A preliminary survey of bird communities of South Sikkim, India

Abstract

Sikkim (27003’-28007’N & 88003’-88057’E), a small state lies on the foothills of Himalayas, comprising only of 7096 sq km, having a varied climatic condition and vegetation, ranging from cold desert in the north to the lowland forest in south. The study of avian faunal diversity is an essential ecological tool, which acts as an indicator to evaluated different habitats both qualitatively and quantitatively The present day study was carried out to documents the avian diversity in South District of Sikkim. A total of 100 species of birds belonging to 35 families were recorded. In terms of familial richness, muscicapidae dominates in the field of study areas, comprising 16 species followed by turdidae with 8 species, corvdae with 6 species. The present day study adds some valuable information on avian diversity in the study area.