Be it the mighty Himalayas, the vast deserts of the west, the Central deciduous forests and scrublands, the rich Western Ghats, the spectacular evergreens of the east or even the mangroves and Sundarban Delta, India is an extremely ‘ biodiverse’ landscape with almost all kinds of bird habitats that can exist (except the Tundra maybe)!
We’ve always been fascinated by each of these natural wonders, especially the magnificent avifauna they are home too! The birds we come across in every habitat are either residents or migrants. However, there is also a category of birds known as ‘Endemics’. These are the avians who are found in a very specific geographical area, or are limited to a comparatively small geographical boundary. Endemic bird species are truly the regions ‘very own’. In a season when many birds are in their resident habitats and regions and most are busy in nest-building activities, Endemic Bird Day is celebrated each year to admire these ‘native’ dwellers and take some time out to observe them and cherish their beauty! This event in India also coincides with the ‘Global Big Day’ every year which is also a celebration of the winged wonders around us.
Some of these endemic species are specific to a larger region too, such as the Grey Francolin who’s endemic to the Indian Subcontinent and is found almost in all parts, and has a widespread range. The Grey Francolin is a big ground bird, quite often heard especially at twilight hours, and he can surprise you by walking right out of the bushes onto the road before you, just like he did in the picture below!
Grey Francolin
The Indian Subcontinent, being a large landmass with a extensive Central plains dotted with deciduous forests and scrublands, and the Ghats lining the coasts, a good number of endemics belong specifically to the subcontinent, and are found nowhere else in the world. The Indian Pitta is one such species. A nine-colored flamboyant beauty, he’s the most colorful palette of nature you would ever find! The Pitta is a shy bird, mostly found hiding in the low and high bushes, occasionally seen hopping about the grass, much to a birder’s amusement and surprise! Though he is quite around us, he is only vocal in summers, which is the only time you may manage to trace him!
The Plum-headed Parakeet is another colorful wonder who’s endemic to the complete Indian Subcontinent, barring the western desert region, and so is the Indian Grey Hornbill. The Parakeets visit the Central plains in summers and announce their arrival with their peculiar shrieks and playfulness!
As the shrieks of the Plum-headed beings fade, the monsoon heralders announce their presence – the Cuckoos! The Grey bellied Cuckoo is one more ‘endemic’ species who is limited to the Indian Subcontinent, barring a few patches in the Central plains. Their heralds are just unmistakable, and you can never go wrong once you’ve heard them well. However, its usually tricky to get a good glimpse, for they rarely sit atop trees, except for lucky moments like this one!
Another birdie called the ‘Jerdon’s Leafbird‘ is endemic to our subcontinent, but he’s sparsely distributed in the Central regions, with a denser population in the Western Ghats.
This was about the whole subcontinent, now lets head to the center. A set of birdies have been observed to be distributed primarily over Central and south-Central India, and are known as ‘Central Plain Endemics’. They include a shier friend of the Grey Francolin – the Painted Francolin, the head-bobber Brown Rock Chat (you can expect to find him peeping at you even on your terrace! Just look for a complete brown bird who bobs his head in joy! ) and the very-chattery White-browed Bulbul.
A little bright yellow birdie called the Indian Yellow Tit is also a near endemic, and he’s a forest and tree-lover with a crest, who is found exclusively in Central India plus the western ghats and coastline.
A bunch of singers, the Larks too are endemic to Central India. The Syke’s Lark is mostly found in Western-Central India, whereas the Rufous-tailed Lark and Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark is found all over Northern and Central India except the extreme east and the Himalayas.
The hills are always the best birding destinations and even the birds love them! That’s why a great number of birds have ‘decided’ to be endemics of the hills. The Himalayas boast as one of the most ‘biodiverse’ regions in the whole world, and the birds prove that that’s really true! One of the rarest bird species – the Cheer Pheasant has made the western Himalayas his home, and lives in a very restricted mid-altitude (not too low and not too snowy) terrain of the hills. He’s an ‘endemic’ in true sense!
There are quite some more beauties such as the Himalayan Bulbul, the Himalayan Woodpecker, the Black-headed Jay and the Rufous Sibia (a songster you can be tired of hearing in the hills, he’s that ‘endemic’!) who have made the Western Himalayas their very own dwelling. The Himalayas also host some spectacular wonders such as the Himalayan Monal Pheasant and the Western Tragopan (the Western Tragopan is endemic exclusively to the extreme western Himalayan regions).
This wraps up the Himalayas for now. We also have a spectacular avifauna in the Western Ghats too, which line the coasts and merge into the Eastern Ghats in the Nilgiri hills. The Black-and-Orange Flycatcher is a tiny and cute flycatcher who’s endemic to a very tiny region in the Nilgiris. But he’s really worth the search in the tiny region!
The Nilgiri Flycatcher, Nilgiri Woodpigeon and Nilgiri Laughingthrush have been specially named after the Nilgiris, owing to their ‘endemic’ nature! The Nilgiri Laughingthrush is so endemic that birders visit the Doddabetta Peak particularly to look for him, and he too waits for them in the bushes by the road!
If we move even more south and maybe towards the foothills and coastline, we can meet the cheeky White-cheeked Barbet, the Yellow-throated Bulbul, the magnificent purple Velvet-fronted Nuthatch (watch for him spiralling the tree trunk) and the melodious Malabar Whistling Thrush. All of these are true to their ‘endemic’ habitation too!
If you ever happen to visit the Southern hills, look for a bright orange beauty flitting about the trees outside your balcony. You’ll meet the Orange Minivet, a close cousin of the Scarlet Minivet who’s endemic to Southern India. Also, don’t miss the not-so-conspicuous Square-tailed Black Bulbul who’ll amuse you with his truly ‘square’ tail and fun chatter!
There’s another wonderful species who’s named after his native ‘Malabar’ region, but who’s now also a resident in some parts of Central and Northern India, making him kind of a ‘double’ endemic (specific to two distinct regions in the Subcontinent). He’s the Malabar Pied Hornbill. Another ‘double’ endemic is the Blue-capped Rock Thrush who is found both in the Western Himalayas and the Western Ghats too!
And the list goes on! We have many more species who have been studied to be endemics or near-endemics to the Subcontinent and its specific geographical regions. In this respect, the endemics are our best friends, whom we’ll meet every year close to their habitat, provided we keep an eye (and ear) open to look out for their presence! Each one of them does their part in helping us to be joyful, imbibing positivity in us! In return, let’s take a minute (or a day!) to admire their beauty and help conserve their habitats too!
A Happy Endemic Bird Day to all the nature lovers out there, and happy ‘endemic’ watching!
Rhythms of Nature🍃☘🌊🎵... blog by Pradnya 