Goa is all set to host the three-day bird festival in order to promote the state's incredible and diverse birdlife. Each year, Goa hosts the festival in recognition of the state's intriguing and extensive birdlife, presenting a number of events across different locations. This is the 6th edition of the initiative by the Goa Forest Department. The festival will take place on the grounds of the Eco Tourism Complex of Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary from Jan 27 to 29. Some of the wide range of migratory birds which flock to Goa's wetland hot spots include the painted stork, white stork, and the like. Incidentally the flame-throated bulbul (Rubigula gularis) is the state bird of Goa. It is found only in the forests of the Western Ghats in southern India. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, named after the eminent Indian ornithologist, is an estuarine mangrove habitat, which is declared as the bird sanctuary, and located on western tip of Chorao along the Mandovi River. Bird-watching tourism or avi-tourism is a nature-based tourism industry and is an emerging sub-sector of tourism.
