Comparison of Avifaunal Composition in a Natural and a Regenerating Forest: towards using Birds as Ecological Indicators

Tropical forests have been extensively exploited and cleared for various reasons over the past years. Therefore, conservation emphasis has been given to protect natural forests and to assist regeneration of secondary forests. In the current study the composition and abundance of bird species in a natural forest (NF) and an adjacent regenerating forest (RF) in Maragamuwa, Naula in the Matale District were compared using a point count integrated line transect method. A clear variation was seen in the bird composition, diversity and evenness in both forest types and also during different time sessions of the day. In all the instances the values shown by the RF was greater than that of the NF and the species evenness showed high values for both forest types. The species composition showed no seasonal variation in NF throughout the study period while RF showed a seasonal variation. The endemicity of birds in the NF was higher than that of the RF. Hence, the current study shows that early successional forests support a rich bird diversity while the species richness of endemic bird species increases thereby enabling these measurements to be used as indicators in long term conservational practices