AIR to broadcast dawn chorus of birds on Sunday

The All India Radio (AIR) will broadcast a dawn chorus of birds from West Bengal's Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary to mark the International Dawn Chorus Day on May 6, an official statement said today.

For the second consecutive year, the AIR, through its external services division, has joined hands with Ireland's RTE Radio 1, the European Broadcasting Union and the Bird Life International to bring live the vibrant dawn chorus of birds singing from West Bengal's sanctuary along with those from Europe and Australia, the AIR said in a release.

AIR Director General F Sheheryar said the programme would go a long way in sensitising people specially the younger generation towards conservation of the ecosystem, particularly different species of birds.

International Dawn Chorus Day is celebrated worldwide on first Sunday of May every year to appreciate the primordial symphony of nature.

The dawn chorus is the collective sound of birds singing at the start of a new day.

AIR Director (External Services Division) Amlanjyoti Mazumdar said that while presenter Derek Mooney of the RTE Radio 1, Ireland and his team of ornithologists would present the programme from Dublin, the Indian part of the programme would be coordinated by experts Sunit Tandon, Sumit Kumar Sen and Sudipto Roy.

Listeners would be able to hear the birdsong from twenty different locations, spanning various time zones across countries as the broadcast would traverse from India to Ireland, the release said.