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Diversity and Abundance of Avian urban adapters in Peshawar City, Khyber

Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

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Pakistan J. Zool., vol. XX(0), pp 000-000, 2021. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.17582....................

Diversity and Abundance of Avian urban

adapters in Peshawar City, Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Mohammad Ismail1, Asif Sadam2*, Rahmat Ullah Khan3, Sajid Mahmood1,
Muhammad Awais4, Ijaz Khan5 and Karim Gabol3
1
Department of Zoology, Hazara University, Mansehra, 21300, Pakistan.
2
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Island, College of Life
Science, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, China.
3
Department of Zoology, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan-7520. Article Information

f
4
Department of Zoology, Islamia College University, Peshawar, Pakistan. Received: May 31, 2021
Revised: June 12, 2021
5
Department of Microbiology, Hazara University, Mansehra, Pakistan.

o
Accepted: July 26, 2021
Available online

r o
ABSTRACT Authors’ Contribution
................?

P
We conducted the study to explore local avian fauna and to compare its composition and diversity in
different sites of Peshawar city during August 2019 to July 2020. The diversity and density of bird species
were recorded using the point count method. A total of n=3427 birds were observed through binocular

d
and naked eyes from four selected sites of the study area. Thirty bird species, belonging to 10 orders, 21
families and 22 genera were identified including 22 species that were found resident, 6 migratory summer

e
breeders, one winter visitor and one altitudinal migrant. The house sparrow (Passer domesticus), the most

t
frequent species (12.02%), followed by house crow (Corvus splendens) (10.47%) and laughing dove

c
(Streptopelia senegalensis) (8.78%). The maximum abundance of avian urban adapters was recorded Key words
in the month of July (11.90%) while the lowest in September (4.87%). Average density of avian urban Urban birds, Density, Abundance,

e
City, Buildings
adapters per 150 m2 area was recorded higher in summer season (11.9) followed by autumn (9.8), spring

r
(9.2) and least in winter (8.5). Overall, all four selected sites showed similar (p>0.05) population density

r
of avian urban adapters in Peshawar city. The study concludes that avian species adapted themselves to
old and new buildings, bridges, roadside, old settlements, parks, ledges of tall concrete, stone buildings,

o
and paved areas of the city.

T
INTRODUCTION

n c explanations are rarely considered. Yet a loss of diversity

is also predicted by neutral models that assume that

U
he urbanization process is considered one of the most
important current threats to biodiversity (Shochat  et
al., 2006). Although there is ample evidence that
urbanization tends to reduce biodiversity, the underlying
causes remain unclear. The most widely held explanation is
that most organisms do not tolerate well the environmental
alterations associated with the urbanization process
(Croci et al., 2008; Mouillot et al., 2013). This explanation
is predicted by evolutionary theory because in general
organisms are not equally adapted to all habitats and the
carrying capacity of habitats can also vary. However,
current evidence for the varying tolerance to urbanization
is limited to the existence of certain ecological and life
history traits that characterize species occurring in urban
environments (Sol et al., 2013). Alternative non-adaptive
* Corresponding author: saddamasif2@gmail.com
0030-9923/2021/0004-0001 $ 9.00/0
Copyright 2021 Zoological Society of Pakistan
species are ecologically equivalent (Niemelä et al., 2011;
Wu, 2014). The insufficient attention to such alternative
explanations does not allow a firm conclusion that the
loss of biodiversity associated with urbanization is mainly
caused by the low tolerance of most species to human
altered environments, limiting our ability to forecast the
impact of urbanization on the biota of the Earth (Faeth et
al., 2005; Ripple et al., 2014).
These urban adapter birds are commonly found in old
and innovative buildings, due to having spaces, bridges,
roadsides, and old settlement’s cranks feed crushers and
in cultivated fields. Entirely these spaces change in shape,
form and condition that is why these factors bring proper
habitat for the birds (Angold et al., 2001; Garden et al.,
2006). Similarly, worldwide in bigger cities the pigeon
was enhanced, due to the availability of variety of food,
normally due to nourishing by pigeon supporters, nutrition
discard by humans, unintentional food spilling, and
seasonally arising natural nutrition (Haag, 1995; Pimentel
2 M. Ismail et al.

et al., 2005; Sol et al., 2013).
The decline of bird population is directly associated
with the variation in the structure of environments
(Rawat and Rao, 2020). This novel environment presents
wildlife with novel challenges, in particular, a loss of
natural resources (e.g., habitat and food) and elevated
anthropogenic disturbance levels (e.g., pedestrian traffic,
vehicular traffic and industrial noise) (Fernandez-
Juricic and Telleria, 2000; Evans et al., 2009; Russo and
Ancillotto, 2015). It is well documented that urbanization
leads to an overall loss of biodiversity (so called ‘biotic
homogenization’ sensu McKinney and Lockwood, 1999;
McKinney, 2006). Numerous species, however, seem to
236 millimeter (mm). While the highest summer rainfall
of 402 millimeters was recorded. The city has sparkling
environment, old buildings and several vegetation types
that act as site that give home to species. The city structures
include the buildings, farmlands, urban parks, bridges, and
hospitals. There is no information about urban birds and
their diversity in Peshawar city however the richness of
these urban birds is expected to increase rapidly in the
city due to the availability of many old buildings and the
anthropogenic wastes (Rao and Koli, 2017).

f
prosper in urban environments and occur in high numbers.

o
Such animals are often described as urban ‘adapters’ or
‘exploiters’ (McKinney, 2006). To date, research in urban

o
ecology has tended to focus on resource-based limitations

r
on wildlife inhabiting urban environments (Hassel et al.,

P
2017).
In Pakistan 660 bird species have been reported

d
and the bird fauna comprises of Palaeactic, Oriental and
Ethiopian regions (Roberts, 1991; Courtney et al., 2004).

e
To ooze outfrom severe winter an enormous number of

t
birds migrate from Europe and central Asian countries to

c
the Ramsar sites and Wetlands of Pakistan. The birds reach

e
Pakistan flying above Karakorum Range, Suleiman Range

r
and Hindu Kush Mountains mainly along the Indus River.

r
Geese, waders, cranes, swans, ducks, flamingos, and Fig. 1. Map of the study area.

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falcons are important migratory birds of Pakistan (Rais et
al., 2010; Altaf et al., 2013; Pathan et al., 2014). Study sites

c
Eventually urbanization is unavoidable at given The study area (Peshawar city) was divided into

n
moment and time but city planners could improve urban four main sampling sites; the selected sites contained the
diversity by creating green areas such as urban parks. We potential sites of urban adapters. These sites included:

U
studied the local avian fauna of Peshawar city, as it has
been neglected for years and to identify the abundance and
diversity of bird communities colonizing the man-made
structures in the vicinity of Peshawar city.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study area
The research work was carried out in Peshawar city,
located in the wide valley, surrounded by four districts;
Kohat, Charsadda, Khyber agency and Nowshera (Fig.
1). The total area of Peshawar City is 125 km² and is
positioned at (latitudes 34°0150° N. longitudes 71°.
5805°E). It features a warm semi-arid weather, long
summers and short, cool winters. The winter season starts
from mid-November to the end of March and summer
starts from May to September (Bahadur et al., 2020). The
mean temperature in summer ranges from 25°C to over
40°C.The highest amount of winter rainfall, measuring
Site 1: The area is well paved and densely populated
with scant vegetation (34°01´306”E, 071°57´716”N). For
data collection four locations in this site were Shahibagh,
Faqeerabad, Hashtnagari, and Sikandar Pura.
Site 2: The area is located next to site 1 and has
similar level of urban development as the former one
(34°01´151”E, 071°58´630”N). The data were collected
from Gulbahar, Nishtarabad, Tehsil Park, and Ghantaghar.
Site 3: The area is well-developed and has more
buildings and paved road structure than the former two
sites (34°01´006”E, 071°56´761”N). The number of family
houses is also increased in this site. Data were collected
from Qilabala-e-hisar, Jinnah Park and Bacha khan Chock.
Site 4: The area is more crowded with well-established
pavement cover (34°00´631”E, 071°57´873”N). The site
has a well-developed vegetation structure compared to
former three sites. Data were collected from Ganga Bazar,
Lahori Gate, Yakkatoot Bazar, and Kohate Gate.
3 Diversity of Avian Urban Adapters in Peshawar City
Methodology
For field surveys point count method was used
(Buckland, 2006). All the four selected sampling sites
were visited fortnightly from August 2019 to July 2020.
In the morning starting from sunrise up to two hours,
and in the evening time between 3:30 and 5:30 pm for
the collection of data when the birds are usually most
active. About 48 points (12 counts in each site) were
established at the selected sites and an onward distance
of approximately 150 m2 was maintained between all
sampling positions. Every point was observed and listened
for bird’s calls for 5 minutes. All the birds that were
observed visually or detected through calls within the 50
m2 of the observer were counted. Photographic evidence
by DSLR cameras and photographic field guides were
used to confirm the observations (Grimmett et al., 2008).
Detailed observations were recorded with the binoculars
(Celestron Nature DX 8×42 mm). Locations were recorded
with the help of Global Positioning System (Garmin
eTrex 10 handheld GPS device: 0100097000 etrex 10).
The common and scientific names of the recorded birds
having characteristics i.e. singing, feathers, fecal materials
and figures together from local inhabitants, hunters and
t
game watchers of the area delivered best confirmations for
c
defining its status (Awan et al., 2012). We used the field
e
guides of Birds of Pakistan for identification (Mirza, 2007;
r
Grimmett et al., 2008).
r
Statistical analysis
c o
Species diversity was calculated by using Shannon
Weiner diversity index (Magurran. 1988). Species richness
n
was defined as the total number of species recorded at each
site. Bird density was calculated employing the following
U
formula:
D=Σ n / 2LW
where D, density; Σ, sum; n, total number of detected
individuals; L, length of increment in each habitat; W,
width of increment.
One-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) was used
for statistical significance of mean bird densities recorded
at all point count stations among four existing sites. The
probability value of (p < 0.05) was set as statistically
significant. The relative abundance of each bird species
based on monthly data was obtained by using the following
formulae:
Relative abundance % = Isi/ Σ Nsi × 100
where, Isi is total number of individual species; Σ Nsi,
total number of species population.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A total of 30 bird species belonging to 21 families
3
and 10 orders were recorded throughout study area based
on systematic identification. The most common species
of avian adapters belonged to Order Passeriformes,
representing 47.61% of families (n=10) and 43.33% of
species (n=13). Families representing leading number
of species included Columbidae (n=5), Ardeidae (n=2),
Accipitridae (n=2), Dicruridae (n=2), Pycnonotidae (n=2)
and Sturnidae (n=2). Of 30 species recorded, 22 were
year-round resident, 6 were summer breeders and one was
winter visitor and altitudinal migrant (Table I).
Diversity and variation in bird densities
The average densities of all bird species varied up to
f
some extent across the four selected sites. All the species
recorded at all sites except Asian koel, white throated
o
kingfisher, eurasian collared dove, ashy drongo, Tickell’s
o
thrush and white-eared bulbul which were sampled only at
r
site 1 (Table II). At site 1 the highest density was recorded
for house crow whereas the lowest density was documented
P
for Indian pond heron. The mean density of brahminy kite
was relatively higher (0.52) at site 4. The mean density of
d
green bee-eater declined from site 1 to site 4. Rose-ringed
e
parakeet showed relatively higher density at site1 (1.29)
followed by site 2 (0.61), site 3 (0.63) and site 4 (0.39).
Similarly, the mean density of laughing dove was recorded
higher at site1 (8.15) than site 4 (6.73), site 3 (4.63) and
site 2 (4.65) (Table II). Despite no difference in the level
of urbanization from site 1 to site 4 some of the species
were dropped out. Overall 30 species were analyzed by
one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) in which only 10
species showed significant results (P<0.05) in distribution
among habitats (Table II). The site 1 showed the highest
species richness (n=30) VPi 2.99 followed by site 2 (n=24)
VPi 2.08, site 3 (n=23) VPi 1.87 while the lowest species
richness was recorded at site 4 (n=22) VPi 1.53.
Month-wise avian abundance
A total of 3427 bird individuals of 30 species
were recorded at all sites of Peshawar city. Maximum
population of birds was recorded in the month of July
(11.90%), followed by August (9.86%) and June, (9.74%),
whereas minimum population were documented in
February (7.09%), May (7.06%) and September (4.78%),
respectively. House sparrow was the most common species
(12.02%) in the study sites, followed by house crow
(10.47%) and laughing dove (8.78%) (Supplementary
Table I).
Seasonal variation in avian populations
Based on mean population density per 150 m2,
summer season showed maximum bird density (11.9)
followed by autumn (9.8), spring (9.2) and winter (8.5).
4 M. Ismail et al.

Table I. Bird species and their general status observed Table II. Population densities of various avian adapters
in Peshawar city. at Peshawar City.

Order/ Family Common name (Scientific name ) Status* Bird names Site 1 Site 2 Site 3 Site 4 P
Ciconiiformes Brahminy kite 0.39 0.28 0.24 0.52 **
Ardeidae Cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) R
Common hoopoe 2.63 0.85 0.83 0.45 *
Indian pond heron (Ardeola grayii) R
White-throated kingfisher 0.21 0 0 0 NS
Gruiformes
Common kingfisher 0.47 0.23 0.21 0.37 NS
Rellidae Watercock (Gallicrexcinera) R
Asian koel 0.44 0 0 0 **
Accipitriformes
Accipitridae Black kite (Milvis migrans) R Green bee-eater 0.87 0.48 0.47 0.31 *
Brahminy kite (Halias turindus) R Rose-ringed parakeet 1.29 0.61 0.63 0.39 *

f
Passeriformes Rock pigeon 5.47 6.71 6.71 2.82 NS
Dicruridae Ashy drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus) SB

o
Hill pigeon 3.87 7.50 7.51 4.91 NS
Black drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus) SB

o
Laughing dove 8.15 4.65 4.63 6.73 **
Pycnonotidae Red-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer R

r
humayuni) Red collared dove 5.0 0.79 0.72 1.0 **

P
White-eared bulbul (Pycnonotus leucotis) R Eurasian collared dove 2.46 0 0 0 NS
Cistocolidae Striated prinia (Prinia crinigera) AM Black kite 7.27 4.75 4.74 2.52 NS

d
Sturnidae Common myna (Acridotheres tristis) R Cattle egret 0.57 0.24 0.23 0.37 NS

e
Bank myna (Acridotheres ginginianus) R
Long-tail shrike 1.63 0.59 0.57 0.36 NS

t
Passeridae House sparrow (Passer domesticus) R
House crow 8.35 6.55 6.12 6.43 NS

c
Hirundindae Asian house martin (Delichon dasypus) R
Laniidae Long-tail Shrike (Lanius schach eryth- R Black drongo 1.62 0.49 0.42 0.32 NS

re
ronotus) Ashy drongo 1.49 0 0 0 NS
Motacillidae White wagtail (Motacilla alba dukhuen- WV

r
Tickell’s thrush 0.56 0 0 0 ***
sis)

o
Turdidae Tickell’s thrush (Turdus unicolar) SB Common myna 7.34 3.87 3.82 6.21 NS
Bank myna 7.37 9.73 9.0 0.52 NS

c
Corvidae House crow (Corvus splendens) R
Columbiformes Red-vented bulbul 3.38 0.89 0 0.82 NS

n
Columbidae Hill pigeon (Columba rupestris) R White-eared bulbul 0.75 0 0 0 **

U
Rock pigeon (Columba livia) R
Striated prinia 0.97 0.37 0.38 0 *
E. Collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto) R
House sparrow 7.57 7.65 7.63 10.34 NS
Red collared dove (S.tranquebarica) SB
Laughing dove (S. senegalensis) R White wagtail 6.35 0.58 0.52 0.72 NS
Coraciiformes Indian pond heron 0.38 0.35 0.36 0.31 NS
Alcedinidae W. T. kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) R Watercock 0.59 0.56 0.54 0 NS
Alcedinidae Common kingfisher (Alcedoatthis) R
House swift 4.27 1.88 1.87 3.50 NS
Meropidae Green bee-eater (Merops orientalis) R
Bucerotiformes Asian house martin 5.23 4.60 4.61 8.35 NS
*ANOVA results: NS, non-significant (p>0.05); significant (*) p<0.05,
Upupidae Common hoopoe (Upupa epops) R
(**) p< 0.01, (***) p<0.001.
Psittaciformes
Psittacidae Rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula R In autumn season brahminy kite (0.43), common hoopoe
krameri)
(0.81), common kingfisher (0.2), and green bee-eater
Cuculiformes (0.23) were recorded in higher densities. White-throated
Cuculidae Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus) SB kingfisher, Asian koel and Tickell’s trush were the only
Apod­i­formes species recorded in summer season. Additionally, green
Apodidae Common swift (Apus apus) SB bee-eaterwas not found in summer season. Furthermore,
*LC, Least Concern; R, Resident; WV, winter visitor; SB, summer population of bank myna was higher in autumn (7.7) but
breeder; AM, Altitudinal migrants. this figure gradually declined to 6.1 in summer. Overall the
5 Diversity of Avian Urban Adapters in Peshawar City
highest population density was recorded for Asian house
martin (11.9) followed by house sparrow (10.7) in summer
season (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2. The Seasonal variation in mean population densities
of avian urban adaptors at Peshawar City.
DISCUSSION
The Peshawar city area is semi-arid region,
t
dense population, admixture of old and new buildings
c
which provided best protective sites, food, shelter, and
e
comfortable environmental conditions for the adaptation
r
of avian fauna. Thirty different species of birds belonging
r
to 21 families, 10 orders and 22 genera were recorded
with well settled and propagating situation in various
o
landscapes of the building texture of the city. Out of
c
total recorded species, twenty species were resident, six
n
migratory summer breeders, one winter visitor and one
altitudinal migrant (Table I).
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In the urban ecosystem parks play a very important
role for the adaptation of avian species because parks
provide heterogeneous green spaces, which become the
suitable habitat, provide food and shelter; Shwartz et al.
(2008) reported the similar population of urban adapters
from urban parks. Similarly, in the current study site 1
contain parks (Shahibagh); site 2 (Tehsil Park) and site 3
(Jinnah Park) where a uniform avian adapters population
was recorded, confirming that urban parks add a great
value in sustaining the diversity of birds in Peshawar city.
Despite the same level of urbanization the richness of
species declined from site 1 to site 4. This shift in species
densities may be due to scattered anthropogenic food in site
1 which was the main reason of attraction for the species
feeding on such resources. In Peshawar city the avian
species mostly fed on garbage and human refuse that was
available throughout the site 1 e.g., common myna, bank
myna and crow were seen visiting human refuse daily. It
helps urban bird species to tolerate the harsh winter season.
5
Anthropogenic food can alter the diet of urban bird species
(Stofberg et al., 2019; Soh et al., 2021). Diet analysis of
Australian silver gull Larus novaehollandiae (an urban
adapter) revealed that their stomach contents contained
85% human discards, supporting previous studies about
the ability of gulls to exploit anthropogenic foods. About
38% of energy utilized per hour by suburban Florida scrub
jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) was composed of peanuts
and anthropogenic foods (Shik and Dussutour, 2020).
Likewise, about 15% food delivered to the nestlings of
blue tits and great tits in a suburban area was composed
of anthropogenic foods. Thus, urban adapters utilizing
anthropogenic foods derive extra energy and tolerate harsh
f
urban environment compared to their rural counterparts
that are unable to adapt to anthropogenic foods in highly
o
urban centers (Coogan et al., 2018; Pagani‐Núñez et al.,
o
2019).
r
This high diversity and bird populations at site 1 in
Peshawar city, could be due to good food, vegetation,
P
shelter, and low human disturbance. Urbanization leads to
changes in habitat of the bird species (Callaghan et al., 2020;
d
Kurnia et al., 2021). Commercial buildings constructed
e
with exposed beams and shelves help the urban birds to
construct their nests (Chen et al., 2011; Pecl et al., 2017).
The diversity of birds and their distribution to the available
habitat in Peshawar city shows the importance of Peshawar
city premises as an ideal habitat for the adaptation of birds
in urban conditions of admixture of old and new buildings
in the city. For efficient management and conservation of
urban avian diversity, a comprehensive study on ecology
and life history of the urban birds is required.
CONCLUSIONS
A total of 30 avian species comprising of 3427
individuals were recorded in this study. Thirty species
of avian urban adapters were identified from all sites of
Peshawar City. However, the avian diversity may be
more than what has been listed during this effort because
only a fraction of the area was scanned during the study.
More efforts are required at government level and by
the conservation organizations for the conservation and
management of avian diversity. It is expected that our
findings will provide basic information regarding avian
communities in the Peshawar city for upcoming studies
on urban birds.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We gratefully acknowledge the efforts and assistance
of the Department of Zoology, Hazara University,
Mansehra to support and approve this research work.
6 M. Ismail et al.
Supplementary material
There is supplementary material associated with
this article. Access the material online at: http://dx.doi.
org/10.17582/journal.pjz/2021.51...........
Statement of conflict of interest
The authors have declared no conflict of interest.
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