Avian Chronicles of Andhra Pradesh [Volume 2] (The Winged Wonders)

Birds are one of the most fascinating and diverse groups of animals, playing a critical role in ecosystems across the globe. With more than 10,000 species identified worldwide, birds are distributed across every continent, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Their abilities to adapt to varied environments, communicate through songs and calls, and undertake incredible migratory journeys make them an important subject of study for ornithologists and nature enthusiasts alike. For many people around the world, birds are among the most interesting animals on the planet. Ornithology, the study of birds, is one of the oldest organized scientific fields (Birkhead et al., 2014). Avian fauna has an essential function in the ecosystem (Islam and Samsudin 2014), and birds are widely recognized as an important aspect in biodiversity conservation planning and monitoring (Bregman et al., 2014). Threats like predators, anthropogenic disturbances, habitat loss, and climate change are threatening a number of bird species, either directly or indirectly (Chen et al., 2011; Sekercioglu et al., 2012). In addition to being models for researching a range of environmental issues (Desai and Shanbhag 2007), birds are ecological indicators of environmental quality (Utpal et al., 2012) and are very sensitive to changes in their environment (Li and Mundkur 2007).