In a public poll, Indian Grey Hornbill voted ‘Bird of Tirupattur’

In a public poll that was conducted by the Forest Department, Indian Grey Hornbill was chosen as the ‘Bird of Tirupattur’ district by over 41,000 voters.

Officials of the Forest Department said that the initiative was part of its efforts to create awareness on conservation of endangered species, especially birds, among young people. “The idea is to create awareness about biodiversity conservation and forest protection among youngsters, including students. The month-long exercise witnessed a polling of 1.04 lakh votes for the selection of birds in the district,” M. Babu, forest range officer, Ambur, told The Hindu.

As part of the initiative, seven birds were listed for people to select from. The list comprised Indian Grey Hornbill, Indian Eagle Owl, Black-winged Kite, Black-winged Stilt, Lesser Whistling duck, Red Avadavat, and Pied kingfisher. These birds listed for voting were the top seven birds found in the bird census in the district every year.

Forest officials said that people can vote for their preferred bird online through the official website. QR code is also displayed at public places like bus termini, railway stations, schools, colleges, government offices, banks, ATMs, panchayat office, and the Tangedco office in the district with pamphlets in Tamil and English containing detailing about the initiative.

Offline voters chose their bird on a printed pamphlet provided by Forest Department staff and dropped it into the designated boxes. The boxes were placed in public places including tourist spots. The online and offline selection process ended on February 15.

Along with District Forest Officer (DFO) M. Mahendran, Collector K. Sivasoundaravalli declared that the Indian grey hornbill has been voted as ‘Bird of Tirupattur’ district. Of the total 1.04 lakh votes polled, the Indian grey hornbill secured 41,243 votes in the poll.

Forest officials said that among five forest ranges including Tirupattur, Vaniyambadi, and Alangayam, a sizable population of the Indian grey hornbill has been found in forests that come under Ambur and Singarapettai forest ranges and Yelagiri Hills in the district.