Depredatory Birds and their Damage Assessment in Rice Ecosystem, India

The study carried out in Upper Brahmaputra Valley Zone and North Bank Plain Zones, Assam, North East India was focused on bird’s fauna and impact of depredatory birds in rice ecosystem. A total of 1862 and 1926 birds were recorded in UBVZ and NBPZ. The status of predatory and depredatory birds was assessed using the Line Transect Method for data collection. The damage by depredatory birds in UBVZ and NBPZ was 26 per cent and 21 per cent respectively. The study also revealed 27.4 and 21.58 per cent grain yield loss of paddy in Sali and Boro season respectively. The comparative study between the two seasons resulted higher grain yield loss in Sali rice as compared to Boro. The major damage in both the crop seasons was observed due to the incidence of Baya Weaver, Ploceus philippinus and Munia birds, Lonchura striata.