Highlights:
♦ Great India Bustard (GIB) is one of the most critically threatened species in India, with fewer than 150 birds left in the wild.
Listed as “Critically Endangered” in the “IUCN Red List”.
♦ A report from the Ministry of Environment in 2019 pointed out that power lines, especially high-voltage transmission lines with multiple overhead lines, are the most important current threat to GIB in the Thar region and are causing unsustainably high mortality in about 15% of their population.
♦ The firefly bird diverters are flaps installed on power lines. They act as reflectors for birds such as GIB.
♦ Birds can spot them at a distance of about 50 meters and change their flight path to avoid collisions with power lines.
♦ Diverters are called fireflies because they look like fireflies in the distance and shine on the power lines at night.
