India is home to 514 species of birds, according to the Salim Ali Bird Count conducted by BNHS in association with Bird Count India. Maharashtra ranks first with a total of 123 lists, followed by Kerala with 59 lists and Karnataka and Tamil Nadu with 40 each.
As per the details of the survey, of the 514 species of birds spotted during the bird count 30 species were from the IUCN Red list of Threatened Birds 2015. White-rumped Vulture was the only bird spotted from the ‘Critically Endangered’ category, whereas four birds from the ‘Endangered’ category were spotted, viz. Black-bellied Tern, Egyptian Vulture, Great Knot and Steppe Eagle. The latter two were recently uplisted (increase in threat level) to ‘Endangered’ category from ‘Vulnerable’ and ‘least Concerned’ respectively.
According to Atul Sathe from BNHS, bird watchers uploaded their observations on the eBird website. A total of 15,638 observations were recorded by over 280 people from 22 States covering a total of 514 species during the day. The observations were collated from 549 lists, since each individual was required to prepare different lists for different locations covered.
A total effort of 805 person-hours was utilised in bird watching. Since early morning is the best time for birding, nearly 284 persons ventured out in the early hours between 6.00 am to 9.00 am till noon when 104 people continued their bird watching. Though evenings are also said to be good for bird watching, enthusiasm faded through the day with only 73 bird watchers participating in the count at the end of the day. Birders from 22 States covering 99 districts of India participated in the count.