Diversity and evenness of birds during seasonal paddy farming practices in southwestern Sarawak

Abstract

The influence of seasonal paddy farming activities on the paddy field environment and its composition of birds could be visually observed but has yet to be systematically studied and is still relatively understudied in Malaysian Borneo. Earlier research relied solely on point counts and the failure to use line transects or mist nets for data collection could have resulted in missing and biased findings. Thus, this study aims to evaluate species diversity and evenness of birds in different paddy stages in southwestern Sarawak and compare the data with the findings of previous studies conducted in the region. We obtained higher species richness than previous reports from similar habitats, with 2552 individuals recorded from 94 species of 43 families. Of these, 75.53% and 24.47% were terrestrial birds and waterbirds, respectively. Seven resident taxa are listed as “Near Threatened” or “Vulnerable” according to the 2016–2022 IUCN Red List. The families of Ardeidae and Nectariniidae were most abundant with eight and six species, respectively. The planting and land preparation stages accommodated more diverse and even bird communities in the paddy fields of southwestern Sarawak. Our findings suggest that temporary land-use changes do not necessarily alter paddy field bird diversity and assemblages. Small-patch paddy fields should not be overlooked because they offer additional foraging niches for water-dependent birds and opportunistic feeders, as well as serving as a refuge for migratory waterbirds and vulnerable residents considering their habitat heterogeneity and microhabitat transitions between paddy stages.