KOCHI: Seventy-five years after Salim Ali conducted his famous Travancore-Cochin bird survey, researchers who did a similar count, following the same route and corresponding dates, identified 337 bird species. The latest survey reveals the “extent of ecological damage that took place over a period of seven decades since 1933,” says the draft report.
The Forest Department had commissioned the survey, titled “Along the trail of Salim Ali, a study of avifauna, their habitat and ecological history: Travancore-Cochin ornithological survey 2009.”
19 locations a year.The survey team began its journey from Marayur on January 3, 2009 as Dr. Ali did in 1933. The study concluded at Karupadanna, near Kodungalloor, on December 31, after covering 19 locations a year. The team walked 282.35 km through various habitats.
C. Sashikumar, principal investigator, and C.K. Vishnudas, S. Raju, S. Kannan and P.A. Vinayan, research associates, found evidence of large-scale destruction of habitats and identified threats faced by the birds.
Migratory birds
“There is a tremendous change in the pattern of migratory birds. More dry land/open area species started wintering in various parts of Kerala. Resident low country birds started moving up to the highlands causing severe competition for endemic forms. The future is bleak … ,” the report cautions comparing the status of various species.
The researchers counted 77,547 individual birds from 131 line transect surveys in terrestrial habitats and direct counts in 33 locations in the wetlands. They recorded 15 species endemic to the Western Ghats, 21 globally threatened ones and 38 others belonging to Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
“The draft survey report is being circulated among ornithologists for expert comments,” says T.M. Manoharan, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest. The department plans to bring out the report in book form considering its significance, he adds.
The blue-winged parakeet, the small sunbird, the Indian rufuos babbler and the white-bellied treepie have a healthy population. However, the habitats of the grey-breasted laughing thrush, the black-and-orange flycatcher, the white-bellied shortwing and the Nilgiri flycatcher found in high-altitude shola forests are under threat. The large-scale decline of the Nilgiri wood pigeon, an IUCN Red List category bird, causes concern, the report says.
Twenty-five species were found to be either very low in number or showing tendencies of decline. Tourism in high-altitude areas is a major threat to endemic species. The number of crows in such areas has been going up with the increasing human presence, posing a major threat to small birds.
Forest fires
The annual forest fires in the higher altitude grasslands threaten the ecosystem and birds such as the Nilgiri and the brown rock pipit and the broad-tailed grass warbler. The lesser fish eagle, a globally threatened species, is a significant addition to the avian fauna of the State. A DNA analysis should be conducted on the species found in Kerala, as published literature says its distribution range is in the lower Himalayas, the researchers suggest.
The Hindu, 13 September 2010
The Forest Department had commissioned the survey, titled “Along the trail of Salim Ali, a study of avifauna, their habitat and ecological history: Travancore-Cochin ornithological survey 2009.”
19 locations a year.The survey team began its journey from Marayur on January 3, 2009 as Dr. Ali did in 1933. The study concluded at Karupadanna, near Kodungalloor, on December 31, after covering 19 locations a year. The team walked 282.35 km through various habitats.
C. Sashikumar, principal investigator, and C.K. Vishnudas, S. Raju, S. Kannan and P.A. Vinayan, research associates, found evidence of large-scale destruction of habitats and identified threats faced by the birds.
Migratory birds
“There is a tremendous change in the pattern of migratory birds. More dry land/open area species started wintering in various parts of Kerala. Resident low country birds started moving up to the highlands causing severe competition for endemic forms. The future is bleak … ,” the report cautions comparing the status of various species.
The researchers counted 77,547 individual birds from 131 line transect surveys in terrestrial habitats and direct counts in 33 locations in the wetlands. They recorded 15 species endemic to the Western Ghats, 21 globally threatened ones and 38 others belonging to Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
“The draft survey report is being circulated among ornithologists for expert comments,” says T.M. Manoharan, Principal Chief Conservator of Forest. The department plans to bring out the report in book form considering its significance, he adds.
The blue-winged parakeet, the small sunbird, the Indian rufuos babbler and the white-bellied treepie have a healthy population. However, the habitats of the grey-breasted laughing thrush, the black-and-orange flycatcher, the white-bellied shortwing and the Nilgiri flycatcher found in high-altitude shola forests are under threat. The large-scale decline of the Nilgiri wood pigeon, an IUCN Red List category bird, causes concern, the report says.
Twenty-five species were found to be either very low in number or showing tendencies of decline. Tourism in high-altitude areas is a major threat to endemic species. The number of crows in such areas has been going up with the increasing human presence, posing a major threat to small birds.
Forest fires
The annual forest fires in the higher altitude grasslands threaten the ecosystem and birds such as the Nilgiri and the brown rock pipit and the broad-tailed grass warbler. The lesser fish eagle, a globally threatened species, is a significant addition to the avian fauna of the State. A DNA analysis should be conducted on the species found in Kerala, as published literature says its distribution range is in the lower Himalayas, the researchers suggest.
The Hindu, 13 September 2010
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