Some 2,780 individuals of yellow-breasted buntings (Emberiza aureola) have been recorded at Boeung Prek Lapouv Protected Landscape (BPL) in Cambodia, the highest number in recent years, according to the Cambodian Journal of Natural History.
“Our surveys recorded a maximum count of 2,780 individuals in March 2021, the highest count of the species from Cambodia in recent years (higher counts were reported by Goes (2013) from other sites), which possibly involved congregations of birds prior to spring migration,” the source said.
The findings suggested that BPL is potentially important as a wintering site for yellow-breasted buntings and that it is particularly important as a site where the species aggregates in high densities when the landscape is at its driest during the wintering period.
In Cambodia, yellow-breasted buntings occur as regular winter visitors and have been recorded from November to May, although the species may arrive earlier based on observations from Laos and Vietnam.
Several parts of Cambodia are known to include wintering sites for yellow-breasted buntings, especially in the Tonle Sap floodplain and in the Eastern Plains along the lower Mekong floodplains, and these may form important wintering sites for the species in Southeast Asia given the large numbers counted, and the presence of relatively intact floodplain wetlands. Where found, the species typically occurs in flocks from tens to several hundred individuals in recent years.
The known wintering habitat of the species in Cambodia largely occurs in cultivated areas such as rice fields and natural grasslands, and the species is known to use scrubby margins of paddy fields for foraging, and dense reedbeds, grassland and associated scrub for roosting.
Boeung Prek Lapouv Protected Landscape was established on May 9, 2016 on a total land surface of 8,035 hectares in Takeo province.
It is a potential zone where over 40 species of wild and endangered bird species are inhabiting and feeding.
The Cambodian Journal of Natural History is an open access journal published by the Centre for Biodiversity Conservation, Royal University of Phnom Penh. The Centre for Biodiversity Conservation is a non-profit making unit dedicated to training Cambodian biologists and to the study and conservation of Cambodian biodiversity.
Source: Agency Kampuchea Press