Birds from Pu Luong Nature Reserve, Thanh Hoa Province, North Vietnam: an update on biodiversity and checklist

Combining use of various methods of bird study from line transect observations, birds capture and release by mist-nets, collection of specimens from local people and analysis of samples kept at Pu Luong Nature Reserve (NR) office throughout the time from 2015 to 2018 and inherit the results of previous studies, we provide an updated list of 252 species of bird belonging to 58 families and 15 orders from Pu Luong NR, Thanh Hoa Province, North Vietnam.. A total of 216 species of birds were recorded during four years. In which, 74 species are reported for the first time from this nature reserve, and 41 species are first records for the avifauna of Thanh Hoa Province. Additional, the data of distribution characters of avifauna in each study site are also provided. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (2019), five species were in the Near Threatened category and three species were in the vulnerable category. Compared to 6 other National Park (NP) and NR in the North Central Coast of Vietnam, the avifauna in Pu Luong NR is close to the avifauna in Pu Hu NR. There are 89 common bird species recorded in all 7 NP and NR, while there are 15 species recorded only in Pu Luong NR. Birds are considered as good bio-indicators of the degree of human disturbance to the forest ecosystem. Observing changes in bird community can assess the status of the forest in the future.