Language: English
From the preface:
"Bihar is home to a large number of birds. Endowed with vast stretches of wetlands the state attracts large numbers of migratory birds, mostly between the months of October and February. Apart from migratory birds the state has a wide variety of resident birds.
With passage of time wetlands have been shrinking in area, resulting in loss of habitat for migratory birds. The famous Kabar Lake, once a potential Ramsar site has been reduced to a fraction of its original size due to various developmental activities and pressure on land for agriculture. This has resulted in a reduction in the number of arrivals in the area. It is necessary to arouse awareness of the loss the state will suffer if this trend continues and the rest of the wetlands go the way of the Kabar lake.
It is necessary to make the people of the state aware of this beautiful heritage. This book is but the first step towards this direction. Though the state is home to well over 250 bird species the current edition holds photographs of only 121 birds from 53 families. The photographs have been arranged according to the families. All these photographs have been taken by photographers from Bihar and do not cover the entire spectrum of available birds in Bihar. It is hoped that this effort will encourage more people to become aware of the rich variety of birds available and the need to protect them.
The Environment and Forest Department will continue with this effort and in the next edition attempts will be made to cover all the birds available in the state with more scientific inputs to further enhance its awareness potential for the people. It is sincerely hoped that the effort will lead to a more conducive environment for the birds and also generate interest among the people towards protection of our precious heritage."