That the district and the nearby forested areas of the Western Ghats are rich in avifauna was reiterated at a three-day bird and butterfly survey at Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary and Thiruvananthapuram Wildlife division. Conducted as a joint venture by Kerala Forest Department and Travancore Natural History Society, participants catalogued 165 species of birds and 185 species of butterflies.
The 36 participants, many of them representing the research institutions such as National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Wayanad, Kerala Forest Research Institute and NGOs such as Ferns Wayanad and Bangalore Butterfly Club, were based out of nine base camps spread across the terrain, stretching from Ponmudi Hills in Paruthipally range to Rosemala in Shendurney, near Achankovil Gap, covering an area of 666 sq km. The Thiruvananthapuram Wildlife division was surveyed for the first time for birds and butterflies.
Great Indian Hornbill, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Ruby Throated Bulbul, Broad-tailed Grassbird, Travancore Longbilled Pipit, Bonelli’s Eagle, Great Eared Nightjar, Black Bulbul, Malay Bittern, Lesser Kestrel and the Black Eagle were some of the important sightings.
Incidentally, over 20 Great Indian Hornbills were recorded in the region. The rare Lesser Fish Eagle was seen at Kattalapara and the endemic Nilgiri Wood Pigeon from Rosemala. Wayanad Laughing Thrush, Blanford’s Laughing Thrush, Nilgiri Flycatcher, White bellied Blue Flycatcher, White Bellied Treepie, Rufous Babbler and the Grey Headed Bulbul were some of the other endemic birds recorded in the survey.
As for butterflies, Travancore Evening Brown, Orange awlet, Blue oakleaf, Autumn leaf, Wax dart, Five bar swordtail, Golden treeflitter, Lesser albatross, Tawny rajah, Pointed Line blue and the largest butterfly in south India, the Southern birdwing, were some of the noteworthy ones recorded.
The endemic Malabar Rose, Unbranded ace and the Red disc Bushbrowns were also recorded. Grass jewel, the smallest butterfly in India, was recorded from Kallar.
Apart from spotting several animals such as elephants, sloth bears, mouse deer and the like, the survey also recorded around 15 species of frogs, 14 species of reptiles, 30 species of Odonates and 32 species of ants.
