Every year in February, birding enthusiasts across the globe come together to spend time over a span of four days to take part in a massive exercise of documentation called Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). The groups visit their favourite places watching birds, identifying them, counting them and submitting their observations in an online database. Over the years, the GBBC has helped scientists to better understand and protect birds around the world in this biggest global bird counting exercise.
In India this year, Andhra Pradesh was among the top 10 States that recorded the highest bird species in the country during the GBBC held from February 16 to 19. While West Bengal topped the list with 533 species followed by Uttarakhand (419 species) and Assam (413 species), a total of 321 species were recorded in Andhra Pradesh and a staggering 1,155 complete checklists were submitted on eBird, an online database platform, by birdwatchers around the State.
