The Ramayana begins with King Dasrath of Ayodhya shooting down a Sarus crane. Its mate curses him of eternal separation from his loved ones and thus unfolds the 2000-year-old epic. More than anything else, it portrays a deep understanding of birds in ancient India, as most crane species are known to pair for life.

Of the 8650 species of birds in the world, India is home to as many as 1200 (roughly 14%), out of which 141 are endemic to this region. What’s even more astonishing is that of the 27 Orders and 155 Families that bird life has been classified into, India has 20 Orders and 77 Families.

The reason for this richness of species is the region's highly varied climate, the associated diversity of vegetation as well as its wide altitudinal range, which extends from sea level to the Himalayas. Another unique factor is the subcontinent's geographical position that overlaps between three bio geographical provinces - the Indo-Malayan (South & Southeast Asia), Palearctic (Europe & Northern Asia) and Afro Tropical (Africa).