HYDERABAD: Thanks to the degradation of biodiversity and resultant food scarcity, a whole variety of birds are now looking for alternative food sources, thereby fuelling further man-animal conflicts. Researchers from Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, who were studying sorghum and sunflower crops in Telangana, found many instances of peacocks, large grey blabbers and the great tit eating sunflower plants.
Peacocks are known to feed on insects and seeds of short variety plants such as grass seeds. However, researchers found many instances of peacocks trampling on sunflower plants to feed on its seeds, leaving behind a trail of destruction. The blabbers and great tit are known to feed on insects, but they were also seen feeding on sunflowers.
This made the researchers curious, for sunflowers are not a natural choice of food source for these birds. Within a nine-day span they found 53 instances of peacocks eating sunflower seeds and in 20 days 47 instances of the great tit eating the same.
“This indicates that there is a decline in their natural habitats due to human activities. This is affecting their food habits. This is not good news for farmers as they could turn into pests in future,” said ornithologist V Vasudeva Rao.