London: A new study has found that weaver birds that eat seeds flock together and nest in colonies more commonly than those species that eat insects.For the first time, the study statistically supports an influential ecological hypothesis on social behaviour first proposed 58 years ago.The findings were published in the journal 'The American Naturalist'.Weaver birds are a family of 118 songbird species that live mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and are so-called because of the elaborate construction of their nests.Whilst some species live on the savannah feeding on seeds, other species live in the forest and mostly dine on insects.The researchers looked at data collected from previously published studies of many weaver species to investigate the relationships between diet, habitat and social behaviour.They observed that birds living in the open savannah tended to flock together, foraging in groups to help find the best sources of seeds. The same birds also nested in large colonies and often had a polygamous breeding behaviour, pairing with multiple mates during each season.In contrast, the species living in the forest tended to be solitary foragers and nesters that did not flock together or live in colonies. These birds tended to be monogamous breeders with a single mate per season.The research, for the first time, statistically supports the ecological hypotheses of social evolution developed by a British ethologist, John Crook, who first proposed the link between diet, habitat and social behaviour in 1964. Crook's study became a textbook example of ecological effects on mating systems, and it has influenced generations of behavioural ecologists.The new study, in addition, also found that diet and habitat predicted sexual dimorphism -- the difference in appearance between the sexes. In polygamous species, the males often have more colourful and flamboyant plumage whereas in monogamous species the males and the females tend to look identical.Professor Tamas Szekely, from the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath who initiated and led the study, said, "For birds that feed on seeds in the open savannah, flocking together improves feeding efficiency because it makes it easier to locate patches where there are abundant seeds.Professor Szekely continued, "Flocking also lowers the risk of predation out in the open by providing them safety in numbers. However, in open habitats such as the savannah, there are limited nesting sites, meaning the birds live together in a colony and this often leads to polygamous breeding."Professor Szekely explained, "On the other hand, forest-dwelling, insect-eating birds must search a wider area for food as insects are more widely distributed. The relatively safer, closed habitat of the forest provides lots of suitable nesting sites, so the birds don't need to live close together. This more solitary social system also means they are more likely to stick with the same mate during the breeding season.""The associations between diet, habitat and social behaviour in weavers have been suspected for decades, but this is the first time they have been proven by statistical analysis. This study is particularly exciting because we've also shown the complex links for the first time between food type, grouping behaviour and mating systems using phylogenetic analysis in an unusually diverse group of songbirds," Professor Szekely added.The first author of the study, Dr Zitan Song, a post-doctoral researcher in Professor Yang Liu's group at the Sun Yat-sen University in China, is now planning a follow-up study. This aims to verify the generality of Crook's theory by investigating the associations between diet, habitat and social behaviour in a wide range of bird species.The research team is intending to push the frontiers even further by testing the validity of Crook's hypothesis in mammals, fish and insects. They will also augment these large-scale studies by testing aspects of mating-system evolution that have emerged in recent years, such as the effects of sex ratio in the population.&nbsp;—ANI

A new study has found that weaver birds that eat seeds flock together and nest in colonies more commonly than those species that eat insects.

Researchers Find Vegetarian Birds Are More Sociable Than Insect Eaters

Washington: A new research from the Oxford Flight Group using computer simulations and Hollywood-style motion capture shows how birds optimise their landing manoeuvres for an accurate descent.Researchers at the University of Oxford have found that hawks control their flight to ensure the safest landing conditions when perching, even if it takes longer and more energy to do so. Understanding how birds optimise their landing manoeuvres through learning may help in developing small aircraft capable of perching like birds.In new research published in Nature, four Harris' hawks wearing tiny retroreflective markers were tracked flying back and forth between two perches. Their precise movements were recorded by 20 motion capture cameras positioned around the room, allowing the research team to reconstruct their flight paths on over 1,500 flights. The research team then used computer simulations to understand why the birds chose their particular path to the perch.Aircraft have the luxury of using a runway for braking after landing to reduce speed. In contrast, birds must brake before they arrive at the perch -- however slowing down to a safe speed while in flight risks stall, leading to a sudden loss of flight control. The researchers discovered that the hawks follow a flight path that slows them down to a safe speed but minimises the distance from the perch at which they stall.To minimise stall, the hawks dived downwards while flapping, before spreading their wings into a gliding posture as they swooped up to the perch. By selecting just the right speed and position from which to swoop up to the perch, the birds were already within grabbing distance of the perch when they stalled, keeping their landings as safe and controllable as possible.Co-lead author Dr Lydia France, Department of Biology, University of Oxford said: 'We found that our birds weren't optimising either the time or energy spent, so their swooping trajectories were neither the shortest nor cheapest options for getting from A to B. Instead, our birds were reducing the distance from the perch at which they stalled and were even better at limiting stall than our simplified computer model.''The three juvenile birds flew directly between the perches by flapping for the first few flights of their familiarisation period but soon adopted the indirect swooping behaviour characteristic of experienced birds,' explained co-lead author Dr Marco KleinHeerenbrink, Department of Biology, University of Oxford.Landing is a critical manoeuvre, and stalling has been the cause of many aircraft accidents. Looking at birds and asking how they solve the problem of safe landing might help us find new bioinspired design solutions for our own technologies, including small aircraft capable of perching like birds.Understanding how birds learn complex motor tasks like landing might also help improve artificial intelligence (AI). When aircraft engineers use computers to solve the problem of perching using a trial-and-error approach to refine the data, it can take tens of hundreds of hours to find an answer. Yet, hawks find an optimised solution over a handful of flights, showing the gap that still exists between natural and artificial intelligence.'Motion capture technology has allowed us to analyse thousands of flights at a time, tackling questions that we never could have done before. Looking forward, this opens the tantalising possibility of understanding how animals learn complex motor tasks, like learning to fly, and of revolutionising how robotic systems can do the same,' said senior author Professor Graham Taylor.&nbsp;&nbsp;—ANI

 A new research from the Oxford Flight Group using computer simulations and Hollywood-style motion capture shows how birds optimise their landing manoeuvres for an accurate descent.

Birds Optimize Their Landing Maneuvers For Accurate Descent: Research

Birds Optimize Their Landing Maneuvers For Accurate Descent : Research

Paris: France detected an increase of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) cases in coastal birds since mid-May, the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food has said. "The national health situation with regards to avian influenza had improved in France since the beginning of May, with the return to a level of risk classified as 'negligible'. However, since mid-May a sharp increase in cases has been observed in 'indigenous' wildlife on the Channel coast and more recently on the Atlantic coast," the ministry was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency. "Since mid-May, grouped mortalities of coastal birds have been observed," it said in a press release. "The situation is exceptional (never encountered in France before) due to its scale and the period of when the detections are held," the ministry said, adding that "strict compliance with biosecurity rules and bird monitoring" were reinforced. In these cluster areas, "various measures have been introduced, the aim of which is to strengthen the surveillance of the wildlife and poultry farms," the ministry noted. On Monday, 19 clusters of HPAI, 12 in breeding farms and seven in poultry yards, were detected in the country, the ministry said. An avian flu cluster has been detected on Saturday in a farm of 36,000 poultry which located in the city of Cere-la-Ronde, Indre-et-Loire department, west-central France, the local prefecture of the department revealed on Monday. According to the prefecture, in order to avoid the spread of the avian flu, culling of the animals in the farm was "carried out as soon as possible." A three-km protection zone and 10-km surveillance zone were established on Saturday around the cluster, where hunting of waterfowl and other birds were also prohibited, the prefecture added. Since August 2021, HPAI outbreaks have been detected in wildlife or farms in Europe and 36 countries are affected by the avian flu on the continent.&nbsp;
—IANS

France detected an increase of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) cases in coastal birds since mid-May, the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food has said.

 France detects avian flu case increase in coastal birds since mid-May

France detected an increase of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) cases in coastal birds since mid-May, the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food has said.


Chennai: Migratory birds including Flamingos are reaching in large numbers at Point Calimere Bird and Wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu's Kodiyakarai. Several tourists, including school children and people from far and wide, are reaching the sanctuary to have a glimpse of the migratory birds that are flocking in.
Ayub Khan, forest ranger of Vedaranyam while speaking to the mediapersons said, "The breeding season has commenced and there are more migratory birds in and around the sanctuary, and expects more in the coming days." He said that unseasonal rain has given the migratory birds splashing in waters.&nbsp;
Sunetra Iyer, a teacher at a school in Tiruchi after reaching the sanctuary while speaking to IANS said, "There is nothing short of a visual treat and it's a beautiful sight. We have come here with the family and have already told my school authorities to bring in children so that they get a good memory." Flamingoes have arrived in large numbers as also spot-billed pelicans, curlew sandpipers, black-winged stilts, lesser sand plovers, common redshanks, little stints, gull-billed terns, brown-headed hulls, and Great knots.
Ayub Khan said that the forest department and authorities are providing maximum support to the people who are reaching the Point Calmirie wildlife sanctuary. A large number of birdwatchers from across South India are reaching the place to have a glimpse of the migratory birds.&nbsp;
Sunil Khan, a birdwatcher from Kerala while speaking to IANS said, "Every year during this time, I come here to watch a variety of birds that have reached here crossing several miles from across continents. We could find Great knots here which is an endangered species and is the most attractive of the migratory birds that have reached here. As a bird watcher, I have been tracking this bird for years." He adds, "The breeding habitat of this bird is Tundra, northeast Siberia, and is on the advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria and is listed as endangered." The forest officials at the Wildlife and bird sanctuary at Point Calimere are expecting more migratory birds in the days to come and a huge tourist influx.&nbsp;
—IANS

Migratory birds including Flamingos are reaching in large numbers at Point Calimere Bird and Wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu's Kodiyakarai. Several tourists, including school children and people from far and wide, are reaching the sanctuary to have a glimpse of the migratory birds that are flocking in.

 Migratory birds throng Point Calimere bird sanctuary in TN

Washington: New research has found that seeing or hearing birds is associated with an improvement in mental well-being that can last up to eight hours.
This improvement was also evident in people with a diagnosis of depression, the most common mental illness worldwide indicating the potential role of birdlife in helping those with mental health conditions.
Published in Scientific Reports, the study used the smartphone application Urban Mind to collect people's real-time reports of mental well-being alongside their reports of seeing or hearing birdsong.
This project was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre and the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration South London.
Lead author Ryan Hammoud, Research Assistant at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology &amp; Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London, said: "There is growing evidence on the mental health benefits of being around nature and we intuitively think that the presence of birdsong and birds would help lift our mood. However, there is little research that has actually investigated the impact of birds on mental health in real-time and in a real environment. By using the Urban Mind app we have for the first time showed the direct link between seeing or hearing birds and positive mood. We hope this evidence can demonstrate the importance of protecting and providing environments to encourage birds, not only for biodiversity but for our mental health."
The study took place between April 2018 and October 2021, with 1,292 participants completing 26,856 assessments using the Urban Mind app, developed by King's College London, landscape architects J&amp;L Gibbons and arts foundation Nomad Projects.
Participants were recruited worldwide, with the majority being based in the United Kingdom, the European Union and United States of America.
The app asked participants three times a day whether they could see or hear birds, followed by questions on mental wellbeing to enable researchers to establish an association between the two and to estimate how long this association lasted. The study also collected information on existing diagnoses of mental health conditions and found hearing or seeing birdlife was associated with improvements in mental wellbeing in both healthy people and those with depression. Researchers showed that the links between birds and mental wellbeing were not explained by co-occurring environmental factors such the presence of trees, plants, or waterways.
Senior author, Andrea Mechelli, Professor of Early Intervention in Mental Health at IoPPN, King's College London said: "The term ecosystem services is often used to describe the benefits of certain aspects of the natural environment on our physical and mental health. However, it can be difficult to prove these benefits scientifically. Our study provides an evidence base for creating and supporting biodiverse spaces that harbour birdlife, since this is strongly linked with our mental health. In addition, the findings support the implementation of measures to increase opportunities for people to come across birdlife, particularly for those living with mental health conditions such as depression."
Research partner &amp; Landscape Architect Jo Gibbons, of J &amp; L Gibbons said: "Who hasn't tuned into the melodic complexities of the dawn chorus early on a spring morning? A multi-sensory experience that seems to enrich everyday life, whatever our mood or whereabouts. This exciting research underpins just how much the sight and sound of birdsong lifts the spirits. It captures intriguing evidence that a biodiverse environment is restorative in terms of mental wellbeing. That the sensual stimulation of birdsong, part of those daily 'doses' of nature, is precious and time-lasting." —ANI

New research has found that seeing or hearing birds is associated with an improvement in mental well-being that can last up to eight hours.

Research Shows Being Around Birds Is Linked To Lasting Mental Health Benefits

London: According to a recent study, bird species with unusual or severe combinations of features are most at risk of going extinct. The results are presented in the journal Functional Ecology by the British Ecological Society.
The most distinctive birds on the planet, according to a recent study done by scientists at Imperial College London, are also the most endangered. The loss of these species and their distinctive ecological functions, such as seed dispersal, pollination, and predation, could negatively impact ecosystem health.
The study, which is the most thorough to date, examined the extinction risk and physical characteristics (such as wing length and beak shape) of 99 per cent of all living bird species.
The scientists discovered that there would be a noticeably greater reduction in the physical (or morphological) diversity among birds in simulated scenarios were all threatened and near-threatened bird species went extinct than in scenarios where extinctions were random.
The Christmas Frigatebird (Fregata andrewsi), which only breeds on Christmas Island, and the Bristle-thighed Curlew (Numenius tahitiensis), which makes an annual migration from its breeding grounds in Alaska to South Pacific islands, are two bird species that are both morphologically distinctive and endangered.&nbsp;
Jarome Ali, a PhD candidate at Princeton University who completed the research at Imperial College London and was the lead author of the research, said: "Our study shows that extinctions will most likely prune a large proportion of unique species from the avian tree. Losing these unique species will mean a loss of the specialised roles that they play in ecosystems.
"If we do not take action to protect threatened species and avert extinctions, the functioning of ecosystems will be dramatically disrupted."
The authors of the study employed a dataset of measurements taken from 9943 different bird species, both living birds and museum specimens. Physical characteristics such as beak size and form as well as the lengths of wings, tails, and legs were measured.
Based on the IUCN Red List's current threat classifications for each species, the authors linked the morphological data with the risk of extinction. Then they performed simulations to see what would occur if the most endangered bird species became extinct.
The information utilised in the study was able to demonstrate that the most distinctive birds were also listed as threatened on the Red List, but it was unable to demonstrate the relationship between avian uniqueness and extinction risk.
Jarome Ali said: "One possibility is that highly specialised organisms are less able to adapt to a changing environment, in which case human impacts may directly threaten species with the most unusual ecological roles. More research is needed to delve deeper into the connection between unique traits and extinction risk." —ANI

According to a recent study, bird species with unusual or severe combinations of features are most at risk of going extinct. The results are presented in the journal Functional Ecology by the British Ecological Society.

Planet's Most Unique Birds At Higher Risk Of Extinction

Haridwar: With a harsh winter setting in over the North Pole, migratory birds from Russia have started flocking in to Haridwar in Uttarakhand, thousands of miles away from their original habitat. However, the exotic fowls flying in from far-off lands are a little less in number than recorded in previous years and their arrival, too, was delayed by at least 3 weeks, said a globally renowned ornithologist.
With a biting chil taking North India under its grip slowly but steadily, migratory birds are starting to nest in Haridwar after a long flight, quite literally across the seven seas.
The exotic fowls can be seen flocking at various ghats of Haridwar, a holy city popular with pilgrims and tourists alike.
At this time every year, lakhs of pilgrims and tourists from across India and overseas arrive in the holy cty for a 'darshan' of 'Maa Ganga'. Along with devotees and visitors, birdwatchers, too, arrive at the temple town in numbers to watch the migratory birds nesting in the midst.
The people of Haridwar, too, keenly await the arrival of the exotic birds at this time every year.
However, the ongoing armed conflict with Russia has not only seen people in the war-ravaged country scrambling to nearest bomb shelters but also delayed the arrival of the migratory birds.
On the relatively fewer numbers of migratory birds arriving from polar countries this year, Dinesh Bhatt, a globally renowned ornithologist from the Gurukul Kangri University, told ANI, "The air in Russia and its midst has been rendered extremely toxic from the shelling and bombing in the ongoing conflict of Ukraine. Radiation levels have also gone up, making the air extremely hazardous for the migratory birds. Hence, relatively fewer number of birds took the long flight from their orginal habitat to Hardiwar this year."
"Their mating season started a few months ago. Due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the heat, smoke and toxic dust in the air must have affected them in a big way. I fear that many of them might even have died," Bhatt said.
Calling the exotic birds 'limitless and boundless', Bhatt said they serve as "ambassadors, connecting different countries and cultures".
Bhatt said from time immemorial, these birds have been taking the long flight to India from their original habitats in Russia, Mongolia and other surrounding areas of China and Tibet.
"Our's is a tropical country and these birds are flying in form colder regions. As soon as it starts snowing in their homelands, around October, they start migrating," the ace ornithologist said.
He said a 'biological clock' determines the flight patterns of these birds, adding that as the mercury plummets and their homelands start freezing over, it is a signal for them to flap their wings and take off for foreign shores.
The birds then fly continuously, over months and for thousands of kilometres, to reach the tropical countries of India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka, among others.
Bhatt said, "As much as 19 per cent of known bird species migrate every year. India receives a majority of Ruddy Shelducks, Red-crested Pochards, Northern Pintails, Wagtails, Storks, Gulls, Pieds, Geese, Palla's Fish Eagle and Flamingos during the migration season."
He added that the season change triggers a shift in the birds' physiology and minds and the main reason for migration is lack of food and the decrease in temperature.
Even birds from the upper Himalayan region, especially Flamingoes in the Mansarovar region, fly past Mt. Everest in search of food. —ANI

With a harsh winter setting in over the North Pole, migratory birds from Russia have started flocking in to Haridwar in Uttarakhand, thousands of miles away from their original habitat. However, the exotic fowls flying in from far-off lands are a little less in number than recorded in previous years and their arrival, too, was delayed by at least 3 weeks, said a globally renowned ornithologist.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict To Blame For Fewer Migratory Birds In Haridwar This Winter: Expert

Kolkata: This winter came with twin good news both for nature as well as bird watchers. An official reported on Saturday that 145 species of birds were seen during the first Sundarban Bird Festival.
Sundarbans Tiger Reserve in West Bengal had a bird festival over the course of two days, which concluded on Friday.
The Sunderbans region is dispersed among the North and South 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal.
Officials from the forest service have reported seeing 145 species of birds in the Sunderbans this winter, including two that are from extremely rare and almost extinct species.
Sunderban Tiger Reserve's deputy field director, S. Justin Jones, identified the two bird species as the Lesser Sand Plover and the Eurasian Curlew.
The Eurasian Curlew is a species of migratory bird that spends most of its winters in South Asia, South Europe, and Africa. The Lesser Sand Plover spends most of its time above the tree line in the Himalayas and sometimes in the coastal plains of north-eastern Siberia.
According to Jones, although the forest service had previously predicted that about 100 kinds of birds would be observed in the area, the actual discoveries, which numbered 145, were more than expected.
"Of the bird species, 128 were spotted in the buffer zone, Kalas-2 region sighted the maximum number of species," he added.
Meanwhile, a representative from the state's forestry department has stated that measures are being taken to increase the number of migratory bird species that spend the winter in the Sunderbans beginning with the upcoming year.
"The fact that the maximum number of species have been detected in the buffer zones is also a cause of concern. So, we have decided to start awareness campaign drive among the villagers residing near the islands favourite for the migratory species. We will make the villagers aware on how to make these islands an ideal destination for these migratory species of birds," he said.—Inputs from Agencies

This winter came with twin good news both for nature as well as bird watchers. An official reported on Saturday that 145 species of birds were seen during the first Sundarban Bird Festival

Two rare bird species sighted in Sunderbans this winter

Tokyo: All flight-capable modern birds possess the propatagium, a specialised wing structure that is necessary for flight. This structure's evolutionary ancestry has long been unknown, but recent studies indicate that nonavian dinosaurs may have developed it. The conclusion, which fills certain knowledge gaps about the genesis of avian flight, comes from statistical analysis of arm joints preserved in fossils.
For a long time now, we have known modern birds evolved from certain lineages of dinosaurs that lived millions of years ago. This has led researchers to look to dinosaurs to explain some of the features unique to birds, for example, feathers, bone structure and so on. But there's something special about the wings of birds in particular that piqued the interest of researchers at the University of Tokyo's Department of Earth and Planetary Science.
"At the leading edge of a bird's wing is a structure called the propatagium, which contains a muscle connecting the shoulder and wrist that helps the wing flap and makes bird flight possible," said Associate Professor Tatsuya Hirasawa. "It's not found in other vertebrates, and it's also found to have disappeared or lost its function in flightless birds, one of the reasons we know it's essential for flight. So, in order to understand how flight evolved in birds, we must know how the propatagium evolved. This is what prompted us to explore some distant ancestors of modern birds, theropod dinosaurs."
Theropod dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus rex and Velociraptor, had arms not wings. If scientists could find evidence of an early example of the propatagium in these dinosaurs, it would help explain how the modern avian branch of the tree of life transitioned from arms to wings. However, it's not so simple, as the propatagium is made up of soft tissues which do not fossilize well if at all, so direct evidence might not be possible to find. Instead, the researchers had to find an indirect way to identify the presence or lack of a propatagium in a specimen.
"The solution we came up with to assess the presence of a propatagium was to collect data about the angles of joints along the arm, or wing, of a dinosaur or bird," said Yurika Uno, a graduate student at Hirasawa's lab. "In modern birds, the wings cannot fully extend due to the propatagium, constraining the range of angles possible between connecting sections. If we could find a similarly specific set of angles between joints in dinosaur specimens, we can be fairly sure they too possessed a propatagium. And through quantitative analyses of the fossilized postures of birds and nondinosaurs, we found the telltale ranges of joint angles we hoped to."
Based on this clue, the team found that the propatagium likely evolved in a group of dinosaurs known as the maniraptoran theropods, including the famous Velociraptor. This was backed up when the researchers identified the propatagium in preserved soft tissue fossils, including those of the feathered oviraptorosaurian Caudipteryx and winged dromaeosaurian Microraptor. All the specimens they found it in existed prior to the evolution of flight in that lineage.
This research means it's now known when the propatagium came into being, and it leads researchers to the next question of how it came to be. Why these particular theropod species needed such a structure to better adapt to their environment might be a harder question to answer. The team has already begun exploring possible connections between the fossil evidence and the embryonic development of modern vertebrates to see if that will shed any light on it. The team also thinks some theropods might have evolved the propatagium not because of any pressure to learn to fly, as their forelimbs were made for grasping objects and not for flying. "Dinosaurs portrayed in popular media are becoming more and more accurate," said Hirasawa. "At least now we get to see features like feathers, but I hope we can see an even more up-to-date representation soon where theropods have their propatagium too." —ANI

All flight-capable modern birds possess the propatagium, a specialised wing structure that is necessary for flight. This structure's evolutionary ancestry has long been unknown, but recent studies indicate that nonavian dinosaurs may have developed it. The conclusion, which fills certain knowledge gaps about the genesis of avian flight, comes from statistical analysis of arm joints preserved in fossils.

Decoding Mystery Behind Structure Of Birds' Wings

Washington: Climate change-induced habitat degradation is causing havoc with bird migratory dates. According to a new study, birds can partially compensate for these changes by delaying the start of spring migration and finishing the journey faster. Yet, the method has a cost- a decrease in overall survival. The findings by researchers from Cornell University, the University of Maryland, and Georgetown University are published in the journal Ecology. "We found that our study species, the American Redstart, can migrate up to 43% faster to reach its breeding grounds after delaying departure from wintering grounds in Jamaica by as much as 10 days," said lead author Bryant Dossman. He led the study while a graduate student at Cornell and is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown. "But increased migration speed also led to a drop of more than 6% in their overall survival rate." Tactics for speeding up migration can include flying faster and making fewer or shorter stopovers to refuel along the way. Though migrating faster helps compensate for delayed departures, it can't entirely make up for lost time. In general, for a 10-day delay, Dossman says individuals can recover about 60% of the lost time, but that means still arriving late on the breeding grounds. Jamaica has become increasingly dry in recent decades and that translates into fewer insects, the mainstay of the redstart diet. Now, it takes the birds longer to get into condition for the rigors of migration, especially from poorer quality habitats. At the same time, plants are greening and insects are coming out sooner on the breeding grounds--also because of climate change. "On average, migratory songbirds only live a year or two, so keeping to a tight schedule is vital. They're only going to get one or two chances to breed," said Dossman. "Longer lived birds are less likely to take the risk of speeding up migrations because they have more chances throughout their lives to breed and pass on their genes." The study is based on 33 years of American Redstart migration departure data at the Fort Hill Nature Preserve in Jamaica. Senior co-author Peter Marra, director of the Earth Commons--Georgetown University's Institute for Environment &amp; Sustainability--oversees the study site. Using this historical data in tandem with automated radio tracking and light-level tags, scientists compared the redstarts' expected departure date with their actual departure date in recent years to see how it's changed. "The behavioral shifts documented in this research remind us that the manner in which climate change affects animals can be subtle and, in some cases, able to be detected only after long term study," shared Amanda Rodewald, a co-author on the paper as well as the Garvin Professor and Senior Director of the Center for Avian Population Studies at the Cornell Lab. "Understanding how animals can compensate is an important part of understanding where the impacts of climate change will play out," said Marra. "In this case, we may not lose a species entirely, but it is possible that populations of some species may go extinct locally due to climate change." What happens on the redstart wintering grounds carries over into the breeding season. Though the redstart population is stable and increasing in much of its breeding range, detailed eBird Trend maps show the species is declining in the northeastern United States and southern Quebec, Canada. "The good news is that birds are able to respond to changes in their environment," Dossman said. "They have some flexibility and variation in their behaviors to begin with, but the question is, have they reached the limit of their ability to respond to climate change?" —ANI

 Climate change-induced habitat degradation is causing havoc with bird migratory dates. According to a new study

Migratory Birds Can Partially Offset Climate Change: Study

Lancaster: According to recently conducted research at Lancaster University, male birds who can precisely repeat song notes have the best chance of attracting a female mate. The findings were published in the journal, 'Nature Communications.' Male birds must ensure that they have a variety of songs in their repertoire if they are to keep a female bird's attention and keep her from becoming bored. Over the course of two years, the researchers recorded and analysed 7,000 songs of wild blue tits breeding in nest boxes near Lancaster University. They devised an experiment in which they played song recordings to receptive females and discovered that male vocal consistency - repeating the same pattern of notes with high precision - was the key song feature that elicited sexual excitement in females. While singing exact duplicates of the same note was sexy, it became 'boring' for females. Their response gradually faded (habituated) until it was rekindled when males switched to a different type of song. The results may explain why birdsong in most species is not hypervariable and constantly changing but shows some moderate variation - balancing the reliable signal of quality against the need to avoid the female habituating and losing interest. The researchers believe that a male bird's ability to consistently hit the same note in a song is a signal to females, and competitors, that they have strong motor skills, which carry over to other essential qualities in a good mate. Lead author Dr Javier Sierro, whose PhD thesis at Lancaster University included this work, said, "In songbirds, singing requires the execution of complex motor patterns within the bird. Precisely hitting those repetitive notes is the way a male bird can demonstrate to potential mates these qualities, which also cut across social status, reproductive output, longevity, sexual attractiveness and ability to defend territories. "Many bird species produce trilled songs where the same note is repeated in quick succession. A song may also be repeated during a singing bout. Repetition is needed by the male to perfect his singing skills, however, this repetition may carry a cost where the female loses interest over time. "We found that when males sing different song types or introduce silent pauses between songs, it reduces female habituation and helps retain her interest." The study also showed that male blue tits with higher vocal consistency had higher reproductive success as measured by the number of eggs in their nest - further adding to the evidence that vocal consistency is a skill found in good quality individuals - those who will contribute genes to future populations. Other song features, such as diversity, were not correlated with clutch size. Vocal consistency increased over the breeding season and it peaked during the 7 to 10-day period when his female partner was at her most fertile when she laid an egg daily. The researchers suggest that a balance between the two crucial aspects of birdsong, consistency and diversity, may resolve a long-standing paradox in studies of bird communication, and explain the level of variability in singing styles between species. Dr Selvino de Kort from Manchester Metropolitan University and co-author of the study said: "Our results explain why most birds repeat song structures and do not sing in a way that advertises song diversity, by continuously producing novel notes or song types." Dr Ian Hartley, from the Lancaster Environment Centre at Lancaster University, said: "Birdsong seems to have evolved under opposing selective effects, which may result in a balance between repetition to achieve the 'sexiest' song, and diversity between songs to reduce the psychological effect of habituation." —ANI

According to recently conducted research at Lancaster University, male birds who can precisely repeat song

Male Birds Who Are Able To Repeat Song Notes Attract Female Mate: Study

Lancaster (UK): Male birds who can accurately repeat song notes have the highest chances of luring a female partner, according to recent Lancaster University research. The research was published in the journal 'Nature Communications.' Male birds must have a diverse repertoire of songs if they are to keep a female bird's attention and keep her from becoming bored. The researchers recorded and analysed 7,000 songs of wild blue tits breeding in nest boxes near Lancaster University over the course of two years. They devised an experiment in which they played song recordings to receptive females and discovered that male vocal consistency - the ability to repeat the same pattern of notes with high precision - was the key song feature that elicited sexual excitement in females. While singing exact duplicates of the same note was sexy, it became 'boring' for females. Their response gradually faded (habituated) until it was rekindled when males switched to a different type of song. The results may explain why birdsong in most species is not hypervariable and constantly changing but shows some moderate variation - balancing the reliable signal of quality against the need to avoid the female habituating and losing interest. The researchers believe that a male bird's ability to consistently hit the same note in a song is a signal to females and competitors, that they have strong motor skills, which carry over to other essential qualities in a good mate. Lead author Dr Javier Sierro, whose PhD thesis at Lancaster University included this work, said, "In songbirds, singing requires the execution of complex motor patterns within the bird. Precisely hitting those repetitive notes is the way a male bird can demonstrate to potential mates these qualities, which also cut across social status, reproductive output, longevity, sexual attractiveness and ability to defend territories." "Many bird species produce trilled songs where the same note is repeated in quick succession. A song may also be repeated during a singing bout. Repetition is needed by the male to perfect his singing skills, however, this repetition may carry a cost where the female loses interest over time." "We found that when males sing different song types or introduce silent pauses between songs, it reduces female habituation and helps retain her interest," said Dr Javier. The study also showed that male blue tits with higher vocal consistency had higher reproductive success as measured by the number of eggs in their nest - further adding to the evidence that vocal consistency is a skill found in good quality individuals - those who will contribute genes to future populations. Other song features, such as diversity, were not correlated with clutch size. Vocal consistency increased over the breeding season and it peaked during the 7 to 10-day period when his female partner was at her most fertile when she laid an egg daily. The researchers suggest that a balance between the two crucial aspects of birdsong, consistency and diversity, may resolve a long-standing paradox in studies of bird communication, and explain the level of variability in singing styles between species. Dr Selvino de Kort from Manchester Metropolitan University and co-author of the study said, "Our results explain why most birds repeat song structures and do not sing in a way that advertises song diversity, by continuously producing novel notes or song types." Dr Ian Hartley, from the Lancaster Environment Centre at Lancaster University, said: "Birdsong seems to have evolved under opposing selective effects, which may result in a balance between repetition to achieve the 'sexiest' song, and diversity between songs to reduce the psychological effect of habituation." —ANI

Male birds who can accurately repeat song notes have the highest chances of luring a female partner

Male Birds Who Can Repeat Song Notes Attract Female Mates: Study

Los Angeles: Researchers found that rising global temperatures make it more difficult for birds to determine when it is spring and time to breed. The study was published in the journal, 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.' The research led by UCLA and Michigan State University scientists discovered that birds produce fewer young if they begin breeding too early or too late in the season. Birds have been unable to keep up with climate change, which has resulted in early springlike conditions, according to the experts. Furthermore, the authors write that the mismatch between the start of spring and birds' readiness to reproduce is likely to worsen as the world heats, which might have far-reaching effects on many bird species. Bird breeding seasons begin with the appearance of the first green plants and blossoms, which is occurring earlier and earlier as the temperature warms. "By the end of the 21st century, spring is likely to arrive about 25 days earlier, with birds breeding only about 6.75 days earlier," said the study's first author, Casey Youngflesh, who led the research as a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA and is now a postdoctoral fellow at Michigan State. "Our results suggest that breeding productivity may decrease about 12% for the average songbird species." The authors stress that conservation strategies should address bird species' responses to climate-driven shifts. "For nearly 30 years, scientists have hypothesized that animals could become mismatched from plants as springs begin earlier," said Morgan Tingley, a UCLA associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and the study's senior author. "While there have been a few very good case studies of this phenomenon, it has remained a major mystery whether advancing springs will pose a general problem for the majority of species." When it comes to raising their young, timing matters for birds. If they breed too early or too late, harsh weather could harm their eggs or newborns. But timing relative to food sources matters too: If birds are looking for food before or after its natural availability, they might not have the resources to keep their young alive. "Critically, we found evidence for impacts on bird reproduction of both the absolute and the relative timing of birds," Tingley said. Using data from a large-scale collaborative bird banding program run by the Institute for Bird Populations, the researchers calculated the timing of breeding and the number of young produced for 41 migratory and resident bird species at 179 sites near forested areas throughout North America between 2001 and 2018. Then, the authors used satellite imaging to determine when vegetation emerged around each site. They found that each species had an optimal time to breed, and that the number of young produced decreased when spring arrived very early, or when breeding occurred early or late relative to when plants emerged. While the majority of birds were adversely affected by variations in the start of spring, several species -- the northern cardinal, Bewick's wren and wrentit among them -- countered the trend, demonstrating improved breeding productivity when spring began earlier. Those species are mostly non-migratory species that can respond more quickly to the emergence of spring plants that signal the start of the breeding season. By breeding earlier and without the time constraints imposed by migration, the study noted, non-migratory species may also be able to reproduce more than once per season. But those species were the exceptions to the rule. Even most non-migratory species couldn't keep up with earlier spring arrivals. Overall, for every four days earlier that leaves appeared on trees, species bred only about one day earlier. For migratory species, that discrepancy means that the time between when they arrive at their breeding sites and breeding itself is likely to get shorter as springlike conditions begin earlier. Birds need time to establish territories and prepare physiologically for egg-laying and rearing their young, so that change could cause even greater disturbances to reproduction. "North America has lost nearly a third of its bird populations since the 1970s," Tingley said. "While our study demonstrates that the worst impacts of timing mismatch likely won't occur for several decades yet, we need to focus now on concrete strategies to boost bird populations before climate change takes its toll." —ANI

Researchers found that rising global temperatures make it more difficult for birds to determine when it is spring and time to breed

Rising Temperatures Are Making It Harder For Birds To Breed: Study

Washington: The material a bird chooses for its nest is determined by the size of its beak, according to researchers. Using data on nest materials for nearly 6,000 bird species, a team from the Universities of Bristol and St Andrews used random forest models, a type of machine learning algorithm, to take data from bird beaks and predict what nest materials that species might use.  They discovered an unexpectedly strong correlation. They were able to correctly predict broad nest material use in 60 per cent of species using only beak shape and size, rising to 97 per cent in some cases.  These findings, which were published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, include a careful examination of these models, looking into the ecological and evolutionary contexts that underpin these relationships. For example, not all species have equal access to all nest material types, which influences these results. The study's lead author, Dr Catherine Sheard of Bristol's School of Earth Sciences said: "We know a lot about primate hands, but not as much about how other animals use their limbs and mouths to manipulate objects. We're very excited about the potential applications of our findings, to further explore how beak shape may have co-evolved with other aspects of nest building or other functions." Dr Shoko Sugasawa, senior author of the study, based at the University of St Andrews, added: "Most animals, including birds, do not have hands like ours, but manipulating objects like nest material and food is such a crucial part of their lives. Our finding is the first step to reveal possible interactions between the evolution of beaks and manipulation like nest building, and helps us better understand how animals evolved to interact with the world with or without hands". The team is now working on a project documenting anthropogenic nest material in the world's birds, trying to understand what type of birds put human-made material (like plastic, wire, or cigarette butts) in their nests. They are in particular looking to see whether this would be linked to urban-dwelling birds. "I'm also interested in how beak shape relates to other properties of the nest, including overall nest structure," added Dr Sheard, "such as whether birds-build-nests"&gt;birds build nests with walls or a roof." (ANI)

The material a bird chooses for its nest is determined by the size of its beak, according to researchers

Beak shape determines nest material selected by birds: Study

Bangor: According to new research, 176 bird species around the world use a variety of anthropogenic materials in their nests. Birds use our leftover or discarded materials all over the world. Seabirds in Australia use fishing nets in their nests, ospreys in North America use baler twine, city birds in South America use cigarette butts, and common blackbirds in Europe collect plastic bags to use in their nests. This study was published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B special issue on "The Evolutionary Ecology of Nests: A Cross-Taxon Approach."  According to researchers, this material found in bird nests can be beneficial. Cigarette butts, for example, retain nicotine and other compounds that repel ectoparasites that attach themselves to the skin of nestling birds and suck blood from them. Meanwhile, harder man-made materials may help provide structural support for bird nests, while plastic films may help provide insulation and keep offspring warm. Despite these potential advantages, it is important to remember that anthropogenic material can be harmful to birds.  Mark Mainwaring said, "The special issue highlights that the nests of a wide range of taxa - from birds to mammals to fish to reptiles - allow them to adapt to human-induced pressures. Those pressures range from the inclusion of anthropogenic materials into their nests through to providing parents and offspring with a place to protect themselves from increasingly hot temperatures in a changing climate." Anthropogenic materials sometimes harm birds. Parents and offspring sometimes become fatally entangled in baler twine. Meanwhile, offspring sometimes ingest anthropogenic material after mistaking it for natural prey items. Finally, the inclusion of colourful anthropogenic materials into nests attracts predators to those nests who then prey upon the eggs or nestlings. This means that we need to reduce the amount of plastic and other anthropogenic material that we discard. The lead author of the study, Zuzanna Jagiello who is based at the Poznan University of Life Sciences in Poland, added, "A wide variety of bird species included anthropogenic materials into their nests. This is worrying because it is becoming increasingly apparent that such materials can harm nestlings and even adult birds". Zuzanna Jagiello also went on to say that "more studies are needed to gain a more complete understanding of how many bird species worldwide include such materials into their nests for us to fully comprehend the extent of the problem." The second author of the study, Jim Reynolds, a researcher in the Centre for Ornithology at the University of Birmingham in the UK, remarked, "In a rapidly urbanizing world which we share with many different animal taxa, it is not surprising that birds use our discarded materials in their nests. Although much needs to be understood about how plastics, for example, impact birds, it is exciting that birds, through their high mobility and breeding biology, may prove to be potent biomonitors of environmental anthropogenic material pollution." (ANI)

According to new research, 176 bird species around the world use a variety of anthropogenic materials in their nests

Man-made materials in nests can bring risks for birds: Study

New Delhi: A sizeable proportion of Indian bird species, especially carnivores, insectivores, or granivores are “declining more rapidly than omnivores and nectar eaters, indicating the impact of diet on the avian population. According to the second edition of State of India’s Birds Report 2023 released recently assessed 942 bird species across the country birds that feed on fruits and nectar are doing well, because these resources are readily available even in heavily modified rural and urban landscapes. "Bird populations are therefore not just influenced by direct threats to their habitats, but also by the availability of food resources," the report notes. The report has been published by a group of 13 government and non-government institutions, including the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Wildlife Institute of India (WII), and Zoological Survey of India (ZSI). The report is based on data provided by 30,000 birdwatchers across the country. It notes that birds in India that feed on vertebrates and carrion have declined the most, suggesting that this food resource either contains harmful pollutants or is declining in availability, or both. Some carnivorous birds are falcons, vultures, shikras and black kites. Moreover, birds that feed on invertebrates (including insects) like the Indian roller are declining rapidly. Recent findings show that insect populations worldwide have reduced and that pesticides are thought to be a main contributor to massive declines in European insectivorous birds. "A decline in insects, for example, could affect insectivorous birds. Mice in agricultural landscapes are food for several raptors, but these mice may carry pesticides and other agrochemicals that may be harmful for the birds that eat them," the report shows. Vultures were nearly driven to extinction by consuming carcasses contaminated with diclofenac. "The trend analysis shows that birds that feed on fruits and nectar are doing well, maybe because these resources are readily available even in heavy-modified rural and urban landscapes. The continued availability of these resources even outside natural ecosystems can sustain this encouraging story," the report reveals. The report published last week assessed the status of 942 bird species, largely using data uploaded by birdwatchers to the online platform eBird. In 2020, India joined the list of countries that regularly assess the status of their birds, with the launch of the first report on the State of India’s Birds (SoIB) at the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species in Gandhinagar. The assessments are based on three indices. Two are indices of change in abundance: The long-term Trend (change over around 30 years) and the current annual trend (annual change over the past eight years); the third is a measure of Distribution Range Size within India. Using these three indices together with the IUCN global Red List of Threatened Species 2022 (hereinafter ‘IUCN Red List’), species were classified of Conservation Priority for India: 178 as High Priority, 323 as Moderate Priority and 441 as Low Priority. In all countries where bird populations have been monitored and assessed, birds in India are faring poorly overall, the report states. A few generalist species are doing well, notable among them being feral Rock Pigeon, Ashy Prinia, and Indian Peafowl. Other familiar species, including Baya Weaver and Pied Bushchat, are relatively stable. But the larger picture is grim as 60 per cent of species show long-term declines (out of 348 species that could be assessed for Long-term Trend), and 40 per cent of species are declining currently (out of 359 species assessed for the current annual trend). "The declines are not spread uniformly across different types of species; examining differences across groups of species that share common characteristics reveal informative patterns Habitat specialists—particularly specialists of grasslands and other open habitats, wetlands, and woodlands—are declining rapidly," the analysis notes. The report mentions that migratory species appear to be under greater threat than non-migrants. And species endemic to the Western Ghats–Sri Lanka region are faring worse than others. Certain groups of birds are faring particularly poorly, including open habitat species like bustards and coursers, riverine sandbar-nesting birds like skimmers and some terns, coastal shorebirds, open-country raptors, and a number of ducks, it informs. The report mentioned that equally worrying is that a considerable number of species lack the data to be assessed. "Insufficiency of data meant that of the 942 species covered in this report, Long-term Trend could not be calculated for 44 per cent and Current Annual Trend could not be estimated for 31 per cent of the species," the report notes. —ANI

A sizeable proportion of Indian bird species, especially carnivores, insectivores, or granivores 

Carnivore Birds Declining More Rapidly Than Omnivores In India: Report

Washington: According to a new study, the harsh lights of big cities may be generating an evolutionary adaption for smaller eyes in some birds. The findings, published in Global Change Biology, have ramifications for conservation efforts as bird populations across the United States continue to drop.  The Northern Cardinal and Carolina Wren, two common songbirds that reside year-round in the urban centre of San Antonio, Texas, had eyes that were around 5 per cent smaller than individuals of the same species from the less bright outskirts. Researchers discovered no variation in eye size between two migratory bird species, the Painted Bunting and the White-eyed Vireo, regardless of where they remained for most of the year. The findings were published in Global Change Biology. "This study shows that residential birds may adapt over time to urban areas, but migratory birds are not adapting, probably because where they spend the winter--they are less likely to have the same human-caused light and noise pressures. It may make it more difficult for them to adjust to city life during the breeding season,” said Jennifer Phillips, a Washington State University wildlife ecologist and senior author. The US and Canada have lost 29 per cent of their bird populations or 3 billion birds since 1970, according to previous research. Scientists believe that habitat fragmentation is the primary driver of the decline in birds, but the current study suggests that sensory pollutants like human-caused light may also play a role in the birds’ ability to cope with city life. For this study, Phillips worked with post-doctoral fellow Todd Jones and graduate student Alfredo Llamas of Texas A&amp;M University, San Antonio, to study more than 500 birds from central and edge areas of San Antonio. They compared the body and eye sizes of the birds and analyzed noise and light measurements during the day and night in each area. There was no difference among the body sizes of birds in different areas, except for one species: the Painted Bunting. Upon further analysis, the researchers found that this size difference was mostly due to age. Younger, smaller male buntings, who cannot compete as well for mates as their more colourful elders, were more often found in the brighter, noisier central locations, which are likely less desirable.  While other studies have looked at how urban light affects the timing of birds’ “dawn song” and circadian rhythms, this is the first known study to show a connection to eye size. The smaller eye size may enable birds to deal with the brighter and more constant light in city environments, said Jones, the study’s first author who is now a post-doctoral fellow at the Smithsonian’s Migratory Bird Center. Birds with bigger eyes can be somewhat blinded by the glare of city lights or be unable to sleep well, putting them at a disadvantage in urban areas. “Humans may have some unintended consequences on birds that we don’t realize,” said Jones. “We don’t know if these adaptations could have good or bad consequences for the birds down the road, considering that urban environments aren’t going away anytime soon. It is also important to understand how to manage such environments for the birds that maybe aren't urban adapted.” Phillips is leading a team to investigate the effect of both light and noise pollution across multiple bird species with support from a recent $2.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The team will set up controlled experiments to help determine how light and noise affect the birds’ stress levels, sleep hormones, song structure and aggression levels as well as whether these traits correlate to overall fitness. “We want to know whether patterns at molecular and behavioural scales affect fitness or not. Essentially, we're trying to understand what are the benefits and costs to these animals living in a sensory-polluted world,” she said. —ANI

According to a new study, the harsh lights of big cities may be generating an evolutionary adaption for smaller eyes in some birds

Bright City Lights Cause Smaller Eyes In Certain Birds: Study

Kanpur: Two days after a video of poaching of migratory birds went viral, the forest department and the police initiated a crackdown in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur. A total of 716 birds of 16 species up for sale in Baqargunj market were rescued in a raid and a dozen people were taken into custody on Monday. Meanwhile, the duo -- Vinod and Rampal -- arrested for hunting and killing Siberian birds, were produced before the remand magistrate and sent to jail. The two minors who helped hunt and kill the birds were produced before the juvenile justice board, which sent them to a juvenile home. They were arrested under sections 9 and 21 of Wildlife Protection Act after the video went viral. Regional forest officer, Kanpur range, Ayush Tripathi, said that the raid on the market was conducted following inputs about the sale of Siberian birds. “All the birds rescued from the market are under the protected category, and as per rules, their sale is illegal,” said Tripathi adding that the birds have been sent to Kanpur Zoo. Around 10 to 12 people have been taken into custody for questioning. Tripathi said that the forest department would also register an FIR in this case. According to the Babupurwa police, the recovery memo submitted by the forest department lists many migratory birds, including the Himalayan Duck. —IANS

Two days after a video of poaching of migratory birds went viral, the forest department and the police initiated a crackdown in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur

716 Birds Of 16 Species Rescued During Raid In UP

Guwahati (Assam): With the onset of the winter season, the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam's Morigaon district is witnessing a surge in migratory bird footfall. The wildlife sanctuary authorities expect that, this year, more migratory bird species will arrive in the wildlife sanctuary compared to the previous year. Earlier, the migratory birds arrived at the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in November, but this year, the sanctuary has been witnessing the migratory birds' footfall since December. After flying thousands of miles from Europe, America, and Africa, thousands of migratory birds have now arrived at the wildlife sanctuary. The authority of the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary has taken all anti-poaching measures in the sanctuary. Nayan Jyoti Das, Range Officer of Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, said that the arrival of migratory birds in Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary has started this year from different parts of the world. "We are expecting a little more arrival of migratory birds here compared to last year. We estimated around 69 species and 13,000 numbers of birds last year, but we are expecting more this year. This year, birds' arrival has been delayed, but we are expecting more in mid-December and January. The birds come from North America, Africa, northern parts of India, and some types of birds come from Gujarat and the western part of India," Nayan Jyoti Das said while speaking to ANI. He also mentioned that this is the peak time of arrival for both foreign and domestic tourists and visitors to the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary. "We get the highest tourist footfall during December and January. We expect that the number of tourist footfalls will increase. Till now, it is less compared to last year, but we expect it will increase day by day," Nayan Jyoti Das said. He further added that they are monitoring the entire wildlife sanctuary 24x7. "We have 25 anti-poaching camps. All our staff are doing hard work, and they are quite busy with their conservation duty," Nayan Jyoti Das said. On the other hand, Khirod Nath, a local youth of the Mayang area near the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, said that every year the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary has witnessed a large number of migratory birds. "This year also, the migratory birds' arrival has started. We are so happy to see the migratory birds coming from different parts of the world," Khirod Nath said. —ANI

With the onset of the winter season, the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam's Morigaon district is witnessing a surge in migratory bird footfall

Assam: Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary Welcomes Early Surge Of Migratory Birds, Anticipates Record Numbers This Winter

Mumbai: Pulkit Samrat and Kriti Kharbanda are now husband and wife. They tied the knot in the presence of their families and close friends on Friday. A day after exchanging the vows, the couple took to Instagram and shared adorable pictures from their D-Day.
"From the deep blue sky, To the morning dew. Through the low and the high, It's only you. From the start to the end, In every now and every then, When my heart beats different, It's got to be you. Constantly, Consistently, Continually," the couple captioned the post.
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C4kSf6-Ju0i/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_self">https://www.instagram.com/p/C4kSf6-Ju0i/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading</a>&nbsp;
For their wedding, Kriti opted for a stunning pink lehenga while Pulkit donned a mint green sherwani. In one of the snaps, Kriti can be seen planting a kiss on Pulkit's forehead while he holds her close. A picture also showed Pulkit tying Mangalsutra around Kriti's neck.
In no time, Kriti and Pulkit's post got flooded with congratulatory messages. "Awwww congratulations guys," actor Akansha Ranjan Kapoor commented. "badhaaiiii again," actor Richa Chadha wrote. "How beautiful," another user wrote. Kriti and Pulkit have appeared together in several films like 'Veerey Ki Wedding', 'Taish', and 'Pagalpanti'. Pulkit was previously married to Shweta Rohira. The speculations around Pulkit and Kriti's wedding surfaced after the duo on Valentine's Days shared similar pictures of themselves from their romantic vacation. It's their captions that hinted about their March wedding.  "Let's March together, hand in hand #happyvalentinesday," Kriti wrote on Instagram, adding a picture of herself with Pulkit. Pulkit shared a photo of him embracing Kriti as they sail on a boat in an exotic location. Alongside the image, he wrote the words 'I do'. His caption read, "Dancing on the edge of a leap! I do, I do, I do love you.. @kriti.kharbanda." Meanwhile, on the work front, Pulkit recently appeared in the third installment of Fukrey and had a brief role in Zoya Akhtar's web show Made in Heaven Season 2. Kriti is gearing up for the release of her upcoming movie, Risky Romeo, scheduled for May 2024.
—ANI

Pulkit Samrat and Kriti Kharbanda tie the knot in a beautiful ceremony surrounded by loved ones.

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Tag : Birds

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