Bird surveys are held around this time every year. This time again 231 species of birds were found in Periyar Tiger Reserve from a four-day bird survey conducted by the Forest Department. Out of the birds identified during the survey, 14 are endangered species and 20 are endemic to the Western Ghats.
As many as 11 new bird species have been discovered from this survey which were not recorded during the previous year’s survey, Assistant Field Director PJ Shuhaib said. The best and most important birding observation was the sighting of two Kashmir Flycatchers at Periyar Tiger Reserve. These birds live in the north-west Himalayas of the Kashmir region and migrate to the central hills and Paschim Ghat mountains of Sri Lanka in winter. This bird was seen for the first time in Periyar Tiger Reserve.
With the help of this survey, an orange breasted green pigeon was discovered, which is a bird that lives in tropical Asia south of the Himalayas. This is the first time that 11 new species of birds have been discovered. These birds are found in the dry tropical regions of Tamil Nadu. “We cannot say that these bird spots are indicative of ecosystem change. However, we need to study the indicators to comment on it,” said P O Nameer, head of the Department of Wildlife Science, Kerala Agricultural University. (Quoted from New Indian Express)
Species recorded for the first time are little grebe, orange-breasted green pigeon, cinnamon bittern, black-headed ibis, greater spotted eagle, white-eyed buzzard, mottled wood owl, Indian roller, yellow-crowned woodpecker, Kashmir flycatcher and Siberian stonechat.
The endangered species found in the survey are – Night Wood Pigeon, White-bellied Shola, Great Hornbill, Kashmir Flycatcher, Malabar Parakeet, Greater Spotted Eagle, Pale Harrier, Malabar Gray Hornbill, Palani Laughing Thrush, Grey-headed Bulbul, Black and Orange Flycatcher, Nilgiri Flycatcher, Green Imperial Pigeon and Rufous-bellied Eagle.
Those who participated in the survey were Chief Conservator PP Pramod, PTR East Division Deputy Director Patil Sup Subhash Rao, Assistant Field Director PJ Shuhaib, Conservation Biologists Anup Vijayakumar, Ramesh Babu, Scientist P O Namir and Bird Watcher Premchand Reghuvaran and led by Ahmed.