The Forest Owlet should not be made a state bird because it is hardly ever seen. A state bird that is invisible to the people does little good to the state or to itself. It is alleged that there are only 250 individuals of the specie remaining. The bird is extremely rare. For Gods sake! It was even declared extinct! After it was brought back to ‘alive’ it was caged in the Critically Endangered category of the IUCN Redlist. In the pitiful state that it lives it enjoys the highest conservation priority under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act,1972. Making it a stately bird will do it no more good than a few write-ups in the newspapers.
It is evident that the person who suggested this change of birds has never visited a national park as a tourist. Now if he does, this is what he will hear -
National Park Guide (NPG): “Woh ja reha hai…Harial..Green Peejon…Maharashtra ka state bard tha…ab nahi hai…ab..Phorest Owlet hai…”
NPG: “There flies the Green Pigeon, it was the state bird of Maharashtra, but now its the Forest Owlet…”
Enthusiastic Tourist (ET): “Hum ko Forest Owlet dekhna ha!”
ET: “I want to see the Forest Owlet!”
NPG: “Saab, hume itne saal ho gaye…humne tho aaj tak nahi dekha”
NPG: “Sir, I’ve been here for so many years…i have never seen the Forest Owlet.”
ET: “Kyon?”
ET: “Why?”
NPG: “Yeha nahi dhikhta. Satpura mein dhikhta hai..aaisa kehete hain…”
NPG: “Its not seen here. It is seen in Satpura…or so they say…”
ET: “Humm.…Kaisa dhikhta hai.…?”
ET: “Humm…What does it look like?”
NPG: “Photu mein tho Spotted Owlet jaise he dhikhta hai…”
NPG: “I’ve seen a photograph, it looks like the Spotted Owlet…”
ET: “Hum ko Spotted Owlet dekhna hai!”
ET: “I want to see the Spotted Owlet!”
NPG: “Woh tho ticket counter ke paas he dhikta hai..Chalo! Udhar he chalte hai…”
NPG: “That can be seen near the ticket counter. Come. Lets go there…”
I have seen the state birds of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Pondicherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal but not Maharashtra.
The Forest Owlet is a critically endangered bird. It was declared extinct when it was not seen by scientists for 113 years until 1997, when researcher Pamela Rasmussen (a prominent American ornithologist and expert on Asian birds) spotted it in Maharashtra. It is said that only 250 individuals of this bird specie survive today.
A long term study supported by Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India was carried out from 2001–2004 by Bombay Natural History Society. As a result of the study the following facts are known to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India since 2004:
- The Forest Owlet is one of the 14 Critically Endangered birds of India (known since 1997)
- The Forest Owlet is listed under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (should be know a little after its discovery in 1997)
- The major conservation threat to the Forest Owlet is habitat degradation
- The causes of habitat degradation are illegal encroachments on forest land and inappropriate management of the forest land.
Yet, the Forest Owlet is not considered as a priority species under the National Wildlife Action Plan (2002–2016) of the Government of India. There is no conservation plan in place to protect this specie. Moreover the recommendations of the study have not been implemented till date.
When a status of National Animal cannot save the tiger, a status of National Heritage Animal cannot save the elephant how can any moron expect that a State Bird status will do any good to a drab looking owlet that 99% of the state population will never see, except in photos.
The facts and figures above are taken from a 4 page document (Please read this document to know more) made available by Dr. Girish Jathar and Mr. Dharmaraj Patil. Dr. Girish Jathar carried out extensive study on the Forest Owlet in Toranmal Reserve Forest from 2001–2004. He obtained his Ph.D based on his study of the Forest Owlet. Mr. Dharmaraj Patil. carried out extensive survey on the Forest Owlet between 2004–2006 in Central India.
The Forest Owlet should not be the state bird of Maharashtra
by Meethil on May 11, 2011
The Forest Owlet should not be made a state bird because it is hardly ever seen. A state bird that is invisible to the people does little good to the state or to itself. It is alleged that there are only 250 individuals of the specie remaining. The bird is extremely rare. For Gods sake! It was even declared extinct! After it was brought back to ‘alive’ it was caged in the Critically Endangered category of the IUCN Redlist. In the pitiful state that it lives it enjoys the highest conservation priority under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act,1972. Making it a stately bird will do it no more good than a few write-ups in the newspapers.
It is evident that the person who suggested this change of birds has never visited a national park as a tourist. Now if he does, this is what he will hear -
National Park Guide (NPG): “Woh ja reha hai…Harial..Green Peejon…Maharashtra ka state bard tha…ab nahi hai…ab..Phorest Owlet hai…”
NPG: “There flies the Green Pigeon, it was the state bird of Maharashtra, but now its the Forest Owlet…”
Enthusiastic Tourist (ET): “Hum ko Forest Owlet dekhna ha!”
ET: “I want to see the Forest Owlet!”
NPG: “Saab, hume itne saal ho gaye…humne tho aaj tak nahi dekha”
NPG: “Sir, I’ve been here for so many years…i have never seen the Forest Owlet.”
ET: “Kyon?”
ET: “Why?”
NPG: “Yeha nahi dhikhta. Satpura mein dhikhta hai..aaisa kehete hain…”
NPG: “Its not seen here. It is seen in Satpura…or so they say…”
ET: “Humm.…Kaisa dhikhta hai.…?”
ET: “Humm…What does it look like?”
NPG: “Photu mein tho Spotted Owlet jaise he dhikhta hai…”
NPG: “I’ve seen a photograph, it looks like the Spotted Owlet…”
ET: “Hum ko Spotted Owlet dekhna hai!”
ET: “I want to see the Spotted Owlet!”
NPG: “Woh tho ticket counter ke paas he dhikta hai..Chalo! Udhar he chalte hai…”
NPG: “That can be seen near the ticket counter. Come. Lets go there…”
The Forest Owlet is a critically endangered bird. It was declared extinct when it was not seen by scientists for 113 years until 1997, when researcher Pamela Rasmussen (a prominent American ornithologist and expert on Asian birds) spotted it in Maharashtra. It is said that only 250 individuals of this bird specie survive today.
A long term study supported by Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India was carried out from 2001–2004 by Bombay Natural History Society. As a result of the study the following facts are known to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India since 2004:
Yet, the Forest Owlet is not considered as a priority species under the National Wildlife Action Plan (2002–2016) of the Government of India. There is no conservation plan in place to protect this specie. Moreover the recommendations of the study have not been implemented till date.
When a status of National Animal cannot save the tiger, a status of National Heritage Animal cannot save the elephant how can any moron expect that a State Bird status will do any good to a drab looking owlet that 99% of the state population will never see, except in photos.
The facts and figures above are taken from a 4 page document (Please read this document to know more) made available by Dr. Girish Jathar and Mr. Dharmaraj Patil. Dr. Girish Jathar carried out extensive study on the Forest Owlet in Toranmal Reserve Forest from 2001–2004. He obtained his Ph.D based on his study of the Forest Owlet. Mr. Dharmaraj Patil. carried out extensive survey on the Forest Owlet between 2004–2006 in Central India.