After MP, study on Forest Owlets to start in state

PUNE: Researchers studying the critically endangered Forest Owlet in Madhya Pradesh hope to start a similar project in Maharashtra's Melghat tiger reserve soon.

The reserve contains the largest known population of the bird found only in India. Being a protected area, it offers greater safety to the habitat of the bird compared to non-protected forests, said Prachi Mehta, executive director of the city-based Wildlife Research and Conservation Society (WRCS), the lead researcher.

The team has studied the distribution, demography and ecology of the bird in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh. Once similar studies are carried out in Melghat, the researchers will have comparative data on the environmental factors that affect the bird's population, she added.

Although the Forest Owlet (Heteroglaux blewitti) is enlisted as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, very little is known about the bird, Mehta said.

The project, supported by union government's department of science and technology and MBZ species conservation fund, started as a distribution survey carried out in 50 survey units and 792 survey stations in 2012. Following the survey, the team sought permission from the ministry of environment and forests for colour-banding of the birds.

"It is essential to locate individual birds for monitoring their nesting and breeding success. It will also help in answering questions related to ecological requirements of the bird," Mehta explained.

So far, the team has colour-banded nine birds. Further work will involve radio-tagging individual birds to understand their home-range as well as seasonal movements, she said.

Preliminary observations indicate that the Forest Owlet is found primarily in teak dominant forests, in plain or gently undulating terrain at an altitude ranging between 350-450 metre above sea level. They were found to occupy sites with nil or low disturbances from human habitation.