Avifaunal Community Structure and Ecological Guild Distributions Across an Urban-Agricultural Interface Matrix in Baraut, Western Uttar Pradesh

Urban Farm DB summary

A bird community survey around the town border and surrounding agricultural land of Baraut, Baghpat District, western Uttar Pradesh, India, used point-count arrays and random line transects across four habitat types: agricultural, woodland/orchard, urban and wetland. After filtering out domesticated livestock and urban feral populations from 21 field surveys, the study identified 16 "true wild" bird species spanning 10 orders and 15 families, with Passeriformes dominant at 43.75% (n=7) while the other nine orders each accounted for 6.25% (n=1) with no species shared across them. Foraging guild composition was 37.50% generalist omnivores (n=6), 26.25% carnivores (n=4), 18.75% insectivores (n=3), 12.50% frugivores (n=2) and 6.25% granivores (n=1). Habitat affinity was highest for agricultural farmland (37.50%, n=6), followed by woodland/orchard (25.00%, n=4), with urban and wetland tied at 18.75% (n=3) each. All species recorded are classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.