Context: For the first time a bird survey conducted at the Silent Valley National Park identified 141 species, of which 17 were new. 

• So far, 175 species of birds have been spotted in Silent Valley.

Outcomes of Survey 

• Brown wood owl, Banded bay cuckoo, Malabar wood shrike, White-throated kingfisher, Indian nightjar, Jungle nightjar, and Large cuckoo shrike were among the 17 species newly identified in the Silent Valley.

• Among the birds they sighted were Nilgiri laughing thrush, Nilgiri flowerpecker, Brown-cheeked fulvetta, Black-and-orange flycatcher, Grey-headed canary-flycatcher, Greenish warbler, Common chiffchaff, Tytler’s leaf warbler, Shaheen falcon, Nilgiri wood pigeon, and Malabar whistling thrush.

About Silent Valley National Park

• Silent Valley National Park is a beautiful representation of the last remaining rainforest of Kerala. 

• It was declared as a National Park in 1984 and formally inaugurated in the year 1985.

• It is located in the border of Mannarkkad Taluk of Palakkad district, Nilambur Taluk of Malappuram district, Kerala, and Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu.

• This national park has some rare species of flora and fauna. This area was explored in 1847 by the botanist Robert Wight.

• It is located in the rich biodiversity of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The whole Park is a roughly rectangular tableland closed on all sides.

• It has high and continuous ridges along its entire east, north, and northeast borders and a somewhat lower ridge along the entire western and southern border. 

• A perennial river named Kunthipuzha is passing through the western side of the park, from north to south direction finally merging into Bharathapuzha. 

• Birds such as the Crimson-backed sunbird, Yellow-browed bulbul, Black bulbul, Indian white-eye, and Indian swiftlet were found in abundance in Silent Valley.