Macaws from Delhi zoo to add dash of colour to Chandigarh Bird Park

There are around 1,200 birds in all, belonging to 24 species and sub-species at the Chandigarh Bird Park; the main attractions include African love birds, budgerigars, white swan, black swan, wood duck, golden pheasant, yellow golden pheasant, melanistic pheasant, sun conures, African grey parrot and finches

In what could add to the attractiveness of the Chandigarh Bird Park, it will soon get a pair of macaws from the Delhi zoo. In exchange, the bird park will provide a black swan to the Delhi zoo.

Inaugurated in November 2021, the Chandigarh Bird park is spread over 6.5 acres behind the Sukhna Lake in Sector 1, with 58-ft flying height for birds and 200x150-ft ground area each for terrestrial and aquatic birds. The facility has two small aviaries and two walk through aviaries. (Shutterstock/Representational Photo)

Macaws are from the parrot family, and these brightly coloured long-tailed birds are some of the most spectacular parrots in the world. The prized bird, also a popular pet, is known to have fetched around ₹8 lakh a pair, as it is an endangered species. Macaws are native to South and Central America, found anywhere between southern Mexico and northern Argentina.

TC Nautiyal, chief conservator of forests, said, “We have already given the consent for the exchange of the birds, and we are hopeful it will be done in a month’s time”.

Inaugurated in November 2021, the park is spread over 6.5 acres behind the Sukhna Lake in Sector 1, with 58-ft flying height for birds and 200x150-ft ground area each for terrestrial and aquatic birds. The facility has two small aviaries and two walk through aviaries.

There are around 1,200 birds in all, belonging to 24 species and sub-species. The main attractions include African love birds, budgerigars, white swan, black swan, wood duck, golden pheasant, yellow golden pheasant, melanistic pheasant, sun conures, African grey parrot and finches.

Every year around 4 lakh people visit the bird park. In December 2022, the UT forests and wildlife department decided to add 70 more exotic birds of 12 different kinds to the Chandigarh Bird Park. The department even floated tenders to procure the birds, which are expected to cost ₹70 lakh, but later the tender was cancelled as it was floated through the Forest Society on Conservation (FOSCON) with the deputy conservator of forests, Chandigarh, as the tendering authority. Earlier, the birds were directly procured by the department.

Among the 12 kinds of birds, the department was planning to procure 20 rainbow lorikeets, six ducorps cockatoos, golden pheasants, silver pheasants, guineafowls, ostriches and emus each, four crested cranes and black swans each, and two black-necked swans, white swans and umbrella cockatoos each.