A comprehensive survey of birds carried out by the Alappuzha Natural History Society (ANHS), in association with the Kerala Forests and Wildlife Department, has spotted a total of 151 species in Konni reserve forests, according to society president V. Krishnakumar.
Talking to The Hindu here on Monday, Mr. Krishnakumar said the first-ever comprehensive survey of birds held in Konni turned out to be a big success in mapping the avian fauna as well as the data on waterbodies in the reserve forests.
Grey-headed bulbul, an endemic species to the Western Ghats; Black Baza M, Banded bay Cuckoo R, and Black bittern R were the rare spottings during the three-day survey that came to a close on Sunday.
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Dr. Krishnakumar said the 28-member ANHS teams that had carried out the survey from seven base stations had spotted a total of 2,378 birds in the reserve forests in three days.
Of the 151 bird species spotted in Konni, 114 were resident species and 18 were migrant species. A total of 13 species were endemic to Western Ghats, besides six local migrant species, he said.
Dr Krishnakumar said the survey teams had noticed the marked absence of the Nilgiri wood Pegeon (Marapravu), a species endemic to the Western Ghats, in the Konni reserve forests and this has to be subjected to serious scientific probing, as it may portend imminent climatic and environmental changes.
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The ANHS survey teams also reported presence of a few peafowls at Karippanthodu, Mannarappara and Thura. This might be indicative of their habitat extension from Shenkotta region or increase in dry areas, which warranted more scientific studies, he said.
Dr Krishnakumar said most of the damp areas in all the seven transects of the survey was found moderately infested with Michenia (Dhrutharashtra Pacha), a fast spreading invasive weed detrimental to the floral diversity of the region.