Tianmu Lake is an important habitat for birds in the largely hilly area of Liyang city, Jiangsu Province, in southeast China. To better conserve its diverse and species-rich avian fauna, the Tianmu Lake National Wetland Park was established in 2018. Since taxonomic information about the Park’s bird fauna was limited, we conducted field surveys of the site and recorded 199 bird species belonging to 17 orders in 52 families in the Park’s wetlands. Anatidae are the most species-rich family present, with 23 species represented. According to IUCN criteria, 6 of the species – the Chinese egret (Egretta eulophotes), swan goose (Anser cygnoides), white-naped crane (Grus vipio), band-bellied crake (Porzana paykullii), Saunders’s gull (Larus saundersi), and yellow-breasted bunting (Emberiza aureola) – are classified as endangered, and 29 species are listed in CITES Appendix II. Current knowledge suggests that human activities and the invasion of non-native species have severely threatened the biodiversity of the Park’s birds. To protect avifaunal diversity, we recommend some specific measures that should be adopted and enforced. We hope that this study will provide useful information for bird conservation in the hilly areas of southeast China.
Schlagworte: bird species, survey, Biodiversity, conservation, threats, Tianmu Lake, wetland