BNHS develops mobile app for birdwatchers

The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), a premier NGO working for research and conservation of bird species, has developed a mobile app for birdwatchers.

Kishor Rithe, Honorary Secretary and Interim Director, BNHS, said that the app would help birders to get more information on birds.

The BNHS has been working with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) on the Environmental Information Awareness, Capacity Building and Livelihood Programme (EIACP), and is a Resource Partner (RP) on Avian Ecology.

The BNHS-EIACP maintains a database of references pertinent to avian ecology as a part of this programme. “This will immensely help the University students who want to go beyond birding and start some studies. This application will provide students the bibliography of Indian birds,” said Nandkishore Dudhe, programme in-charge of BNHS-EIACP.

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The app provides various filters that can be used for a systematic search by students and researchers. The references include the species name, journal name, year of publication, authors' names, state, and category. Keywords such as "feeding," "breeding," "sightings," "roosting," etc. can be used for a detailed search, Nandkishore Dudhe stated further.

Dr Sujit Narwade, Assistant Director of BNHS, who is heading this initiative said that “this application has covered more than 24,000 bibliographic data which include references from Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, Hornbill magazine, Sanctuary Asia magazine, Birdlife International, Birding ASIA, Indian Birds, Forktail, etc.and will be very useful to students and researchers.”

Dudhe provided more information on the application. “The search bar is provided with a drop-down list containing the names of birds in order to make the process faster and easier. You can also filter using state & subject wise. One of the main features is the single-tap download option. This app aims to help researchers, students, naturalists, scientists, and others access a ready-made bibliography through their mobile phones when the option of using a laptop for work isn’t available.”