Birds and Us
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Birds are all around us, weather in forests, cities, wetlands, grasslands, or just looking out of our home window. On only 4% of the world's surface, India has 14% of its bird diversity. They have also been part of India's culture and history, play a crucial role in the economy, and are important in many other ways. Many species are threatened, but there are also community, civil society and government conservation attempts to try to stem the decline. How can you get into birding, and what can you do to contribute to their conservation? (English version of presentation made for Amar Ujala news agency, in Hindi).
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Birds and Us
- 1. BIRDS AND US Ashish Kothari, Kalpavriksh
- 2. Birds are all around us! Photo: Shino jacob koottanad
- 3. Birds have been a crucial part of our culture Music Literature
- 4. Birds in art, sculpture, music, dance, exercise Sanchi, MP Mansur, C. 17/18th Gond, Bastar Warli, Pithoda Motifs Eagle pose (Iyengar)
- 5. Birds in adivasi, folk cultures…. Panchatantra, Jataka tales….* Warli adivasi folk tales Photo: Krupakar Senani
- 6. Birds in religion Hoopoe as messenger of Prophet Solomon. Holy Quran. Peacock as mount of god of war, Kartikeya and vahana of goddess of learning, Saraswati. Photo: RK Gaur Photo: Clement Francis
- 7. Birds are amazing Bar-headed Geese, among the highest flying birds of the world, fly over heights of 7000 m (23,000 ft)! Photo: Nejib Ahmed Cambridge Univ. Press
- 8. Birds are incredibly diverse Photos: Garima Bhatia
- 9. They live in diverse habitats Photo: Raghu Chundawat Photo: Joanna van Gruisen Photo: Sunita Rao Photo: Asad Rahmani
- 10. They are resident or migratory Seasons ● Through the year - winter, summer, monsoon Migratory birds (from Central Asia, Russia, Siberia, Europe, Africa) ● Local and passage migrant Illustration: Rohan Chakravarty Publisher: BNHS
- 11. Migration
- 12. One of the world’s most biologically diverse regions…. 1350 - 1400 species… 14% of world’s diversity, on 4% of its land surface… 176 endemic species (found only in Indian subcontinent) Illustration: Bindia Thapar
- 13. Regeneration of valuable plants Sandalwood, Ficus (fig), Silk cotton, Mulberry, Coral tree…….. They contribute to our economy Photo: Ashok Captain Pest control Photo: Clement Francis
- 14. But our birds are threatened! ● Habitat Loss ● Hunting ● Environmental toxins ● Climate Change
- 15. Photo: Prajwalkm
- 17. The winds of change… Conservation efforts Traditional & civil society actions Kokkare Bellur, Karnataka Kheechan, Rajasthan Saudi Arabian embassy, Delhi, 1978 Photo: Asad Rahmani Photo: Mahendra Vyas
- 18. New community conserved areas Khonoma Tragopan Sanctuary, Nagaland Mangalajodi, Odisha Photo: Jean Howman
- 19. Govt actions: protected areas, legal protection Chilika, Odisha Corbett, Uttarakhand Lankamalai, Andhra Pradesh Photo: Asad Rahmani Ill: John Gerrard Keulemans
- 21. Why Birdwatch? Fascinating creatures, colourful, musical, active Easy to watch, all around us (even cities!) Hardly any specialised equipment needed Important barometers for a healthy environment
- 22. Getting Started Learn the basics ● Appearance ● Behaviour Detect the bird visually or vocally • Observe • Listen • Note down
- 23. Observe and note: ● Physical features - relative size, shape, colours, etc ● Behaviour - call, flight/gait, feeding, activity ● Habitat - Macro (forest, wetland, etc) and micro (tree hole, river bank, etc) ● Season - winter, summer, monsoon
- 24. पॉके ट गाईड्स A notebook and a pen is must. You can also carry pocket guides and binoculars for birdwatching. For free resources in Hindi, visit: early-bird.in/hindi/
- 25. Mobile Apps to identify and record observations
- 26. Get Involved in other ways ● Get to know birds better: behaviour, habitat, interaction with humans! ● See how our campus, home and office can become more bird- friendly! ● Observe if birds are declining, what the threats are ● Join organisations that do bird conservation work, campaign against destructive activities ● Visit communities protecting birds
- 27. Come, get involved The Flock is a free monthly email newsletter about birds and nature in India. More information: bit.ly/infoTheFlock
- 28. Thank you ashishkothari@riseup.net Photo: Clement Francis Questions? All photos / illustrations not credited: Ashish Kothari
Editor's Notes
- We all know and love birds, and have read and heard about them in story, song etc.
- birds in India's culture (art, religion, etc)
- birds in India's culture (art, religion, etc)
- Birds are indeed amazing. (Some stories about how amazing they are -- cleverness of crows, migration of geese) Bar-headed geese - Flying at low oxygen levels, the birds never stop flapping their wings and some have been known to fly for 17 hours straight.
- Everyone is familiar with crows, pigeons, sparrows. But birds are much more diverse than just these.
- Everyone is familiar with crows, pigeons, sparrows. But birds are much more diverse than just these.
- Remember the Bar-headed geese from the previous slides, this is a migration map of the species created as a result of observations on ebird by birdwatchers. Birdwatching is not only a hobby, but has been contributing to monitoring how our beloved birds are faring.
- These birds include waterbirds, raptors and others. Exact causes are not yet known, but are likely to include habitat loss, hunting, environmental toxins and possibly climate change
- We know that birds like the Great Indian Bustard are in trouble (because of habitat loss and powerlines);
- but information from birdwatchers has been used in a report on the State of India's Birds, which shows that a large number of other birds have been declining without us noticing.
- By contributing information in this way, birdwatching can not only be a fulfilling hobby, but can also contribute to understanding and conserving our previous natural heritage.