A study on status and diversity of birds of Ramna Park, Dhaka, Bangladesh was conducted from July 2013 to March 2014. Data were collected through direct field observations where 6 days had been spent in every month in the field. A total of 50 species of birds belonging to 11 orders and 28 families were observed. Of the 50 species, 84% were residents and 16% migrants, 50% were passerines, 50% non-passerines. Passeriformes presented the highest number (25 species) of observed birds. Only Clamator jacobinus was recorded as summer migrant among the migratory birds. We found Psittacula eupatria considered as Near Threatened globally according to IUCN. Corvus splendens was the most common with the highest number of individuals in comparison to other bird species. We observed single individual of Clamator jacobinus followed by Psittacula eupatria and Apus pacificus throughout the study. Regarding the relative abundance, 18% species were very common, 30% common, 16% fairly common and 36% few. Calculating the ShannonWiener and Simpson's indices of diversity and species evenness, we found maximum number of species and individuals in the month of December while minimum in the month of July. Anthropogenic activities such as festivals, random assemblies and gatherings, dumping of plastics, polythene and papers, noise from the vehicles were common inside and around the park, which may be threats to birds.

In contrast to <7% natural forest covers and >1,000 people living km-2, Bangladesh, one of the smallest countries in Asia, shelters 28 carnivorous mammals.  The species are of six families, nearly half of the entire carnivore diversity of the Indian Subcontinent.  Carnivores of Bangladesh are little understood and they are disappearing fast despite receiving stern protection.  Yet, there has been no assessment on the status of existing knowledge.  A review was aimed to assess the existing knowledge and evaluate the research trends in country’s mammalian carnivores.  Peer-reviewed works published from 1971 to 2019 were skimmed and categorized systematically according to five traits: publication type, research topic, time of publication, region, and species of study.  In a total of 95 works examined, substantial numbers were on tiger (n=45) and the Sundarbans (n=47).  In imbalance to action plans procured for tiger conservation, 14 carnivores have never been exclusively studied in Bangladesh.  Of the research topics, preference was evident for wildlife management and conflict analyses as there were 31 scientific papers out of 63 in these categories.  Inventory compilation for books (18 of 24) comprised the next preferred subject.  The assessment could identify gaps in related knowledge in different regions of the country.  Eastern region has experienced a meagre amount of work, although its mixed evergreen forests have larger combined area than the Sundarbans, and is known for its higher richness of diversity.  Exclusive works outside legally defined protected areas were also low.  We found no works in northwestern and southern Bangladesh.  In the last two decades, the temporal trajectory of research effort has been more, and the topics have started to diversify.  In order to improve conservation practices, we stress that gaps in knowledge pertaining to region or subject may be bridged with contemporary study techniques.  This is crucial to highlight the status of carnivore species that are otherwise ‘elusive’, ‘apparently absent’, or ‘least-known’.

In order to estimate the diversity and status of avian species of Curzon Hall premises, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, a study was conducted from January 2012 to January 2014. A total of 50 species of birds belonging to 30 families under 12 orders were recorded of which, regarding the relative abundance, 29 were common and 21 were uncommon. Twenty five species, in total, were identified as breeding residents, 13 as non-breeding residents and 12 as migrants. Of all the species identified from the study site, one was Critically Endangered (Alexandrine Parakeet Psittacula eupatria) and six were new for the campus (Taiga Flycatcher Ficedula albicilla, Indian Silverbill Lonchura malabarica, Ashy Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus, Eurasian Wryneck Jynx torquilla, Pied Cuckoo Clamator jacobinus, Lesser Whistling Duck Dendrocygna javanica). Passerines were the dominating group as represented by 27 species from 16 different families. Species richness was in the highest peak in the late winter and early spring and comparatively less in other seasons.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/eco.v20i0.11324Ecoprint: An International Journal of EcologyVol. 20, 2013Page : 1-8

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The striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) is an understudied large carnivore with no known historic range map. Knowledge of the past and present extent of its easternmost distribution beyond 85° east longitude is dubious. Through a comprehensive review of historical evidence and contemporary records, we investigated striped hyena presence in Bengal, i.e., Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal in South Asia. We found 14 historical records, with the oldest one dating to 1876. Our review establishes Bangladesh as a former striped hyena range country and the striped hyena as one of the first large carnivores to go extinct in Bangladesh. We identified northern Bangladesh as part of its historical range (until ~1965), and south-central Bangladesh as a possible part of its historical range. In West Bengal, India, hyenas were historically present up to the southern tributaries of the Brahmaputra River, but the present range is reduced. The area south of the Damodar River is its last refuge in Bengal. We also found 15 contemporary records (2010–2021) in Bengal, from sites situated on the eastern limit of the Chota Nagpur Plateau. These records noted 25 sightings including 9 deaths due to poaching, train accidents, and retaliatory killings. Our review demonstrates that hyenas are currently present up to 87° east longitude, which extends the currently documented easternmost range for the species by almost 1,000 km. We recommend methods which can be applied to delineate the historical extent of striped hyenas elsewhere as well as for other poorly understood species.

The distribution range of the globally Endangered dhole Cuon alpinus overlaps mixed evergreen mid-hill forests of northeastern Bangladesh but lacks any authentic documentation. With the first evidence from this region, we observed the activity pattern of dhole, of its prey and of human activities in Satchari National Park, a part of a larger northeastern forested area, Raghunandan Hill Reserve Forest – the northernmost fringe of the Baramura Hills of India. We obtained 32 photos of solitary individuals on eight different events from six out of 587 camera trap days. Naïve occupancy estimate for dhole was 0.41 with a detection probability of 0.65. We identified two individuals, and reported five predation events. We encountered a moderately high temporal overlap of dhole activity with that of barking deer (∆̂1 = 0.65, CI = 0.42–0.83), human activity (0.63, 0.38–0.89), and livestock movement (0.59, 0.38–0.89). Given that dhole is a diurnal hyper-carnivore, illegal logging and tourism pressure appeared as major disturbances to the species' existence in the park. Habitats of northeastern protected forests, their adjacency with hill ranges of Tripura, and dhole being a habitat generalist, we conjecture its presence in the entire region and recommend thorough camera-trapping efforts.

A study was conducted on the status and seasonal occurrence of the birds in Dhaka University campus, from July, 2013 to February, 2014. During the study period, 54 species of birds belonging to 10 orders, 27 families and 47 genera were recorded. Of the recorded species of birds, 10 (19%) species were found as migrants and 44 (81%) as residents. Out of total species, 14 (26%) were identified as very common, 7 (13%) common, 10 (19%) uncommon, and 23 (43%) as rare. Of the resident species, 14 (25%) were very common residents, 26 (48%) common residents, 3 (6%) uncommon residents, 1 (2%) was rare resident and of the migrants, 7 (13%) were common winter visitors and 3 (6%) were found as uncommon winter visitors. From the study site, 28 (52%) species of passerine birds were observed and remaining 26 (48%) were non-passerines. The highest number of birds was recorded in dry period/winter season (NovemberFebruary) and the lowest in wet period/monsoon (July -October).