Birds of Bangladesh
Birds are warm-blooded avian. Their bodies are covered with feathers and their forelimbs are modified into wings. Bangladesh is gifted with many kinds of birds. There are many birds in Bangladesh. Nature is so favorable here that even birds of far-off lands visit this country, especially during winter. Birds are wonderful gifts of nature.
There are approximately 9,000 species of birds in the world. But Bangladesh has only 628 species of birds of which 388 are resident and 240 are migratory. But it is shocking to note that our bird population is shrinking every day. Today 41 species arc threatened in Bangladesh, of which 19 are critically endangered, 18 are endangered and 4 are vulnerable.
Resident birds of Bangladesh may be classified into three main classes-cage birds, game birds and birds of prey. Birds that have been traditionally kept in the cages and are successfully bred in captivity are called cage birds. Cuckoo is a popular songbird. It heralds the advent of the spring. It sings sweetly. It lives on insects. The other songbirds are the Shyama, the nightingale, the koel, etc. Mayna is also a popular bird. It is a talking bird. It can imitate the human voice. Its voice is very sweet. It lives on insects. The parrot is also a talking bird. Popular cage birds found in Bangladesh are Canary, Munia, Red Munia, Java Sparrow, Gold Finch, Green Finch, Blue Finch, etc. We catch and kill some birds for their tasty flesh or for some other reasons. These are called game birds. Common game birds in Bangladesh are Red Jungle Foist (Banmurog), Francolins (Titir), Dove, Pigeon, Snipe, Heron, Teal (Balihansh) etc. Birds that hunt and kill other animals for food are called birds of prey. Bangladesh has 68 species of birds of prey. They have strong hooked beaks and long, sharp, curving toes. Eagle, Quzzard, Falcon, Kite, Vulture, Owls are such kind of birds.
List of common birds in Bangladesh are Magpie (Doel), Mayna (Maina), Cuckoo (Kokil), Crow (Kak), Parrot (Tia), Pigeon (Paira), Martin (Shalik), Cock (Morag), Goose (Rajhans), Peacock (Maur), Sparrow (Charai), Heron (Bok), Eagle, Dove (Gugu), Hen (Murgi), Owl (Pecha), Nightingale (Bulbul), Swallow (Babai), Kite (Chil), Vulture (Shakun), Hawk (Bagpakhi), Duck (Patihans), Cockatoo (Kakatua), Skylark (Chatak pakhi), Woodpecker (Kaththokra), Kingfisher (Machranga), etc.
Fig: National bird – Doel (Magpie)
Doel is a small bird. It is found everywhere. It looks pretty. It is our ‘National bird’. It sings and raises its tail at the same time. There are some other common birds which deserve special mention. Cuckoo, Doel, Bou-katha-kao, etc. are popular song birds. Tuntuni, Babui, etc. are tailor birds. Besides, Chandana, Finge, Khanjana, Kingfisher, Wood-pecker, etc. are some common birds of Bangladesh with eye-catching beauty. However, the most common bird of Bangladesh is the Crow which is called the scavenger of our environment.
Birds add to the beauty of nature. They also play a vital role in maintaining ecological balance. But we are cruelly destroying their feeding, breeding and nesting places. Thus, we are destroying our feathered friends and endangering our existence. They keep our environment fresh and clean. We should not kill birds. So, we should make concerted efforts to save our bird population.
