Bird diversity and distribution along the Sunkosh River, Tsirang and Dagana District in southern Bhutan

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2016 in the subject Biology - Zoology, grade: 83, Royal University of Bhutan (College of Natural Resources), course: Bachelors in Forests Science, language: English, abstract: The study of bird diversity and distribution along the Sunkosh River, Tsirang and Dagana District, Bhutan was carried out in the winter months to provide comprehensive data on both aquatic and terrestrial birds. This paper focuses on providing some information on the composition, diversity and abundance of various bird species recorded along the Sunkosh River. In order to accomplish this aim, point count survey method was used to generate data for ecological analysis. A total of 59 bird species belonging to 30 families were recorded during the study. The study was divided into three major habitats: River confluence (Site 1), settlement (Site 2) and undisturbed forest (Site 3). The instruments used were Garmin etrek Global Positioning System (GPS), a pair of binoculars for bird's identification, a field guide (Birds of Bhutan), survey data sheet and a 300 meters measuring tape. The data were tested with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov method to determine distribution level and bird diversity was assessed using Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index, while parametric tests were applied for all data. The results showed that bird species diversity was normally distributed in all the sites, site 3 ensured the highest diversity (3.16) compared to site 1: (2.53) and site 2: (3.05). Bird species composition in three habitat types was found statistically significant; correlation result revealed that bird species composition and bird species diversity were negatively correlated with altitude.The most abundant bird species along the River confluence and Settlement area was Red-vented Bulbul, but it was White-crested Laughingthrush in the undisturbed forest.