Birds : The Feathered Bipad BIRDS FOR BIODIVERSITY

INTRODUCTION  The definition of a bird is “A Feathered Biped”.  Of all the higher forms of life the birds are the most beautiful, most musical, most admired, most watched and most defended.  They are an “Ecological Litmus Paper”.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To show how human intervention is causing harm to birds. To show how birds are an indispensible part of biodiversity. To show how birds are useful for human beings and other biotic life. To conduct a survey to get to know level of awareness for birds among people. To identify the types of birds found in Gujarat.

LITERATURE SURVEY (1) To show how human intervention is causing harm to birds. Human beings have affected bird-biodiversity a lot. Human activities such as forestry, farmland and industry are some which affect birds a lot. Some are as below: - Impact of Human Activities on Birds:- Forestry Farmland Industry Pollution

 Forestry: - In the recent years, due to increase in the human greed, we have cut down the forests, which have a great impact on the existence of birds and other animals.  Farmland:- The pressures of a vastly increased population now demand that farmers utilize every inch of their land. Hedges are trimmed or replaced with wire fences, so destroying the nest sites and song-posts of many species, and the food-rich ditch is canalized and often replaced by an underground drainage conduit.

 Industry:- In terms of both visual impact and pollution, industry is capable of making the greatest scars on our landscapes. The canalization of rivers to provide transportation and cheap water, eventually to be used as great sewers for industrial waste.  Pollution:- Pollution is the greatest culprit of this century. It has its effects on birds also. Due to noise pollution birds, especially those which communicate at lower frequencies, lose their ability to communicate.

(2) To show how birds are an indispensable part of biodiversity. AND (3) To show how birds are useful for human beings and other biotic life. Birds are very useful for biodiversity. They are a very important part of our environment. Uses of birds in human life:- Eat Insects And Worms Carrying Water in Deserts Pollination Friends to Farmers

 Eat Insects and Worms Birds, especially waders, are eaters of insects and worms. In this way the bird and the mammal, both are benefitted. Bird gets its food and the mammal is free from insects.  Carrying Water in Deserts The males stand in water, with their belly feathers absorbing 15 to 20 times their weight of water. Up to 40 grams of water can be absorbed in this way and even after the long return flight about half of this remains – enough to water the downy chicks.

 Pollination Some plants have flowers that are pollinated by birds. Birds can see red well, so bird pollinated plants are often bright red. They produce a great deal of nectar, but it is more watery than nectar found in insect pollinated plants. Hummingbirds, sunbirds, small parrots and honey eaters are all pollinators. They also feed on insects that they catch inside the flowers.  Friends to Farmers Birds help farmers a lot. They eat insects, rodents, locusts, etc. which harm the crops of farmers. This also helps farmers to minimize expenditure on insecticides and pesticides increasing their earnings. This helps environment as whole as less insecticides and pesticides are used.

In this survey we questioned people coming in Science City from different parts of Gujarat. Through this we got to know about bird- diversity in Gujarat and also got to know the birds whose number has declined in Gujarat. We also got to know the level of awareness for birds among the people of Gujarat. 1.Are there any birds which you used to see and are not found presently in your surroundings? (a) Peacock (b) Crow (c) Sparrow (d) Pigeon 2. Name one endangered species of bird in India? (a)The Great Indian Bustard (b) Dove (c) Hawk (d) Hyena METHODOLOGY

3. How do birds help farmers? (a)Eat Insects and Worms (b) Pollination (c) Eat Crops (d) Carries Water 4. Scientific study of birds is called _________. (a)Anthropology (b) Ornithology (c) Psychology (d) Sociology 5. How do birds help plants reproduce? (a) Pollination (b)Eating seeds (c) Carrying Seeds (d) All of these

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION Table 1: Level of awareness among different age groups Age groupNo. of people surveyed Average of no. of questions answered Young (10-20)2510 Adult (20-40) Old (above 40)

Graph 1:Level of awareness among different age groups From the above graph, we can conclude that level of awareness among older people is more than young people. So we need to spread awareness about birds in different schools and colleges for birds and biodiversity.

CONCLUSION This project is meant to increase awareness about birds among all. It is meant to highlight importance of birds in our environment. It also shows how human activities are harming birds. From the above literature, we can conclude that birds are very important for our biodiversity and even for the very survival of human beings. They play vital role in different ecosystems at different tropic levels. We also got to know that people want to protect birds if more awareness is spread among them. But due to lack of awareness birds are in danger. There are many National Parks, Sanctuary and Bio-reserves for protection of birds. If we can do so we can keep our Earth decorated with the most beautiful, most musical, most admired, most watched and most defended creatures.