Context:

• A recent bird survey organised by the Forest Department and the Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife Biology in the South Wayanad Forest Division has recorded 143 species.

Other details of the survey:

• Six species of raptors, belonging to Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, were discovered on the mountain ranges of the region.
• Seven species of pigeons, eight species of woodpeckers, four species of drongos, six species of bulbuls, and nine species of babblers were recorded during the survey.
• Banasura Chilappan (Montecincla jerdoni), one of the most endangered forest birds of the country, was spotted in the Shola forests above an altitude of 1,800 m. Global distribution of the species is restricted to three mountain ranges of Wayanad, that too an area of less than 50 sq km.
• Besides Banasura Chilappan, endemic birds such as Grey-headed bulbul, Malabar Grey hornbill, Rufous babbler, Nilgiri wood-pigeon, White-bellied tree-pie, Flame-throated bulbul, White-bellied blue flycatcher, Wayanad laughing thrush, Crimson-backed sunbird, and Malabar barbets are also recorded.
• Fourteen species of migratory birds — seven species of warblers belonging to Phylloscopus and Acrocephalus genus and seven species of migratory flycatchers, including Rusty-tailed flycatcher — were observed during the survey.
• Considering the small habitat of Banasura Chilappan, the Camel’s Hump Mountain ranges should be elevated to the status of a national park to protect the remaining habitat of the endangered species, one of the rarest birds in the country,

Source:TH