LET THEM FLY

The world of birds is a gift of nature where miraculous things happen. This amazing world includes nearly ten thousand species of birds all over the world with different temperaments, colors, level of intelligence and with more different behaviors. It is also interesting to think about how they are created differently from each other. The Sri Lankan bird life is rich with 237 recorded different species and with around 26 endemic bird species. All of them are very important to the environment as they are to humans.

Due to the attraction of local and foreign tourists, birds are a great tool to boost the tourism industry. Controlling pests, acting as pollinators and maintaining island ecology are some other important factors about birds. Birds naturally control pests in gardens, farms and other places by eating insects. And also, birds are known as pollinators as they move pollen from flower to flower and help to create new plants. Bird droppings are harvested by humans as fertilizer.

These birds have to face various problems on a daily basis to survive. Some of these problems include industrial farming, logging, invasive species, hunting, trapping and climate changes. Industrial farming destroys their habitats and also some pesticides are poisonous to them. Currently, large-scale deforestation is taking place for constructions. Due to the fact that most of the bird species live in the forests, this logging is a big threat to their lives. Also, invasive species are more harmful to birds. Hunting and trapping are another tragedy that humans inflict on birds. Another factor risking their survival is that they are threatened with extinction due to climatic changes.

According to the 2007 IUCN Red list on Sri Lanka, ten species are recorded as critically endangered. Painted Francolin, Jungle Bush Quail, Yellow-Legged Green Pigeon, Black-necked Stork, Spot-billed Duck, Jerdon’s Baza, Indian Courser, Saunders’s Tern, Blue Rock Pigeon and Blue-eared Kingfisher are included in that list. As human beings, it is our responsibility to preserve these birds and let them soar into the high skies for many more generations to come.

Although we cannot prevent them from natural disasters, we have the potential to stop the threat to their lives posed by human activities. By farming in a way that is sustainable and compatible with nature is a good solution for industrial farming. Protecting their habitats by reducing deforestation, taking the necessary steps to eradicate invasive species are other steps that we can take to alleviate some of the challenges of bird life.

Living freely is not only ours but also a right of birds. So, do not let them fade. Let’s take our first step today to save these little angels.

- Rtr. Manodya Wickramasinghe -