State bird nearing extinction

GURGAON: The population of the black partridge (black teetar), Haryana's state bird, is decreasing owing to massive urbanization in Gurgaon, according to district forest officials.

Till a decade ago sighting the black teetar in the region was easy but now the bird has almost disappeared because of the changing habitat and rapidly changing demographic complexion. Even though there are no exact figures of the population of the bird in the district, the officials claimed that hardly any black partridge has been sighted for quite a long time.

"The city has become a concrete jungle. The commercial development taking place in Gurgaon has gradually deprived the bird of its natural habitat." said Kulvendra Singh, DFO Gurgaon.

The black partridge has always been a tourist attraction and once upon a time was in abundance in the Sultanpur Bird Santuary, Basai and Dadri wetlands. But now the bird is not seen much in these areas.

In 1979, the Haryana government had declared the black partridge as the state bird but unfortunately the authorities did little to save the bird.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/State-bird-nearing-extinction/articleshow/16101435.cms