Abstract: As a significant component of the biosphere, aves play an important role in maintaining ecosystem balance. Tianzhu County is located in the northeast edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The diverse vegetation provides a variety of habitats for birds. An investigation was carried out on the diversity of breeding birds in Xiama Forest Farm, Tianzhu County, Gansu Province, in June and July from 2014 to 2019 using the line transect method. 77 bird species that belonged to 26 families and 8 orders were recorded; of these species, 48 were residents and 29 were summer visitors. Among them, one species was listed in the first category and seven species were listed in the second category of the Chinese State Key Protected Wildlife List. Additionally, there were one vulnerable species in the Red List of China's vertebrates. The number of bird species varied among different years, but not significantly. Shannon-Wiener diversity index and evenness revealed that the community structure of birds in different habitats was highest in woodland habitats (59 species, 3.940 58, 0.694 69, respectively), and lowest in alpine littoral habitats (9 species, 2.598 06, 0.458 02, respectively). Moreover, a general linear mixed model was used to analyze bird richness and abundance in different habitats and at different altitudes in Xiama. The results show that there were significant differences in bird abundance among different habitat types, and bird species richness significantly decreased with increasing elevation. With continuous destruction of the ecological environment by human activities, the quality and area of bird habitats are adversely affected. Bird detection and protection have a long way to go.

Key words: Qilian Mountain National Nature Reserve, bird diversity, Pearson correlation, generalized linear mixed model, Xiama Forest Farm, Tianzhu County, Gansu Province