Where is bengal florican found

At the four breeding season BFCAs, community management committees have been established to act as intermediaries between WCS, government partners and the communities, they assist in awareness raising, patrolling and reporting illegal activities in the BFCAs. At one of the BFCAs rice is purchased at a premium from local farmers abiding by conservation agreements under a wildlife-friendly rice initiative and community members gain an additional income from acting as guides to birdwatchers visiting the site through the Sam Veasna Centre.

These activities appear to be having some early success in arresting the rapid decline of the species in Cambodia, but their long-term outcome remains to be seen. In , a Darwin Initiative project was initiated to look at the species's distribution and habitat requirements in India and Nepal Barber In Nepal, two male birds were satellite-tagged in April Barber , followed by two females and a male in and three males in India in Barber , and a further two males have been tagged in Nepal and one male in India R.

As a result of the tagging work, conservationists will be able to identify important areas for the species and propose suitable management regimes. Trial habitat plots have also been established to understand habitat preferences. Conduct research on breeding productivity and habitat utilisation in breeding and non-breeding BFCAs. Introduce a protected area management regime, including appropriate rotational burning, grazing and cutting based on research findings; and promote appropriate land-management actions in non-protected areas, e.

Promote grassland conservation awareness initiatives in all range countries. Identify additional important sites for birds in the non-breeding season in Cambodia. Extend, upgrade, link and improve enforcement in protected areas in India and Nepal, and establish new ones.

Devise and promote a conservation strategy for all Asian bustards. Share best practice guidelines for management of small bustards in grassland habitats across Europe and Asia. Encourage community engagement to try to improve the level of protection within protected areas, and investigate potential initiatives to promote conservation-friendly development, such as the Sustainable Rice Platform Ibbett et al.

Mostly black bustard with largely white wings. In flight, wings entirely white except for black tips. Female and immature are buff-brown to sandy-rufous, and have buffish-white wing-coverts with fine, dark barring. Similar spp. Lesser Florican Sypheotides indica is smaller and longer-necked. Male has spatulate-tipped head plumes, white collar across upper mantle and white wing-coverts.

Female has more prominent pale wing-coverts. Voice Croaks and strange, deep humming during display. Sometimes shrill metallic chik-chik-chik when disturbed. Hints Search grasslands during March-May when displaying males are most conspicuous. Text account compilers Peet, N. Contributors Tordoff, A. Data Zone. Distribution and population. Conservation actions. Do they remain in their natal area or disperse to new areas?

In the old days, when the grassland habitat was widespread, there could have been a wider dispersal, but now with limited habitat left, we will not know the natural biology of the species.

One thing is certain, adult males come back to the same territory year after year. Satellite telemetry is a method where a small transmitter is harnessed to a bird or animal and its movement is transmitted to a satellite and received by a computer. In , we caught four floricans in Pilibhit and Dudhwa in Uttar Pradesh and deployed satellite instruments. We found that the birds do not go very far from the breeding areas maybe km as the crow flies. A male florican flies away with the satellite tracking device sticking out from its back.

Conservationists who worked with the project claim that the device does not interfere with their flight. Soon after the monsoon starts in July, grass in the terai becomes tall and dense, and unsuitable for these ground-loving birds to move around, so they move to crop fields to spend the next six or seven months.

They have to face poachers, trappers, pesticides, and high-tension wires. No wonder the population of Bengal florican is decreasing fast. Perhaps not more than to survive in India and Nepal today. At present we know very little about the biology, ecology, behaviour, breeding success, habitat utilization and dispersal of the Bengal florican. Without good knowledge of the species, it is not easy to suggest curative recommendations that can reverse the decline of this enigmatic bird.

RoundGlass RoundGlass Sustain. Species Bengal Florican: Erstwhile King of the Grasslands Once admired for its regal appearance and capricious aerial displays, unfortunately the Bengal florican is better known today for its critically endangered status By Asad Rahmani.

Share this story. Related Stories for You. Nicobar treeshrew , Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Singalila , West Bengal. They added:. We are aware that traditional farmers are being outbid for land by wealthy investors. This is of great concern, as local communities around Kokilabari have a fine tradition and knowledge of land management and can be trusted to carefully tend the parcels entrusted to them. It has other species too. The biodiversity of the site, as an economically viable food-producing enterprise, is as great as any we know of anywhere in the world, the experts wrote in the letter.

Kokilabari is an excellent example of human-animal coexistence, said Namita Brahma who has been working on Bengal floricans in Manas. For conservation of any species, habitat is the prime importance and Kokilabari is one such important habitat for not only Bengal florican but many more species, she added.

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