PANAJI: Goa's rich avian biodiversity boasts of 463 documented species, but, other than the usual kirkiro (kingfisher), buddo (cormorant), kutturgo (white-cheeked barbet), hollduvo (golden oriole), vayre (Malabar grey hornbill) and some more, the list of birds in Konkani fails to come out in flying colours.
Taking a cue from birders in other states, members of Goan Bird Conservation Network (GBCN) hope to compile a list of Konkani names for locally-recorded species in the near future.
Famed ornithologist, late Salim Ali, veteran birder, Heinz Lainer and other birders have contributed to the list, but, only a miniscule number of birds are known by their local names.
"This is a complex task and may turn out to be a long-term exercise to have a list of standardized names in Konkani," says Parag Rangnekar, GBCN state coordinator.
Agrees Pronoy Baidya, a birder and state coordinator of web portal, e-bird Goa. "This will be a full exercise and modalities will have to be worked out."
Birders realize that local residents on the periphery of the state's wetlands and traditional lakes can be good sources of knowledge. But, academic exercises in the past to source information have been limited.
Arun Heblekar, former principal of Ravi Sitaram Naik college of arts and science, Farmagudi, Ponda, had taken up a project to compile a standard list of common bird names in Konkani a few years ago. "We circulated a note among 15 school managements in Ponda with this objective in mind, but barely two responded," recalls Heblekar.
A list of 100-odd names was nonetheless compiled, but, Heblekar regrets that the project could not be completed. "We prepared a catalogue of over 100 names, but time was a constraint. If somebody takes it up we would like to support the initiative," Heblekar, now retired, says.
Sources say birders in some other states like Tamil Nadu launched their initiatives a few years ago, while the Maharashtra Pakshimitra Sanghatana also complied a list of 550 species in Marathi. "We are still getting suggestions to improve this (Marathi) list," says Raju Kasambe, project manager, IBA Program and IBCN BNHS, Mumbai.
In Kerala, the project proponents charted a different course. "We have been told that prominent literary figures in Kerala were taken onboard to coin names in Malayalam for unknown birds," says Baidya.
Pointing out an issue in Goa, Baidya says the names of birds in Konkani vary from north to south. "We need to standardize, and will have to choose the best ones," he says in conclusion.
Says Ramesh Veluskar, a Konkani writer, "We are getting cut off from nature, as we frequent forest and other bird areas less and less. Fields are fallow and we see birds less. But even so, the elderly know the bird names, but research is needed before the knowledge fades away."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Konkani-names-of-birds-set-to-take-flight/articleshow/46589645.cms