Author(s):

Harish Prajapati and Arun Kumar Roy Mahato

Abstract: Wetlands are vital habitat for diverse kind of life forms, specifically for birds. Among the various habitat of birds, wetlands are the most preferred habitat for diverse species of birds. Thol Lake is one among the important destination of wetland birds of Gujarat which support large number and population of aquatic bird species. The present study was conducted to assess the status and habitat preference of aquatic birds found in the lake environment. The study was carried out using flock count and point centred method on monthly basis on each type of microhabitats of the lake. A total of 60 species of aquatic birds recorded during the study periods which are belonging 17 families and 9 orders. Among the recorded species, majority of them were resident birds (26 species) with 13 species were migratory. Out of the total bird species found within the lake environment, four species were Vulnerable, six (6) species were Near Threatened while rest of bird species were categorised as Least Concern as per the IUCN. The assessing the abundance of birds species, it was found that more than 70 per cent of species were common and fairly common to the lake environment. Among the various micro-habitat, open water, muddy shoreline and tree’s were the most preferred habitat or substratum for the bird species in the lake.

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