IRS officer chronicles endangered bristled grassbird in Kanpur

Kanpur: Kanpur's inaugural photographic documentation of the Bristled Grassbird, an imperilled species, was chronicled on Friday morning.
Raghav Gupta, an IRS officer, serving in the ministry of home affairs, Government of India, while traversing the Trans-Ganga City Road in Kanpur, perceived a distinctive and melodious vocalization characteristic of grass birds.Initially, he presumed it to be a striated grassbird, but as the call persisted, he approached closer for a clearer view.
He observed the bird perched atop a tall grass stem in the distance. After capturing some record photographs, he ventured towards the grassland to obtain a better sighting to record its call. The bird remained stationary even upon close approach. High-quality photographs and a video were obtained, confirming the bird to be a Bristled Grassbird.
In conversation with TOI, Raghav said that the bristled grassbird is an enigmatic avian inhabitant of Indian grasslands. Its movements outside the breeding season remain largely enigmatic, primarily due to its vocalizations being audible only during the breeding period. The population of the bird is dwindling, and it has been declared as "Vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Raghav Gupta, a native of Kanpur, has garnered several accolades for his wildlife photography at both national and international fora. He is a lifetime member of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and regularly conducts wildlife conservation and awareness programmes for youth across India.
He said, "Habitats surrounding the Ganga comprise rich and highly diverse grasslands that are confronting the pressures of urbanization and the modernization of agricultural practices. I have been frequenting this area for 6 years now and have encountered bird species that are not commonly observed, such as the streaked weaver, black bittern, cinnamon bittern, yellow bittern, striated grassbird, black francolin, etc. Now, the endangered bristled grassbird has also joined the list. This underscores the paramount importance of grassland conservation today more than ever before."