‘Falcon Capital of the World’ records 178 bird species

GS Paper- 3, Environment & Ecology ( Topic: Biodiversity)

News:

·      A recent birding drive — Tokhü Emong Bird Count (TEBC), organised in Nagaland during Tokhü Emong post-harvest festival of the Lotha Nagas, has documented a total of 178 bird species in the state.

·      This four-day drive organised from Nov 4-7, 2022 comprised of 18 e-Birders from the north-eastern state of Nagaland, known as the “Falcon Capital of the World”.

·      This birding event was organised in collaboration with the Wokha Forest Division and the Divisional Management Unit, Nagaland Forest Management Project (NFMP), Wokha, Nagaland and Bird Count India.

·      “This initiative involved local communities to identify different species that are found in the state. Nagaland is a state with rich bird diversity. It is important to document and monitor bird populations to protect and conserve them,” said Suman WM Sivachar, IFS, Divisional Forest Officer-cum-Divisional Management Unit Head, Wokha, Nagaland Forest Department.

·      An essential part of bird watching is finding and documenting unusual and rare birds in any given area. Birding is a rather unique enterprise in which birdwatchers contribute crucial information on the behavior, distribution, and occurrence of bird species to ornithological knowledge. Nagaland birders have documented rich avian diversity during such a drive in this northeastern landlocked state.

·      The idea of such an event was to get people interested in birds, create awareness and celebrate the rich bird diversity of the state.

·      Such events can help establish a benchmark against which future studies of avian populations can be compared.

·      This is especially important given the widespread effects of climate change in North East India.

Source: India Science Wire / DTE