Avifaunal Diversity of Northwestern Himalayas (Jammu &amp; Kashmir) and Trans Himalayas (Ladakh)

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-2573351/v1

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Avifaunal Diversity of Northwestern Himalayas (Jammu & Kashmir) and Trans Himalayas (Ladakh)

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2573351/v1

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The Himalayas are home to a wide variety of animals and plants, making it one of the world's most biodiverse regions. Both the northwestern Himalayan region of Jammu & Kashmir and the trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh are home to a wide variety of bird species because of varied topography and temperature. In this study, we collected the field data and checklists over a period of 3 years based on the compilation of data from published & unpublished scientific literature, print & electronic, currently accessible in the form of research articles, papers, books, websites, web pages, & field notes. The Northwestern Himalayas (Jammu and Kashmir) and trans-Himalayas (Ladakh) are home to 677 bird species belonging to 89 families (out of 107 families in the Indian sub-continent), which is equal to 6.77% of total bird species (>10000) found globally and 49.2% of total bird species (1376) found in the Indian subcontinent. The family Muscicapidae (53, 7.8%) has the most species, followed by Accipitridae (41, 6%), and so on. Moreover, the number of threatened species is 54 (8%), which includes 22 (3.25%), 23 (3.40%), 6 (0.8%) & 3 (0.44%) under Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, & Critically Endangered categories. Among 677 species, 228 species (33.77%) are found in all the 3 regions, 77 (11.4%) in only Jammu & Kashmir but not Ladakh, 24 (3.55%) in Jammu & Ladakh but not in Kashmir, 80 (11.85%) in Kashmir & Ladakh but not in Jammu, 152 (22.5%) only in Jammu but not in Kashmir & Ladakh, 26 (3.84%) only in Kashmir but not in Jammu & Ladakh, 71 (10.51%) only in Ladakh but not in Jammu & Kashmir. This provides the first-of-its-kind comprehensive data on bird diversity in these regions.

Birds

Avifauna

Bird Diversity

Himalayas

Jammu and Kashmir

Ladakh

About one-fifth of humanity depends on the Himalayas, which is a worldwide biodiversity hotspot. Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) State is located in the northwestern Himalayas and is home to about 50% of the Himalayan flora and fauna found in all of India. The state's vastness is emblematic of the vast elevational and topographical diversity found throughout the entire Himalaya, from the subtropical Jammu to the temperate Kashmir valley to the frigid desert Ladakh (now a separate UT). It bridges the Palearctic and Oriental regions of the planet, two distinct biomes. It is home to a variety of flora & fauna, including birds and mammals, that are endemic only to higher elevations (Rahmani et al. 2012), as well as species that are found throughout the rest of the Indian subcontinent in the tropics and subtropics. The state serves as a transit point for many migratory populations (passage migrants) on their approach to or from wintering habitats elsewhere in the subcontinent due to its inclusion in the Central Asian and East Africa-West Asia Flyways and its placement in the Western Himalaya Endemic Bird Area. Most of the state's endemism in chordates may be found among its birds, and they also make the greatest contribution to the state's overall variety of these animals. Despite the fact that there is published literature on the birds of the state dating back to the late nineteenth century, with works such as Breeding Birds of Kashmir (Bates and Lowther 1952) and The Valley of Kashmir (Lawrence 1895) or the Birds & Mammals of Ladakh (Pfister 2004), avifaunal diversity in Jammu and Kashmir State (Suhail, 2020) has not yet been properly documented in the form of a complete checklist. Other recent works include Floral and Faunal analysis of Chatlam Wetland Reserve: A detailed analysis (Yousuf 2022) and Birds of Jammu & Kashmir including Ladakh (Yousuf 2023). In this article, we discuss the complete biodiversity of this Himalayan region which will act as a good reference for birdwatchers, ornithologists, & avian biologists by giving up-to-date information on the avian variety of the J&K State, including Ladakh, as well as the range and conservation status of the featured taxa.

The data and checklist presented in this paper were collected over a period of 2 years and are based on the compilation of data from published & unpublished scientific literature, print & electronic, currently accessible in the form of research articles, papers, web pages, websites, books, and field notes. The main published materials include that of Ali (1949, 1996), Lawrence (1895), Bates and Lowther (1952), Qadri et al. (1990), Ali and Ripley (1968, 1987), Price (1991), Price & Jamdar (1990, 1991), Javed (1992), Grimmett et al. (1998), Price et al. (2003), Pfister (2004), Naoroji & Schmitt (2007), Rahmani and Islam (2008), Rahmani et al. (2012), Grewal (2016), & Ahmad et al. (2017). Similarly, the web sources consulted were https://ebird.org, https://www.birds.cornell.edu, https://birdsoftheworld.org, https://www.wcf.org.in, https://www.facebook.com/groups/J&Kbirdwatchers’club-WCF, https://www.facebook.com/groups/savewildlifeofkashmir, https://www.facebook.com/groups/captivatingnature, https://www.facebook.com/groups/birdsof kashmir, https://www.facebook.com/groups/j&kbirdlife, https://www.iucnredlist.org, and http://www.facebook.com/groups/kashmirbirdwatch. The authors' own notes from over two decades' worth of field observations and bird-watching expeditions make up the bulk of the unpublished records. The checklist contains all species that have been credibly recorded in the state up until the year 2023. The species each have a conservation status that falls into one of the following categories, as determined by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List. CR= Critically Endangered; EN= Endangered; VU= Vulnerable; NT= Near Threatened; LC= Least Concern.

The various species have been divided into four classes based on their distribution within the region's borders: Resident (R): Can be seen at any time of the year; Passage Migrant (P): Visit at a short time of the year; Summer Visitor (S): Seen during summer, mostly breeding; & Winter Visitor (W): Seen during winter. A breakdown by region, including whether a given species can be found inside the Jammu (J), Kashmir (K), or Ladakh (L) regions, has also been compiled.

A total of 677 species of birds belonging to 89 families are found in Jammu and Kashmir, including Ladakh, which is equal to 6.77% of total bird species (>10000) found globally and 49.2% of total bird species (1376) found in the Indian subcontinent (Table 1). This huge diversity of birds is credited to the diverse types of climate in these 3 regions, with Kashmir, Jammu, and Ladakh having temperate, sub-tropical, and cold desert-type climates, respectively.

Out of 249 families found worldwide and107 bird families found in the Indian sub-continent, 89 are present in Jammu and Kashmir, including Ladakh, which is 35.74% and 83.17% of total families found in the world and Indian sub-continent, respectively. The dominant families with the most number of bird species include Muscicapidae (flycatchers), Accipitridae (hawks, kites, & eagles), Fringillidae (finches), Anatidae (ducks, geese, & swans), Scolopacidae (snipes, sandpipers, & other waders), Phylloscopidae (leaf warblers), Motacillidae (wagtails & pipits), Strigidae (owls), Corvidae (Jays, magpies, & crows), Phasianidae (partridges and pheasants), Laridae (gulls & terns), Rallidae (crakes and rails), Emberizidae (buntings), Columbidae (doves and pigeons), Turdidae (thrushes), Aludidae (larks), Charadriidae (plovers & lapwings), Ardeidae (egrets, herons & bitterns), Picidae (woodpeckers), Cuculidae cuckoos), Passeridae (sparrows & snow finches), Cisticolidae (prinias and tailorbirds), Acrocephalidae (reed warblers), Hirundinidae (swallows & martins) & Paridae (tits).

The number of species in each of these families includes 53 in Muscicapidae (7.8% of total species in J&K), 41 Accipitridae (6%), 33 each in Fringillidae and Anatidae (4.87% each), 26 in Scolopacidae (3.8%), 21 in Phylloscopidae (3.1%), 19 in Motacillidae (2.8%), 18 in Strigidae (2.6%), 17 each in Corvidae and Phasianidae (2.5% each), 16 each in Laridae and Rallidae (2.37% each), 15 each in Emberizidae and Columbidae (2.22% each), 14 each in Turdidae, Aludidae and Charadriidae (2.07%), Ardeidae (egrets, herons & bitterns), 13 each in Picidae and Cuculidae (1.92%), 12 each in Passeridae and Cisticolidae (1.77%), 11 each in Acrocephalidae, Hirundinidae and Paridae (1.62%) (Figure 1).

Threatened bird species

Not many studies have been done on threatened birds of J&K, including the Ladakh region. However, some previous estimates have estimated a total number of 24 species in threatened taxa, including 4 categories: Near Threatened (NT), Vulnerable (VU), Endangered (EN), and Critically Endangered (CR). More recently, a new list of threatened species was published after revisiting the threatened taxa of J&K, including Ladakh. In our study, we have revisited the list, and the number of threatened species is at 54 (8%) as per the latest IUCN assessment. These include 22 (3.25%), 23 (3.40%), 6 (0.8%) & 3 (0.44%) under Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, & Critically Endangered categories, respectively, as shown in Table 2.

Main habitat types in the Western Himalaya (Endemic Bird Area 128) include subalpine forests, montane grasslands, and temperate coniferous or broad-leaved forests (Rahmani et al. 2014). There are eleven bird species with extremely limited distributions that inhabit these areas, 9 (81.8%) of which are endemic to Jammu and Kashmir (Birdlife International 2001; Stattersfield et al. 1998). These species include Kashmir Flycatcher (Ficedula subrubra), Spectacled Finch (Callacanthis burtoni), Western Tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus), Cheer Pheasant (Catreus wallichii), Tytler's Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus tytelri), Brook's Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus subviridis), Kashmir Nuthatch (Sitta cashmirensis) White-throated Tit (Aegithalos nivergularis), and Orange Bullfinch (Pyrrhula aurantiaca). Moreover, 6 of these species are endemic to the western Himalayas, while one (Kashmir flycatcher) breeds only in Kashmir forests.

In summary, a total number of 677 species occur in J&K, including Ladakh, belonging to 89 families. Among these, a total of 624 (92.17%) and 54 species (8%) fall under the Least Concern and threatened categories, respectively (Figure 2). Among 677 species, 228 species (33.77%) are found in all the 3 regions, 77 (11.4%) in only Jammu & Kashmir but not Ladakh, 24 (3.55%) in Jammu & Ladakh but not in Kashmir, 80 (11.85%) in Kashmir & Ladakh but not in Jammu, 152 (22.5%) only in Jammu but not in Kashmir & Ladakh, 26 (3.84%) only in Kashmir but not in Jammu & Ladakh, 71 (10.51%) only in Ladakh but not in Jammu & Kashmir (Figure 3).

As indicated, the bird diversity of Jammu is more than that of Kashmir and Ladakh. It is primarily because of the sub-tropical climate, like that of other Indian states. However, birders can find all these species in other Indian states, but for the ones in Kashmir and Ladakh, they have to visit these places as the climate is different. That means the species found in Kashmir and Ladakh are not usually found in other parts of India, but the ones found in Jammu are easily found in other Indian states.

The state is much behind the rest of the country in avian research, despite being home to a wide variety of bird species. Almost no significant scientific research has been conducted, with the exception of a few studies focusing on certain species or groups. To better understand the ecology of birds and to propose specific methods for their conservation, serious scientific research is urgently needed on a wide range of bird species, especially those in peril.

Data availability: The data is available with the corresponding author

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest

Author Contribution Statement: P. Y. collected the whole data, P. Y. & S. P. wrote the manuscript, N. Z, B. N., R. R., J. A. T., & M. L. revised the manuscript, P. Y. edited the final draft.

Acknowledgments: N/A

Funding: N /A

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Tables 1 and 2 are available in the Supplementary Files section.

No competing interests reported.

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Avifaunal Diversity of Northwestern Himalayas (Jammu & Kashmir) and Trans Himalayas (Ladakh)

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