Rapid Documentation Of Avifaunal Diversity of Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India

The dataset “Rapid Documentation Of Avifaunal Diversity of Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India” is published by Nature Mates Nature Club The Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India, on the slopes of the Himalayas, bounded by the Teesta and Mahananda rivers. The sanctuary encompasses an expansive area of 159 square kilometres within a reserve forest and was initially established as a game sanctuary in the year 1955. In 1959, the sanctuary was designated with the purpose of safeguarding the Indian Gaur and royal Bengal tiger, both of which were confronted with the imminent risk of extinction. The entire land area is partitioned into 33 distinct forest blocks, which are further categorised into four ranges: East, West, North, and South. The forest blocks encompass the following areas: Punding, Bandar jhola, Jogi jhora, Kuni, Choklong, Upper Champasari, Gulma valley, Silihhita, West Sevoke, East Sevoke, North Sevoke, Jhenaikuri, Lower Ghoramara, Upper Ghoramara, Gola, Ruyem, Andera, Chawa, Samaardanga, Lower Champasari, Singimari, Gulma, Mahanadi, Sukna (Part 1), Rongdong, Kaklong, Mohorganj, Panchenai, Hatisar, Kyananuka, Adalpur, Chumta, and Laltong. The soils inside the sanctuary exhibit significant variability, which is contingent upon factors such as height and slope. The fundamental soil classifications encompass yellow soils, red brown soils, and brown forest soils. All soils exhibit an unequivocal acidic nature, with a small inclination towards increased acidity as depth increases. soils that are red and yellow are developed on gnesis, while the development of brown coloration has been observed on schists and shales. The soil composition above gneiss is distinguished by a significant concentration of potassium originating from feldspar and muscovite mica. The soil exhibits high concentrations of lime, magnesium, iron oxides, phosphorus, and nitrogen. (www.gov.in/darjeeling) The climate of the MWLS region is predominantly tropical, characterised by three distinct seasons: summer, winter, and monsoon. The observed average minimum temperature during the period from 2003 to 2007 was 10.1º C, while the average maximum temperature was 32.4º C. The annual precipitation measured from 1997 to 2006 was 1141.1 mm. The period with the highest amount of rainfall occurs from June to August, while the months of December and February get the lowest levels of precipitation. The reported relative humidity values during the years 2003 and 2007 were found to be 85.2% to 91%. (Climatological data from Environmental Research Station, Sukna, Darjeeling - personal communication). The MWLS is a significant repository of biodiversity, situated inside the transitional area connecting the Peninsular Indian sub-region and the Indo-Malayan subregion of the Oriental region. The presence of diverse topographical features, including irregular and undulating terrain characterised by elevated hill ridges and deep valleys, along with significant fluctuations in climate and soil composition, has given rise to a vast array of lush and captivating plants. Based on the biogeographic categorization of India by Rodgers and Panwar (1988), the forests in question are categorised within zone 7, namely the Gangetic plains, province 7B (Lower Gangetic plains), and sub-divisions Bengal Duars. The forest composition exhibits a range of variations, encompassing riverian khair-sissoo forests and transitioning to thick mixed-wet forests at higher altitudes. This area is known to harbour various types of rare mammals, including the Himalayan serow, Himalayan porcupine, Himalayan Black Bear, as well as more elusive species such as the Binturong and Clouded Leopard. Additional significant mammalian species found in the region encompass Indian elephants, Gaur, chital (also known as spotted deer), barking deer, sambar, rhesus monkey, as well as many species of smaller cats such as the fishing cat and jungle cat, and the leopard cat, among others. The geographical scope of our investigation includes the Rong Tong block within the sanctuary. The dataset presented encompasses the avian species documented within the Rong Tong region during a comprehensive biodiversity survey conducted on the 9th and 10th of June in the year 2023. At the taxonomic level, each species has been identified and categorized at the species or genus level. The bird community encompasses a wide array of 72 species, each of which is methodically categorized into 32 families and 11 orders.