Records of Avifauna of Wetlands around Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India

Bhumesh Singh Bhadouria

doi:10.15468/kd6psj

Records of Avifauna of Wetlands around Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India

Citation

Bhadouria B S (2019). Records of Avifauna of Wetlands around Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur, India. Version 2.1. Wildlife Institute of India. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/kd6psj accessed via GBIF.org on 2025-07-18.

Description

Keoladeo National Park (KNP) is one of the six natural World Heritage Sites in India inscribed by UNESCO. KNP is famous for its rich avifaunal diversity, resulting from its location in a semi-arid landscape on the Central Asian Flyway. Several species of migratory bird of this wetland also move to nearby satellite wetlands for foraging whenever the water in KNP is inadequate. In this context, ecological surveys were carried out during 2009–2011 as part of a long-term monitoring exercise to develop a database of the migratory birds that use KNP and its satellite wetlands. The objective of developing the database was to prepare a comprehensive landscape-level management plan. Twelve satellite wetlands within a 100 km radius of KNP were surveyed. The data set lists distribution data of the avifauna, including the status and taxonomic information, descriptions of the wetlands (with localities, county and geographic coordinates) and sampling details (collector and sampling dates). The data set includes 33,238 records corresponding, with 15 families involved. This data record is a significant contribution to the knowledge management system of the avifauna of this region. It will be useful for future studies on birds and their habitats and conservation.

Purpose

All over the world there is increasing interest in the conservation of water birds and their wetland habitats. These habitats are under pressure due to certain environmental changes and human activities (Turner et al. 2000; Froneman et al. 2001). India is estimated to have about 58.2 million hectares of wetlands (Prasad et al. 2002). Many of these wetlands are distributed around the Indo-Gangetic plains. Numerous direct and indirect pressures arising from different types of economic development and associated activities are having adverse impacts on these wetlands habitat. Apart from the natural wetlands of India, which support 20% of the known biodiversity (Deepa and Ramachandra 1999), there are many man-made wetlands, such as dams and ponds, in the country that also support floral and faunal diversity. The importance of artificial wetlands has been studied by many authors, and they have suggested that these wetlands can provide suitable habitats for water birds (Tourenq et al. 2001, McKinstry and Anderson 2002, Paracuellos and Telleria 2004, Santoul et al. 2004, Okes et al. 2008, Rendon et al. 2008). Keoladeo National Park (KNP), a protected area, is a man-made wetland of the Gangetic plains that attracts several thousands of migratory birds in winter. Significant numbers of birds also visit the nearby satellite wetlands daily for foraging, but these wetlands are not protected. A few scattered studies have been carried out on the avifauna of this region (Bhadouria et al. 2010). Narwade et al. (2011) have provided data available in the literature on the birds of northeast India. But so far no comprehensive dataset has been published on the avifauna of the region. The purpose of this paper is to document a data set, comprising 33,238 sight records of birds belonging to 15 families (Fig.2) from the satellite wetlands of KNP. Biodiversity data are neither accessible nor discoverable (Chavan and Ingwersen, 2009).We believe that this dataset is a significant contribution to the knowledge management system of the avifauna of this region and that it will be useful for future studies on birds and their habitats. Further, this data set will help develop a landscape-level management plan for KNP and its satellite wetlands, with a special focus on the birds.

Sampling Description

Study Extent

This paper describes a distributional dataset of birds occurring in KNP and 12 satellite wetlands. These wetlands lie at the edge of the Gangetic plain but near the margin of the Thar Desert, at the junction of the Gambhir and Banaganga rivers (Fig.3). Further, these wetlands also lie on the Central Asian Flyway. Kealadeo National Park with an extent of 2873 ha, lies at the edge of the Gangetic plain (27° 8′ to 27° 12′ N and 77° 30′ to 77° 34′ E). The details of Geographic locations of wetlands presented in table no.1.

Sampling

Water birds were counted over a period of 3 years, from 2009 to 2011.Wetlands were identified and selected for this purpose on the basis of reports and official documents available at KNP’s administration. Birds were located by walking along the edge of the wetland, using binoculars and telescopes. Birds were identified to species level by consulting Ali (1996), Ali and Ripley (1986) and Bhusan et al. (1993). The GPS locations of all the wetlands were recorded. The aerial distance of each wetland from KNP was calculated using an online aerial distance calculator.

Quality Control

All the birds present were counted and identified as described in Bibby et al. (1993) and by consulting subject experts. Further identification of individuals up to species level was done by consulting Ali (1996), Ali and Ripley (1986) and Bhusan et al. (1993). All the collected data were entered in an MS Excel worksheet and the quality of the data entered was ensured through checks.

Method steps

Water birds were counted over a period of 3 years, from 2009 to 2011.The counting was done between 12:00 and 17:00 hours, using binoculars and telescopes. Birds were located by walking along the edge of the wetland where most of the surface area and the edge of the water were visible. All the birds present were identified and counted as described in Bibby et al. (1993) and identified to species level by consulting Ali (1996), Ali and Ripley (1986) and Bhusan et al. (1993). The bird species richness at each site was determined as the total number of species observed (Ludwig and Reynolds, 1988).

Taxonomic Coverages

This is an observation-based collection of data on the avifauna found in KNP and the 12 satellite wetlands that were surveyed. All birds were recorded between July 2009 and December 2011. The taxonomic coverage of this data set spans the class Aves. The largest number of records was from the family Anatidae (N=24,873), followed by the Phalacrocoracidae (N=3558), Threskiornithidae (N=1450), Scolopacidae (N=1302), Rallidae (N=605), Ardeidae (N=522), Recurvirostridae (N=419), Ciconiidae (224), Podicipedidae (N=116), Laridae (N=91) and Jacanidae (N=55).The families with the least records were the Campephagidae (N=6), Charadriidae (N=6), Alcedinidae (N=6) and Accipitridae (N=5).

Tachybaptus ruficollis
Tachybaptus ruficollis
Phalacrocorax niger
Phalacrocorax niger
Phalacrocorax fuscicollis
Phalacrocorax carbo
Egretta garzetta
Ardea cinerea
Casmerodius albus
Mesophoyx intermedia
Bubulcus ibis
Ardeola grayii
Mycteria leucocephala
Anastomus oscitans
Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus
Platalea leucorodia
Dendrocygna javanica
Anser anser
Anser indicus
Tadorna ferruginea
Sarkidiornis melanotos
Nettapus coromandelianus
Anas strepera
Anas penelope
Anas poecilorhyncha
Anas clypeata
Anas acuta
Anas crecca
Netta rufina
Aythya ferina
Gallinula chloropus
Fulica atra
Metopidius indicus
Vanellus indicus
Tringa erythropus
Tringa totanus
Tringa stagnatilis
Tringa nebularia
Calidris minuta
Philomachus pugnax
Himantopus himantopus
Sterna aurantia
Chlidonias hybrida
Ceryle rudis

Geographic Coverages

This paper describes a distributional dataset of the birds occurring in KNP and 12 satellite wetlands. These wetlands lie at the edge of the Gangetic plain but near the margin of the Thar Desert, at the junction of the Gambhir and Banaganga rivers (Fig.3). Further, these wetlands are also part of the Central Asian Flyway.The details of Geographic locations of wetlands presented in table no.1.

Bibliographic Citations

Ali, S. 1996. The Book of Indian Birds. Bombay Natural History Society, Oxford University Press, Mumbai. -
Ali, S. and Ripley S.D.,1986. Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan, Vol. V. Oxford University Press, London. -
Bhusan, B., Fry, G., Hibi, A., Mundkur, T., Prawiradilaga, D.M., Sonobe, K. and Usui, S. 1993. A Field Guide to the Water Birds of Asia.Wildlife Society, Japan. -
Bibby, C., Burgess, N. and Hill, D. 1993.Bird Census Techniques. Academic Press Limited, London. -
Chavan V and Ingwersen P (2009) (Towards a data publishing framework for primary biodiversity data: challenges and potentials for the biodiversity informatics community. BMC Bioinformatics 2009, 10 (Suppl 14):52doi: 10.1186/1471-2105-10-S14-S2 -
Deepa, R.S. and Ramachandra, T.V. 1999. Impact of urbanization in the interconnectivity of wetlands. Paper presented at the National Symposium on Remote Sensing Applications for Natural Resources: Retrospective and Perspective (XIX–XXI 1999), Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Bangalore, India. -
Froneman, A., Mangnall, M.J., Little, R.M. and Crowe, T.M. 2001. Water bird assemblages and associated habitat characteristics of farm ponds in the Western Cape, South Africa. Biodiversity Conservation 10:251–270. -
Ludwig, J.A. and Reynolds, J.F. 1988.Statistical Ecology. John Wiley and Sons, New York. 337 pp. -
McKinstry, M.C. and Anderson, S.H. 2002.Creating wetlands for waterfowl in Wyoming.Ecological Engineering 18: 293–304. -
Okes, N.C., Hockey, P.A.R. and Cumming, G.S. 2008. Habitat use and life history as predictors of bird responses to habitat change. Conservation Biology 22: 151–162. -
Paracuellos, M. and Telleria, J.L. 2004. Factors affecting the distribution of a water bird community: The role of habitat configuration and bird abundance. Waterbirds 27(4): 446–453. -
Prasad, S.N., Ramachandra, T.V., Ahalya, N., Sengupta, T., Kumar, A., Tiwari, A.K., Vijayan, V.S. and Vijayan, L. 2002. Conservation of wetlands of India: A review. Tropical Ecology 43(1):173–186 -
Rendon, M.A., Green, AJ.,Aquilera, E. and Almaraz, P. 2008. Status, distribution and long-term changes in the water bird community wintering in Doñana, south-west Spain.Biological Conservation 141: 1371–1388. -
Santoul, F., Figuerola, J. and Green, A.J. 2004. Importance of gravel pits for the conservation of waterbirds in the Garonne river floodplain (southwest France). Biodiversity Conservation 13: 1231–1243. -
Tourenq, C., Bennets, R.E., Kowalski, H., Vialet, E., Licchesi, J.-L., Kayser, Y. and Isenmann, P. 2001. Are rice fields a good alternative to natural marshes for waterbird communities in the Camargue, southern France? Biological Conservation 100: 335–343. -
Turner, R.K., Van den Berg, J.C.J.M., Soderqvist, T., Barendregt, A., Van der Straaten, J., Maltby, E., and Ierland, E.C. 2000. Ecological–economic analysis of wetlands: Scientific integration for management and policy. Ecological Economics 35(1):7–23. -
Arino, AH., Chavan V., Mackline JA., Ghose-Harihar M, Mathur V., GaijiS., Flemons P. (2013) GBIF Best Practice Guide for Content Need Assessment of Stakeholder Communities, Ver.1.0. Copenhagen: Global Biodiversity Information Facility, Pp. 62 -
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Contacts

Bhumesh Singh Bhadouria
originator
position: Project Asssociate
Wildlife Institute of India
Chandrabhani
Dehradun
248001
Uttarakhand
IN
Telephone: 0135-2640304
email: bhumesh78@gmail.com
homepage: http://www.wii.gov.in

Bhumesh Singh Bhadouria
metadata author
position: Project Asssociate
Wildlife Institute of India
Chandrabhani
Dehradun
248001
Uttarakhand
IN
Telephone: 0135-2640305
email: bhumesh78@gmail.com
homepage: http://www.wii.gov.in

Vinod B. Mathur
principal investigator
position: Director
Wildlife Institute of India
Chandrabhani
Dehradun
248001
Uttarakhand
IN
Telephone: 0135-2640306
email: vbm@wii.gov.in
homepage: http://www.wii.gov.in

K. Sivakumar
principal investigator
position: Scientist
Wildlife Institute of India
Chandrabhani
Dehradun
248001
Uttarakhand
IN
Telephone: 0135-2640307
email: ksivakumar@wii.gov.in
homepage: http://wii.@wii.gov.in

Abrar Khan
administrative point of contact
position: Ranger
Rajasthan Forest Department
Keoladeo National Park
Bharatpur
321001
Rajasthan
IN

Anoop K.R.
administrative point of contact
position: Director
Rajasthan Forest Department
Keoladeo National Park
Bharatpur
321001
Rajasthan
IN

Gautam Talukdar
publisher
position: Scientist
Wildlife Institute of India
Chandrabani
Dehradun
248001
Uttarakhand
IN
email: gautam@wii.gov.in
homepage: http://www.wii.gov.in

Dinesh Singh Pundir
programmer
position: TG-IV(3)
Wildlife Institute of India
Chandrabani
Dehradun
248001
Uttarakhand
IN
email: dspundir@wii.gov.in
homepage: http://www.wii.gov.in

Bhumesh Singh Bhadouria
administrative point of contact
position: Project Asssociate
Wildlife Institute of India
Chandrabhani
Dehradun
248001
Uttarakhand
IN
Telephone: 0135-2640304
email: bhumesh78@gmail.com
homepage: http://www.wii.gov.in