Preliminary Report on Avifaunal Diversity of Brgy. Sto. Niño, Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat

Preliminary assessment on avifaunal diversity of Barangay Santo Niño, Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat was conducted on November 28-30, 2009 in four transects for a total of twelve hours. Birds were identified visually using field guides and bioacoustic cues. A total of 333 individuals were documented, resolved into 34 bird species and 22 families. The most abundant birds were Collocalia troglodytes, Dicaeum australe, Pycnonotus goiavier, Lonchura malacca, Phapitreron leucotis at 14.1%, 13.8%, 7.8%, 7.5%, and 6.9% relative density, respectively, dominated by Columbidae, Psittacidae, Pycnonotidae, and Turnidae. Simpson's diversity was high at transect II (0.94) and low at transect III (0.88). Based on IUCN criteria, two species were considered Near Threatened the Blue-naped Parrot T. lucionensis and Pink-bellied Imperial Pegion D. poliocephala. This study recommends additional surveys in other areas not covered by this study, that local conservation campaign must be conducted to protect species identified as "near-threatened", and that understanding distribution of these species is critical to locating areas for conservation purposes.