A preliminary assessment of bird diversity in unprotected wetlands of Gonda district, Uttar Pradesh, India

There have been numerous studies on assessing bird diversity in protected wetlands, but those in unprotected wetlands are the least studied. The present study aimed to assess the bird species diversity of four unprotected wetlands located in Gonda district, Uttar Pradesh, India, from September 2024 to August 2025. The data was collected monthly using a point count of 20 m radius. Altogether, 119 bird species belonging to 104 genera, spread across 52 families and 19 orders, were observed. Passeriformes, with 51 species belonging to 23 families, had the highest diversity. Accipitridae (9 species; 7.56%) was the most dominant family. These wetlands supported 94 resident bird species, 23 winter visitors, one summer visitor i.e. Merops philippinus (Blue-tailed Bee-eater) and one passage visitor i.e. Ixobrychus cinnamomeus (Chestnut Bittern). The unprotected wetlands provided habitat for three Near Threatened species – Esacus recurvirostris (Great Thick-knee), Cursorius coromandelicus (Indian Courser) and Ciconia episcopus (Asian Woollyneck), two Vulnerable species – Aythya ferina (Common Pochard) and Grus Antigone (Sarus Crane) and one Endangered species - Neophron percnopterus (Egyptian Vulture). Most species showed a declining global population trend (n=40) for e.g. Pernis ptilorhynchus (Oriental Honey-buzzard), Anas poecilorhyncha (Indian Spot-billed Duck), Dendrocygna javanica (Lesser Whistling-duck), Querquedula querquedula (Garganey), Sarkidiornis melanotos (Knob-billed Duck), Spatula clypeata (Northern Shoveler), Actitis hypoleucos (Common Sandpiper), Motacilla flava (Western Yellow Wagtail), Ardea purpurea (Purple Heron), Nycticorax nycticorax (Black-crowned Night-heron), Pseudibis papillosa (Red-naped Ibis), Tachybaptus ruficollis (Little Grebe). This study highlights the importance of unprotected wetlands as valuable bird habitats amid anthropogenic pressures, underscoring the need for immediate conservation measures.