{"id":57346,"date":"2025-07-30T11:05:57","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T05:35:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=57346"},"modified":"2025-07-30T11:05:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T05:35:57","slug":"kaziranga-bird-census-tracking-grassland-birds-through-acoustic-monitoring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/kaziranga-bird-census-tracking-grassland-birds-through-acoustic-monitoring\/","title":{"rendered":"Kaziranga Bird Census: Tracking Grassland Birds Through Acoustic Monitoring"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Kaziranga Grassland Bird Census Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recently, PM Modi, in his Mann ki Baat address, spotlighted the <\/span><b>first-ever grassland bird census conducted in Assam\u2019s Kaziranga National Park<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This unique initiative aimed to assess the presence, diversity, and habitat preferences of grassland bird species\u2014many of which are endangered or declining in number.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This article deals with the Kaziranga grassland bird census, its methodology, and the growing conservation concerns around grassland bird species in India.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Grassland Birds<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grassland birds in India are a unique group of avian species adapted to live in open, grassy habitats.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These birds play a critical ecological role as indicators of healthy ecosystems, reflecting the overall status of grassland habitats.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Notable examples include the Bengal Florican, Finn\u2019s Weaver, Indian Courser, Great Indian Bustard, and Jerdon\u2019s Babbler.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many grassland bird species are threatened due to rapid habitat loss. Climate change has further intensified these threats.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Conservation of grassland birds requires sustained protection of their habitats, scientific monitoring (like acoustic surveys), and strong policy support.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Special attention is needed for species endemic to India\u2019s grasslands, as their extinction would be irreversible on a global scale.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Kaziranga\u2019s Grassland Bird Census: A Conservation Milestone<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recently, a collaborative survey was conducted in Assam\u2019s Kaziranga National Park to record its grassland bird population.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The initiative was led by forest officials, scientists, and conservationists, and was sparked by the research of Chiranjib Bora, a doctoral student studying the endangered <\/span><b>Black-breasted Parrotbill<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Funded by the <\/span><b>INSPIRE fellowship<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from the Department of Science &amp; Technology, his project used <\/span><b>acoustic monitoring tools<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to document bird species in Kaziranga, 70% of which is grassland.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The survey aimed to monitor elusive and rapidly declining grassland bird species, many of which are hard to detect due to their small size and camouflaged appearance.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It focused on 10 priority species that are either globally threatened or endemic to the Brahmaputra floodplains, such as the Bengal Florican, Swamp Francolin, and Finn\u2019s Weaver.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In total, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">43 species were recorded, including 1 Critically Endangered, 2 Endangered, and 6 Vulnerable species, as per the IUCN Red List<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Innovative Acoustic Monitoring in Kaziranga Bird Survey<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Kaziranga grassland bird survey stood out for its use of passive acoustic monitoring.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Traditional visual counting was ineffective for these small and shy birds, so <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">acoustic recorders were strategically placed on tall trees near grasslands<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> during their breeding season (March to May), a time when birds are most vocal.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These devices captured bird songs over three consecutive days at 29 locations using six recorders.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The recorded audio was then <\/span><b>analyzed using spectrograms<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014graphical representations of sound\u2014and a machine learning tool called Birdnet to accurately identify bird species based on their calls.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This method enabled researchers to detect species that might have gone unnoticed using conventional techniques.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Grassland Birds as Ecosystem Health Indicators<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The survey\u2019s findings underscore the ecological significance of grassland birds, which serve as vital indicators of habitat health.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their presence confirms that the grasslands of Kaziranga are thriving.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A key highlight was the discovery of a breeding colony of the <\/span><b>endangered Finn\u2019s Weaver<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a species endemic to the Brahmaputra floodplain.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For the first time, researchers located over 85 nests of this rare bird atop trees in Kaziranga, shedding light on its nesting behavior and strengthening conservation efforts in the region.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Multiple Threats to Grassland Bird Habitats<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kaziranga\u2019s grassland birds face serious threats due to both <\/span><b>human activities and natural processes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Over the past 40 years, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Assam has lost around 70% of its grasslands<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Key drivers include overgrazing, conversion of grasslands into agricultural land, and ecological succession, where grasslands naturally transition into forests.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is particularly alarming for species endemic to the Northeast, as their extinction in this region would mean global extinction.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Climate change<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> adds another layer of threat, with some species like the Bengal Florican showing significant declines.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Further research is needed to understand the full impact of these changes.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/grassland-bird-census-in-kaziranga-pm-modi-explained-10154788\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IE<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> | <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/india.mongabay.com\/2024\/05\/where-are-the-birds-of-the-shrinking-grasslands-of-maharashtra\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MB<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kaziranga\u2019s first grassland bird census used acoustic tech to track endangered species and assess ecosystem health<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":57355,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[1889,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-57346","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-kaziranga-grassland-bird-census","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}