Wildlife

Wings of hope

While climate change has already affected both shorebird and seabird species the world over, the legal protection of the ecosystem holds out hope that Indian coasts and estuaries will remain healthy and continue to support viable shorebird and seabird populations.

Brown-headed gull (Chroicocephalus brunnicephalus).Photo: ABHISHEK MIMANI

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Crab plovers (Dromas ardeola).Photo: ABHISHEK MIMANI

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Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata), instantly recognisable by its distinctive down curved bill.Photo: ABHISHEK MIMANI

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Dunlin (Calidris alpina), also known as red-backed sandpiper.Photo: ABHISHEK MIMANI

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Pied avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta).Photo: ABHISHEK MIMANI

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Marsh sandpipers (Tringa stagnatilis). Most sandpipers are northern-latitude breeders that in many cases undertake amazing migrations to the southern extreme of the globe.Photo: ABHISHEK MIMANI

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Pallas’ gulls (Icththyaetus ichthyaetus), also known as the great black-headed gulls.Photo: ABHISHEK MIMANI

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A pair of brown-headed gulls. These birds breed in the high plateaus of Ladakh to Mongolia and winter on the coasts and large inland lakes of the Indian subcontinent.Photo: ABHISHEK MIMANI

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Little tern (Sternula albifrons) which, as its name suggests, is a small bird, 21–25 centimetres long with a 41–47-centimetre wingspan.Photo: ABHISHEK MIMANI

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