First Avifaunal Checklist of the Narendra Nagar Forest Division (Western Himalaya) of District Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand

The Himalayan ranges are well-known biological diversity hotspot. This attempt has been made to prepare the first avifaunal checklist of the Narendra Nagar Forestdivision, Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, a part of the Western Himalaya, India, from October 2020 to December 2022. A total of 177 avian species belonging to 50 families were observed. Among of these, a total of 133 (75%), 28 (16%) and 16 (9%) avian species were identified as resident, winter visitor and summer visitor respectively. The family Muscicapidae was found to be the most diverse family with 17 bird species having the highest relative diversity index followed by Picidae (10), Accipitridae (8), Corvidae, Columbidae and Cuculidae (7), Leiothrichidae (6), etc. We also encountered of few species belonging to important conservation status such as Near Threatened (Alexandrine Parakeet, Great Thick-knee, River Lapwing, Himalayan Griffon), and Endangered (Egyptian Vulture and Pallas’s fish eagle) categories as per IUCN Red data book. This study provides the first baseline information about the avian species of the study area. The presence of threatened species indicates that more conservation efforts are needed in the study area.