Introduction:
As bird lovers, we know that those are the most beautiful creatures in the world and also – the most vulnerable. On planet Earth, there are numerous species and birds that coexist with us that is due to the fact nature has shaped each beautiful flora and fauna this is around us. But as the world is rapidly growing, there are some of the top Critically Endangered Birds in India.
In the beyond 50 years, the planet has experienced rapid growth of human population, improvement, and urbanization, deforesting masses of millions of acres of forests throughout the globe along the way. As a result, many top beautiful birds have become endangered and are dropping extra habitats and food throughout the day.
List Of Top 10 Critically Endangered Birds in India:
Great Indian Bustard:
The great Indian bustard or Indian bustard is one of the top 10 critically endangered birds in India. It is found at the Indian subcontinent. A large bird with a horizontal frame and lengthy bare legs, giving it an ostrich-like appearance, this bird is among the heaviest flying birds. It is unmistakable with its black cap contrasting with the light head and neck.
The body is brownish, with a black patch spotted in white. The male is deep sandy buff colored and all through the breeding season has a black breast band. This species was formerly widespread in India and Pakistan.
The habitat where it’s far most often found is arid and semi-arid grasslands, open country with thorn scrub, and tall grass interspersed with cultivation. The bustard is seriously endangered in Pakistan generally due to a lack of safety and rampant looking.
In 2011 Birdlife International uplisted this species from Endangered to Critically Endangered, especially as it has been extirpated from 90% of its former variety, and the population was estimated at possibly fewer than 250 people in 2008. The essential threats are looking and habitat loss. In the past, they have been heavily sought for their meat and for sport, and today, poaching of the species may continue.
The fast reduction of the population of India’s bustards, their endangered status, and the decline of grasslands led the Ministry of Environment and Forests to prepare species recovery programs in 2012 for 3 species of bustards. Overall it is one of the top critically endangered birds in India.
Baers Pochard:
Baer’s pochard is one of the top 10 critically endangered birds in India. It is a diving duck found in eastern Asia. It is a resident fowl in North and Central China, formerly bred in southeast Russia and Northeast China, migrating in winter to southern China, Vietnam, Japan, and India.
The breeding male has a black head and neck with green gloss, white or paler yellow eyes, blackish-brown back, darkish chestnut breast, white or mild chestnut flanks, and a short and low tail. The green gloss on its head is unique among Aythya.
These pochard species inhabit water our bodies with rich aquatic vegetation. They occur in freshwater bodies, rivers, freshwater lakes, reservoirs, and coastal habitats surrounded by thick vegetation. The Female has a darkish brown head and neck that blend into the chestnut-brown breast and flanks.
It was once a common species in its range however is now very rare. Mature individuals can be much less than 1,000. According to records, India had more than 1,400 in 1995 and 1997. It was formerly classified as a vulnerable species by the IUCN. That’s why it is one of the top critically endangered birds in India.
White Bellied Heron:
The white-bellied heron also called the great white-bellied heron is one of the top 10 critically endangered birds in India. It is a large heron species living in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in northeast India and Bhutan to northern Myanmar.
It is discovered in the freshwater ecosystems of the Himalayas and is the most endangered heron species in the world. Listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2007, its total global population is estimated to be the most effective at 50-249 adult birds, and numbers are declining even further.
It has a uniform dark gray plumage, a whitish belly, and lengthy silvery or whitish plumes at the rear crown and lower foredeck. In breeding plumage, it has a greyish-white nape plume and elongated grey breast feathers with white centers. In India, the white-bellied heron is protected under Schedule 1 of the Wild Life Act of 1972. Moreover, it is still the top critically endangered bird in India.
Spoon-Billed Sandpiper:
The spoon-billed sandpiper is one of the top 10 critically endangered birds in India. It is a small wader that breeds on the coasts of the Bering Sea and winters in Southeast Asia. The most distinctive feature of this species is its spatulate bill. It has a red-brown head, neck, and breasts with darkish brown streaks.
It has blackish top components with buff and faded rufous fringing. Non-breeding adults lack the reddish coloration but have pale brownish-grey upper parts with whitish fringing to the wing coverts. The underparts are white, and the legs are black. This bird is critically endangered, with a current population of fewer than 2500 – probably fewer than 1000 – mature individuals.
The main threats to its survival are habitat loss on its breeding grounds and loss of tidal flats through its migratory and wintering range. Protected regions in its staging and wintering areas include Yancheng in China, Mai Po Marshes in Hong Kong and Point Calimere, and Chilka lake in India.
Formerly classified as an Endangered species through the IUCN, recent research shows that its numbers are decreasing more and more rapidly and that it is on the verge of extinction. No wonder it is the top most critically endangered bird in India.
Forest Owlet:
Forest Owlet is one of the top 10 critically endangered birds in India. It is listed as Endangered at the IUCN Red List on account of 2018, as the population is estimated at less than 1,000 mature people Small. It is threatened by the loss and degradation of forests because of illegal logging, encroachment by humans, woodland fires, and the construction of irrigation dams.
It is small and stocky. It is a typical owlet with a rather unspotted crown and closely banded wings and tail. They have a relatively large skull and beak. Unlike the spotted owlet, the woodland owlet has fewer and fainter spots at the crown and back. The upper elements are dark grey-brown. They make several different calls, which include a hissing name of short duration.
The song calls are short and mellow, not like those of most owls. It became considered extinct but was later rediscovered, and a small variety of populations make this species critically endangered in India. Melghat Tiger Reserve, Taloda Forest Range, and the forest area of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are the best places to find this small jungle owl. Forest Owlet is the state bird of Maharashtra. Over the years, it is still the top most critically endangered bird in India.
Red Headed Vulture:
The red-headed vulture, also called the Indian black vulture is one of the top 10 critically endangered birds in India. It is an Old World vulture specifically found in the Indian subcontinent, with small populations in a few parts of Southeast Asia. It has an outstanding bare head deep-crimson to orange in the adult, paler red in the juvenile.
It has a black frame with a light gray band at the bottom of the flight feathers. The sexes range withinside the color of the iris males has a paler, whitish iris, even as in females, it’s miles darkish brown. Today the variety of the red-headed vulture is localized typically to northern India.
It is usually in open country and in cultivated and semi-desert areas. It is likewise observed in deciduous forests and foothills and river valleys. It is generally found as much as an altitude of 3000m from sea level. Due to using Diclofenac in veterinary medicinal drug population of this species declined significantly in recent years.
The red-headed vulture has started becoming harder to come by as its miles are being hunted down. Places like Cambodia have prepared special packages to help critically endangered vulture species. That’s why it is still the top most critically endangered bird in India.
Bengal Florican:
The Bengal florican, additionally called the Bengal bustard, is one of the top 10 critically endangered birds in India. The species is local to the Indian subcontinent, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It is the simplest member of the genus Houbaropsis.
The Bengal Florican is a rare species of bustard family and native to the Indian Subcontinent only. Bengal Florican is one of the most threatened species and is almost extinct in other places of the world; much less than 1,000 only young Bengal Floricans are disturbed in the Indian Subcontinent.
It’s the world’s rarest bustard, but Poaching and land conversion for agriculture took its habitat and tagged it as endangered species. No surprise it is one of the top most critically endangered bird in India.
Sarus Crane:
The Sarus crane is one of the top 10 critically endangered birds in India. It is a large nonmigratory bird found in parts of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Australia.
It has a top of 5 ft. 11 in. The adult sarus crane is very large, with grey wings and body, a bare red head and a part of the higher neck, a greyish crown, and a long, greenish-grey, pointed bill. This bird has a grey ear covert patch, orange-red irises, and a green-grey bill.
Their food includes insects, roots, small bugs, and tubers. The species has historically been widely distributed in the lowlands of India along the Gangetic plains, extending south to the Godavari River, west to coastal Gujarat, the Tharparkar District of Pakistan, and east to West Bengal and Assam.
An estimated 15,000–20,000 mature sarus cranes were left in the wild in 2009. The most robust of the three subspecies, the Indian population numbers fewer than 10,000. Overall it is one of the top 10 critically endangered birds in India.
Sociable Lapwing:
The sociable lapwing, known as the sociable plover, is one of the top 10 critically endangered birds in India. It is a wader in the plover family. Sociable Lapwing is a migratory bird from the open grassland of Kazakhstan and is found only in the northwest place of India.
The medium-sized lapwing may be very attractive with longish black legs, a dark belly, and a short black bill. The sociable lapwing population had always been tough to quantify. Habitat destruction is the main cause for this species being placed on the list of endangered birds. It is one of the top 10 critically endangered birds in India.
Jerdons Courser:
Jerdon’s courser is one of the top 10 critically endangered birds in India. It is a nocturnal bird belonging to the pratincole and courser family Glareolidae, endemic to India. It has a yellow base to the black bill, a blackish crown, a broad buff supercilium, and an orange-chestnut throat patch.
A slim white crown stripe runs on the top of the head. In-flight, it shows a mostly black tail and a prominent white wing bar. The nocturnal chicken, Jerdon’s Courser is the most threatened and enigmatic bird of India, Specially endemic to southern Andhra Pradesh.
It is most lively at dusk and during the night. It turned into first recorded in the mid-nineteenth century. It was then considered to be extinct for more than eighty years till it turned rediscovered in 1986 in Cuddapah District, Andhra Pradesh.
This bird is normally found in the Godavari river valley, Sri Lankamalleshwara Sanctuary, and in the Eastern Ghats forest range. Moreover, it is one of the top 10 critically endangered birds in India.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, these are some of the top 10 critically endangered birds in India. These birds are nature’s best creations with beautiful features, but due to so many factors and human interference, now they are critically endangered, and even some of them are on the verge of extinction.
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