Goa bird checklist crosses 500 species milestone

Key facts

• Goa's bird checklist crossed the 500-species milestone for the first time, recording 502 species in its eighth edition.
• The checklist was published as a peer-reviewed paper in the Indian BIRDS Journal.
• The checklist was authored by Pronoy Baidya of Arannya Environment Research Organisation and Mandar Bhagat of Goa Bird Conservation Network.
• Five new species were added: greylag goose, red-crested pochard, wedge-tailed shearwater, Indian courser, and black-bellied storm-petrel.
• Goa hosts about 40% of India's roughly 1,300 bird species within an area of 3,702 square kilometres.
• The addition of drier habitat species like Indian courser indicates patches of ecosystem change in Goa.
• Waterbird numbers at Carambolim have declined sharply, with Northern pintail counts falling from around 40,000 to 10-15 due to inadequate water management.
• Goa became the first state to prepare a dynamic bird checklist in 2018, later adopted by other states.