Eleven of the 12 Kingfisher species found in the Indian subcontinent are also found in Bengal, a birdwatchers’ group pointed out during a conference on Saturday.

At the two-day conference, a proposal was made to declare a Sunday in July as Kingfisher Day. The meet is underway at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre in New Town.

Kingfishers are still found on the fringes of Calcutta where marshy land, ponds and other water bodies are present. Occasionally, they are also spotted in the city.

But relentless encroachment of water bodies is shrinking their habitat.

A birdwatcher said the most commonly found Kingfisher species in the vicinity of Calcutta were White-throated Kingfisher, Common Kingfisher, Stork-billed Kingfisher and Pied Kingfisher.

“They prey on fish, insects and small invertebrates,” said a birdwatcher.

Veteran birdwatcher Shubhankar Patra said the White-throated Kingfisher — the state bird of Bengal — can be spotted in good numbers inside Salt Lake’s Central Park.

Kanad Baidya, a founding member of Birdwatchers’ Society that organised the meet, said: “There are 12 species of Kingfisher recorded in the Indian subcontinent. There are records of all these species in Bengal also. Only Blyth’s Kingfisher, has no record in the last few decades.”

The group proposed that the third Sunday of July be celebrated as Kingfisher Day.

“July is when the species is at the peak of its breeding season, which is why we are asking for a day in July to be celebrated as Kingfisher Day,” said Baidya.

A birdwatcher at the conference said the week starting from this third Sunday of July will be observed as Kingfisher census week with focus on documenting the distribution and diversity of the bird.

Declaring a day as Kingfisher Day will raise awareness about the bird and its dwindling natural habitats, Baidya said.

“An aware community is the best protection against filling up of water bodies and wetlands and protecting the natural habitats of the birds,” he said.