relativeabundance on the basis of frequency of sightings (Mc-Kinnon and Philips1993). Based upon these, differentcategories assigned were: very Common (recorded in morethan 45 % of data sheets), Common (between 25 and 44 %of data sheets), Uncommon (between 10 and 24 % of datasheets) and Rare (recorded once or twice). The relativefrequency scale was fixed in such a way so as to include themigrant species sighted seasonally in good numbers (whichvisited the area for a brief period of time) to their respec-tive category (Figs.1and2). Results and Discussion The present investigation of avifauna of Khajjiar lakerevealed the presence of 77 species of birds belonging to 62genera, 12 orders and 31 families. In this area Muscicapi-dae is the most represented family with 22 speciesbelonging to 15 genera followed by Accipitridae andCorvidae (six species each), Paridae, Phasianidae, Co-lumbidae and Picidae (three species each) (Table1). Ma-nakadan and Pittie (2001) have also reported Muscicapidaeas the largest bird family of India with 370 species.Recently, Mahabal (2005) also found Muscicapidae as thebiggest family of birds with 105 species from HimachalPradesh. Similarly, many other investigators like Mahabal(1992), and Thakur et al. (2010) have also found the maximum diversity of birds belonging to family Musci-capidae in different small areas of Himachal Pradesh.The study revealed that Khajjiar lake supported 20 suchspecies of birds which were resident and rest 57 wereseasonal-local and long range migrants. The birds placedunder resident category included critically endangeredIndian white-backed vulture and red-headed vulture. Of the57 species, 35 were seasonal-local migrants, four werewinter visitors and ten were summer visitors. Thesemigrants included species like Cinereous Vulture, Com-mon Hoopoe, Bay-backed Shrike, Common Chiffchaff aswinter visitor and summer visitors are Black-winged Stilt,Large-tailed Nightjar, Long-tailed Minivet, Blue-headedRock-Thrush, Gold-spectacled Flycatcher, Sooty Fly-catcher, Little Pied Flycatcher, Ultramarine Flycatcher,Verditer, Rufous-bellied Niltava,Moreover, Khajjiar lake supported eight such specieswhich showed winter and summer influx. Of these, sixshowed summer influx, whereas, winter influx was shownby two species only. Population of species like CommonGrey-winged Blackbird, Green-backed Tit were augmentedby influx of more birds during winter months thereforethese have been placed under winter influx category.Moreover, it was reported that population of species likeWedge-tailed Green-Pigeon, Plum-headed Parakeet, Red-rumped Swallow, Bar-tailed Tree-Creeper, Cinnamon TreeSparrow and Red-billed Blue Magpie increased duringsummer months by influx of more individuals from theadjacent areas and thus placed under summer influx cate-gory. Similar study was conducted by Thakur et al. (2002)enlisting 66 species from whole in the Khajjiar–Kalatopwild life sanctuary, but in the present study 77 species wasstudied Khajjiar lake only and many more may be present.Data on relative abundance showed that 25 species of birds were very common, 30 common, 21 uncommon andone rarely seen in the area under investigation (Table1;Fig.3). Further analysis of residential status and relativeabundance revealed that of the 20 resident species ten werevery common, 8 common and two uncommon. Of the 57seasonal-local migrants, 15 species were very common, 24common, and 17 uncommon and one rare. Categorizationof 4 winter visitors revealed that none species was verycommon and one common, two uncommon and one rare.Moreover, analysis of data on relative abundance of Fig. 1 Study areaProc Zool Soc 123
