LAHORE, Jan 20: A PhD research thesis submitted to the Punjab University on the ecology of desert adapted migratory bird, houbara bustard (Talore), has revealed a gradual decline in number of visitor bird from Central Asia, over the last five years.

The thesis was examined by a panel of experts comprising NWFP wildlife department director Dr Mumtaz Malik, Hazara University's Prof Dr Saeed Akhtar, Houbara Foundation's Brig Mukhtar Ahmad (retired) and PU zoology department's acting chairman Prof Dr Muhammad Naeem Khan. The board recommended the approval of the doctoral research thesis submitted by Sajid Nadeem.

The results of five years' extensive field survey conducted in Cholistan and Thal deserts of the Punjab, Nag Valley/Kharan in Balochistan and Central Asian Republic of Uzbekistan using radio transmitter telemetry, showed a gradual decline in population of prized bird, which visits Pakistan during winter.

The research thesis has attributed Arab falconry, trapping for trade, over-grazing, fuel wood cutting and habitat shrinkage as the main threats to houbara bustard in Pakistan.

The study also documented and identified some 33 plant species in the deserts of Rajanpur, 36 in Thal, 102 in Cholistan and 118 plant species in Nag Valley of Balochistan, which were associated with the ecology of houbara and important for the feeding habit of the bird. -Staff Reporter