House sparrow among 10 most common Delhi birds

A month-long survey of birds across the Capital has found that the house sparrow — declared the state bird of Delhi in 2012 due to its dwindling numbers — is among the top 10 most common species spotted in the city, birders involved in the exercise said.

- Jasjeev Gandhiok

NEW DELHI:

The survey, which found 200 bird species in the Capital, was completed in the first week of February, but the findings were only recently made public. It is part of efforts by the state forest department in coordination with the Delhi Bird Foundation and Bird Count India groups to release a Delhi Bird Atlas — a detailed guide with bird species in the Capital, their geographical distribution, and their habitats. As part of the count, birders divided Delhi into several grids, covering around 10% of the city's total geographical area.

The most common bird recorded during the survey was the rock pigeon (14,127 individuals), followed by the common myna (6,411) and the black kite (6,082), the findings, analysed by a group of birders part of the survey, have revealed.