Rock pigeon tops Hyderabad bird survey as 67k birds are mapped
Hyderabad: Hyderabad: In an effort to create the city’s first Hyderabad Bird Atlas (HBA), the bird watchers community kicked off their project to document the bird species in Telangana's state capital, mapping 67,000 birds and 195 bird species in the first leg which ended on Sunday. This is a first of its kind survey which was organised to map bird populations in the city..
Over 700 volunteer bird watchers turned up for registration when the HBA announced it’s project last year. However, only 209 trained volunteers were assigned the task to carry out the survey.
World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF-India)-led survey is a collective effort of Hyderabad Birding Pals (HBP) and Deccan Birders. The survey commenced on February 3, 2025 and ended on February 23, 2025.
The volunteers scanned several parks, woodlands, wetlands and scrublands within Outer Ring Road (ORR). Among the 70,187 birds which were recorded by the volunteers, rock pigeon tops the list with 7,775 sightings during the 20-day survey. The Cattle egret (3,613) and red-vented bulbul (2,136) were the two other most sighted birds.
Similarly, migrant birds such as Rosy Starlin (2,791) and Barn Swallow (2,550) were documented. The Telangana state bird Indian Roller was observed 26 times at 22 locations. Purple Sunbird was documented in 564 locations, red-vented bulbul at 559 locations and spotted dove at 520 locations.
Common Chiffchaff, Eastern Orphean Warbler, Baillon’s Crake, Common Cuckoo, Osprey and Peregrine Falcon were among the birds which were rarely observed by the bird watchers. The volunteers said they sighted the common grasshopper for the first time within ORR.
The project members informed that the second leg of mapping the bird populations will begin in July this year. They are planning to make their atlas more accurate and scientific by continuing the survey for next three to five years twice a year.
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