An account of ornamental bird status and species assemblage in the bird shop of Rajshahi City Corporation, Bangladesh

Abstract

The business and rearing of ornamental birds have become an important source of income in Bangladesh. The present study was conducted to determine the management and profitability of the ornamental birds, and species assemblage of the cage bird business in Rajshahi City, Bangladesh. Around 30 ornamental bird shops were found to be working with new promise in this region. It was found that 24 varieties of ornamental birds, including both exotic and indigenous, were traded in Rajshahi City. The most dominant order was Psittaciformes (6 species) followed by Passariformes (3 species), and Columbiformes (7 species) under the families Columbidae (seven), Psittaculidae (five), and Estrilididae (two) species, and only one species is found in the Fringillidae and Cacatuidae families. Shannon's index (H) for species diversity is 2.37, the evenness index (E) is 0.86, and Margalef’s index (d) for species richness is 2.22. Most of the ornamental birds were imported by traders who fulfilled requirements to import them. The bird cages with accessories such as feed, medicine, and artificial pots were also traded in shops in this area.