Recently, the State of India’s Bird 2020 was released at the 13th Conference of Parties of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.
Key points
- The first-of-its-kind analysis was carried out by ten research and conservation organisations across India.
- It used a massive database to assess the distribution and trends of common Indian birds.
- The study categorised 101 species as “high concern”, 319 as “moderate concern” and 442 into “low concern”.
- The groups that show the greatest decline are raptors, migratory shorebirds, and habitat specialists, including White-rumped Vulture, Richard’s Pipit, Indian Vulture, Large-billed Leaf Warbler, Pacific Golden Plover and Curlew Sandpiper.
- The species that have shown an increase in numbers include Rosy Starling, Feral Pigeon, Glossy Ibis, Plain Prinia and the Ashy Prinia
Analysis of Species:
Indian Peacocks:
- The numbers of India’s national bird, the Indian Peacock, has increased dramatically over the past few decades.
- The increase in numbers of the species has been attributed to a combination of the bird expanding its range (earlier it was absent in Kerala), conservation efforts and associated penalties for poaching under Schedule I of the Wildlife Act.
- It is listed as ‘Least Concern’ on the IUCN Red List.
Indian vultures:
- It has experienced catastrophic population declines starting in the early 1990s.
- The declines are almost entirely attributable to inadvertent poisoning by the livestock anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac.
- Surveys conducted have shown that White-rumped Vulture has suffered the most severe declines, followed by Indian Vulture and Egyptian Vulture.
House Sparrow:
- The House Sparrow has been found to be stable across the country as a whole, although declining in the major cities.
- The reasons for the decline include decreasing insect populations (a key part of the diet of sparrow chicks) and paucity of suitable nesting sites.
Bustards in India:
- All the four species of bustards in India (the Great Indian Bustard, Macqueen’s Bustard, Lesser Florican and Bengal Florican) have suffered continuous population declines.
- The decline is observed due to historical hunting and widespread habitat loss, with their slow growth and reproduction.
Key Recommendations:
- The report suggests that it is important to promote collaborations between public initiatives and researchers.
- It also suggests that the government should support the monitoring and conservation efforts by citizens and researchers.
- The report also suggests that there should be a dedicated fund for high concern species so that scientists and researchers can save those birds.
Source- The Hindu
No comments