INDIA'S VANISHING BIRDS

CLIMATE CHANGE, DEFORESTATION, DISEASE AND HUMAN APATHY ARE TAKING A TOLL ON OUR AVIAN HERITAGE. IF WE DON’T ACT NOW, WE WILL LOSE SOME BIRDS FOREVER

- SONALI ACHARJEE

LESSER FLORICAN

Sypheotides indicus

Habitat: Grasslands in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra

Reason for decline: Invasive species in open habitats, collisions with power lines 

SLENDER-BILLED VULTURE

Gyps tenuirostris

Habitat: from the Gangetic plain north, west to Himachal, south as far as northern Odisha, and east through Assam 

Reason for decline: Toxins found in carcasses they eat

MANIPUR BUSH QUAIL

Perdicula manipurensis

Habitat: Damp grasslands of northeast India 

Reason for decline: Drainage and destruction of tall grasslands; illegal trade 

WHITE-BELLIED HERON

Ardea insignis

Habitat: Wetlands of tropical/ subtropical forests in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas of northeast India 

Reason for decline: Loss of breeding and feeding grounds 

BUGUN LIOCICHLA

Liocichla bugunorum

Habitat: Montane forest and dense undergrowth in Arunachal Pradesh

Reason for decline: Loss of habitat

WHITE-WINGED WOOD DUCK

Asarcornis scutulata

Habitat: Assam and Arunachal Pradesh

Reason for decline: Habitat loss, hunting

THE FOREST OWLET

Heteroglaux blewitti

Habitat: Dry deciduous teak forests in central India

Reason for decline: Deforestation, timber logging

SAKER FALCON

Falco cherrug 

Habitat: Open areas in Rajasthan, Ladakh

Reason for decline: Habitat loss, scarcity of food, illegal trade