Diversity, Biodiversity Indices and Conservation Status of Avian Fauna in Tnau Campus at Madurai

Background and Objective: Birds form an important component of the forest ecosystem and they serve as pollinators, consumers, dispersers of plant seeds and predators of insects. Many environmental parameters influence the abundance of birds directly. The present study was conducted on the diversity of birds at Tamil Nadu Agriculture College and Research Institute (TNAU) Campus, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. Materials and Methods: Birds were surveyed by line transect and identified using field guides. The IUCN Red list status, residential status, relative abundance, feeding guilds, relative diversity index and biodiversity indices such as Simpson index, Shannon index and Margalef index were calculated to estimate the diversity of birds in the study area. Results: The 35 species of birds were recorded during the study period. The highest number of species was recorded in March while the lowest in September and October. Species like Acridotheres tristis and Corvus splenden were documented in higher numbers while Saxicola caprata was rare. Conclusion: Biodiversity indices revealed the significant results of avian diversity in the study area. Totally 35 species belonging to 23 families were noticed indicating fewer disturbances due to human intervention.