Nagpur: A population assessment survey of endangered agro-grassland bird lesser florican, which is on the verge of extinction in Maharashtra, will begin from Saturday across the state.
The repeat survey, which will be conducted between August 4 and 22, is part of the national status estimation designed by the endangered species recovery programme of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and will be implemented jointly with Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Corbett Foundation, and state forest departments across Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
The presence of the bird in potential habitats in Akola, Yavatmal, Washim districts of Vidarbha, Marathwada and certain pockets of Pune and Solapur where it is sporadically sighted will be recorded.
The WII’s project scientist Sujit Narwade said that over 39 volunteers divided in teams of three would conduct a vehicle trail. “Each trail will be of 10-15km. If florican is sighted, the teams will walk to find out its habitat. A datasheet has been prepared to fill all the details. Prior to the survey, a training workshop is being held in Akola on Saturday,” said Narwade.
Narwade said the survey involves mammoth effort by volunteers and front-line staff to sample florican breeding grounds within a short time window of monsoon following occupancy and distance sampling designs.
Lesser florican is the smallest bird of the bustard family. It is one of the four bustard species of India, all of which are threatened as per International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Though lesser florican has been given the highest degree of protection under Schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, its numbers have declined, necessitating its declaration as an endangered species in the IUCN Red list.
As per WII 2017 report, only 64 birds were sighted in the country at 428 sites spread across 20,000 sqkm range. Maharashtra and MP failed to record a single bird despite estimation done at 72 sites in Akola, Washim and Yavatmal.
