That the efforts of the Central and State Governments, other organisations and individuals to conserve and protect the country’s fauna, especially birds, is paying dividends, shows a report of a one-day pan-India survey, the Himalayan Bird Count conducted on May 14.

The heartening news is that several States have over 200 species of birds. Uttarakhand tops the list with 294, followed very closely by West Bengal (284), while Arunachal Pradesh and Maharashtra have 234 and 228 respectively. Interestingly, the two southern States, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have identical numbers — 221 while Himachal Pradesh has 217.

Jammu and Kashmir has 193 species while its neighbouring Ladakh has 104.

Conducted by Bird Count India, Bird Conservation Nepal and Royal Society for Protection of Nature, Bhutan, it was the first of its kind and according to conservationist Sanjay Sondhi will sensitise people about the varied types of birds present in Himalayan States. Talking to TOI he said: “This was the first such coordinated count and can be used as a base figure, which will help us understand the impact of climate change and other factors on the avian diversity in the region.”

Among the species recorded were Chukar Partridge, Pink-Browed Rosefinch and Great Barbet.