Forest Birds : India is at the centre of dispersal of avian
species and receives them from the Palaearctic, Ethiopian,
Indo-Chinese, and Indo-Malayan sub-regions. The dominant groups of
birds in India are of jungle or heavy forests followed by those in
wetlands and grasslands. As many as 176 species are endemic to the
Indian sub-continent. Majority of the birds are found in the country :
71% of the Treecreepers, 62% of Accentors, 55% of Laughing Thrushes
and 50% of Ioras, 37% of the Barbets and 38% of the Drongo species are
found in the sub-continent.
Discoveries : In
1991, a small secretive Wren-warbler, named Nepal Wren-warbler was
first described to the Science from the Himalayan Forest of Nepal.
Suresh Kumar and Pratap Singh (Wildlife Institute of India) found a
new species of Sclater's Monal in Arunachal Pradesh in 1999. Ras
Mussen and Anderton have described nearly 120 new Taxa from the
sub-continent, mostly sub-species were elevated to the species level :
The two sub-species of the Indian Long-billed Vulture have been made
full species, one known as Long-billed Vulture and the other as
Slender-billed Vulture.
You Can Do It : And many
species are yet to be discovered which is generously performed by
several overseas bird watchers and avian experts who tour India to add
to their birding pleasure and contribute towards India's avifaunal
prosperity. Some experts, through the hosts (of this website),
recorded new species in India like Rustic Bunting (Ben King) and
Siberian Ruby Throat in Keoladeo National Park (Steve Davis).
Welcome
Research : The hosts offer variety of experiences : Birdwatching
tours, Bird identification trails, Birding Fair (annual at Jaipur),
Bird conservation training programmes, research facilities for
students and others on migration, vegetation, habitat changes etc.,
including preparing herbarium. For more details, welcome at
www.birdlife.net and/or
www.rspb.org.uk or
www.bnhs.org or
www.birdfair.uk.org or
www.birdfair.org
