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| AJ Currie included the Yellow Lapwing in his checklist in 2016, but the first photographic record of the bird in the city dates back to 2019, photographed by me and this record later being published in 'Bird Asia.' |
Abstract:-
In 1916, A. J. Currie published a comprehensive account titled 'The Birds of Lahore' and its Vicinity,' documenting avian sightings in the outskirts, including Attari and Mureedka. His detailed bird sightings were compiled into a checklist of 200 species, and this valuable contribution was featured in 'The Journal of the Bombay Natural History.'
Engaging in bird photography within the Lahore area from 2010 to 2024, this article aims to assess the current avian landscape and compare it to Currie's observations made 108 years ago. In categorizing the birds encountered, those commonly seen are termed as "Common," while species with records less than Five in recent years are labeled as "Uncommon." Birds that have become rare, with no recent sightings, are classified as having "No recent records."Additionally, I specifically considered birds for which photographic records are available.
To ensure a thorough examination, I cross-referenced my observations with data from other Lahore-based photographers in the "Birds of Pakistan" group and monitored eBird sightings. This multi-faceted approach enhances the reliability and comprehensiveness of the findings, providing a nuanced perspective on the avian population in Lahore over the past century. I also consulted the works of several other researchers besides Currie (1916), including Mirza (1965, 2005), Ali and Ripley (1983), Roberts (1991, 1992), Chaudhry et al. (1992), Mahmood (2000), Hussain and Afzal (2005), as well as Grimmett and Inskipp (2006).
Categories and Counts:-
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Category
|
Count
|
|
A. Total Birds found in
Lahore (In 1916, A. J. Currie)
|
200
|
|
B. Status of Birds
documented in Lahore by A.J. Currie in 2024
|
|
|
- "Common"
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101
|
|
- "Uncommon"
|
59
|
|
- "No recent
Records"
|
40
|
|
C. Impact Factor due to
habitat loss
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50% decline in birding
population in 108 years
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|
|
|
Common Birds Encountered:-
1. The Indian House-Crow
2. The Indian Treepie
3. The Common Babbler
4. The Jungle Babbler
5. The Yellow-eyed Babbler
6. The Indian White-Eye
7. The Punjab Red-vented Bulbul
8. The Black Drongo
9. Clamorous Reed-warbler
10. Blyth's Reed-warbler
11. The Indian Tailorbird
12. Zitting Cisticola
13. The Rufous-fronted Prinia
14. The Indian Lesser White-throated Warbler
15. Chiff Chaff
16. The Ashy Prinia
17. The Plain Prinia
18. The Bay-backed Shrike
19. The Rufous-backed Shrike
20. The Indian Oriole
21. The Rose-coloured Starling
22. The Central-Asian Starling
23. The Common Myna
24. The Bank Myna
25. The Red-breasted Flycatcher
26. The White-browed Fantail Flycatcher
27. A common Pied Bushchat
28. The Isabelline Chat
29. The Brown Rock Chat
30. The Indian Redstart
31. The Indian Blue-throat
32. The Indian Robin
33. The Magpie Robin
34. The Baya – Ploceus baya
35. The White-throated Munia Indian silverbill
36. The Yellow-throated Sparrow
37. The House Sparrow
38. The Indian Sand Martin
39. The Swallow
40. The Wire-tailed Swallow
41. Sykes's Striated Warbler
42. The White Wagtail
43. The Masked Wagtail
44. The Large Pied Wagtail
45. The Grey Wagtail
46. The Yellow Wagtail
47. The Citrine Wagtail
48. The Indian Tree Pipit
49. The Paddyfiled Pipit
50. The Indian Sand Lark
51. The Singing Bush-Lark
52. The Crested Lark
53. The Ashy-crowned Lark
54. The Purple Sunbird
55. The Golden-backed Woodpecker
56. The Common Wryneck
57. The Indian Roller
58. The European Roller
59. The common Bee-eater
60. The Blue-tailed Bee-eater
61. The Indian Pied Kingfisher
62. The Common Kingfisher
63. The White-breasted Kingfisher
64. The Common Grey Hornbill
65. The Indian Hoopoo
66. The Common Indian Swift
67. The Cuckoo
68. The Pied Crested Cuckoo
69. The Asian Koel
70. The Common Coucal
71. The Rose-ringed Parakeet
72. The Barn Owl
73. The Spotted Owlet
74. The White-eyed Buzzard
75. The Black Kite
76. The Black-winged Kite
77. The Long-legged Buzzard
78. The Shikra
79. The Sparrow-Hawk
80. The Kestrel
81. The Indian Blue Rock Pigeon
82. The Spotted Dove
83. Collared Dove
84. The Grey Quail
85. The Grey Partridge
86. The Red-wattled Lapwing
87. The White-tailed Lapwing
88. The Black-winged Stilt
89. The Green Sandpiper
90. The Spotted Redshank
91. The Greenshank
92. The Common Snipe
93. The Black-bellied Tern
94. The Grey Heron
95. The Little Egret
96. The Indian Pond Heron
97. The Night Heron
98. The Gadwall
99. The Common Teal
100. The Pochard
101. The Indian Little Grebe
Uncommon Birds Encountered:-
1. Cinereous Tit
2. The Long-tailed Grass warbler
3. The Bristled Grass-warbler
4. The Brown Willow-warbler
5. The Green warbler
6. The Pale Brown shrike
7. The Common Wood-shrike
8. The Short-billed Minivet
9. The small Minivet
10. The Brahminy Myna
11. The Grey-headed Flycatcher
12. The Indian Paradise Flycatcher
13. The Indian Bushchat
14. The Desert Chat
15. The Red-tailed Wheatear
16. The Indian Red Munia
17. The common Rose-Finch
18. The Spanish Sparrow
19. The Eastern Meadow Bunting
20. The Grey-necked Bunting
21. The Red-headed Bunting
22. The long-billed Pipit
23. The Indian Sky-larks
24. The Yellow-fronted Pied Woodpecker
25. Syke's Nightjar
26. The Alexendrine Parakeet
27. Plum-headed Parakeet
28. The collared Scope Owl
29. Egyptian Vulture
30. Steppe Eagle
31. The Indian Tawny Eagle
32. Bonelli's Eagle
33. The Brahminy Kite
34. The Crested Honey-Buzzard
35. The Red-headed Merlin
36. The Southern Green Pigeon
37. The Little Brown Dove
38. The Red Turtle Dove
39. The Black-breasted Quail
40. The Black Partridge
41. The Little Button-Quail
42. The Common Crane
43. The Lapwing
44. The Curlew
45. The Black-tailed Godwit
46. The Black Ibis
47. The Spoonbill
48. The Woolly-necked stork
49. The Black Stork
50. The Bar-headed Goose
51. The Ruddy Shelduck
52. The Mallard
53. The Spot-billed Duck
54. The Wigeon
55. The Pintail
56. The Garganey
57. The Shoveler
58. The Red-crested Pochard
59. The White-eyed Duck
"No recent records" Birds Encountered:-
1. The Raven
2. The Rook
3. The Jackdaw
4. The Himalayan Black Bulbul
5. The White-eared Bulbul
6. The Himalayan Treecreeper
7. Western crowned warbler
8. The Streaked Wren-warbler
9. The Indian Grey-shrike
10. The White-headed Chat
11. Strickland's Chat
12. The Grey-winged Blackbird
13. The Black-throated Blackbird
14. The Green Munia
15. The Eastern Linnet
16. The Rufous-backed Sparrow
17. The Drongo Cuckoo
18. The Long-eared Owl
19. The Short-eared Owl
20. The Mottled Wood-Owl
21. The Dusky Horned Owl
22. The Black Vulture
23. The Eurasian Griffon Vulture
24. White Rumped Vulture
25. The Short-toed Eagle
26. The Crested Serpent-Eagle
27. Pallas's Fishing Eagle
28. The Pied Harrier
29. The Peregrine Falcon
30. The Shaheen Falcon
31. The Laggar Falcon
32. The Cherrug Falcon
33. Yellow Eyed Pigeon
34. The Black-bellied Sandgrouse
35. The Common Sandgrouse
36. The Houbara Bustard
37. The Sociable Lapwing
38. The Jack Snipe
39. The White Stork
40. The Smew
My Birdwatching Journey and diverse Birding hotspots in Lahore:-
From 2010 to 2024, I immersed myself in the enchanting world of bird photography in Lahore. Our home, the first in the colony, with a spacious garden and abundant fruit trees, became a frequent haven for many bird species. Nurturing my lifelong hobby of bird identification, our surroundings, surrounded by fields, attracted a diverse array of birds year-round. Every day began with the sweet call of a tailor bird on my window. After 2010, I transitioned from being a birdwatcher to a bird photographer. Armed with my trusted companions – the Nikon D500 and D7100, along with Nikkor lenses 70-300 and 200-500 – I had the honor of capturing and documenting the vibrant avian life in and around Lahore. I documented and photographed 200 birds in the Lahore region, presenting a checklist distinct from A. J. Currie's, which I plan to publish in a separate journal.
Here are some of the locations where I dedicated numerous hours to observing and capturing the enchanting world of birds. It is pertinent to mention that from 2018 to the present day, I have spent more than 140 days each year, mostly on weekends, engaging in bird watching and bird photography in the hotspots in Lahore mentioned below.
- Pakistan Kidney Liver Hospital Site in Phase 7 of DHA Lahore
- Various Sites of DHA
- Bedian Road Outskirts
- Shalimar Garden
- Lawrence Garden
- Race Course
- Lahore Safari Park
- Shahdara Reserve Forest
- Sialkot Ring Road
- Jallo Park Lahore
- BRB Canal Batapur
- Punjab University Botanical Garden
- River Ravi
- My Home in Lawan (Behind Shalimar Garden)
- Safari Park
Conclusion:-
To understand the changes in Lahore's biodiversity over the past century, we need to examine various factors such as alterations in the environment, habitats, weather patterns, and human activities. These factors encompass deforestation, urbanization, pollution, climate change, and conservation efforts. Despite Lahore's historical title as the 'City of Gardens,' it has evolved into more of a concrete jungle. In the past, Lahore was confined to the Walled City and a few small areas outside. However, urbanization has sprawled beyond the old city boundaries, with new colonies stretching to the Indo-Pak border. This expansion has contributed to a decline in avian biodiversity. More than 50 percent of the birds documented by A. J. Currie in 1916 are now categorized as uncommon, and some have no recent records. This transformation underscores the substantial impact on Lahore's biodiversity witnessed over the years.
