Once Poachers, Now Protectors: How a Small Odisha Village Became a Haven for 3 Lakh Migratory Birds

Once Poachers, Now Protectors: How a Small Odisha Village Became a Haven for 3 Lakh Migratory Birds

For anyone en route to the village of Mangalajodi in Odisha, birdsong forms a beautiful GPS. But what is now characteristic of this village — its identity as a bird haven — was once a reason for its bad reputation.  You see, for generations, the villagers hunted the birds, both native and migratory; none were spared: from the grey-headed swamphen, black-winged stilt, red-wattled lapwing, whiskered tern, little cormorant, glossy ibis, little egre…