Wild Bird Species Structure and Feeding Guilds in Agricultural Area at Zagazig District, Sharkia Governorate, Egypt

Bird presence in the agricultural ecosystem is a critical for preserving ecological balance due to its various ecological impacts. The composition of bird species and their feeding guilds in agricultural land was investigated in El-Zahraa village, Zagazig district, Sharkia Governorate, Egypt. The point count method was used to survey bird species from April 2021 to March 2022. The survey identified a total of 21 bird species belonging to 17 families and 7 orders. The order Passeriformes was the most abundant; consist of 10 families: Alaudidae, Cisticolidae, Corvidae, Estrildidae, Hirundinidae, Motacillidae, Muscicapidae, Passeridae, Pycnonotidae, Sturnidae. The composition of bird guilds indicated that granivorous and insectivores birds were being more numerous than other guilds (omnivores, carnivores and piscivorous) while, the frugivorous birds was the least represented. The dominant bird species were represented with 5 species: house sparrow, hooded crow, rock pigeon, cattle egret and laughing dove. Food preference experiments conducted on the hooded crow revealed that birds tend to consume Tamia, liver, chicken intestine, and fish in that order. Interestingly, the crows did not consume any amount of crushed maize. Additionally, in terms of color preference, food placed on a blue plastic sheet was favored over food on a red plastic sheet. The abundance of bird species and the diversity of their feeding guilds reflect the richness of food resources in the agricultural area. Furthermore, understanding the food preferences of the hooded crow may assist in utilizing this preferred and cost-effective food (Tamia) as bait to attract and control these birds.