IMPRESSIVE 190 SPECIES RECORDED OVER FIVE YEARS OF TAIPING BIRD WEEK

TAIPING, Dec 15 (Bernama) -- Over the past five years of Taiping Bird Week, an impressive 190 bird species have been recorded across various locations in this historic town.

 Nature Sustainable Ecosystem Society (NEST) deputy president, Ismail Mamat, highlighted that more than 90 percent of the recorded birds are local species, with the rest being migratory birds. 

"The most frequently observed local birds were hornbills, kingfishers, storks, and so on. Among the migratory birds identified is the Hud Hud, which can be found in Europe, Asia, North Sahara, and Africa.

“All these species have been spotted within Taiping itself, at Taiping Lake Gardens, Bukit Larut, and Kuala Sepetang,” he said during a press conference following the closing and prize-giving ceremony of the 2024 Bird Week (5.0) held at Taiping Zoo today.

The closing ceremony of the 2024 Bird Week, which started on Dec 13, was officiated by the representative of the event's patron Raja Sharuddin Rashid Sultan Idris. 

The Taiping Municipal Council has been organising Bird Week in collaboration with NEST since 2017, featuring photo exhibitions of bird species, displays by multiple agencies, photography competitions, and bird racing events.

Ismail said there were 120 participants in the Taiping Beautiful Photography Competition 2024 and the Taiping Bird Race in the open and secondary school categories.

Meanwhile, Taiping Municipal Council president Khairul Amir Mohamad Zubir highlighted that the event significantly enhances Taiping’s appeal as a key destination for domestic and international bird enthusiasts.

“Over the past five years of this programme, feedback from NEST reveals that Taiping is home to over 30 percent of the 600 local bird species found in Malaysia.”

“Therefore, I believe this unique feature can be further developed into a tourism product with the potential to grow and generate significant revenue for the state government,” he said.

-- BERNAMA