Pilibhit (Uttar Pradesh), Dec 6 (IANS): The Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) authorities now plan to start a bird safari in the forest and its surroundings.

Deputy Director of PTR, Naveen Khandelwal, said a local avian expert, Akhtar Mian, will play a pivotal role as resource person to guide tourists in understanding about the diversity of birds, including the winged visitors that come to roost along the water bodies in the forest in winter.

He said that two paid packages will be offered to tourists.

These tours will be conducted every day with at least six people in a group.

The safari will comprise a single-day tour costing Rs 1,000 per person and a three days and two nights package inclusive of the charges of stay, meals and conveyance.

Tourists will be provided with a pair of binoculars for bird-watching and a book on indigenous and migratory birds.

Akhtar Mian, who had earlier conducted the estimation of bird species in PTR, said there are 326 indigenous species of birds in PTR, including the Sarus crane, Kingfisher and Indian roller. In addition, there are around 90 species of migratory birds that visit the forest wetlands in winters. These include Tuffed ducks, Common Pochard and Northern pintail.

Khandelwal said, "We want the tourists not only to focus on tigers but the entire diversity of wildlife in the reserve. The safari will also generate an additional source of PTR's revenue."

The biggest water body in the PTR region is the 22-km Sharda Sagar dam canal, along which the Chuka tourist spot in the core forest of the Mahof forest range is located.