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110 birds sighted at Mangalore University campus during bird count

Last Updated 22 February 2018, 16:59 IST

As many as 110 species of birds were sighted at Mangalore University, Konaje during the Campus Bird Count, a sub-event of the larger 'Great Backyard Bird Count' (GBBC).

The four-day event concluded recently with the recording of a total of 110 species of birds from various locations across the campus spread on 300 acres.

This is a collaborative effort to document the bird life in campuses across India to gather information about the diversity, distribution and frequency of bird species outside the protected areas. This year, 230 campuses across India have registered for Campus Bird Count which included 23 campuses' from Karnataka.

Mangalore University has been participating in this event for three consecutive years. This year the team was led by Vineeth Kumar K (Research scholar) along with Jagdish Paithankar (Research scholar), Bhagya U J (M.Sc. student) and Donald Preetam Henry (M.Sc. student) of the Department of Applied Zoology. In the first year of Mangalore University's CBC (2016), 77 species were recorded and the second year the numbers rose to 95 species. This year the event was a great success with participation of students and research scholars from various PG departments of Mangalore University (Applied Zoology, Applied Botany, Biosciences, Chemistry, Commerce, Geoinformatics, Material science, Physics and Yogic Science), along with few staff from the Dept of Applied Zoology, Mangalore University, P A College of Engineering, Ambika Vidyalaya and Govinda Dasa College, Students and Research Scholars from other institutions and few independent birdwatchers from Mangaluru.

Though the birders were able to record 110 species, despite the fact that several species recorded in the last year were missing. This increasing number indicates the possibility that there are still more species in the campus which can be recorded with continuous efforts in the future.

Some rare birds found during the Campus bird count include Sri Lankan Frogmouth, Savanna Nightjar, Common Hoopoe, Black-headed Ibis, Small Minivet, Tickell's blue flycatcher, Yellow-wattled Lapwing, White-browed Bulbul, Plum-headed Parakeet and Indian Roller etc.

Migratory species recorded during the CBC include Indian Pitta, Brown Shrike, Booted eagle, Ashy Drongo, Blyth's reed warbler, Green/Greenish Warbler, Brown-breasted Flycatcher, Eurasian Blackbird, Gray wagtail and Blyth's pipit.

The organisers and participants are of the opinion that the existing bird numbers might be more than what has been recorded, and waiting to be discovered, and similar surveys done every year for a long duration can give a clear picture of how the bird fauna is changing with the changing environment.

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(Published 22 February 2018, 16:52 IST)

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