Recently resighted population of Blue-breasted Quail (Synoicus chinensis) in and around East Kolkata Wetland is under threat due to development activities

Abstract

Of the 271 species of birds recorded previously from the East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW), only 162 species have been sighted continually during the last decade and 109 species become locally extinct, majority of which are water birds. Surveys were conducted in and around EKW to assess the impact of developmental activities on the avian diversity, especially on the recently rediscovered Blue-breasted Quail population. We used Land Use Land Cover analyses to ascertain the recent changes that have happened to the areas around Baruipur wetlands where the quails have been recorded recently and found Build-up areas have increased since 2009 resulting in land use changes for human related activities by potentially threatening whole population of Blue-breasted Quail, which is the largest recorded breeding population of this species from India in recent time. Hence, the study is important for the conservation of the species.