The Karnataka Bird Festival, popularly known as Hakki Habba kicked off at Biligiri Ranganathaswamy Temple (BRT) Tiger Reserve in Chamarajnagar, near Mysuru, on Tuesday. The annual festival is organised by the Karnataka Forest Department in association with Jungle Lodges and Resorts Limited.
The seventh edition of the festival aims to promote biodiversity, creating awareness about the environment and to attract more people to the cause of bird conservation. The festival also enables bird enthusiasts to explore the rich biodiversity of BRT sanctuary.
Spreading over an area of 540 sq km the sanctuary is known for a number of endangered species. The reserve has a mixture of deciduous, evergreen, and grassland types of vegetation. There are more than 270 species of birds including The Black Eagle, Scarlet Minivet, Velvet-fronted nuthatch, Rufous-bellied Eagle, Asian Paradise Flycatcher, several species of woodpeckers, Drongos, Lorikeet, Plum-headed Parakeet, Blue – bearded bee-eater, and Malabar Whistling Thrush.
The three-day festival was started in 2015 by the Karnataka Forest Department. Last year Hakki Habba was hosted at Nandi Hills in Chikkaballapur. The festival is organized despite the worry of bird flu outbreak reported in many states in the country.