RAJAN & PRAMOD: South Andaman Island 125 Bird community response to Tsunami-affected wetlands of South Andaman Island, India Rajan P. & P. Pramod Rajan P., & Pramod, P., 2017. Bird community response to Tsunami-affected wetlands of South Andaman Island, India. Indian BIRDS 13 (5): 125–131. Rajan P., Sàlim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Anaikatty Post, Coimbatore 641108, Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail:
[email protected] P. Pramod, Sàlim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Anaikatty Post, Coimbatore 641108, Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail:
[email protected] Manuscript received on 26 August 2016. Abstract The mega undersea earthquake, and the resulting tsunami of December 2004 in the Indian Ocean, inundated agricultural fields in the Andaman Islands of India, and created many natural wetlands through land subsidence, most of which, for all practical purposes, were abandoned by the people living there earlier. In a study undertaken five year later, between November 2009 and February 2010, it was observed that tsunami-affected changes of three wetlands on South Andaman Island provided new feeding ground for waterbirds, including migratory waders. Of the 63 species observed here, migratory birds comprised 23 species. Resident waterbirds preferred wetlands with more grass patches, as in Stewart Gunj, than the other wetlands. The Andaman Teal Anas gibberifrons albogularis has been reported to be declining at an alarming rate during the twentieth century, and this Vulnerable species was observed as relatively abundant in this study. This study recorded high human activities such as hunting of birds, fishing, and cattle grazing in these wetlands, which may have a negative impact on the birds and need to be monitored.