MigrantWatch is a

citizen science Citizen science (CS) (similar to community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring) is scientific research conducted with participation from the public (who are sometimes re ...

non-governmental organisation project in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

for collection of information about

bird migration Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by ...

. The organisation was conceived in July 2007 and is coordinated by the Science Programme of the

National Centre for Biological Sciences National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore, Karnataka, is a research centre specialising in biological research. It is a part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) under the Department of Atomic Energy of the Go ...

, in association with ''

Indian Birds ''Indian Birds'' is a bi-monthly ornithology journal/newsletter that was established in 2004. It was formerly published under the heading ''Newsletter for Ornithologists'' for one year. It publishes articles on identification, distribution, mig ...

'' journal. The goal of the MigrantWatch programme is to collect information on the arrival, presence and departure of migrant birds that spend the winter in India and to assess any changes that occur in the timing of migration. The MigrantWatch program provides a website where registered members can upload observations of migratory bird species, and access all the sighting records and maps with data plotted. In the first year, the program targeted nine species of migratory birds: * Northern shoveller '' Anas clypeata'' * Marsh harrier,\ ''

Circus aeruginosus The western marsh harrier (''Circus aeruginosus'') is a large harrier, a bird of prey from temperate and subtropical western Eurasia and adjacent Africa. It is also known as the Eurasian marsh harrier. Formerly, a number of relatives were includ ...

'' * Wood sandpiper ''

Tringa glareola The wood sandpiper (''Tringa glareola'') is a small wader. This Eurasian species is the smallest of the shanks, which are mid-sized long-legged waders of the family Scolopacidae. The genus name ''Tringa'' is the New Latin name given to the green ...

'' * Common (or barn) swallow ''

Hirundo rustica The barn swallow (''Hirundo rustica'') is the most widespread species of swallow in the world. In fact, it appears to have the largest natural distribution of any of the world's passerines, ranging over 251 million square kilometres globally. ...

'' * Grey wagtail ''

Motacilla cinerea The grey wagtail (''Motacilla cinerea'') is a member of the wagtail family, Motacillidae, measuring around 18–19 cm overall length. The species looks somewhat similar to the yellow wagtail but has the yellow on its underside restricted to ...

'' * Brown shrike '' Lanius cristatus'' * Black redstart '' Phoenicurus ochruros'' * Greenish warbler '' Phylloscopus trochiloides'' * Rosy starling '' Sturnus roseus'' Subsequently, the list was increased to 30 migratory species.

References

Non-profit organisations based in India Environmental organisations based in India Scientific organisations based in India Nature conservation organisations based in India Organizations established in 2007 Bird conservation organizations Animal welfare organisations based in India {{ecology-stub