Study on avifauna and species richness in Karanja-Sohol wildlife sanctuary, (MS) India

The present study was carried out during a bird race organized in Karanja-Sohol Wildlife sanctuary Karanja, district Washim Maharashtra, India. The objective of this study was to assess the avifauna of wildlife sanctuaries. Due to the geological and ecological complexity of the area, it has become imperative to conduct research on the region's avian diversity. It is challenging to conduct this assessment, as the wildlife sanctuary is divided into numerous patches by the state highway running through it. Sanctuary is surrounded by numerous villages and agricultural land, which creates human interference and livestock grazing. This checklist will serve as a baseline for further study, as there is no published checklist of this area. In the present investigation, we reported a total of 151 bird species during the exhaustive survey by the authors and accompanied volunteers during the census organized by the wildlife department. The observed species of birds belong to 55 families and 17 orders. They also recorded their residential and IUCN red data status.