Bird species diversity in the padawan limestone area, sarawak.
Bird surveys were conducted in the Padawan Limestone Area for seven days at each of two study sites, Giam and Danu, from August to December 2008. The purpose of the study was to compare the area's bird species richness and abundance of bird species in other limestone areas and in other forest types. The study also compared the species richness and relative abundance of birds in undisturbed and disturbed areas at both study sites. Twenty mist nets were deployed for 12 hours daily. During this study period, direct observations of birds were also made. In all, 80 species from 34 families were recorded at both sites. At Giam, 120 birds were mist-netted. These birds represented 31 species from 16 families. The direct observations at Giam recorded 13 species from 11 families. In the undisturbed area, 21 species from 13 families were mist-netted, whereas in the disturbed area, 21 species from 10 families were mist-netted. In Danu, a total of 48 birds, representing 25 species from 12 families, were mist-netted. The observations at Danu recorded 34 species from 19 families. Twelve species from 7 families were mist-netted in the undisturbed area, whereas 18 species from 11 families were mist-netted in the disturbed area. Statistical analysis showed that the species diversity index differed significantly between undisturbed and disturbed areas.
Diversity of Limestone Orchids in Central and Northern Padawan, Kuching, Sarawak
Sarawak is situated in the north-west of Borneo, which is the largest state in Malaysia. Limestone hills and mountains are a natural landmark in parts of Sarawak and Padawan Formation is the largest outcrop in Sarawak. Padawan area is located at the south-west part of Kuching District and limestone hills are mostly of the wet type. The favourable climate and various forms of microhabitat strongly enhance the richness and diversity in the composition of limestone orchids in Padawan, especially rare and endemic species. Nonetheless, the Padawan orchid is poorly known due to the very few specific literature made and most of the documentations in field have not been published. This study is an attempt to document the orchid diversity in limestone areas not covered in the previous study by Phoon (2004). From this study, a total of 94 taxa in 36 genera from 4 subfamilies of orchids on 14 limestone hills and one riverbank from northern to central part of Padawan Limestone Area were recorded and botanized. A total of 25 taxa and one genus are new records for Padawan Formation. Out of these, eight taxa are new records for Sarawak and one taxon is a new record for Malaysia. Bulbophyllum reticulatum and Paphiopedilum stonei are endemic to Sarawak; whilst, B. longiflorum, B. reticulatum, Cleisostoma discolor, C. nieuwenhuisii, Dossinia marmorata, P. stonei, Phalaenopsis cochlearis, Trichoglottis winkleri var. minor and Vanda scandens are limestone endemic species. Discussions were based upon two main aspects: (i) floristic diversity significance, for analyzing species diversity and morphological diversity of Padawan orchids; and (ii) the geographical significance, for conferring the diversity patterns of Padawan limestone orchids distributed in different places and endemism. The Orchidaceae of Padawan principally comprised the Bornean element at the generic and species level given its geographical, geological, climatic and floristic proximity. Gunung Bekap, Gunung Mentawa and Gunung Timurang covered the most diverse amount of orchid species together with those rare and endangered species. Therefore, they have to be conserved broadly by implementing in situ conservation techniques.
The Macmillan Field Guide to Bird Identification
This pocket guide is designed to help readers distinguish between "confusion" birds - those birds that can be easily mistaken for another species. Over 200 birds are included, with photographs and illustrations comparing birds such as the willow warbler and the chiffchaff.