New Delhi: Shashank Dalvi, probably, the youngest ornithologist in India, is currently touring the Brahmaputra region in the northeast, recording his findings about how the River Brahmaputra presents a barrier for weak birds that are unable to cross the river, whereas the stronger ones are able to fly across.

The 32-year-old, Mumbai-based wildlife biologist is credited with setting a record for having travelled about 80,000 kilometres and recording over a thousand bird species in just one year. These include some rare species such as the Himalayan Forest Thrush, Nicobar Jungle Flycatcher, Chinese Francolin and Tibetan Lark.

Dalvi, whose foray into wildlife began early in life, says, “I was interested in birds since childhood. At the age of 4, my grandfather had gifted me a book on birds and animals and I was hooked to it. By the time I was 10, I had already become an avid bird-watcher.”

His interest surged during his school days when he was involved in bird-related surveys. His diligence in tracking birds was noticed by Dr Ramana Athreya, a bird-watcher, who asked Dalvi to assist him on a project pertaining to eagles and other birds. In 2009, while studying birds at high elevations of western Arunachal Pradesh, Dalvi, along with Dr Per Alstrom of Uppsala University, Sweden, he discovered the Himalayan Forest Thrush.

He said, “This bird has some similarity to the Plain-backed Thrush, also known as Alpine Thrush. But while the Himalayan Forest Thrush has a musical voice, the Plain-backed Thrush has a discernibly harsher voice. Research and DNA analysis revealed the two species have common origin and separated genetically millions of years ago.”

The Himalayan Forest Thrush has since been given a scientific name Zoothera Salimalii to honour the great Indian ornithologist Dr Salim Ali for his immense contribution to the development of bird and wildlife conservation, whereas the Plain-backed Thrush is called Zoothera Mollissima.

By 2010, Dalvi was leading bird tours in the northeast, considered the richest belt in terms of bird species, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the country’s bird diversity. He did his Masters in Wildlife from the World Conservation Society that functions in collaboration with National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru. It exposed him to different aspects of wildlife studies like community ecology, genetics and conservation.

For his significant contribution towards wildlife conservation and his role in the Amur Falcon campaign in Nagaland, he received the Carl Zeiss Award in 2014.

Dalvi recalls: “I had documented the mass hunting of these small birds that breed in Siberia and northern China and migrate to warmer regions such as southern Africa during winter. During the course of migration, they break their journey in north-eastern states, including Nagaland.”

It was known that locals were hunting thousands of falcons for meat, but no one had any documentary proof. Through pictures, videos and interviews with hunters, Dalvi observed that about 12,000 to 14,000 birds were being hunted daily and the large-scale massacre was a serious concern. With help from the Nagaland Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation Trust, he launched the Amur Falcon Conservation Project and sensitised the locals to the issue, which helped with a remarkable recovery in the bird population.

That initiative opened further avenues and Dalvi decided to enter the ‘Big Year’. Providing details, he said, “The Big Year is an informal competition initiated by the United State’s Cornell University, where bird-watchers take up a geographical location, which often comprises an entire country, to record its bird diversity in one year. I undertook the mission to map India’s entire coastline, rainforests, sanctuaries and deserts to record bird species.

“This decision for this challenge was taken in 2013 and I quit my job to devote the entire 2014 to plan the itinerary for the ‘Big Year’ in 2015. Used to travelling on a shoestring budget, I was helped by numerous friends across the country, who took care of my accommodation as well as transportation.”

He confirmed having spotted several species including, Lord Derby’s parakeet and Gould’s Shortwing in the easternmost parts of Arunachal Pradesh, the Burmese Shrike in Nagaland and the Chinese Francolin in Manipur. In other border areas too, he was in for many surprises. In Kargil, he saw the Longbilled Bush Warbler, which has not been seen in a breeding ground in India since 1977. In Ladakh’s Hanle village, Dalvi found the Tibetan Lark, besides the Rofousvented Prinia at the Harike Lake in Punjab and the Common Ringed Plover in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dalvi spotted the Nicobar Jungle Flycatcher, Central Nicobar Serpent Eagle, Nicobar Megapode and Arctic Warbler. He had to travel beyond the beaches of Kerala and Karnataka to find a certain category of birds called ‘Pelagic’ or ‘offshore’ birds and sighted Storm Petrels, Skuas and Shearwaters.

Excited about having made it in time to Rajasthan’s Desert National Park in September, Dalvi gushed, “I saw seven very odd species of migratory birds at the place. These were: the Spotted Flycatcher, Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin, Red-backed Shrike, Red-tailed Shrike, European Nightjar and the Great White Throat.”

It meant, Dalvi spotted several bird species that have been recorded only a couple of times by bird-watchers so far and also some species that were never recorded and set a whopping record of spotting 1,128 birds in a calendar year.

Having learnt a lot with each travel, the bird expert said he now visits only two locations in a year. “Everything has to be timed intelligently so that you reach the birding areas at the right time. This will ensure you get to see as many birds in one go, because if you miss out on a species, its not easy to go back again,” he observed.

After the first-hand experience of seeing habitat destruction and other issues plaguing some rare and endangered species, Dalvi has his task cut out. He says, “With all the information and documentation I have carried out, I plan to initiate several conservation programmes across the country.”

Talking about the shrinking wild habitats, he said, “Land conversion and road constructions are taking a toll on wildlife and this has to be dealt with earnestly.”

 

• India is among the 12 ‘mega-bird diversity countries of the world’ with an estimated 1,314 bird species.

• Of these species, 150 are considered ‘vagrant’ or seen only once or twice in the history of bird-sighting in India.

• Over 13 per cent of the world’s birds are found in India.

• Since 2000, at least 5 new bird species per year have been discovered globally.

• There are about 18,000 bird species in the world.