Telangana’s State Bird Faces Uncertain Future

Hyderabad: The much-revered state bird, pala pitta or the Indian roller, which is extremely popular during Dasara festivities, is in danger. In an alarm call that is apparently yet to be heard by the state government, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has moved the bird from its previous status of ‘Least Concern’ to ‘Near Threatened’ marking a significant jump in uncertainty facing the bird.

“It is not just the Indian roller. Many other hole-nesting birds including owls, and even the rose-ringed parakeet (Rama chiluka), and other insectivorous birds such as the shrikes, face an uncertain future. One of the primary reasons is the loss of habitat,” Dr Vaidyula Vasudeva Rao, a retired senior professor at the Prof. Jayashankar Telangana Agriculture University said.

The IUCN move in October, elevating the threat level for the Indian roller, follows a 30 per cent decline in its populations in India, an assessment that was confirmed in the 2023 eBird citizen science data. The IUCN said in its threat assessment level report: “There is an urgent need to more accurately quantify population trends” of the Indian roller “to identify (and address) threats that may be affecting this species.”

Dr Vasudeva Rao, who was part of the All India Network Project on Agricultural Ornithology launched by the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) also said, “as on date, there’s no accurate population estimate of the Roller in different ecosystems. There is a desperate need for an estimation study, that will look at the food availability for the roller, and shelter.”

Sriram Reddy, an ornithologist with Hyderabad Birding Pals, whose work is cited by the IUCN, said in addition to habitat loss, a serious problem the bird faced was the demand during festivals, especially Dasara. “A number of Indian rollers are caught and influential and wealthy people get them in small cages to their homes to see them on the festival day. This is just one of the problems that is visible. Habitat loss is a serious issue and the number of rollers seen is going down,” he said.

According to Dr Vasudeva Rao, the clutch size of the birds has been declining each year. Birds are indicators of environmental health and the pala pitta is a species that is particularly relevant to open grasslands and agricultural lands. “The other species that are also disappearing are owls. In our studies we found that the owls regulating the number of eggs laid depending on how much of habitat they are losing and this results in fewer being born,” he said.

There is a need not just for estimation of Indian roller populations but that of owls, and even the Rama chiluka. These are just three among hole-nesting birds and their habitat is being destructed relentlessly. For the roller, which is a solitary bird, loss of nesting holes in trees such as palm trees whose numbers are going down, and the slow disappearing of their food sources — insects — are top reasons for the bird slowly disappearing, he said.

According to the IUCN, another reason for the roller’s elevated threat status is the extensive use of chemicals in agriculture operations - especially herbicides and pesticides that are killing the insects on which the bird depends on.