A Comparative Study of Avian Diversity at Three Selected Sites of Porbandar, Gujarat, India

Present study on avian diversity was carried out from July 2020 to June 2022 at three selected sites of Porbandar, which is in the western part of Gujarat state in India. Rain is the major source of water for all the three selected sites, so wetland conditions get adverse with decreasing water levels. The study area was surveyed twice a month and a total of 48 visits were made during the study for each wetland. The present study aims to study: abundance, migratory status and diversity of avian fauna. This study could lead to a better understanding of the selected wetlands that are being preferred by the birds (especially winter migrants). Birds from twenty-two orders and fifty-five families were identified. The Scolopacidae family contributed the highest species, i.e., eighteen species, followed by Anatidae and Laridae. During the research, we observed that all the wetlands selected for the study, although present in the urban set up and under constant pressure by various anthropogenic activities, still remained a preferred site for the winter migrants, as these winter migratory birds account for more than fifty percent of its avian diversity.