Delhi to launch first Bird Atlas on Van Mahotsav

New DelhiThe Delhi government is set to release the Capital’s first “Bird Atlas”, a detailed book on Delhi’s bird diversity

New Delhi: The Delhi government is set to release the Capital’s first “Bird Atlas”, a detailed book on Delhi’s bird diversity in terms of species and their distribution, as part of its annual Van Mahotsav celebrations next month.

Painted stork at the Okhla bird sanctuary earlier this year. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Archive)

Three surveys have already been held since last year—two in winter and one in summer survey—and a fourth survey is underway since May 1, with an end date of June 30, officials said.

“The atlas will be formally launched next month, as part of the annual Van Mahotsav celebrations, where massive plantation drives will be held in Delhi. Ministers from the Delhi government and the central government will take part in it,” a government official, who did not wish to be named, said.

The official said the atlas will comprise data on 225 bird species spotted in the first winter and summer surveys. An updated atlas, comprising data from four surveys, is likely to be released later. “Two surveys, both in summer and winter, help establish a baseline and a comparison. The plan is to do the atlas again in a couple of years, to compare and establish whether bird count and diversity has increased or decreased,” the official said.

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The atlas has been prepared by Delhi’s forest and wildlife department, in collaboration with birders from Bird Count India, Delhi Bird Foundation and organisations including WWF-India, Amaltas Walks, Wildlife SOS, Asian Adventures and the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL). So far, the three surveys have documented 235 bird species in Delhi, including 153 species from last year’s summer survey.

Delhi environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa called it an important step in Delhi’s fight to protect and promote its biodiversity. “This is the first time such an atlas is being released by the government. It will give comprehensive data on birds found in the region and their spread and habitat.” he told HT.

The first survey was conducted in January-February 2025, followed by another in the summer of 2025, held from the last week of April until June. A second winter survey was then held from November to December 2025.

“Last summer, we recorded 153 species, which included 122 resident species, 18 winter migrants, and 13 summer migrants. This highlights the city’s rich and dynamic avifaunal diversity,” said Pankaj Gupta, regional coordinator for Bird Count India.

The previous summer survey also saw 21 additional species, which were not spotted in the winter survey, being recorded, Gupta said. This included Bonelli’s eagle, Indian bush lark, Indian Golden-oriole and the greater flamingo.

For each survey, data is collected across seven clusters, which consist of 145 subcells, each nearly a square-kilometre in area. With each subcell being covered four times, close to 600 checklists are made every survey.