Endangered Bird Species - Save Kumaon Uttarakhand

Endangered Egyptian Vulture Photo: Rajiv Butalia

Endangered bird species were first enumerated In 2014 in Uttarakhand by bird conservator Asad Rahmani and then State Chief Conservator of Forests, Dr. Dhananjai Mohan listed. 45 endangered bird species. They covered their findings in their book “Threatened birds of Uttarakhand”.

Identification, protection and monitoring of Important Bird Areas (IBAs) is a major global conservation programme initiated by Birdlife International and recognized and appreciated by many governments, NGOs and conservationists. Their book is an extension of the BNHS’s IBA programme to identify the threatened and near threatened bird species in Uttarakhand and to recommend measures for their long-term protection. Covering critically endangered (like Himalayan quail or mountain quail, white-backed or oriental white-rumped vulture), endangered (Egyptian vulture and black-bellied tern, malayan quail or mountain quail, pink-headed duck, white-bellied Heron, etc., endangered vulnerable (Western tragopan, marbled duck, sarus crane, etc.), and near threatened (Ferruginous duck, painted stork, great hornbill, etc.) species, the their enumeration contributes immensely in expanding the scope of conservation in India, taking it beyond tiger conservation to make it more inclusive.

The assessment of red listed bird species is updated on a global scale on a yearly basis by The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Birdlife International. Based on the 2012 red list, India has 87 threatened and 68 near threatened bird species. In Uttarakhand 45 state-specific, globally red listed bird species were identified, of-which 25 are threatened and 20 near-threatened.

Dhananjai Mohan has stated that the most endangered birds of the state include four species of vultures: the White-rumped, Slender-billed and Red-headed are critically endangered while the White Vulture is endangered. The Himalayan Quail, which was thought to be extinct, is on the state’s critically endangered list.

The State has an important role to play in the conservation of birds in the vulnerable group, which include Cheer Pheasant, Pallas’s Fish Eagle, Grey-crowned Prinia, and Yellow weaver and Great Slaty Woodpecker. This woodpecker has been found to have covered distances up to Indonesia.