Bird community structure and factors affecting the avifauna of hokersar wetland Kashmir

The avifaunal diversity of Hokersar wetland was studied for a period of one year from December 2012 to December 2013. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the diversity and distribution of species in and around the wetland. A total of 58 species were recorded belonging to 27 families from 7 different habitats. Family Anatidae shows maximum species diversity. Among the recorded species(41%) were resident, summer migrant (28%), winter migrant (21%), and local migrant (10%). Open water habitat supports most of the winter migrant birds and plantation supports most of the summer migrant species. Most of the species belong to insectivorous category (45%) and most of the waterfowl species were herbivorous (14%).The vegetation structure and diversity of habitats provide food and shelter for thousands of waterfowl in winter. The main threats responsible for the destruction of the wetland are invasive plants, eutrophication, urbanization, hunting, landscape alteration,soil erosion and flooding.