Order of the Supreme Court in the matter of M K Ranjitsinh & Others Vs Union of India & Others dated 21/03/2024. The matter related to protection of Great Indian Bustard (GIB) and Lesser Florican. The SC order of April 19, 2021 imposed restrictions on the setting up of overhead …
Genes guide cliff swallows to select the size of colony in which they live. Charles and Mary Brown, researchers at the University of Tulsa, USA, who studied the swallows, may have scored one for heredity
ever wondered why penguins strut in that peculiar fashion? Is it cumbersome for the birds? Research says rocking from side to side is the most efficient way for the birds to move, given their short legs. Conserving energy is vital as the birds have to walk more than 100 kilometre …
british birds are on the verge of extinction due to intensive farming and use of herbicides and pesticides. This was stated in the Annual Breeding Bird Survey, compiled by the British Trust for Ornithology ( bto ), government advisers, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds ( rspb ) and …
Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT and its metabolites (DDTs), HCH isomers (HCHs), chlordane compounds (CHLs) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) were determined in sediment, soil, whole body homogenates of resident and migratory birds and their prey items (including fish, green mussel, snail, earthworm, crabs, prawn, lizard and frogs), bird eggs and …
According to the World Conservation Union's listing, the bird is safe and secure. But it appears in India's Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, as a Schedule IV species
Breast meat is a delicacy in USA. So much so that a company called Avigenics has decided to genetically modify chicken into one that can give the country's citizens more breast meat per palate and plate. Or to derive some medical benefit for the pharmaceutical industry. That's not all. It …
The first step for the development of a poultry industry in India was taken in 1860 with the founding of the Indian Poultry Club in Lucknow by some British officers. Then in early 20th century foreign missionaries began to import foreign or exotic breeds. One of the first breeds to …
There was a time when a banquet in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh was considered incomplete without kalamansi to eat. Kala or black and masni or meat, literally means bird with black meat. Kadaknath (strong), as the fowl is popularly known, graced every rite and ritual. It is not just …
long before the birth of Christ, a bird, never seen before in the valley of the Blue Nile, reached the court of the pharaohs. Neither the architectural grandeur of the court nor the
As the red jungle fowl started travelling across the globe, its connections to different aspects of human life also grew. It assumed the responsibility of sounding the wake-up call to humans. Because of this role, it was regarded as the Herald of Dawn and the guardian of good over evil …
The red jungle fowl (RJF) is one of the four jungle fowls found in the Indian subcontinent belonging to the genus Gallus, the other three being grey, Ceylon and green. It is also know as Gallus bankiva or Gallus gallus murghi. RJF is distinct in its appearance. It's strikingly colourful …
There are scientific theories on the monophyletic (tracing origin to one ancestor) and polyphyletic (many ancestors) origin of modern day fowls. The former goes with the theory of Charles Darwin (1868) that rjf is the sole ancestor of all the domestic chicken. He considered rjf the sole ancestor because, among …
Unfortunately, it is not just rjf that is suffering from neglect. There are 20 desi or indigenous fowl breeds in India, all of which possess unique characteristics. Aseel , meaning true or real, an aggressive bird known for its fighting abilities has now become extremely rare and is found only …
In the little village of Pubong Fatak, 13 km from Darjeeling in West Bengal, sits Phul Bahadur, 97, weaving baskets to earn his living. He wears thick glasses tied to a rubber band around his head. On his wrinkled wrist is a Seiko watch that stopped functioning 20 years ago. …
Pakistan's Sindh province government has allowed hunting of more species this year. It has issued new rules to regulate hunting during the forthcoming season. Last year's ban on hunting of several wildlife species has been lifted. This year hunters will be allowed to hunt partridges, sandgrouse, quails, ducks, coots, moorhens, …
More than half of the total African penguin population, which was on the verge of dying, were saved due to the efforts of thousands of people. The penguins of the Dassen Island and the Robben Island, had faced a threat of extinction when oil from a sunken ship had leaked …
the Indian bustard, one of the world's most endangered birds, in on the verge of extinction in its natural habitat in the state of Andhra Pradesh. A recent survey of the Bird Watchers Association of Andhra Pradesh reveals that only four to five birds could be found in the Rallapadu …
vultures are gregarious scavengers. They sit in large sized groups, hunched, looking for carrion. But soon there might not be enough of them surviving to perch in groups. High mortality rates have been recorded among several species of the vulture found in the country. A new study reveals that a …
slash-and-burn farming practised by poor farmers in the Indian Northeast, known as jhum , is often said to be damaging to the environment. This traditional mode of agriculture has been discouraged through several measures. A recent study, one of the very few to scientifically assess the impact of jhum on …
