Page 163 - Agroforestry system - book inner (final corrected) - 9.-3-21_Neat

National level e-symposium on “Agroforestry system for augmenting livestock
productivity and empowering resource poor rural farmers”

Materials and methods

This report is based on the species of birds recorded from 2016 to 2020 at the Postgraduate Research
Institute in Animal Sciences (PGRIAS), Kattupakkam, Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu. This is a constituent
unit of the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS). The presence of birds was
recorded when seen with the naked eye or a binocular or when the specific call/song as heard with certainty.
Photographs and the calls of these birds were also recorded whenever possible. The records were uploaded
in the eBird database (http://www.ebird.org.) in the form of checklists. A total of 569 checklists have been
submitted during the period. The details of bird species, number, photograph, behavior etc., were entered in
the database.

Results
The exploration of eBird checklist for the period at PGRIAS revealed a total of 140 species of birds
the list of which is presented in table. Some of the common birds seen are also presented in the figure. The
type of species observed were diverse with several bird species including winter visitors, waders, predators,
ground birds, flycatchers, PGRIAS is a multi-species farm, maintaining several species of livestock is spread
over 700 acres of land with large areas of scrub jungle. Moreover there are more than five waterbodies and
more importantly the Institute of Animal Nutrition has established several sylvi pasture and horti-pasture
models within the area. The existence of such a vast biodiversity of birds in this multispecies livestock farm is
indicative of the role of animal husbandry and agro-forestry in supporting the ecosystem. Conservation of the
topography of this campus and introduction of more agro-forestry models could go a long way in sustaining
this diversity of birds.

Reference
eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird, Cornell Lab of
Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Available: http://www.ebird.org.
Table: Species of birds recorded at PGRIAS during the period from 2016 to 2020.
Classification Species

Barbets Coppersmith Barbet Psi lopogon haemacephalus
Bee-eaters, Rollers and Allies Blue-tailed Bee-eater Merops philippinus

Green Bee-eater Merops orientalis
Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis
Bulbuls Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer

Red-whiskered Bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus
White-browed Bulbul Pycnonotus luteolus

Cormorants Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
Little Cormorant Microcarbo niger
Oriental darter Anhinga melanogaster

144 Institute of Animal Nutrition, Centre for Animal Production Studies, TANUVAS
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development