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Avian neighbours: density patterns of synanthropic birds along a rural–urban landscape gradient in Northern India

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Abstract

Unbiased and accurate estimation of bird density are prerequisites to monitor the impact of urbanization on avian communities. Synanthropic birds are reliable indicators of landscape modification in small tropical cities with rural–urban ecological settings. We conducted 183 fixed-width point counts to record avian communities along the rural–urban gradient in Mirzapur and Bhadohi. We applied hierarchical distance-sampling to estimate the summer density of 35 bird species across eight foraging guilds in response to vegetation, land cover, human activity and housing type, accounting for detection probability as a function of weather. Twenty-seven species (77%) showed differences in density across the landscape gradient. The density of frugivores was highest in urban gradient, a carnivore was highest in rural, and a scavenger was highest in the semi-urban gradient thereby supporting the resource concentration hypothesis. Insectivores, granivores and omnivores showed variable density patterns along the gradient. The relatively lower density of synanthropic birds in semi-urban and urban fringes indicates the need for enhanced green space and vegetation structure along intermediate landscape gradient. The habitat associations and population sizes of synanthropic birds are useful for landscape managers and local stakeholders to maximize avifaunal diversity in the intermediate landscapes of the rural–urban continuum in Uttar Pradesh.

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Data availability

Data is provided in the supplementary material.

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Acknowledgements

We extend our sincere thanks to the Director of Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History for his support throughout the study. We appreciate the efforts of Mr. Prabhat Kumar for his active participation during the field work. His support was instrumental in the successful completion of field data collection. This paper is a partial fulfilment of AG’s PhD in Environmental Sciences at Bharathiar University, Coimbatore.

Funding

This work was supported by the University Grants Commission (UGC), Govt. of India, New Delhi (NTA Ref. No.: 200510046214) to AG.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Ashutosh Singh and Riddhika Kalle have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Avian Physiology and Genetics, Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Anaikatty, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

    Anamika Gautam & Ashutosh Singh

  2. Division of Environmental Impact Assessment, Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Anaikatty, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

    Riddhika Kalle

  3. Centre for Functional Biodiversity, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

    Riddhika Kalle

Authors

  1. Anamika Gautam
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  2. Ashutosh Singh
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  3. Riddhika Kalle
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Contributions

AG: conceptualization, field survey design, field data collection, formal data analysis, visualization, first draft of the manuscript and several revisions of the manuscript. AS: writing—review and editing, feedback and critical comments on manuscript drafts. RK: methodological guidance, suggestions in data analysis and interpretation, framing research questions, manuscript review and editing; AS and RK: supervision, data analysis, critical comments on manuscript drafts, reviewing and revising the manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Ashutosh Singh or Riddhika Kalle.

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Gautam, A., Singh, A. & Kalle, R. Avian neighbours: density patterns of synanthropic birds along a rural–urban landscape gradient in Northern India.
Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-36510-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-36510-5

Keywords

  • Gradient ecology
  • Hierarchical distance sampling
  • Intermediate landscape
  • Point count surveys
  • Uttar Pradesh
  • Avian community
  • Rural–urban continuum

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