Awesome avians! 22 new bird species discovered in Gujarat

Surat: Pull out your binoculars and SLRs to venture into the wild. For, bird lovers can chance upon sighting winged species never seen before in Gujarat.
If vultures are diminishing and the spectacular Great Indian Bustard is on the verge of extinction, as many as 22 new species of birds have been recorded in the state that is famed for its flamingoes that have made several cities and villages their permanent homes.
What’s more exciting? Out of the 22 new birds, three were recorded for the first time in India. These were Namaqua Dove, Ehrenberg’s Redstart and European Honey Buzzard. One of the birds - yellow-breasted bunting - that was documented with photographs from Pariej near Kheda in 2019 - is the first record in the entire western India in nearly 115 years, said renowned ornithologist Prasad Ganpule. This is now listed as ‘critically endangered.’
Such interesting details about new birds have been revealed in the updated checklist for the birds of Gujarat - ‘Second update to the Gujarat checklist: March 2020’ paper written by Ganpule. This has also been published in ‘Flamingo Gujarat,’ a bulletin of Gujarat birds brought out by The Bird Conservation Society, Gujarat (BCSG).
Out of the 22 new species, as many as 11 were reported from Saurashtra and Kutch. The checklist prepared in 2014 was last updated in December 2017 when there were 583 specices in Gujarat. Now, the total number of species in the state has increased to 609 which includes 22 new records sighted since then,” Ganpule told TOI.
The checklist will help bird watchers, forest department and conservationists to design strategies for their protection and conservation based on the current status and distribution of these birds.
Ashok Mashru, member of BCSG’s executive committee, said, “The bird watching community is growing in Gujarat and they are out in the field during all seasons. This has helped in more sightings and adding new records. Moreover, there are much better cameras available which give high quality photographs to identify birds correctly.”