Why in news? Authorities have confirmed the presence of Kashmir flycatcher for the first time inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve as per the fourth bird survey

 Highlights

• The survey was conducted jointly by birdwatchers and the Forest Department.
• For the first time, the Kashmir flycatcher(insectivorous species that breeds in the northwest Himalayas a migratory bird), was spotted in the survey at the PTR
• According to survey, Periyar national park supports 20 out of the 26 endemic bird species of the Western Ghats and 14 threatened species

About Periyar National Park

• It is a protected area located in the districts of Idukki and Pathanamthitta in Kerala.
• Notable as an elephant reserve and a tiger reserve
• Park forms the major watershed of two important rivers of Kerala: the Periyar and the Pamba.
• It is located high in the Cardamom Hills and Pandalam Hills of the south Western Ghats along the border with Tamil Nadu
• Vegetation is mostly with tropical evergreen, semi -evergreen and moist deciduous forests, montane grasslands, montane savannas, man – made stands of eucalyptus, wetlands, lake and river ecosystems.