Preserving Avian Heritage Assam Duo Launches ‘Pokkhi’, the State’s First Digital Bird Repository and Identification Guide

Two birdlife enthusiasts and wildlife photographers from Assam, Chirantanu Saikia from Sonitpur and Abhilash Gayan from Sivasagar, have collaborated to launch Pokkhi, the state’s first freely accessible digital avian repository. Conceived out of the founders’ personal field challenges in finding standardized native names, the platform currently indexes 372 resident and migratory bird species recorded across Assam. Critically, the platform aims to bridge a long-standing accessibility gap by documenting the exact nomenclature of these species not just in English and Assamese, but eventually across all indigenous languages spoken by the region’s diverse tribal communities. The open-access platform even includes an interactive portal allowing local citizens and researchers to input regional vernacular names from their own localities.

Beyond its linguistic mapping, Pokkhi serves as an educational and conservation tool by explicitly listing the global conservation status of each species. The current database indexes 321 species of Least Concern, 24 Near Threatened species, 13 Vulnerable species, and six Endangered species, including Finn’s weaver. To assist budding birdwatchers and students, the site incorporates a dedicated visual anatomical identification guide, systematically breaking down technical field marks like the supercilium, lore, tarsus, and vent to help users accurately recognize birds in the wild.