Wetland Flora of Shaheed Chandra Shekhar Azad Bird Sanctuary (SCSABS) - A Natural Resource for food and Breeding for Avian Fauna

The wetland flora of Shaheed Chandra Shekhar Azad Bird Sanctuary is the main food source for migratory as well as resident herbivorous birds. Twenty-eight plant species were identified to be eaten by twenty-two birds. These plants were the species of Azolla, Ceratophyllum, Chloris, Commelina, Cyperus, Echinochloa, Eichhornia, Eleocharis, Hydrilla, Ipomoea, Lemna, Ludwigia, Najas, Nelumbo, Neptunia, Nymphaea, Nymphoides, Oryza, Pistia, Polygonum, Potamogeton, Scirpus, Spirodela, Trapa, Typha, Vallisneria, and Wolffia, etc. Common flora consumer birds eating plant parts were Coot, Pochards, Teal, Wigeon, Gadwall, Garganey, Goose, Whistling-duck, Mallard, Pintail, and Shoveler etc. These are primarily the migratory birds except Coot and Whistling-duck. Spot-billed Duck and Indian Moorhen were occasionally seen eating submerged hydrophytes and filamentous slimy green algae. Information collected in the study could be used for habitat management, especially weed removal and ensuring food sustainability for vegetarian birds. The abundance of food resource plants in this sanctuary was pivotal in establishing co-existence between floral and faunal components and served as the driving force for bird ingression and the sustenance of the sanctuary as a whole.