Abstract Though rivers are not the great place for bird watch, specially for migratory birds, still the river Jalangi is different from other rivers of West Bengal with respect to avian diversity. The present article deals with the avian diversity and seasonal avifaunal abundance at the Jalangi river within Nadia district (WB) during April 2014 to March 2015, in which more than fourty five species of birds belonging to different families were recorded. Maximum species were sighted during winter season, some birds were found to be migratory, some birds were residential migratory and some other resident. Variation in food availability in different seasons affects on avifaunal diversity in study area and the variation of food availability is controlled from behind by the factors like rate of photosynthesis within river, soil fertility, physicochemical parameters, ion concentrations of river water etc. The avifauna is important for the ecosystem as they play various roles as scavenger, pollinators and predators of insect and pest.
Keywords: Birds; Jalangi; Diversity.