Journal Article

2019

Suhel QuaderShivaprakash A. Sheshgiri B. R. Mysore Nature Team
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Mysuru City Bird Atlas (2014–2016): A systematic study of birds across space and time

The Mysuru City Bird Atlas is an ambitious volunteer project to map the birds of an entire city – the first systematic effort of its kind in India. Mysuru city was gridded into a set of square cells, and each cell was surveyed for birds in the winters and summers of 2014, 2015, and 2016. The goal of this effort was to assess the distribution and abundance of birds in Mysuru such that the accumulated information could be used to assess seasonal changes in avifauna, as well as to examine the relationship between birds and their habitat in an urban setting. Below, we present selected outcomes, including maps, as well as raw comparisons of abundance across the two seasons and the three years of the surveys. Some of the results recapture broadly understood phenomena, such as long-distance migration resulting in seasonal differences in bird communities and species richness. Other results are suggestive of previously undescribed patterns, such as seasonal local movements. Further learnings from the project include areas of improvement in Atlas design and the identification of more sophisticated approaches to data analysis. Taken as a whole, the information generated through the Mysuru City Bird Atlas can be used as a baseline against which long-term change in avifauna could be assessed.