Species In News: Lesser Florican

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    In News 

    • Recently, Lesser florican has been tracked for the first time from Rajasthan to Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district.

    About Lesser florican

    • Lesser florican, taxonomically classified as Sypheotides indicus.
    • It is one of three bustard species endemic to India, the others being the Bengal florican and the Great Indian Bustard. 
    • It is a small and slender bird species found in tall grasslands.
    • Habitat: It is observed in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and some other regions during the monsoon season.
    • Conservation Status: It is declared endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and also features in Appendix 2 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
      •  It is also protected under Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife Act.

    Image Courtesy:ebird.org

    About Bengal Florican 

    • Scientific Name:  Houbaropsis bengalensis
    • Habitat: The species is found in very small numbers only in India and Cambodia. 
      • About a hundred of them are present in Nepal and the species is extinct in Bangladesh.
    • It has a very small, rapidly declining population largely as a result of the widespread loss of its grassland habitat. 
    • Conservation Status: IUCN status: Critically Endangered.
      • Listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of India, 1972
      • Inclusion of the species in Appendix I of CMS will aid in transboundary conservation efforts facilitated by International conservation bodies and existing international laws and agreements.

    About Great Indian Bustard

    • Scientific Name: Ardeotis nigriceps.
    • It is a large bird with brown-and-white feathers with black crowns and wing markings. It is one of the heaviest birds in the world.
    • Habitat and Distribution: The species occurs in the Indian Subcontinent, with former strongholds in the Thar desert in the northwest and the Deccan tableland of the Peninsula.
      • It has been extirpated from 90 per cent of its former range and is now principally confined to Rajasthan.
      • Rajasthan is now home to the single largest viable population of the species.
        • It is the state bird of Rajasthan.
    • Protection Status
      • IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
      • CITES Appendix I
      • India Wildlife Protection Act: Schedule 

    Source: TH

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