Structure and Characteristics of Avifauna in Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve of Ningxia

Investigation was carried out on the birds ocrring in the Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve.One hundred and six species of birds were ovserbed,belonging to 17 orders and 41 families,including 54 species of residents birds,84 summer visitors,53 migrants,5 winter visitors,and 138 breeding birds(summer visitors and residents).The number of the bird species observed accounted for 61.3% of the bird species occurring in Ningxia region.The avifauna was mainly composed of Palaearctic birds,160 species in total,24 species were oriental breeding birds,11 species were wide-distributed birds.The element of the north and mid-Asia plays an important role in the Palaearctic realm,including some north-eastern species,which reflects the characteristics of the sub-desert in the west of Mongo-Xinjiang region.