How Menar Became India’s ‘Bird Village’: Home to 100+ Species & a Global Model for Conservation

Summertime dips in Menar Lake are among Darshan Menaria’s fondest childhood memories. Back then, he believed all the birds around him were ducks. Over time, he discovered that each had its own name, story, and significance.

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Today, he reels off their names with precision — pelicans, flamingos, Northern shovelers, common coots, and greylag geese — identifying them by their beaks and claws.

Now a teacher at the local college, Darshan essays a dual role. In the evenings, he becomes a Pakshi Mitra(friend of birds). He, like the other youth of Menar village in Rajasthan, carries this designation with pride. The title is sacrosanct, bestowing on the youth a responsibility to protect the birds and ensure an uptick in their numbers.

Birds have long held a revered place in Menar, dating back to the British era, when locals resisted officers’ hunting sprees. Legend has it that in 1832, a British gentleman named John Teltson shot a bird near the Menar wetland — and was promptly banished from the village along with his staff. The story remains a warning to anyone tempted to hunt here.

And this has paved the way for the birds to thrive.

The village’s exemplary efforts in conservation have been recognised; Menar wetland was acknowledged as a bird village by the Rajasthan Government, the Best Tourism Village (2023) by the Government of India and a Ramsar Site — a wetland site of international importance.

The wetland that’s setting a precedent for the world

There’s a constant chorus of chirps that reverberates through the air from the moment you set foot in Menar. It isn’t just the skies that are festooned in colour with bird sightings, but also the lake.

This is the freshwater monsoon wetland complex that lies at the confluence of three ponds: Braham talab, Dhand talab and Kheroda talab; the wetlandhas become home to 110 species of waterbirds, of which 67 are migratory.

Darshan feels he knows each of them all too well.

Observing them has become a part of his routine. “If I don’t observe the birds’ activities twice a day, I feel like I’m missing out on the most important thing in life,” he says.

Filmmaker Gunjan Menon, whose documentary film Wings of Hope: A Bustling Village and their Bird Friendsexplores the relationship the Menarias share with the birds of the land, admires the ecological literacy that distinguishes this village from others. She credits the Pakshi Mitras for sustaining this revolution.

As Darshan reasons, it’s the cumulative efforts of his community. “People’s intent to protect and conserve the birds has been evident in their habits from the start. No one ever troubled the birds. Instead, most of the religious rituals used to be done near the pond so that people would feel a connection with it.”

And in time, birds began to flock to the site. Reds, whites and blues danced across the lake, each colour reflecting a story of conservation.

Now, in his capacity as a school teacher, Darshan instils these same values in his children. “The elders in the village know how important conservation is. But, as urbanisation is picking up, it’s important that children, too, should understand why we need to protect nature.”

To this end, Darshan’s classes are filled with drawing and painting sessions geared towards this goal. “Sometimes, while teaching, if I hear a coppersmith barbet outside the classroom, I stop and encourage the children to listen. Only when they see and recognise the birds for themselves, will their interest grow.”

Can India replicate the Menar model of conservation?

Gunjan’s favourite part of shooting the documentary film — which won the Audience Choice Award at Jackson Wild 2023 — has been watching the communities stir with excitement and curiosity every time they spot a bird, even after all this time.

“It is a story of hope. It goes to show how local stewards can take things into their own hands and protect their lake. I’ve worked with several communities over the years, but the authenticity of the Menarias stood out to me. They weren’t conserving the lake because an outsider told them to, but rather, as a commitment to their ancestors. They consider the birds to be their friends.”

And it takes a sustained effort.

The villagers refrain from using water from the lake to maintain a consistent water level for the birds. Patrolling is done by the Pakshi Mitras — they’ve been trained on bird behaviour by the Forest Department and given binoculars — at dawn and dusk to check on the birds.

But as Darshan explains, sustaining this effort has required a pivotal departure from certain practices on the villagers’ part.

For instance, farming practices once rife in and around the Dhand lake were stopped so that the birds could nest in the area instead. "The villagers would grow melons in the summer months once the waters had receded and the soil was wet. They were earning an income from farming. But they stopped it for the birds,” Darshan clarifies.

To ensure that the birds have plenty to eat, fishing was banned in Menar Lake. The lake presently supports the growth of several aquatic plants — including hydrilla, hornwort, tape grass, curly pondweed, water chestnut and greater duckweed, which shelter the birds.

Through the years, the birds that flock to Menar have grown by orders of magnitude; these include two critically endangered species — long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus) and white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis), and three endangered species — Indian skimmer (Rynchops albicollis), the Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus), and steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis). The globally vulnerable sarus crane (Grus antigone) breeds in the Menar wetland complex.

And the Pakshi Mitras have become well-versed in gauging their patterns. This fascinates Gunjan. “This is the power of long-term conservation. These are the voices we can trust.”

This story is part of a content series by The Better India and Roundglass Sustain.

All pictures courtesy Roundglass Sustain.

Sources 

'Menar Wetland Complex', Published on 4 June 2025.