Karnataka - Madikeri   

Jewel of a book for birdwatchers

By Our Staff Correspondent

MADIKERI, DEC. 30. Bird watching is fast catching up as a hobby. Bird watchers have formed an intelligent community, said Zafar Fatehally.

He was on Thursday releasing a book on birds, Feathered Jewels of Coorg, by S.V. Narasimhan from Virajpet at the Coorg Wildlife Society (CWS) Hall here. Dr. Narasimhan's illustration of one of the birds is similar to one listed in the book, The Birds of India, written by T.C. Jerdon in 1860, Mr. Fatehally said.

Mr. Fatehally said that being a doctor it was easy for Dr. Narasimhan to compile facts with regard to 305 birds in Kodagu district. Apart from the services doctors rendered to mankind, developing a hobby like bird watching will make them competent ornithologists.

He called upon the society and other authorities to translate the information contained in the book, Bird Areas in India: Priority Sites for Conservation, which was released by him in Bangalore on Monday. The book, which is a product of contributions from over 1,000 birdwatchers to ornithologists, has a separate section on birds in the State. It has a separate Karnataka section. Several endangered species are listed in it, including a few from Kodagu.

After translating the Karnataka section into Kannada, the activists should follow it up with the bureaucrats for effecting steps to save some of the birds from extinction, Mr. Fatehally said.

He said every little activity of a bird is important during observation as it conveys a host of information to the watcher. Indian birds have always fascinated foreigners. He had a word of advice to bird watchers: they should be honest in chronicling what they see and observe.

Dr. Narasimhan recalled his efforts of 30 months to compile the book incorporating various statistics and information such as common name, equivalents in Kannada, Kodava and English, scientific name, characters, habitat, habits, nesting behaviour, cackles, and food habits pertaining to 305 birds in the district.

Birds infuse life into environment and help it stay clean, he said.

He has given 260 Kodava names to birds from among 305. His book has a map of Kodagu in which he has listed 28 habitats.

The presence of 305 out of 1,250 species in Kodagu identified in India is not because of forest cover in the region. The birds are found scarcely in deep jungles, but the space they find in plantations in the district is ideal for their habitat.

Thanks to coffee, cardamom and other plantations, a large number of birds are present in Kodagu, he said. He said it will be ideal to target students to propagate the message on protecting birds as also distribute the book.

K.N. Changappa, Director of Coorg Foundation which sponsored the book and vice-president of Coorg Wildlife Society, spoke. Col. C.P. Muthanna (retd), society president, welcomed the gathering.

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