66 bird species in North East on verge of extinction

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: In an alarming ecological development, 66 avian species of the North East have been found to be on the verge of extinction.

The report — State of India’s Birds-2020 — has stated that altogether 66 bird species in the NE area in the “high-conservation concern” category. This is the first comprehensive assessment of the distribution range, trends in abundance, and conservation status for most of the bird species in India.

Of the 66, 23 are in Arunachal Pradesh, 22 in Assam, seven in Manipur, three in Meghalaya, four in Mizoram, five in Nagaland and two in Tripura.

The report is the culmination of a collaboration between 10 research and conservation organizations, spanning both government and non-government institutions.

“With their ubiquity and ecological importance, birds are excellent indicators of the state of our natural world and are potent cultural symbols of nature. This national-level assessment of birds is a significant step forward in the monitoring and conservation of India’s rich and varied biodiversity,” the report said.

The bar-winged wren babbler and the wren babbler are some of the species in Arunachal, which have been identified as having conservation concerns while the chestnut-backed laughing thrush, the white-winged wood duck and the Bengal florican in Assam are some species of conservation concern.

The report adds that little is known about the swamp grass babbler, which is restricted to the grasslands in the Brahmaputra floodplains. Within India, the chestnut-backed laughing thrush — endemic to the Indo-Myanmar lowland forests — is to be found only in the Dehing Patkai forests in eastern Assam.

“Conservation of these last remaining lowland rainforests in the Northeast is key to the survival of this species,” the report pointed out.

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