36 Diversity and Distribution of Avifauna at the Tropical Montane Cloud Forests of Horton Plains National Park P.H.S.P Chandrasiri, W.D.S.C. Dharmarathne and W.A.D Mahaulpatha* Department of Zoology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka Date Received: 2018-03-07 Date Accepted: 2018-04-08 Abstract Diversity and distribution of avifauna was studied at the tropical montane cloud forests of Horton Plains National Park, situated in the highland plateau of the Nuwara Eliya district from September 2015 to May 2016. Three main habitats were identified; cloud forest habitat, cloud forest die-back habitat and grassland habitat. Nine, 300 m line transects were marked in each of the habitats. Avifauna was recorded on three consecutive days of each month while travelling along these transects. Seventy eight species of birds were recorded during the study period. This included 66 resident species (with 13 endemic species) and 12 migratory species. The maximum value of the Shannon Wiener Index H' of 2.56 was recorded from the cloud forest habitat. In the cloud forest die-back habitat the H' was 2.49 and in the grassland habitat the H' was 2.31.The Jaccard similarity index, between cloud forest and cloud forest die-back was 0.58, and these two habitats had more common species. Cloud forest is the major habitat to be protected, with other habitats, in HPNP. Hence management of the HPNP should plan more actions to improve long term monitoring plans to warrant the protection of threatened species. Keywords: bird diversity and distribution, endemic birds, Horton Plains, tropical montane cloud forest 1. Introduction Sri Lanka is a tropical island in the Indian Ocean, at the southern point of the Indian sub-continent, with a main island and several small islands. Sri Lanka is one of the eight ‘Hottest Hotspots’ out of the 36 Biodiversity Hotspots in the world (Myers et al., 2000). Therefore, Sri Lanka is ranked among the highest in Asia, in terms of ‘biodiversity per unit area’ (MOE, 2012). Sri Lanka is rich with 453 avifaunal species recorded at present, including 240 species of breeding residents, of which 27 are endemics and six proposed endemics (Gunawardena and Weerakoon, 2012). The country is divided into six avifaunal zones, according to the distribution patterns of the resident bird species (Kotagama, 1993). These zones are northern or Indian zone, low country wet zone, mid-country wet zone, hill country wet zone, dry zone and uva zone. Hill country wet zone is one of them, which is rich and abundant with most of the endemic and threatened species (Kotagama, 1993, Harrison and Worfolk, 1999). *Correspondence: : mahaulpatha@sjp.ac.lk ISSN 2235-9370 Print / ISSN 2235-9362 Online © University of Sri Jayewardenepura mailto:mahaulpatha@sjp.ac.lk Daham DOI: 10.31357/jtfe.v8i1.3481 Chandrasiri et al. /Journal of Tropical Forestry and Environment Vol. 8, No. 01 (2018) 36-49 37 Furthermore, there are some threats to the avifauna in Sri Lanka. Because the forest area coverage in Sri Lanka in 2015 was 33.0%, and despite the value being recorded to be, so it is fast declining (World Bank, 2016). There is a difference in the vegetation of highland forests in Sri Lanka, above 1,500 m (Ashton et al., 1997). These forests have been classified as tropical montane cloud forests (WCMC, 1997). In Sri Lanka, Horton Plains, Hakgala Nature Reserve, Peak Wilderness Sanctuary and Knuckles are the main forests of this particular type. The Horton Plains National Park (HPNP) is a well-known place in Sri Lanka, as a saddle shaped highland plateau (Pethiyagoda, 2012) surrounded by tea and Eucalyptus plantations. There were previous studies carried out in the HPNP, as floral and faunal inventory (MfC, 1994), National Conservation Review (Green and Gunawardena, 1997) and Management Plan (DWC, 2005). Moreover, they have studied the avifaunal diversity on that studies. However, there were no recorded study after the Biodiversity Baseline Survey at HPNP which was conducted in 2007 by Department of Wildlife Conservation. The aim of this research to fill the research gaps of avifaunal studies in the HPNP. Therefore, this study was conducted to record the avifaunal diversity and to determine the population distribution of birds in different habitats in the HPNP. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1 Study area The study was conducted at the Horton Plains National Park (6°47′-6°50′N, 80°46′-80°50′E) in Nuwara Eliya District at the eastern extremity of the central highlands (Figure 1). The HPNP is a protected area under the Department of Wildlife Conservation. The elevation of HPNP is about 2,000 m from mean sea level. The area of the national park is 31.6 km². HPNP was divided into three main habitat types, according to different characteristics of vegetation by using the methods of Biodiversity Baseline Survey at Horton Plains National Park (DWC, 2007). These three habitats were cloud forest, cloud forest die-back and grasslands. The cloud forest was distributed within 1,236 ha (39.7% of total area) with an undisturbed old-growth forest which is low in height (15-20 m) and the canopy trees were characteristically gnarled and twisted, due to the lower temperatures and high winds. The cloud forest die-back was distributed within 956 ha (30.7% of total area). Larger area of the canopies in the cloud forest were dead, and therefore it was known as the cloud forest die-back. There were three types of habitats which were totally considered as grasslands. These habitats were dwarf bamboo, tussock grass and carpet grass (DWC, 2007). Grassland habitat was distributed in 806 ha (25.8% of the total area) of the national park. 2.2 Site selection Sampling areas were located by using 1:50 000 analogue maps and 1:10 000 digital topographical maps, of the Department of Survey. A global positioning system device (Garmin, eTrex® 10) was used to mark transects within habitats. Nine, 300 m line transacts with 20 m swath, were marked in the cloud forest, cloud forest die-back and grassland habitats. 38 Figure 1: Vegetation map of Horton Plains National Park (Source: DWC, 2007). 2.3 Data collection All the species of birds seen or heard within transect, were identified by using a 10x50 binocular (Nikon, Monarch) and recorded by using field guides of Harrison and Worfolk (1999). Identified bird species were classified according to the National Red List of 2012 (MOE, 2012) and the Revised Avifaunal List of Sri Lanka (Kaluthota and Kotagama, 2009) Population of the birds was recorded on three consecutive days of each month, from September 2015 to May 2016 by traveling along transacts, from 05.30 a.m. to 09.30 a.m. Finally, opportunistic data and incidental observations were used to supplement information (Sutherland et al., 2004). 2.4 Data analysis Relative abundance [(number of individuals per species/total number of individuals)x100%], Shannon Weiner Diversity Index H' was calculated using the equation 1. H'= -∑ (Pi ln Pi) (1) Where; Pi=the proportion of the total sample belonging to the i th species to measure the avifaunal diversity Chandrasiri et al. /Journal of Tropical Forestry and Environment Vol. 8, No. 01 (2018) 36-49 39 Significant differences between the monthly diversity indices were calculated using the t test. [t= (H'- H)/ (varH1 + var H2)1/2] (Magurran, 1988). Jaccard Similarity Index {SJ} was calculated between the habitat by using the equation 2. SJ=Sa / (Sa + Sb + Sc) (2) Where; Sa=number of species unique to the first habitat Sb=number of the species unique to the second habitat Sc=number of species common in both habitats Microsoft Excel™ was used to store data and further more calculations and illustrations of the figures. Minitab 17™ was used for statistical analysis of variance and t - test. 3. Results Although there were 31 species recorded in the first month, this value was increased to seventy eight by the ninth month. Furthermore, the cumulative number of the species was recorded as a plateau in the last five months (Figure 2). Therefore, it was determined that the sampling effort was adequate for final calculations and analysis. Seventy eight species within 33 families of birds were recorded during the study period (Table 1). This included 66 resident species (with 13 endemic species) and 12 migratory species. A total of 4,537 individuals belonging to 60 species were recorded in the cloud forest habitat. 1,870 individuals belonging to 45 species were recorded in the Cloud forest die-back habitat. Moreover 2,897 individuals that belong to 41 species were recorded in the grassland habitat. 31 53 61 64 72 73 76 77 78 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 S e p te m b e r O c to b e r N o v e m b e r D e c e m b e r Ja n u a ry F e b ru a ry M a rc h A p ri l M a y 2015 2016 N u m b e r o f b ir d s p e c ie s Figure 2: Cumulative number of bird species. 40 Table 1: Resident bird species and total number of species recorded during the study period. Scientific Name Common Name NCS GCS C D G Prior records Family: Phasianidae Coturnix chinensis Linnaeus,1766 Blue Quail EN LC 2 2 0 √ Gallus lafayetii Lesson, 1831 E Sri Lanka JungleFowl LC LC 144 49 87 √ Family: Picidae Dendrocopos nanus (Vigors,1832) Brown-Capped Woodpecker LC LC 1 0 0 √ Picus xanthopygaeus (Gray & Gray, 1846) Streak-Throated Woodpecker EN LC 3 0 0 - Chrysocolaptes lucidus (Scopoli, 1786) PE Greater Flameback LC 8 0 0 √ Family: Alcedinidae Alcedo atthis (Linnaeus,1758) Common Kingfisher LC LC 1 0 0 √ Family: Meropidae Merops philippinus Linnaeus,1766* Blue-Tailed Bee-Eater CR LC 0 0 16 √ Family: Cuculidae Cuculus varius Vahl, 1797 Common Hawk-Cuckoo EN LC 2 0 0 √ Centropus sinensis(Stephens, 1815) Greater Coucal LC LC 4 0 0 √ Cuculus micropterus Gould,1838 * Indian Cuckoo LC LC 2 0 0 √ Family: Apodidae Collocalia unicolor (Jerdon,1840) Indian Swiftlet LC LC 12 17 35 √ Hirundapus giganteus(Temminck, 1825) Brown-Backed Needletail NT 0 0 2 √ Cypsiurus balasiensis (Gray,1829) Asian Palm-Swift LC LC 951 189 782 √ Tachymarptis melba(Linnaeus, 1758) Alpine Swift EN LC 42 13 67 √ Family: Hemiprocnidae Hemiprocne coronata (Tickell,1833) Crested Treeswift LC 1 0 0 - Family: Columbidae Columba livia Gmelin, 1789 Rock Pigeon CR LC 0 2 17 √ Columba torringtoniae(Blyth & Kelaart, 1853)E Sri Lanka Wood- Pigeon VU VU 14 3 0 √ Stigmatopelia chinensis(Scopoli, 1786) Spotted Dove LC LC 0 0 1 - Chalcophaps indica(Linnaeus, 1758) Emerald Dove LC LC 1 0 0 √ Ducula aenea (Linnaeus,1766) Green Imperial-Pigeon LC LC 5 8 0 √ Family: Rallidae Rallina eurizonoides Lafresnaye, 1845* Slaty-Legged Crake CR LC 0 0 2 - Family: Charadriidae Vanellus indicus (Boddaert,1783) Red-Wattled Lapwing LC LC 0 0 24 √ Family: Accipitridae Pernis ptilorhyncus(Temminck, 1821) Oriental Honey- Buzzard NT LC 3 1 1 √ Haliastur indus (Boddaert,1783) Brahminy Kite LC LC 6 2 7 - Spilornis cheela (Latham,1790) Crested Serpent-Eagle LC LC 0 0 12 √ Accipiter badius (Gmelin,1788) Shikra LC LC 2 0 1 √ Ictinaetus malayensis (Temminck, 1822) Black Eagle NT LC 5 5 4 √ Spizaetus nipalensisHodgson, 1836 Mountain Hawk-Eagle VU 2 1 0 √ Family: Corvidae Corvus levaillantii Lesson,1831 Jungle Crow LC LC 142 48 144 √ Family: Campephagidae Pericrocotus flammeus(Forster, 1781) Scarlet Minivet LC LC 46 0 0 √ Hemipus picatus (Sykes,1832) Bar Winged Flycatcher Shrike LC LC 48 19 0 √ Family: Rhipiduridae Rhipidura aureola Lesson,1830 White-Browed Fantail LC LC 0 1 0 - Family: Turdidae Myophonus blighi(Holdsworth, 1872) E Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush EN EN 8 0 1 √ Turdus merula Linnaeus,1758 Eurasian Blackbird EN 46 4 31 √ Family: Muscicapidae Eumyias sordidus (Walden,1870) E Sri Lanka Dull Blue Flycatcher VU NT 104 60 2 √ Copsychus saularis(Linnaeus, 1758) Oriental Magpie Robin LC LC 0 0 4 √ Chandrasiri et al. /Journal of Tropical Forestry and Environment Vol. 8, No. 01 (2018) 36-49 41 Saxicola caprata (Linnaeus,1766) Pied Bush Chat EN LC 3 25 188 √ Culicicapa ceylonensis Swainson, 1820 Grey- Headed Canary- Flycatcher LC LC 37 0 0 √ Family: Sturnidae Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus,1766) Common Myna LC LC 5 2 34 √ Gracula ptilogenys Blyth, 1846E Sri Lanka Myna VU NT 2 0 0 √ Family: Sittidae Sitta frontalis Swainson, 1820 Velvet Fronted Nuthatch LC LC 120 10 0 √ Family: Paridae Pavus major Linnaeus, 1758 Great Tit LC 68 51 0 √ Family: Hirundinidae Hirundo domicola Jerdon,1844 Hill Swallow VU LC 564 173 819 √ Family: Pycnonotidae Pycnonotus cafer (Linnaeus,1766) Red-Vented Bulbul LC LC 0 9 4 √ Pycnonotus penicillatus Blyth, 1851E Sri Lanka Yellow-Eared Bulbul VU NT 602 445 0 √ Family: Cisticolidae Cisticola juncidis (Rafinesque,1810) Zitting Cisticola LC LC 13 2 84 √ Prinia socialis Sykes, 1832 Ashy Prinia LC LC 3 11 0 - Family: Zosteropidae Zosterops ceylonensis Holdsworth, 1872E Sri Lanka White Eye NT LC 797 447 16 √ Family: Sylviidae Bradypterus palliseri (Blyth,1851) E Sri Lanka Bush Warbler EN NT 25 23 0 √ Orthotomus sutorius(Pennant, 1769) Common Tailorbird LC LC 41 7 0 √ Family: Timaliidae Garrulax cinereifrons Blyth, 1851E Sri Lanka Ashy-Headed Laughingthrush EN VU 5 4 0 √ Pellorneum fuscocapillus(Blyth, 1849) E Sri Lanka Brown Capped Babbler LC LC 3 0 0 √ Pomatorhinus melanurus Blyth, 1847E Sri Lanka Scimitar Babbler LC LC 50 19 0 √ Dumetia hyperythra (Franklin,1831) Tawny-Bellied Babbler LC LC 1 1 0 - Rhopocichla atriceps (Jerdon,1839) Dark Fronted Babbler LC LC 86 51 0 √ Chrysomma sinense (Gmelin,1789) Yellow Eyed Babbler LC LC 1 0 0 - Turdoides rufescens (Blyth,1847) E Sri Lanka Orange Billed Babbler VU NT 17 0 0 √ Turdoides affinis (Jerdon, 1845) Yellow Billed Babbler; LC LC 2 9 2 √ Family: Dicaeidae Dicaeum erythrorhynchos(Latham, 1790) Pale Billed Flowerpecker LC LC 414 108 23 √ Family: Nectariniidae Nectarinia asiatica (Latham,1790) Purple Sunbird LC LC 4 4 0 √ Nectarinia lotenia (Linnaeus,1766) Long Billed Sunbird LC LC 24 8 11 √ Nectarinia zeylonica (Linnaeus, 1766) Purple Rumped Sunbird LC LC 4 3 0 √ Family: Motacillidae Anthus rufulus Vieillot, 1818 Paddyfield Pipit LC LC 0 7 105 √ Family: Estrildidae Lonchura striata (Linnaus,1766) White Rumped Munia LC LC 0 0 22 √ Lonchura punctulata(Linnaeus, 1758) Scaly Breasted Munia LC LC 0 2 55 √ Lonchura malacca (Linnaeus,1766) Tricoloured Munia LC LC 5 13 242 √ 42 Maximum number of individuals was the hills wallow followed by the Asian palm swift. The highest number of species was recorded from the Family Timaliidae (babblers). The most significant about these findings was that all the species of that family whereas present at Horton Plains National Park. Table 2: Migratory birds and vagrants species recorded during the study period. (* Only the breeding population has been considered in this assessment) Scientific Name Common Name NCS GCS C D G Prior Records Family: Muscicapidae Ficedula subrubra(Hartert & Steinbacher, 1934) Kashmir Flycatcher VU 4 0 0 √ Muscicapa dauurica Pallas, 1811 Asian Brown Flycatcher LC 0 4 0 √ Muscicapa muttui (Layard, 1854) Brown-Breasted Flycatcher LC 1 0 0 - Luscinia brunnea (Hodgson, 1837) Indian Blue Robin LC 1 0 0 √ Family: Laniidae Lanius cristatus Linnaeus, 1758 Brown Shrike LC 3 3 8 √ Family: Motacillidae Dendronanthus indicu s (Gmelin, 1789) Forest Wagtail LC 9 2 7 √ Motacilla flava Linnaeus, 1758 Yellow Wagtail LC 7 0 1 - Motacilla cinerea Tunstall, 1771 Grey Wagtail LC 12 8 25 √ Family: Hirundinidae Hirundo rustica Linnaeus, 1758 Barn Swallow LC 3 8 11 √ Riparia riparia (Linnaeus, 1758) Sand Martin LC 0 0 7 - Family: Laridae Chlidonias hybrida (Pallas, 1811) Whiskered Tern LC 0 0 1 - Family Scolopacidae Gallinago stenura (Bonaparte, 1830) Pintail Snipe LC 0 0 2 √ Abbreviations: C=Cloud Forest, D=Cloud Forest Die-back, E=Endemic species, G=Grassland, GCS=Global Conservation Status, NCS=National Conservation Status, PE=Possibly Endemic Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), Vulnerable (VU), Near Threatened (NT), Least Concern (LC) Out of the 12 species from the recorded migratory birds at HPNP, the highest number of species were recorded from Family Muscicapidae (Table 2). Moreover three species of wagtails were recorded. In addition aquatic birds; whiskered tern and pintail snipe were recorded. Of the 78 species that were included for this research there were ten species, which only one individual was recorded (Table 1 and 2). Lowland common species such as the Common Kingfisher and the Spotted Dove were recorded in the least numbers. A total of 19 species of birds that were believed to be nationally endangered, were recorded within the study period. Of them Blue-Tailed Bee-Eater, Rock Pigeon (taking into consideration only the wild population for this purpose) and Slaty-Legged Crake were in the CR (Critically Endangered) category. Besides Blue Quail, Streak-Throated Woodpecker, Common Hawk-Cuckoo, Alpine Swift, Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush, Eurasian Blackbird, Pied Bush Chat, Sri Lanka Bush Warbler and Sri Lanka Ashy- Headed Laughing thrush were in the EN (Endangered) category. Additionally, Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon, Mountain Hawk-Eagle, Sri Lanka Dull Blue Flycatcher, Sri Lanka Myna, Hill Swallow, Sri Lanka Yellow-Eared Bulbul and Sri Lanka Orange Billed Babbler were in the VU (Vulnerable) category. Chandrasiri et al. /Journal of Tropical Forestry and Environment Vol. 8, No. 01 (2018) 36-49 43 There were globally threatened species were recorded: Sri Lanka Whistling Thrush (EN), Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon (VU), Sri Lanka Ashy-headed Laughing thrush (VU) and the Kashmir Flycatcher (VU). There were eight new breeding resident species (Streak-throated Woodpecker, Crested Treeswift, Spotted Dove, Slaty-Legged Crake, Brahminy Kite, White-Browed Fantail, Ashy Prinia, Tawny-Bellied Babbler and Yellow-Eyed Babbler) and four migratory species (Brown-breasted Flycatcher, Yellow Wagtail, Sand Martin and Whiskered Tern) recorded for the first time in HPNP. Of the species of birds which were recorded from the fixed line transects, only 35 species were from the cloud forest while 26 species were from the cloud forest die-back and 23 species from the grassland. Therefore these species were only subjected to statistical analysis, while the other recorded species were treated as opportunistic observations. Table 3: Relative Abundance of cloud forest. Rank Species Relative Abundance % 1 Asian Palm Swift 20.96 2 Sri Lanka White-Eye 17.56 3 Sri Lanka Yellow-Eared Bulbul 13.26 4 Hill Swallow 12.43 5 Pale Billed Flowerpecker 9.12 6 Sri Lanka Junglefowl 3.17 7 Jungle Crow 3.12 8 Velvet-Fronted Nuthatch 2.64 9 Sri Lanka Dull-Blue Flycatcher 2.29 10 Dark-Fronted Babbler 1.89 11 Great Tit 1.49 12 Sri Lanka Scimitar Babbler 1.10 13 Bar-Winged Flycatcher-Shrike 1.05 14 Scarlet Minivet 1.02 15 Eurasian Blackbird 1.01 16 Alpine Swift 0.92 17 Common Tailorbird 0.90 18 Grey-Headed Canary Flycatcher 0.81 19 Sri Lanka Bush Warbler 0.55 20 Long-Billed Sunbird 0.52 21 Sri Lanka Orange-Billed Babbler 0.37 22 Sri Lanka Woodpigeon 0.30 23 Zitting Cisticola 0.28 24 Indian Swiftlet 0.26 25 Grey Wagtail 0.26 26 Forest Wagtail 0.19 27 Sri Lanka Whistling-Thrush 0.17 28 Greater Flameback 0.17 29 Yellow Wagtail 0.15 30 Brahminy Kite 0.13 31 Black Eagle 0.11 32 Sri Lanka Ashy-Headed Laughing Thrush 0.11 33 Common Myna 0.11 34 Black-Headed Munia 0.11 35 Green Imperial Pigeon 0.11 44 Table 4: Relative abundance of the cloud forest die-back. Rank Common Name Relative Abundance % 1 Sri Lanka White-Eye 23.90 2 Sri Lanka Yellow-Eared Bulbul 23.79 3 Asian Palm Swift 10.10 4 Hill Swallow 9.25 5 Pale-Billed Flower-Pecker 5.77 6 Sri Lanka Dull-Blue Flycatcher 3.20 7 Dark-Fronted Babbler 2.72 8 Great Tit 2.72 9 Sri Lanka Junglefowl 2.62 10 Jungle Crow 2.56 11 Pied Bushchat 1.33 12 Sri Lanka Bush Warbler 1.22 13 Bar-Winged Flycatcher-Shrike 1.01 14 Sri Lanka Scimitar Babbler 1.01 15 Indian Swiftlet 0.90 16 Black-Headed Munia 0.69 17 Alpine Swift 0.69 18 Velvet-Fronted Nuthatch 0.53 19 Yellow-Billed Babbler 0.48 20 Red-Vented Bulbul 0.48 21 Barn Swallow 0.42 22 Long-Billed Sunbird 0.42 23 Grey Wagtail 0.42 24 Green Imperial Pigeon 0.42 25 Paddyfield Pipit 0.37 26 Common Tailorbird 0.37 According to the relative abundance values in the cloud forest habitat (Table 3) the Asian Palm Swift was the most common bird (relative abundance=20.96% ) followed by the Sri Lanka White-Eye, the Sri Lanka Yellow-Eared Bulbul, the Hill Swallow and the Pale-Billed Flowerpecker. In the cloud forest die-back habitat (Table 4) the most common species was the Sri Lanka White-Eye (relative abundance=23.90%) followed by the Asian Palm Swift, the Black-Headed Munia, the Pied Bush Chat and the Jungle Crow. In the cloud forest die-back habitat (Table 5), the most common species was the Hill Swallow (relative abundance=28.2706) followed by the Asian Palm Swift, the Black-Headed Munia, the Pied Bush Chat and the Jungle Crow. Chandrasiri et al. /Journal of Tropical Forestry and Environment Vol. 8, No. 01 (2018) 36-49 45 Table 5: Relative abundance of grassland. Rank Common Name Relative Abundance % 1 Hill Swallow 28.27 2 Asian Palm Swift 26.99 3 Black-Headed Munia 8.35 4 Pied Bushchat 6.48 5 Jungle Crow 4.97 6 Paddyfield Pipit 3.62 7 Sri Lanka Junglefowl 3.01 8 Zitting Cisticola 2.89 9 Alpine Swift 2.31 10 Scaly-Breasted Munia 1.89 11 Indian Swiftlet 1.20 12 Common Myna 1.17 13 Eurasian Blackbird 1.07 14 Grey Wagtail 0.86 15 Red-Wattled Lapwing 0.82 16 Pale-Billed Flowerpecker 0.79 17 White-Rumped Munia 0.75 18 Rock Pigeon 0.58 19 Sri Lanka White-Eye 0.55 20 Blue Tailed Bee-Eater 0.55 21 Crested Serpent Eagle 0.41 22 Barn Swallow 0.37 23 Brown Shrike 0.27 From the total species taken into account in this study, 50 species of birds (Table 06) were observed opportunistically, while some rare species were also recorded in least numbers and a special feature being, the record of the Oriental Honey-Buzzard in all three habitats. 2.56 2.49 2.31 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Cloud Forest Cloud Forest Die-back Grassland Habitat Figure 3: Shannon Wiener Index of the main three Habitats of Horton Plains. 46 Table 6: Opportunistic data recorded at three habitats. Number Common Name Cloud forest Cloud forest die-back Grassland Total 1. Kashmir Flycatcher 4 - - 4 2. Greater Coucal 4 - - 4 3. Purple Sunbird 4 4 - 8 4. Purple Rumped Sunbird 4 3 - 7 5. Pied Bushchat 3 - - 3 6. Brown-Capped Babbler 3 - - 3 7. Oriental Honey-buzzard 3 1 1 5 8. Barn Swallow 3 - - 3 9. Ashy Prinia 3 1 - 4 10. Streaked-Throated Woodpecker 3 - - 3 11. Brown Shrike 3 3 - 6 12. Yellow-Billed Babbler 2 - 2 4 13. Sri Lanka Hill Myna 2 - - 2 14. Shikra 2 - 1 3 15. Indian Cucoo 2 - - 2 16. Mountain Hawk Eagle 2 1 - 3 17. Common Hawk Cucoo 2 - - 2 18. Blue-Breasted quail 2 - 2 4 19. Yellow-Eyed Babbler 1 - - 1 20. Indian Blue Robin 1 - - 1 21. Emerald Dove 1 - - 1 22. Brown-breasted Flycatcher 1 - - 1 23. Crested Treeswift 1 - - 1 24. Tawny Bellied Babbler 1 1 0 4 25. Common Kingfisher 1 - - 1 26. Brown-Capped Pygmy Woodpecker 1 - - 1 27. Black Eagle - 5 4 9 28. Eurasian Blackbird - 4 - 4 29. Sri Lanka Ashyheaded Laughing Thrush - 4 - 4 30. Asian Brown Flycatcher - 4 - 4 31. Sri Lanka Woodpigeon - 3 - 3 32. Scaly-Breasted Munia - 2 - 2 33. Forest Wagtail - 2 7 9 34. Rock Pigeon - 2 - 2 35. Common Myna - 2 - 2 36. Brahminy Kite - 2 7 9 37. Zitting Cisticola - 2 - 2 38. White-browed Fantail Flycatcher - 1 - 1 39. Sand Martin - - 7 7 40. Oriental Magpie Robbin - - 4 4 41. Red-vented Bulbul - - 4 4 42. Sri Lanka Dull-blue Flycatcher - - 2 2 43. Slaty-legged Crake - - 2 2 44. Brown-Breasted Needle-tail - - 2 2 45. Pintail Snipe - - 2 2 46. Yellow Wagtail - - 1 1 47. Sri Lanka Whistling thrush - - 1 1 48. Spotted Dove - - 1 1 49. Long-billed Sunbird - - 1 1 50. Whiskered Tern - - 1 1 Chandrasiri et al. /Journal of Tropical Forestry and Environment Vol. 8, No. 01 (2018) 36-49 47 Maximum Shannon Wiener Index (H') was recorded from cloud forest habitat (H'=2.56) while a minimum H' was recorded from grassland habitat (H'=2.31). Moreover after applying the t-test, in the cloud forest die-back habitat, the H' is 2.4 (Figure 3). Bird diversity differed significantly between the cloud forest die-back habitat and the grassland habitat (t=2.2587, df=3826) as well as between the cloud forest and grassland habitats (t=3.9484, df=6484).Bird diversity of the cloud forest did not differ significantly from the cloud forest die-back bird diversity (t=0.9325, df=3529). Table 7: Jaccard Similarity Index. Habitat Sa Sb Sc Sum Jaccard Index Cloud Forest; Cloud forest die-back 22 6 38 66 0.58 Cloud forest die-back; Grassland 17 14 27 58 0.47 Cloud Forest ;Grassland 24 15 26 65 0.40 Jaccard Similarity Index (Table 7) between the cloud forest and cloud forest die-back was at 0.58 and these habitats had more similar species. Moreover between the cloud forest die-back and the grasslands, the value was at 0.47 and minimum value, 0.40 was recorded between the cloud forest and the grasslands which had less similar species. 4. Discussion Though the Horton Plains National Park is relatively smaller than other National parks (DWC, 2007), this area is rich in avifaunal diversity with a large number of bird species (Total number of species=78). There are endemic bird species with high population, present within the HPNP. Within the study there were some bird species that were not recorded in any of the previous surveys. They consisted of resident breeders such as, the Streak-Throated Woodpecker, the Crested Tree Swift, the Spotted Dove, the Slaty- Legged Crake, the Brahminy Kite, the White-Browed Fantail, the Ashy Prinia, the Tawny-Bellied Babbler and the Yellow-Eyed Babbler. Moreover there were migratory species such as the Brown- Breasted Flycatcher, Yellow Wagtail, Sand Martin and the Whiskered Tern. In this study, percentage of the Sri Lankan breeding residents, 30.19% were recorded. Furthermore out of the endemic birds (27 considered endemic birds according to the National Red List: MOE, 2012) there were 48.15% were from Horton Plains National Park. Although the Rock Pigeon (Threatened category:CR) had recoded within the study, however, they were recorded near habitats which were disturbed by humans. Therefore, this pigeons should be feral pigeons (Columba livia intermedia) which were in LC category. In previous diversity studies done by floral and faunal inventory (MFC, 1994) they have mentioned 87 bird species with 14 endemic species. In addition National Conservation Review (Green and Gunawardena, 1997) has recorded 26 species with 5 endemic birds. Furthermore Management Plan (DWC, 2005) has mentioned 87 species with 14 endemics. Final study about the bird diversity done by the Department of Wildlife Conservation has recorded 64 species with 13 endemic birds (DWC, 2007). Out of the newly recorded species, though the Slaty-Legged Crake was previously not recorded from Horton Plains National Park. However they were appeared in Victoria Park of Nuwara Eliya (Pethiyagoda, 2012). On the contrary, common bird species within lowlands such as Spotted Dove and 48 Brahminy Kite were also observed by present study. Sand Martin was an irregular visitor (Vagrant) and a migratory species, recorded for the first time. There is a significant difference of diversity and distribution of birds, among three habitats. There were more common bird species recorded from the cloud forest and cloud forest die-back habitats. This may be because of there was only little distinction between these two habitats in terms of floristic characteristics (DWC, 2007). Habitat preference is highest in the cloud forest, according to the species richness (60) and species diversity (Shannon Wiener index=2.56). Cloud forest is the major habitat to be protected, with other habitats, in HPNP. Furthermore, in this study some previously recorded (MfC, 1994) bird species were not observed. Night birds such as, Spot-Bellied Eagle Owl (Bubo nipalensis, Hodgson, 1836), was not observed because this study was carried out only in the morning period. Moreover, some species such as the Black-Winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus, Desfontaines, 1789), Montagu's Harrier (Circus pygargus, Linnaeus, 1758), Crested Goshawk (Accipiter trivirgatus, Temminck, 1824), Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus, Gmelin, 1788) and Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus, Linnaeus, 1758) were not recorded because of the time limitation. In addition, endemic birds such as Sri Lanka Spurfowl (Galloperdix bicalcarata, Forster, 1781) and Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros gingalensis, Shaw, 1811) was not recorded in this study. However, the study is ongoing and the authors will publish their new findings in near future. 5. Conclusion Present study reveals about the diversity and population distribution of the bird species at the Horton Plains National Park. Hence management of the HPNP should plan more actions to improve further long term monitoring plans of avifauna to warrant the protection by minimizing threats. The HPNP is a protected area, however there are other plantations around this area. Therefore, it is important to encourage the surrounding plantations to improve resources by practicing environmental friendly performances, such as to develop mixed plantings of Eucalyptus with other native fast-growing species (Williams, 2015). Acknowledgement The authors wish to thank research grant of University of Sri Jayewardenepura (ASP/01/RE/SCI/2015/34), Department of Wildlife Conservation (Permit No WL/3/2/13/15), IDEA WILD organization, the staff of Horton Plains National Park, the research crew of Wildlife Circle, Department of Zoology University of Sri Jayewardenepura and the Department of English University of Sri Jayewardenepura. References Ashton, M.S., Gunatilleke, S., De Zoysa, N., Dassanayake, M.D., Gunatilleke, N. and Wijesundera, S., 1997. A field guide to the common trees and shrubs of Sri Lanka. Colombo, Sri Lanka: WHT Publications.430pp. DWC, 2005. Horton Plains National Park. Management Plan. Final Draft. Protected Areas Management and Wildlife Conservation Project, Department of Wildlife Conservation, Colombo. 91 pp. DWC, 2007.Biodiversity Baseline Survey: Horton Plains National Park. Department of Wildlife Conservation, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Colombo.40 pp. Chandrasiri et al. /Journal of Tropical Forestry and Environment Vol. 8, No. 01 (2018) 36-49 49 Green, M.J.B. and Gunawardena, E.R.N., 1997. Designing an optimum protected areas system for Sri Lanka's natural forests. 2 volumes. Environmental Management in Forestry Developments Project, Forest Department, Government of Sri Lanka, Colombo.399 pp. Gunawardena,K. and Weerakoon, D.K. 2012. The Taxonomy and Conservation Status of Birds in Sri Lanka. Ministry of Environment, Colombo, Sri Lanka.114- 117. Harrison, J. and Worfolk, T., 1999. A Field Guide to the Birds of Sri Lanka. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 219 pp. Kaluthota, C. D. and Kotagama, S.W., 2009. Revised Avifaunal List of Sri Lanka. Occasional Paper No.02.Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka 32pp. Kotagama, S. W., 1993. Wildlife conservation and development of the south east dry zone. In The South- east dry Zone of Sri Lanka. Colombo: Agrarian Research and Training Institute. Magurran, A. E., 1988. Ecological Diversity and its Measurement. Croom Helm Limited, London. 179 pp. MfC, 1994. Research in Horton Plains National Park, Sri Lanka. Final Report sumitted to Biodiversity Support Programme. March for Conservation, Colombo. 68 pp. MOE, 2012. The National Red List 2012 of Sri Lanka; Conservation Status of the Fauna and Flora. Ministry of Environment, Colombo, Sri Lanka. 476pp. Myers, N., Mittermeier, R.A., Mittermeier, C.G., Da Fonseca, G.A. and Kent, J., 2000. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature, 403. 853–858. Pethiyagoda, R., 2012. Horton Plains Sri Lanka’s Cloud-forest National Park, Wildlife Heritage Trust, Lake Crescent, Colombo 2, Sri Lanka. 320pp. Sutherland, W.J., Newton, I. and Green, R., 2004. Bird ecology and conservation: a handbook of techniques (No. 1). Oxford University Press. 408pp. WCMC, 1997. A Global Directory of Tropical Montane Cloud Forests .Aldrich, M., Billington, C, Edwards, M. and Laidlaw, R (Eds).World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, UK. 268pp. Williams, R.A., 2015. Mitigating biodiversity concerns in Eucalyptus plantations located in South China. Journal of Biosciences and Medicines, 3(06). 1-8. World Bank, 2016. Forest area (% of land area). Retrieved on (2016, March, 29) from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.FRST.ZS