Abstract:

Aim: Against the backdrop of rapid urbanization, urban parks have increasingly served as critical biodiversity refugia. However, quantitative studies on the composition characteristics of park avian communities and the impacts of park spatial features (area, waterbody distribution) on avian species richness remain scarce at the national scale. 

Methods: This study leveraged standardized observational data (verified through December 31, 2023) from the China Birdwatching Records Center (https://www.birdreport.cn/), integrating records from 942 parks across 175 cities in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. We elucidated national-scale patterns of avian diversity in urban parks, disentangled environmental driving mechanisms, and compiled the Checklist of Birds in Urban Parks of China. 

Results: A total of 751 bird species (22 orders, 91 families) were documented in urban parks, representing 49.8% of China’s total avian species. This included 26 nationally Class I protected species, 46 Class II protected species, 4 species listed as Critically Endangered (CR) and 8 as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List. Birds in parks are predominantly migratory. The proportion of resident birds in urban parks in southern China is significantly higher than that in northern China. While the proportion of migratory birds is higher in northern China. Bird species in urban parks in northern China are more inclined to herbivory/granivory, whereas those in southern China are more inclined to insectivory and frugivory/nectarivory. Park area (Estimate = 0.1899, P < 0.001), presence of internal waterbodies (Estimate = 0.2512, P < 0.001), and presence of external waterbodies within a 0.5 km buffer (Estimate = 0.2581, P = 0.004) all exerted significantly positive effects on avian species richness. Notably, waterbodies (especially external ones) emerged as a more critical drivers than park area. 

Conclusions: Given the dominance of insectivorous migratory birds (40.75%) and the high dependency of threatened species on waterbody habitats, we recommend prioritizing the creation of semi-natural shrub habitats and optimizing waterbody-ecological corridor networks to enhance the conservation function of urban parks.

Key words: urban park, water bodies, avian species richness, threatened avian species, urban park bird checklist, China