Avifaunal Assemblages of Jhanjimuk-Kokilamukh IBA Complex of Jorhat Assam India-A Potential Ramsar Site of Assam

Wetlands outside protected area are under tremendous anthropogenic pressure such as agriculture expansion, alteration of wetlands and grasslands to farm lands etc. The present study was carried out to understand the avian species composition of Jhanjimukh-Kokilamukh Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) of Jorhat District, Assam, India. The study was carried out from February, 2016 to April, 2018, which revealed the presence of 205 species of birds belonging to 62 families and 142 genera. Out of 205 avian species, 70 species were migratory and 136 were residential. A total of 26 globally (IUCN) threatened birds species were recorded in the study area. The study also recorded range extensions of two wader species in Northeast India. The IBA site also act as refueling site for many regular and passage migrants as it is situated in a strategic location of the major migratory routes of East-Asia Flyways. Thus, it is an urgent need to protect the IBA site not only for the conservation of resident birds but also for the waterbirds of entire East-Asian Flyways