CHANGES IN WATERBIRD DIVERSITY DUE TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF PONG-DAM RESERVOIR, HIMACHAL-PRADESH, INDIA

Comparative studies of changes in the avifauna due to damming of large rivers are lacking in India for want of adequate data. However, Whist ler's List of Birds of Kangra (Ibis, 1926, 724-83) mentions the occurr ence and status of various species of birds in the Punjab Plain Zone ( below 450 m) where, in the 1960s, the Pong Dam was constructed across the river Beas Waterbird surveys al the Pong Dam reservoir were initia ted in 1985, and show that waterbird abundance as well as diversity of species has been considerably enhanced New avian habitats such as tha t created by the reservoir assume great importance for waterbird conse rvation at a time when waterfowl habitats in North India are being red uced due to extensive drainage of wetlands.