Sacred Groves as Refuges for Summer Migratory Birds: Diversity, Abundance, Conservation Status and Land Use/Land Cover Dynamics in the Mangar-Bani Forest, Aravalli Landscape, India

Birds are often the first to notice when an ecosystem is changing. Because they move quickly, eat specific foods, and need particular places to hide or build nests, their presence or absence tells a clear story about the health of the land around them. In India, where forests, grasslands, and cities often sit side by side, these feathered travelers act as living indicators of environmental stability. Some birds stay in one place year-round, while others make long journeys, arriving in the north during the summer to breed and then flying back south when the weather turns cold. These seasonal visitors rely on a chain of safe stopping points to rest and feed. If the places they stop are destroyed or altered, the entire journey can fail, threatening the survival of the species. Understanding where these birds go, what they eat, and how their habitats are changing is essential for keeping these ancient migration routes open.

In the northern part of the Aravalli mountain range, a small but significant forest known as Mangar-Bani serves as a critical refuge for these summer travelers. Located in the Faridabad district of Haryana, this forest is a patchwork of dry trees, open grass, rocky hills, and seasonal water pools. To understand how well this forest supports migratory birds, researchers from Kurukshetra University spent two years, from October 2023 to September 2025, walking through the woods to count and identify every bird they saw or heard. They did not just take a quick look; they followed a strict plan, walking five different paths through the forest every month for five days in a row, spending hours each day with binoculars and cameras in hand. This careful, repeated effort allowed them to build a complete picture of which birds visit, when they arrive, and how many of them are there.

The team recorded 1,167 sightings of birds belonging to 19 different species. These visitors came from four major groups of birds, with the largest group being the perching birds, which made up nearly half of all the species found. The most common type of bird they encountered was the insect-eater, a group that relies on the abundance of bugs found in the forest. One family of birds, the cuckoos, was particularly diverse, representing the largest share of the variety found in the area. The researchers found that the forest is most alive with these summer visitors in July, when the monsoon rains have brought a surge of insects and greenery. During this peak month, they saw all 19 species together, with 153 individual birds spotted in a single month. This timing suggests that the forest becomes a bustling hub of activity when the weather is wet and food is plentiful.

Not all the birds were equally common. The researchers found that some species, like the Eurasian Golden Oriole and the Pied Cuckoo, were seen frequently, appearing often enough to be considered abundant. Others, such as the White-eyed Buzzard and the European Roller, were much harder to find, appearing only a few times during the entire two-year study. Despite their rarity, these less common birds are important. The White-eyed Buzzard is protected under India's strict wildlife laws, and the European Roller is listed as a species of high concern for migration conservation across the globe. While most of the birds found in the forest are currently considered safe from extinction, the researchers noted that some populations are slowly declining, while others are stable. One bird, the Sirkeer Malkoha, was flagged as a high priority for conservation in India, highlighting that even in a protected area, some species need extra attention.

To understand why these birds are there and how their home is changing, the researchers also looked at the land itself. They used satellite images from 2017, 2020, 2023, and 2025 to map out the forest, the fields, the buildings, and the open ground. The maps told a story of two opposing forces. On one hand, the amount of green vegetation in the forest grew significantly, expanding from about 5 million square meters in 2017 to over 14 million square meters in 2025. This suggests that nature is recovering in some parts of the landscape, perhaps due to conservation efforts or natural regrowth. On the other hand, the area covered by buildings and human structures also grew, nearly doubling in size over the same period. This expansion of human development is pressing against the forest, replacing open land and agricultural fields with concrete and infrastructure.

The study concludes that Mangar-Bani is a vital seasonal home for migratory birds, offering a rich mix of habitats that support a diverse community of travelers. However, the future of this refuge depends on balancing the recovery of nature with the pressures of human growth. The increase in vegetation is a positive sign, but the rapid spread of buildings poses a threat to the open spaces and food sources these birds need. The researchers emphasize that protecting these birds requires more than just counting them; it requires managing the land carefully to ensure that the forest remains a connected, safe place for them to rest and breed. By monitoring the birds and the land together, conservationists can better understand how to keep these ancient migration routes alive in a changing world.