Bird Watching in India
Birds of India

 

BIRD WATCHING IN INDIA
- By Vikram Nanjappa
The Indian sub-continent is one of the richest bird areas of the world containing about 1300 species or 13%
of the world's birds. These include 141 endemic species, 159 winter visitors, 19 passage migrants and about
100 species of vagrants. New species are continually being added, notably from the ornithological poorly known areas of the north eastern states of India.
There have also been recent rediscoveries of birds thought to be extinct till now.
There are many reasons for this richness. One being
the wide altitudinal ranges from sea level to
the Himalayas (the world’s largest mountain range).
This results in a highly varied climate and resultant diversity of vegetation. Another major reason is its geographical position where three biogeographical regions overlap.
There are great contrasts in climate from the rainless deserts of western India to the rain soaked wet forests of the east (which has the highest rainfall recorded
in the world) to the icy conditions of the highest Himalayas. There are also similar contrasts
of temperatures in the country.
The main bird habitats can be broadly divided into
the following.
Forests: There are large varieties of forest types. Coastal mangroves, evergreen forests, deciduous forests, thorn forests, and temperate forests. Around two-thirds of the regions’ endemic birds are found
in the forests.
Scrub: These grow where the soil is poor and thin. However, there are relatively few birds that are characteristic of scrub alone and many are found
in scrub mixed with grasslands, wetlands and at forest edges where scrub grows due to over exploitation
for grazing and fuel collection.
Wetlands: There is a wide range of wetlands scattered all over the country that support a rich variety
of waterfowls. They are also the major staging and wintering grounds for the migratory waterfowl. Over
thirty-three wetland bird species are globally threatened.
Grasslands: The seasonally flooded grasslands roll across the Himalayan foothills and the floodplains
of the large number of rivers. You will also find arid grasslands in the desert, and grasslands in
the peninsular region. These support distinctive bird communities with a number of endemic species.
Most of which are seriously at risk due to the spread
of agriculture.
Desert: The Thar Desert is the hot desert and the far northern mountain region of Ladakh has a cold desert climate.
Seas: The subcontinent has a large coastline and seabird-breeding colonies are concentrated chiefly
in the islands of the Indian Ocean.
There are ninety-nine restricted range species that breed in the subcontinent i.e. land birds that have a total breeding range of below 50000 sq km. These are more often than not isolated patches of a particular habitat and are known as centres of endemism. Eight such centres occur in the subcontinent.
With such a variety of species and habitats, it might prove useful to provide some suggestions for bird watching in India.
While birds are on the move all day they are most active in the early mornings and that is the best time to observe them. Bird songs are also heard during that time and learning to identify birds by their calls is very important.
The forest may seem to be devoid of birds to the novice but they are in fact, the very opposite of that. The trick
is to try to locate a mixed hunting party. This is
a characteristic feature of Indian forests where birds
do not spread themselves out uniformly but instead roam in co-operative bands of mixed species in more or less regular daily circuits. One can find birds of almost every species of the locality, and they are everywhere -
on the ground, among bushes, on the trunks of trees
and in the top most canopy.
The Ficus trees when ripe with figs attract a multitude
of birds of many species and are thus excellent centres for the bird-watcher. In addition, tree species that bloom during the dry season such as silk cottons, coral trees and flame-of-the-forest trees allow excellent bird watching as the branches are bare and leafless giving
a clear view.
After the first few showers of the monsoon is another great time. The winged termites emerge from the ground for their nuptial flight attracting every species in the area. Swarms of birds pounce on them and they are chased on the ground and in the air. The jheels or village ponds in winter are tiny paradises for the bird-watcher. Every species of water bird, those that live in marshy reed beds and around the margins can be found there especially in the early mornings.
 
Top