Kaziranga A Big Habitat For Winter Migratory Birds

GUWAHATI, (IANS) – The Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR), India’s seventh UNESCO world heritage site famous for its one-horned rhinos, and home to more than 2,613 one-horned Indian rhinos and other animals including tiger and elephants, has recorded a 27 percent increase in the number of resident and winter migratory waterbirds.

The two-day fifth waterbird census, findings of which were revealed on January 12, conducted through the citizen scientist initiative from January 9 across the 1,302 sq km wildlife reserve, confirmed the presence of 84,839 birds, which was 18,063 more than the number recorded during a corresponding survey in 2021-22.

The bird census, which was launched on January 9, was conducted simultaneously across 115 water bodies in three divisions of the KNPTR.

In all, 108 enumerators and 354 volunteers as well as Forest officials and staff were involved in conducting the survey.

Some of the unique, rare, and endangered species reported during the January 9-10 survey were Baer’s pochard, Baikal teal, greater scaup, gull-billed tern, greater white-fronted goose, great crested grebe, Pallas’ gull, black stork, black-headed gull, and cotton pygmy goose.

Besides being the home of the major five mammals — rhino, tiger, elephant, Asiatic water buffalo, and eastern swamp deer — the KNPTR now sustains more than 500 avian species.

More than half of its landmass under grasslands is dotted with water bodies, locally known as ‘beel’.

These, along with the Brahmaputra River along the park and tributaries such as Dhansiri, Difloo, and Laokhowa Suti provide an ideal habitat for resident and migratory birds.