Over 1,300 waterbirds recorded at Delhi zoo in census

New Delhi, Jan 5 (PTI) More than 1,300 waterbirds belonging to 18 species were recorded during the Asian Water-bird Census conducted at the National Zoological Park here on Sunday to mark National Bird Day.

The census was carried out in coordination with ecologist and ornithologist T K Roy, the Delhi state coordinator for the exercise conducted under Wetlands International South Asia, the zoo authority said.

Volunteers from universities, colleges and non-governmental organisations also took part in the exercise, it said.

The primary objective of the census was to document the diversity and population of waterbird species in the zoo's wetlands and contribute to long-term monitoring and conservation of wetland-dependent birds, an official said.

A total of 1,310 birds were counted during the exercise, with Painted Storks forming the largest group at around 930, he said.

Little Grebe, Little Cormorant, Black-crowned Night Heron, Indian Pond Heron, Little Egret, Large Egret, Red-naped Ibis, Indian Spot-billed Duck, Common Teal, Northern Shoveler, Red-wattled Lapwing, Common Sandpiper, White-breasted Waterhen, Common Moorhen, Rosy Pelican, Small Blue Kingfisher, and White-breasted Kingfisher were the other species counted, according to the Zoo authority.

Such exercises help raise awareness about avian conservation and support national and international biodiversity monitoring programmes, the official said. PTI SHB VN VN