Guwahati, June 6 (IANS) In another milestone for wildlife conservation, the latest bird survey in Assam's Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) has recorded 30 species of raptors with 217 individual birds and six species of storks with 266 individual birds, officials said on Saturday.

The survey highlights Kaziranga's rich avian biodiversity and reinforces the protected area's significance as a vital habitat for several species of birds, including birds of prey and wetland-dependent storks.

KNPTR Director Sonali Ghosh said that, in a significant step towards science-based wildlife management, the Kaziranga Tiger Reserve authority, in collaboration with research scholars from different universities in Assam, conducted a comprehensive stork and raptor survey during February-March this year.

The survey report was released on World Environment Day on Friday.

“The survey recorded a total of 30 species of raptors with 217 individual birds and six species of storks with 266 individual birds,” Ghosh said. She said that the rapid survey was conducted by a team of 10 expert enumerators between the last week of February and the first week of March 2026, across all administrative ranges under the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division of KNPTR. Nesting locations identified during the current year were also included in the overall analysis.

The official said that the national park supports a wide variety of diurnal and nocturnal raptors, including eagles, falcons, vultures, buzzards and owls. Its vast network of wetlands is also home to numerous resident and migratory stork species. A total of 112 species of raptors have been recorded in India, of which nearly 50 species are found in Kaziranga National Park and its adjoining landscape.

Assam’s rich wetlands and the foothills of the Himalayas provide critical habitats for these birds of prey.

“Globally, there are 20 species of storks, primarily found in tropical and subtropical regions. About 50 per cent of them, or eight species, have been recorded in India. All these eight species are also found in Assam and the Kaziranga landscape. The region’s vast network of wetlands and tall trees provides them with safe nesting and feeding grounds,” the KNPTR Director noted.

The latest survey conducted across Kaziranga Tiger Reserve revealed a remarkable diversity of raptors and storks spread across its three administrative divisions. Kaziranga National Park recorded the highest diversity with 21 species of raptors and five species of storks, followed by Biswanath Wildlife Division with 20 species of raptors and six species of storks. Nagaon Wildlife Division recorded 14 species of raptors and five species of storks.

According to the senior Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer, among the stork species, the Asian Openbill was the most abundant, with 92 individual records across all divisions, while the Greater Adjutant was the rarest, with only three individual sightings. Among the raptors, the Himalayan Griffon Vulture was the most commonly sighted bird of prey, with 69 individual records. The Booted Eagle and White-tailed Eagle were the rarest species, with only one sighting each.

Kaziranga’s landscape also serves as a vital stronghold for the globally threatened Pallas’s Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus).

In a remarkable example of international wildlife research, the Wildlife Science and Conservation Centre of Mongolia confirmed that a male Pallas’s Fish Eagle named ‘Ider’ was tagged at Buuntsagaan Lake in central-western Mongolia on August 21, 2020. Since then, the bird has returned to Kaziranga National Park every year for breeding, changing its nesting location only once, the official said.

She added that during the non-breeding season, from June to September, the bird consistently returns to Buuntsagaan Lake in Mongolia.

A survey conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in January 2020 reported 10 active nests of Pallas’s Fish Eagle in Kaziranga, making it the protected area with the highest number of known breeding sites for the species anywhere in the world. These findings underline Kaziranga’s global importance for the conservation of the species and highlight priority areas for action, including protection of nesting and floodplain habitats, mitigation of powerline electrocution, continued telemetry monitoring, and strengthened international collaboration to secure the species’ remaining populations, Ghosh said.

The findings, she said, would contribute significantly to ongoing efforts to protect threatened raptor and stork species and further enhance conservation management across the park’s diverse habitats. Most of these species are listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, which provides them the highest degree of legal protection in India.

The latest survey underscores the importance of preserving Kaziranga’s unique and diverse landscape and highlights the critical ecological role played by raptors and storks in maintaining the health and balance of the ecosystem, the KNPTR Director said.

Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, India's seventh UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to the famed ‘Big Five’ wildlife species.

According to the latest estimates, the park shelters 2,613 greater one-horned rhinoceroses (2022 census), 104 Bengal tigers (2022), 1,228 Asian elephants (2024), 2,565 wild water buffaloes (2022), and 1,129 eastern swamp deer (2022).

The KNPTR spread across several districts of Assam, including Golaghat, Nagaon, Sonitpur, and Biswanath.

(Sujit Chakraborty can be contacted at sujitchakrabortyne@gmail.com)

--IANS

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