Avian Community Structure Characteristics in Typical Areas of Central Yunnan Mounainous Region

The study area was the Xundian Black-necked Crane Provincial Nature Reserve in the central Yunnan region. From January 2021 to February 2022, a point count method was employed to investigate the structural characteristics of bird communities. The Xundian Nature Reserve has a high level of bird diversity, with a total of 115 bird species recorded during the survey, belonging to 14 orders and 41 families, including 11 species of national key protected birds such as the Black-necked Crane Grus nigricollis, Eastern Buzzard Buteo japonicus, and Merlin Falco columbarius. In terms of abundance, the Black-headed Goldfinch Chloris ambigua(30.4%) and the Oriental Skylark Alauda gulgula(10.8%) were dominant species; in terms of residency types, residents were the mainstay, accounting for 62% of the total recorded species. The nature reserve has a distinct seasonal characteristic, with the highest bird richness in spring(97.11 ± 12.83), followed by autumn(77.89 ± 3.37), winter(75.11 ± 4.69), and summer(67.07 ± 2.54). 3) There is a significant difference in bird diversity among habitats, with the highest number of species in coniferous forests(68 species), followed by villages and farmlands(both with 63 species), and the fewest in meadows(19 species). In terms of altitude gradients, bird diversity generally exhibits a monotonically decreasing vertical distribution pattern. Despite significant degradation, the central Yunnan mountainous region retains high conservation value for avian biodiversity.