75 Endemic Birds of India Report
Recently a report titled “75 Endemic Birds of India” has been published by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).
It has been told in the report that about 5% of the bird species found in the country are endemic i.e. they are not found in any other part of the world.
Key takeaways from the report:
- India is habitat for 1,353 bird species, which is about 12.40% of the global bird diversity. Of these 1,353 bird species, 78 (5%) are endemic to the country.
- Out of 78 endemic species, the following 3 species have not been recorded in the last few decades.
- It houses the first Manipur bush quail (Perdicula manipurensis), which was last seen in 1907.
- The other is the Himalayan quail (Ophrysia superciliosa), last seen in 1876.
- Third Jordanian Courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus), last seen in 2009.
- According to this report, 75 bird species belong to 11 different orders, 31 families and 55 genera, and display remarkable distribution patterns. According to the report, the highest number of endemic species have been recorded in the Western Ghats. About 28 bird species have been recorded here.
- Some of the interesting species recorded in this bio-geographical hotspot of the country are – Malabar gray hornbill (Osiceros griseus); Malabar parrot (Citacula columboides); Ashambu laughing thrush (Montesincla meridionalis); and the white-bellied Sholakili (Sholicola albiventris) etc.
- Of the 78 endemic species, 25 are classified as ‘Threatened’ by the IUCN.
- Three species (the bugun Liocichla or Liocichla bugunorum; the Himalayan quail or Ophrisia superciliosa; the Jordanian courser or Rhinoptilus bitorquatus) are listed as ‘Critically Endangered’.
Zoological Survey of India-ZSI
- The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) is an organization under the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
- The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) was established on July 1, 1916 in the erstwhile ‘British Indian Empire’ with the objective of promoting pioneering survey, exploration and research to provide information on various aspects of animal life.
- It originated in 1875 with the establishment of the Zoological Section at the Indian Museum in Calcutta.
- It is headquartered in Kolkata and currently has 16 regional stations located at different geographical locations in the country.
Source – The Hindu
