Rapid Documentation of Avifaunal Diversity of Mirik Lake, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India, 2017

The dataset “Rapid Documentation of Avifaunal Diversity of Mirik Lake, Darjeeling, West Bengal, India, 2017” is published by Nature Mates Nature Club.
Mirik lake is also known as Sumendu Lake, which is an artificial reservoir situated in Mirik Town. Its construction was initially proposed in 1974 as part of the Mirik Tourist Project with a goal of promoting facilitation of commercial tourism in the area.
This lake has been incorporated into the National Lake conservation programme, established by the Ministry of Environment and Forest, Government of India, further emphasizing its ecological importance.
The lake covers a total area of 16.19 ha with an approximate length of 1.25 km and a peripheral road spanning about 3.5 km . The arch type overbridge across the lake is about 24.38m in length.
Mirik experiences temperate climate, characterized by mild summers, cold winters and wet monsoons.
The east bank of the lake is flat landscape, while the west bank has a hilly slope covered by rich forest of Cryptomeria japonica. The lake is fed by both perennial streams and rainwater.
The dataset presented here is a comprehensive record of avian species observed during a field excursion at Mirik Lake.
All the birds have been categorized and identified upto species taxonomic rank. The avian taxonomic group exhibits remarkable diversity, consisting of 63 species that are further categorized into 32 families and 12 orders.
Notably, during the excursion , the elusive black-tailed crake was spotted, which is a rare find not typically observed in any other regions of India.

本数据集《2017年西孟加拉邦达拉杰林地区米尔湖鸟类多样性快速记录》由Nature Mates Nature Club发布。米尔湖亦称Sumendu湖，系米尔镇内一座人工水库。其建设初衷于1974年提出，作为米尔旅游项目的一部分，旨在促进该地区商业旅游的发展。该湖已被纳入由印度环境与森林部设立的国家级湖泊保护计划，进一步凸显了其生态价值。湖泊总面积约为16.19公顷，长度约1.25公里，周边道路长约3.5公里。跨越湖泊的拱形桥梁长度约为24.38米。米尔地区气候温和，夏季凉爽，冬季寒冷，雨季多雨。湖泊东岸为平坦地形，而西岸则是一侧有丰富Cryptomeria japonica森林的山区斜坡。湖泊水源来自常年溪流与雨水。本数据集详细记录了在米尔湖野外考察期间所观察到的鸟类种类。所有鸟类均按物种分类学等级进行分类和鉴定。鸟类分类学群体展现出显著的多样性，包含63种鸟类，进一步划分为32个科和12个目。值得注意的是，在考察期间，罕见的黑尾骨鹤被捕捉到，这在印度其他地区极为罕见。