Executive Summary : | Galliformes, including pheasants, turkeys, grouses, partridges, and quails, are highly threatened birds due to hunting and poaching pressures. They are integral parts of many ethnic communities, with feathers used for traditional customs and practices. India has 45 Galliformes species, but they are still the least studied taxa in the country. In India, tribal communities, particularly in the Indian Himalayan Region, trade these birds for their body parts, which has increased their demand from local to national and international levels, further endangering Galliformes' populations. The ambiguity in law enforcement to identify Galliformes species is a major limiting factor in curbing their trade. Standard techniques for bird identification include close examination of feathers and plumage patterns, which are used by US Customs agents as an identification tool for seized feathers. Feather characteristics are valuable tools from a taxonomic point of view, as are osteology, mycology, and other systematic morphology of any other organ or system of the body. This proposal aims to study the taxonomic characterization of select Galliformes of India using a combination of feather microstructure and DNA sequencing for potential application in wildlife forensics. The main objectives of the proposed study are to develop elaborative Light and Scanning Electron Microscopic feather characteristic keys and a genetic database of game bird species. Non-invasive reference representative feather samples will be collected from different zoos, reference repositories, museums, and Indian markets. The project's outcome will help wildlife law enforcement agencies combat illegal wildlife trafficking for Galliformes species enlisted in the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and CITES. |