Call census, habitat suitability modeling and local communities’ perceptions for the conservation of a globally threatened avian flagship species

The Western tragopan (Tragopan melanocephalus) is recorded in the IUCN Red List of 2017 as a Vulnerable bird species Pakistan. This study was conducted to investigate and resolve conservation challenges surrounding two major habitat zones - Salkhala Game Reserve Machiara National Park. arranged May-June 2020 for call count census. Local residents’ perceptions suitability map were developed using MaxEnt model based on previously occurrence points well survey. A total 26 western Tragopans identified by during sampling period. Results modeling showed that suitable habitats are small patchy We found Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) with 40.6 percent contribution most important variable shaping distribution. Our some new patches which can be target future field monitoring finding populations species. provides valuable information globally threatened avian flagship