Why are little swift birds falling from the sky in Mumbai and Thane?

A swift bird that was rescued

Wildlife NGOs in city are being inundated with rescue calls, as little swift birds that eat and drink mid-air, while taking flight are suspiciously falling unconscious to the ground.

Honorary Wildlife Warden of Thane and President of NGO RAWW Pawan Sharma said, "In the last 12 hours, RAWW has received over 70+ distress calls seeking help for the little swift birds in Mumbai and Thane. On Wednesday and Thursday we got over 50 calls."

Based on his observations, Sharma said that many of these swifts are likely to be suffering from torpor, which is a short-term physical condition in which they voluntarily slow down their body functions to conserve energy and heat. "This condition is usually seen in aerial birds that are small in size. It's done to survive severe weather conditions, especially harsh winters."

Mumbai's temperature has been fluctuating between 19 to 20 degrees in the last 24 hours, coupled with unseasonal rains causing a further dip in the temperature and blocking visibility. "Most of the birds stabilise post-rescue."

Most of the birds were rescued from Mulund, Bhandup, Andheri, Bandra, Khar, Powai and Thane.

A bird that was rescued in Yeoor died on Thursday. Environmentalist Rohit Joshi from NGO Yeoor Environmental Society has written a letter about the same to Principal chief Conservator of forest (PCCF) Wildlife Sunil Limaye, Additional Principal chief Conservator of forest (APCCF), West Virendra Tiwari, Thane CCF , SGNP Field Director.