Guwahati, Oct. 27: Habitat destruction has resulted in a fall in population of greater adjutant storks (hargila in Assamese) in the city.

The population of the endangered bird which was 258 last year has slipped to 192 this year causing concern in conservation circles.

The greater adjutant stork is the most endangered stork of the world as it stands today. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), International Wetland Research Bureau (IWRB), Specialist Group on Stork, Ibis and Spoonbill (SIS) and the International Council of Bird Preservation (ICBP) have all declared the greater adjutant stork as first priority species for conservation.

Early Birds which has been conducting regular census of greater adjutant stork (Leptoptilos dubius) in the city for many years has found 192 birds in 14 places in and around the city this year.

The IUCN Red List for Threatened Species (2013) says the recent breeding failures in Assam (the specie’s stronghold) is a cause of concern and need to be closely monitored.

“Many of the roosting areas in the city have witnessed rampant felling of trees. Tall trees in these areas once served as an ideal location for building nests. It is also observed that with the wetlands in and around the city being filled up for construction activities and widely encroached on, the greater adjutant stork is being robbed of feeding ground for chicks,” Moloy Baruah, president of Early Birds, said today while disclosing the result of the survey.

Barua said a case in point is Dabaka Beel at Bangara near LGBI Airport, adjacent to Deepor Beel, a Ramsar Site. A lot of birds can be seen in this wetland, including both greater and lesser adjutant storks but the government injudiciously decided to hand it over to a paramilitary force to raise its headquarters. Early Birds has challenged this step in the Supreme Court.

“Last year, we had found 17 birds roosting ground behind the Ulubari market but this year we found only seven.”

In the Northeast, it is found close to urban areas, feeding around wetlands in the breeding season and also dispersing to scavenge rubbish dumps, abattoirs and burial grounds.

“In Assam, it is found in Kaziranga, Manas and Dibru-Saikhowa National Parks. Since 1991, there have been conservation awareness programmes in Assam,” IUCN Red List for Threatened Species said in its report this year.

It has called for protecting nesting and feeding sites outside protected areas and planting of trees in suitable areas. “The nest payment system in Cambodia may be a suitable model. Rewarding owners of nesting trees could be a means to encourage pride in the conservation of the species,” it says.

The key threats to the bird are destruction of nesting colonies, habitat destruction, including felling of nest-trees, pollution and over-exploitation of wetlands.

“Their population is on the decline and if urgent steps are not taken, it may become extinct in Assam too,” Raj Phukan secretary-general, Green Guard Nature Organisation, in Nagaon said.