influence if urban park size and shape on bird species richness: case study of isfahan city

city parks play an important role in the welfare of metropolitan people. higher species richness of birds can be considered as a reflection of the health of the park and may satisfy visitors to a higher extent being in a more natural environment. we studied the influence of area and shape of city parks on bird species richness and diversity. 13 parks from among the 35 main city parks in isfahan were randomly selected and within each park bird species richness and abundance were quantified. 24 species of birds were identified within the studied parks. house sparrow passer domesticus and carrion crow corvus corone constituted 62% and 21% of the observed species respectively and were observed in all the studied parks. barn swallows hirundo rustica (4.2%); raven corvus corax (3.6%), laughing dove streptopelia senegalensis (2.2%) and magpie pica pica (1.8%) were also relatively abundant. we also examined the effect of park crowdedness on bird species richness. a significant positive association between bird species richness and area of the parks was obtained, while the relationship of the park edge with bird species richness was significantly negative. ‏‏ the impact of disturbance on bird species richness was significantly negative. these findings have management implications for attracting more bird species to city park particularly at the planning stage.