Bengal leads India in global bird count with 543 species, tops for third consecutive year
Times of India | 18 February 2025
123 Kolkata: For the third year in a row, Bengal recorded the highest number of species during the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) across 37 states and union territories in the country.
The exercise, one of the largest birding events in the world, was conducted between February 14 and 17, and of the 1,068 species recorded in India, Bengal topped the list with 543 species.
This is a preliminary list that was still being compiled till reports last came in.
Participation this year was fewer than in 2024 due to various reasons, including the timing of the exercise that clashed with the exam season. "Many birders, I feel, were busy with Madhyamik duty and hence, could not explore the habitats the way they usually do," said Santanu Manna of Birdwatchers' Society and also the Bengal coordinator of the event.
The number of uploaded checklists (a list of birds that one can see, hear, or identify) from Bengal, is 1,909 compared to 2,223 in 2024. Kerala topped India in terms of checklists with 9,856 entries.
The overall species in India rose this time to 1,068 from 1,036 last year. The total checklist from India is 44,300.
Darjeeling topped the Bengal list with the most number of species — 252 — lower than last year's 308. In terms of checklists, South 24 Parganas emerged as the top district in the state with 513 checklists. Last year, Darjeeling topped this chart with 342 checklists.
Among the key sightings this year are Ibisbill in North Bengal's Jhalong by Dipprovo Majumdar, Common Starling in Malda by Subhasish Sengupta, and Spotted Crake in Baruipur by Sujit Kumar Mandal.
"Under the four-day event that started in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, birdwatchers go out, count birds, and upload the data on e-bird — an online database of bird observations. India participated for the first time in 2013, when 200 people took part. Last year, more than 5,300 participated from India, including 344 from Bengal," said Kanad Baidya of Birdwatchers' Society.
On day three, 151 took part from Bengal. The updated list of participants is still being compiled.
The top observer on the species list is Baharuddin Sk with 310 species observed, and Santanu Manna uploaded the most number of checklists, 112.