Senehal Rebello, Hindustan Times
Mumbai, November 29, 2012
Mumbai, November 29, 2012
On Sunday, ornithologists spotted seven Orange-breasted
Green-pigeons in the core forest area of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park
(SGNP) at Borivli. The species is found in the hills between Goa and
Kerala and east and central India.
“The Orange-breasted Green-pigeon is a bird of the hills
and not the plains. Initially, I thought it was a Yellow-footed
Green-pigeon that is quite common. But a closer look revealed that the
foot was not yellow,” said Tushar Nidambur who spotted the new species.
Spotting the Orange-breasted Green-pigeon is part of the ongoing bird
survey for the Mumbai region biodiversity project headed by naturalist
Sunjoy Monga. With only the male species sporting a pink band on the
upper breast and a broader orange band below, Nidambur added, “Since the
female species does not have an orange breast, we were lucky to find
males that helped us identify the bird. Since it’s never been spotted in
the Mumbai region, this is quite a discovery.”
“The national park is the last surviving extensive and isolated forest patch in northern Konkan that falls between the Sahyadri range and Arabian Sea. As a result, SGNP gets a sprinkling of the biodiversity of the Western Ghats and is an interesting location for several bird species,” said Monga.
Monga added, “The bird could have either moved from North of Goa where it is usually found or has strayed more than 500 kilometres north of its known range.” “The finding of this species is yet another addition to the national park's and the region's avifauna,” said Sunil Limaye, chief conservator and director, SGNP. Over the past two months, the team has spotted several rare and winter bird species such as the near threatened European roller or orphean warbler in the Mumbai region.
“The national park is the last surviving extensive and isolated forest patch in northern Konkan that falls between the Sahyadri range and Arabian Sea. As a result, SGNP gets a sprinkling of the biodiversity of the Western Ghats and is an interesting location for several bird species,” said Monga.
Monga added, “The bird could have either moved from North of Goa where it is usually found or has strayed more than 500 kilometres north of its known range.” “The finding of this species is yet another addition to the national park's and the region's avifauna,” said Sunil Limaye, chief conservator and director, SGNP. Over the past two months, the team has spotted several rare and winter bird species such as the near threatened European roller or orphean warbler in the Mumbai region.
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