238 bird species spotted in Thiruvananthapuram district during Great Backyard Bird Count and Campus Bird Count

A total of 238 bird species were documented across Thiruvananthapuram district during the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), an annual four-day global citizen science initiative held from February 13 to 16.

Endemic species such as Grey-fronted Green-Pigeon, Malabar Imperial-Pigeon, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Malabar Flameback, Malabar Parakeet, Malabar Woodshrike, Malabar Starling, Nilgiri Flowerpecker were listed from various locations, mostly in the forest fringe areas.

The local effort by approximately 125 volunteer birders, resulted in 1,160 individual observations submitted from across the district, A.K. Sivakumar, Senior Education Officer, WWF-India, and GBBC coordinator of Thiruvananthapuram district, and WWF-India State director Renjan Mathew Varghese said in a statement. The district-wide initiative was bolstered by the Campus Bird Count (CBC), a specialised sub-event coordinated by the WWF-India Kerala State Office. This component engaged 110 birders across 11 educational and institutional campuses.

Blue-throated Flycatcher
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement

Migratory birds including Indian Pitta, Indian Golden Oriole, Ashy Drongo, Indian Paradise Flycatcher, Brown Shrike, Orange-headed Thrush, Asian Brown Flycatcher, Brown-breasted Flycatcher, Blue-throated Flycatcher, Blyth’s Reed Warbler and Rosy Starling were observed from across the district.

Other species that were sighted included the Fork-tailed Drongo cuckoo, Crested Hawk Eagle, Barn Owl, Black-naped Monarch and the Lesser Yellownape.

CBC is a grassroot collaborative initiative led by representatives of campuses with expert support that encourages observing and documenting the birds found within their campuses and recording them on global citizen science platforms.