FORKTAIL 28 (2012): 38–43 INTRODUCTION Located in the Neelum valley within the Western Himalayas Endemic Bird Area (EBA; Stattersfield et al. 1998), Salkhala Game Reserve (SGR) forms part of the Salkhala Wildlife Sanctuary Important Bird Area (IBA; Chan et al. 2004). It is classified as such owing to the presence of three globally threatened IBA trigger species: Western Tragopan Tragopan melanocephalus , Cheer Pheasant Catreus wallichi and Kashmir Flycatcher Ficedula subrubra (BirdLife International 2011a). All three species are listed as Vulnerable (IUCN 2011). Western Tragopan is distributed in five separate populations in the Western Himalayas of Pakistan and India (BirdLife International 2001). Previous work in the Neelum Valley established its presence in SGR (Mirza et al. 1978, Islam 1982) and recorded it as ‘common’ and at densities of 0.8–1.6 birds/km 2 (Mirza et al. 1978). More recently, it has been recorded as ‘locally rare’ in the region (Hassan 2004). It is found in mixed coniferous forest, often with a dense understorey, from as low as 1,350 m and up to 2,800 m in winter, and from 2,400 m to 3,600 m in summer (Gaston et al. 1983, Islam & Crawford 1987, Ramesh 2003). Cheer Pheasant is patchily distributed, owing to its association with early successional habitats, between 1,200 and 3,000 m throughout the southern foothills of the Himalayas (Gaston et al. 1981, Garson 1983, Kaul 1993). In Pakistan, it is found in the mountains of eastern North-West Frontier Province and Azad Kashmir (Roberts 1991). A previous survey in SGR flushed 20 individuals (Mirza 1978) but, despite a recent record of 126 birds in Jhelum Valley, Azad Kashmir (Awan et al. 2004), there have been no reports of the species in SGR since. Kashmir Flycatcher has a very restricted distribution in northern India and parts of Pakistan, and occurs as a scarce and apparently irregular summer breeding migrant in the side valleys of Kashmir and the Pir Panjal range of northern Pakistan, with one record from Sind, southern Pakistan (BirdLife International 2001). It breeds between 1,800 and 2,300 m where there is predominantly deciduous vegetation (Roberts 1992). In 1983, one breeding pair with newly fledged young was recorded at 2,100 m in SGR (Roberts 1992). In addition to the three IBA trigger species, the site is important for a number of mammal species, including Kashmir Musk-deer Moschus chrysogaster and Kashmir Gray Langur Semnopithecus ajax An annotated checklist of birds and conservation issues in Salkhala Game Reserve, an isolated Important Bird Area in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan MUHAMMAD NAEEM AWAN, HASSAN ALI & DAVID C. LEE Salkhala Game Reserve (SGR) in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, lies within an Important Bird Area (IBA) of the Western Himalayas Endemic Bird Area. The conservation status of the reserve and its birds is poorly known due to political instability in the disputed territory of Kashmir and the relative remoteness of the site. The findings of a bird survey undertaken from May 2007 to April 2008 are documented here. In total, 101 species were recorded including 45 resident species, 48 breeding migrants and six winter migrants. There were significant records of the globally threatened Western Tragopan Tragopan melanocephalus, the Near Threatened Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus and European Roller Coracias garrulus, and the restricted-range Kashmir Nuthatch Sitta cashmirensis and Spectacled Finch Callacanthis burtoni. Kashmir Flycatcher Ficedula subrubra and Cheer Pheasant Catreus wallichi were not recorded in the IBA, with the latter species now possibly locally extirpated. An annotated checklist of the species recorded is presented along with measures of relative abundance. Habitat fragmentation, degradation and clearance through the collection of fuel and timber, forest fire, livestock grazing, collection of non-timber forest products and unsustainable use of pastures are the major threats to the wildlife of SGR. These conservation issues are discussed briefly along with recommendations for the future management of the reserve. (both Endangered), Himalayan Black Bear Ursus thibetanus (Vulnerable), and Leopard Panthera pardus and Himalayan Goral Naemorhedus goral (both Near Threatened) (Dar 2006, IUCN 2011). There are six villages with a total population of about 6,000 people adjacent to SGR (Awan 2008). These communities depend on the natural resources of the area, entering the reserve to graze their cattle, cut trees for timber and collect firewood. Trunks of older trees are sometimes partially burnt to make them easier to cut. In addition to the loss of tree cover, these activities cause much damage to the forest understorey of the reserve (Awan 2008). Salkhala Game Reserve is situated at the ceasefire line between Pakistan and India and, consequently, cross-border conflict between 1989 and 2003 prevented the completion of any field studies in the area during that time. This, coupled with its relative remoteness, means there have been few recent ornithological surveys in the reserve (Islam 1982). This survey is the first to consider all bird species in SGR and was conducted to provide a checklist for the site, measures of relative abundance for key species, and a current understanding of the conservation issues in the reserve after a comparatively long period of isolation. METHODS Salkhala Game Reserve (34°33’ N 73°50’ E), Neelum Valley, is located 80 km north-west of Muzaffarabad in the Himalayan foothills of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan (Figure 1). Covering 810 hectares at 1,320–3,150 m elevation, it was notified as a Game Reserve in 1982 and is classified as an IUCN Category IV protected area (Dudley 2008). The reserve lies within the Himalayan moist temperate ecozone (Roberts 1991) and consists of a range of forest habitats, including coniferous, broadleaf and mixed coniferous– broadleaf forests. These are characterised by the trees Cedrus deodara, Pinus wallichiana, Abies pindrow, Picea smithiana, Taxus wallichiana, Acer caecium, Betula utilis, Berberis spp., Quercus spp., Juniperus communis, Vibernum spp., Indigofera gerardiana, Juglans regia and Aesculus indica. It has a mean annual rainfall of 125.7 cm, with March and April being the wettest months, and is exposed to heavy snowfall during the winter (Qureshi 1990). We conducted a bird survey in SGR between May 2007 and April 2008 using two methods: dawn and dusk call counts (Gaston