The Cheer Pheasant is a distinctive member of the pheasant family native to the western Himalayan region. Known locally as Chir Tittar, the bird inhabits steep mountain slopes characterised by tall grasses, scattered shrubs, rocky outcrops and patches of open woodland.
The Indian Grey Hornbill (Ocyceros birostris) is a medium-sized hornbill species found across parts of the Indian subcontinent. Known for its distinctive curved bill and casque, the bird plays an important ecological role as a seed disperser, helping maintain forest regeneration and plant diversity.
The black-headed ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus) is particularly conspicuous. Standing on long dark legs, the bird has predominantly white plumage contrasted by a bare black head and neck and a long, downward-curving black bill adapted for probing shallow water and soft mud for food.
Visakhapatnam is one of India’s largest coastal cities and combines dense urban settlements with industrial areas, hills, freshwater habitats and the Bay of Bengal coastline.
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.
