Bird diversity and community characteristics in Qingyunshan Provincial Nature Reserve, Wengyuan, Guangdong

Objective  To understand the community composition and diversity of birds in Qingyunshan Provincial Nature Reserve, Wengyuan, Guangdong.

Method  In 2021, this study used line transect method to conduct field surveys of bird communities in four habitats of forest, highway, village, and reservoir in Qingyunshan Reserve, while interviewing local residents and reserve staff, looking up reserve basic information and scientific expedition reports, and searching for the records of China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and China Bird Reports Center, etc.

Result  A total of 168 species of birds in 17 orders and 51 families were counted. Statistics of the faunal types showed that there were 103 oriental birds, 40 widely distributed birds, and 25 palaearctic birds. The result of residence type classification suggested that there were 119 species of resident birds, 43 species of visitor birds (27 species of winter visitor birds and 16 species of summer visitor birds), and 6 species of passage migrant birds. The ecotype was dominated by the songbirds, and the diet habit was dominated by omnivorous and insectivorous. The dominant species included Alcippe hueti, Hemixos castanonotus andPericrocotus speciosus. Of all the detected species, two species were listed as first-class National Protected Wildlife and 30 species were listed as second-class National Protected Wildlife. The avian average biomass declined in order of forest, village, reservoir and highway respectively. The diversity index analysis showed that the highest Shannon-wiener diversity index (3.24) and Pielou evenness index (0.61) were in the village habitat; The highest Margalef richness index (7.34) was in the highway habitat; The village and highway habitats tied for the highest Simpson dominance index (0.94).

Conclusion  With rich vegetation and diverse habitats, Guangdong Wengyuan Qingyunshan Provincial Nature Reserve provides abundant food resources and suitable space for birds to survive and breed. With the succession of vegetation and the enhancement of environmental awareness amongst the pubilc, the reserve still has great potential in bird diversity conservation.