PALAKKAD: Thirty new species of birds have been discovered in Parambikulam Tiger Reserve. Including this, there are 290 species of birds in the sanctuary spread across Palakkad and Thrissur.

Over 500 species were found during the four-day faunal survey conducted by the Travancore Natural History Society (TNHS) and some non-governmental organizations with the help of the Forest Department.

There are several groups of Great hornbill, egrets, vulture, white-eyed hawk, kingfisher and many other birds are active in Paambikulam.

This sanctuary is also home to 12 species of reptiles, tiger, leopard, honey bear, bison, spotted deer, Viverra and Stripe-necked mangoose.

Parambikulam Tiger Reserve Deputy Director R. Sujith flagged off the survey. Range Officers P.V. Vinod, M.M. Babu, Biologist Vishnu Vijayan and TNHS Research Associate Lesh Sadashivan led the survey.

Parambikulam has 285 species of butterflies including 11 new species. There are also 30 new species of Odonata.