---

This study was carried out to comparatively investigate the diversity of birds and their resource partitioning in Udawattakale Forest Sanctuary (a forest ecosystem) in Kandy, Central Province of Sri Labka and a rural agricultural area, comprising the villages Assadduma and Menikdiwela (also in Kandy district), with tea plantations, paddy fields, and well-wooded home gardens. The study revealed that heterogeneous agricultural ecosystems, such as those found in Sri Lanka, are not as detrimental to birds as large areas of monoculture agro-ecosystems characteristic of industrialized countries emphasizing the importance of habitat heterogeneity in maintaining a healthy avifauna in an agricultural environment.

---

The author is currently attached to the Department of Botany, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.

---