Thoothukudi’s salt pans are more than industrial landscapes. Their shallow saline waters can provide productive feeding and resting habitat for waterbirds. The combination of open water, exposed mud, microorganisms and other aquatic food resources creates conditions that attract flamingos and numerous smaller migratory species during their seasonal movements.
Beyond creating a genetic reference for each species, the scientists reconstructed aspects of their ancient population history. Their analysis indicates that all four experienced substantial declines in effective population size during climatic fluctuations of the Pleistocene, revealing that the evolutionary history of these birds was shaped by environmental change long before today’s pressures from deforestation, hunting and habitat fragmentation emerged.
The release, carried out on 7 August 2026, included five Slender-billed Vultures (Gyps tenuirostris) and five White-rumped Vultures (Gyps bengalensis). The birds were released from the Jatayu Soft Release Centre at Tewaripal in Biswanath district under a long-running conservation programme aimed at rebuilding wild populations of South Asia’s severely depleted Gyps vultures.
The bird was photographed on August 30, 2026, by NCR-based conservationist and birder Akshit Dua, who observed it actively feeding in shallow wetland habitat alongside Common Sandpipers and Wood Sandpipers. The identification was based on a combination of features including its prominent pale supercilium, rufous-streaked crown, eye-ring, rusty-brown scalloped upperparts and diffuse breast markings.
The survey was conducted jointly by the Thiruvananthapuram Wildlife Division and Warblers and Waders, a collective of birdwatchers involved in systematic monitoring of the protected area. The findings were reported on 26 August 2026 as part of an ongoing programme designed to document seasonal changes in Peppara’s bird communities.
The White-hooded Babbler (Gampsorhynchus rufulus) was recently photographed near Rongtong in the Darjeeling foothills, marking the first documented record of the species from North Bengal since 1931. The sighting was made by birder and eBird reviewer Sandeep Biswas, who was exploring bamboo-rich habitat in the area along with fellow birders when the bird unexpectedly appeared.
Forest Ranger Shailendra Solanki described the presence of the pair as an indication that the landscape is developing favourable conditions for large raptors. Bonelli’s Eagles are powerful predators capable of taking birds, reptiles and small mammals, and their presence near the top of the local food chain can reflect the availability of prey and functioning habitat at lower ecological levels.
Researchers from the Gujarat Ecological Education and Research Foundation (GEER Foundation) documented four active Black-necked Stork nests during surveys conducted between July 2024 and March 2025. Each breeding pair successfully raised two fledglings, producing eight juveniles from four nests and a 100% fledging success rate during the monitoring period.
Despite carrying the name of Manipur, the species has historically been associated with a wider belt extending through parts of Manipur, Assam and the adjoining northeastern grassland landscape. Its extremely secretive habits, combined with massive losses of its original grassland habitat, have made it one of the most difficult Indian birds to study.
The Masked Finfoot has since undergone catastrophic decline across much of Asia. It was upgraded to Critically Endangered in 2022, and the eastern Sundarbans of Bangladesh are now considered its most important surviving stronghold.
