Telangana, a home for rare bird species called Black-bellied tern

The experts had carried out a survey along the river Godavari in Telangana too. The SACON team had carried out the survey in Jagityal, Karimnagar,

Hyderabad: Telangana is a home for a rare bird species called the Black-bellied tern (Sterna Acuticauda) which the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified as Endangered Species. The world population of birds was put at just between 800 and 1,600. To find its presence in India and plan conservation measures, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change had roped in experts from Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON).

The experts had carried out a survey along the river Godavari in Telangana too. The SACON team had carried out the survey in Jagityal, Karimnagar, Warangal and Khammam districts and found the presence of these rare birds in good numbers.

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However, the expert team from SACON had refused to disclose the findings but admitted that they had sighted the bird in these four districts in Telangana. Meanwhile, the wildlife photographers in Telangana had sighted Black-bellied tern in Pocharam in the Medak district and Sirnapally in the Nizamabad district. Recently, seasoned birder Sriram Reddy had captured the Black Bellied tern at Sirnapally in Dharpalle Mandal of Nizamabad district. Though the bird was spotted in most of the northern Telangana districts, the number is very less.

The bird is believed to be extinct in China, Nepal, Thailand, Laos Cambodia, and Vietnam. It was found only in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh now. With an objective to initiate efforts to conserve rare bird species, the Indian government had carried out the survey across the nation. Speaking to Telangana Today, seasoned bird photographer Sriram Reddy has said the bird would prefer breeding in sand islands in rivers. He said that the increased mining, sand quarrying and disturbance caused by humans were among the reasons for the decline of the Black-bellied tern population. He has appealed to the Telangana government to access the survey report from the Indian government to put efforts to conserve the rare bird in the State.