Exploring the Avian Diversity of Chakesar Valley, Shangla, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

The avian fauna of Chakesar Valley, Shangla, was explored from March 2019 to March 2022. The result yielded a total of 38 bird species belonging to 20 families under the orders Passeriformes, Columbiformes, Coraciiformes, and Accipitriformes. Order Passeriformes, representing 34 species in 17 families, are Acridotheres tristis (L), A. fuscus (Wagler), Sturnia pagodarum (Gmelin), Passer domesticus, P. montanus (L), Pycnonotus leucogenys (L), P. cafer (Grey), and Hypsipetes leucocephalus (Gmelin). Phylloscopus xanthoschist (Grey & Grey), Phylloscopus sp., Terpsiphone paradisi (L.), Motacilla cinerea (Tunstall), M. alba (L.), Oriolus kundoo (Sykes), Emberiza lathami (Grey),Phoenicurus fuliginous (Vigors), P. leucocephalus (Vigors), Copsychus saularis (L.), Eumyias thalassinus (Swainson), Saxicola maurus (Pallas), Saxicola caprata (Linnaeus), Hirundo rustica (L.), Cecropis daurica (Laxmann), Hirundo smithii (Leach), Dicrurus macrocercus (Vieillot), Corvus splendens (Vieillot), C. macrorhynchos (Wagler), Dendrocitta vagabunda (Latham), Parus cinereus (Vieillot), Lanius schach (L.), Chloris spinoides (Vigors), Prinia crinigera (Hodgson), and Lonchura punctulate (L.) Two species, Halcyon smyrnensis (L.) and Alcedo atthis (L.), represented the order Coraciiformes, while Spilopelia senegalensis (L.) and Gyps himalayensis (Hume) represented the orders Columbiformes and Accipitriformes, respectively. Emberiza lathami was rarely sighted. All reported species are new for the area. These preliminary findings will be valuable for further research in the area.