Avifaunal diversity of Daranghati Wildlife Sanctuary, India

Birds are among the most charismatic animals on our planet. Worldwide, there are about 11,000 different avian species. BirdLife International (2024) has listed 1,211 bird species that occur in India, demonstrating its immense diversity. Of these species, the majority (about 80%) are restricted to the Himalayas. To contribute to our knowledge on avian diversity in India, we conducted avifaunal surveys in the Daranghati Wildlife Sanctuary, located in Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh, India. A total of 76 species of birds, representing 11 orders, 32 families, and 59 genera, were recorded. Passeriformes dominated the avifauna with 56 species. Muscicapidae was the most abundant family enumerating 12 species. The second largest family was Fringillidae including 6 species, closely followed by Paridae and Phasianidae, with 5 species each. Of the 76 species recorded, 22 (28.95%) were classified as very common, 25 (32.90%) as common, 21 (27.63%) as uncommon, and 8 species (10.52%) as rare. The Western Tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus) is a vulnerable species and the Himalayan Griffon (Gyps himalayensis) is listed as a near-threatened species as per IUCN Red List. Around 30% of the species belong to very narrow and restricted feeding guilds. The study also revealed the presence of 21 bird species with a decreasing population trends as provided by the global IUCN population assessments, thereby highlighting the importance and imperative of conservation measures in this Wildlife Sanctuary.