Bird survey and various bird species
Why in news:
- A bird survey conducted at the Silent Valley National Park in Kerala in the last week of December identified 141 species, of which 17 were new.
- So far, 175 species of birds have been spotted in Silent Valley.
- The survey held on December 27, 28 and 29 marked the 30th anniversary of the first bird survey in Silent Valley.
- As many as 139 birds had been identified in a survey held in 2006, and the number of species went up to 142 in the last survey held in 2014.
- The survey was held in association with the Kerala Natural History Society.
New species found in the survey:
- New species such as Brown wood owl, Banded bay cuckoo, Malabar woodshrike, White-throated kingfisher, Indian nightjar, Jungle nightjar, and Large cuckooshrike were among the 17 species newly identified in the Silent Valley.
Birds which were found in abundance:
- Birds such as Crimsonbacked sunbird, Yellow-browed bulbul, Black bulbul, Indian white-eye and Indian swiftlet were found in abundance in Silent Valley.
Yellow-browed bulbul:
- The yellow-browed bulbul or golden-browed bulbul, is a species of songbird in the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae.
- It is found in the forests of southern India and Sri Lanka.
- The yellow-browed bulbul is mainly yellow on the underside and olive above with a distinct yellow brow.
- They are easily located by their loud calls but tend to skulk within foliage below the forest canopy.
- The yellow-browed bulbul has been considered as the wet-zone counterpart of the dry-zone white-browed bulbul.
- It is found mainly below the forest canopy of the hill forests and plantations in the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka.
- They also occur in parts of the Eastern Ghats including the Kolli hills, Nallamalas and parts of Tirupathi and Mamandur regions in Andhra Pradesh.
Distribution of yellow browed bulbul
About silent valley National park:
- Silent Valley National Park is a national park in Kerala, India.
- It is located in the Nilgiri hills, has a core area of 89.52 km2(34.56 sq mi), which is surrounded by a buffer zone of 148 km2(57 sq mi).
- This national park has some rare species of flora and fauna.
- It is located in the border of Mannarkkad Taluk of Palakkad district, Nilambur Taluk of Malappuram district, Kerala, and Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu.
Silent valley National Park, Kerala
- It is located in the rich biodiversity of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.
- Karimpuzha Wildlife Sanctuary, New Amarambalam Reserved Forest, and Nedumkayam Rainforest in Nilambur and Mukurthi National Park of Nilgiris district, are located around Silent Valley National Park.
- Mukurthi peak, the fifth-highest peak in South India, and Anginda peak are also located in its vicinity.
- Bhavani River, a tributary of Kaveri River, and Kunthipuzha River, a tributary of Bharathappuzha river, originate in the vicinity of Silent Valley.
- The Kadalundi River has also its origin in Silent Valley.
- The national park is one of the last undisturbed tracts of South Western Ghats mountain rain forests and tropical moist evergreen forest in India.
Syllabus : Prelims; Environment – various fauna and flora in news.
