Image credits:
Rupam Bhaduri
Bihu Bird Count
a citizen science based activity connecting nature and culture.

Bihu Bird Count is a citizen science project hosted under Assam Bird Monitoring Network, in association with Bird Count India. The festival of Bihu is associated with the celebration of different crop cycles and nature. Bihu songs and folklore also talk about birds and trees. Thus, the project started with an idea to incorporate an activity along with the festival where in addition to food, dance, and prayers an individual can closely observe the entities of nature. Bihu Bird Count aims to document the diversity of birds in Assam during the three Bihus (Magh, Rongali, and Kati Bihu), additionally making people aware of the avifauna. A lot of our effort is also inclined towards helping citizens understand the birds, their morphology, taxonomy, habitat, behavior, etc. Bihu Bird Count follows a three-tier mechanism where State coordinators, District coordinators, and Local coordinators communicate in a nexus.

Year of Initiation:
2020
Project Coordinator:
Jaydev Mandal, Rupam Bhaduri And Leons Abraham Mathew
E-mail Address:
Role in the project:
Coordinators
Institutional Affiliation:
M.C.College, Barpeta, IIT Guwahati and College of Vetetinary Sciences, Kahnapara
Taxa:
Birds
Status:
Active
No. of participants:
500 - 1000
Geographical spread of project:
Assam
Run through an umbrella platform:
Other
Other umbrella platform:
Assam Bird Monitoring Network in association with Bird Count India
Purpose of the project:

To document the spatial and temporal diversity of avifauna in Assam
To create awareness on avifauna among the populous
To establish the connection between the festival Bihu and nature

Coordinating institution/organisation:
None
Location of the coordinating institution/organisation(s):
Assam
Data availability:
Available upon request, without a fee
Participation in language other than English:
Yes
Other languages allowed for participation:
Assamese
Appropriate age groups of participants:
All age groups
Citizen participation through:
Website, Mobile application
Why should people participate:

Although a lot is known about birds, there still lacks a gap among the mass about the avifauna. Bihu Bird Count under Assam Bird Monitoring Network is growing with its initiative to create awareness on the world of birds and the impact of various anthropogenic activities on them. The project also puts effort in capacitating the participants in skills such as bird identification, documentation, etc. We are looking for enthusiastic participants who can help us in fulfilling our agenda.

Prior knowledge or expertise required:

We just seek interested participants who has keen interest in nature. No age limit.