The three-day long bird festival was opened at the Buxa Tiger Reserve on Monday.

This is the fourth edition of the fest that will continue till January 9. In total, around 50 people, including prominent ornithologists, birdwatchers and bird enthusiasts, are participating in the event.

Along with Bengal, birdwatchers from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi are also participating in the festival.

According to the organisers, the participants will move through different routes of the tiger reserve from Tuesday and will note down details of the bird species which they spot on their way.

They will also try to click photos of each such avian species. In total, they will move through six different routes, said forest sources.

So far, presence of around 516 species of birds has been noticed in the BTR.

Last year, photos of 214 species of birds were clicked and five of them were rare species.

“The bird fest was inaugurated at Rajabhatkhawa, which will also be the central camping site. The participants will be divided into groups

and will move through six stipulated routes on alternate days. The routes include foothills, plains, riverbeds, wetlands and the forest area in general,” said Subhankar Sengupta, the field director of the BTR.