ZSI publishes new book on over 1,000 bird species
Kolkata: The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has published a field guide dealing with 1,331 avian species found in the country.
It highlights quality photographs of birds unlike other books that mainly used drawings, ZSI Director Dhriti Banerjee said Friday.
Though a wide variety of bird species are found in the country, the number of bird enthusiasts in the country is well below many European countries having less avian diversity, the ZSI director said.
However, their number is expected to increase much more in the future as many young birders across the country have taken up bird watching and bird photography as their hobbies, Banerjee said.
"Before conservation, documentation of the existing species across the country is crucial as it paves the way for database creation for any future long-term conservation actions. To document correctly, the identification of each species is vital. Thus, the need for a good field identification guide, which not only helps professional birders but also the amateur is of paramount importance.
Keeping this in mind, the ZSI has made a genuine attempt to publish this field guide with good quality photos to help birders compare the species of birds that they sight in the field for easy identification," Banerjee told PTI.
To promote the book, Field Guide, Birds of India', the ZSI arranged two events one of which was held in Kolkata on August 4, 2022.
Another event is slated to take place on August 13, 2022, in Mumbai.
The authors of the book interacted with local birders and explained to them the reason that prompted them to publish this book.
In Kolkata, the event was held in the auditorium of the Zoological Survey of India while the Mumbai programme will be jointly organised by ZSI and Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).
Banerjee pointed out that this book will be a ready reckoner about all 1331 species of birds found within the country, their present status, and distribution details.
