At 5:15 one March morning, Harun walked into Khargram town market in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district wearing a T-shirt and shorts.

He looked like any other early customer. That was the point.

For two days, he had waited in the market with one purpose: to find a poacher who was allegedly selling poached short-toed larks and pipits, locally known as Bogari (migratory birds), for meat. Harun, whose name has been changed, is a member of HEAL, Human & Environment Alliance League, a non-profit organisation working for wildlife.

He had come with a confirmed tip-off. Yet, for two mornings, he saw neither the birds nor the seller.

On the third day, he noticed a man secretly selling the birds to unknown buyers after slitting their necks. Harun immediately alerted the police, who were trailing him in plain clothes. The man was arrested red-handed on the spot under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The live birds seized from the spot were later released.

That arrest travelled fast through the poaching network.

“The arrest sent shockwaves among the poachers’ groups. The poaching activities have drastically reduced in this region after four years of combined efforts made by the villagers, team members of the non-profit organisation, the local police, the forest department and the judiciary bench,” says the team.

“Ever since HEAL started intervening in 2022, more than 8-10 lakh birds have been indirectly saved as poaching attempts were actively intercepted by our field teams in the last four years. We liberated over 5000 birds alive,” informs Vasudha Mishra, project coordinator, HEAL.

Why thousands of migratory birds come to Bengal’s fields

Every year, millions of bird species, including short-toed larks and pipits, arrive in West Bengal during the migratory season that begins in October.

Around 3-4 lakh larks and pipits migrate from Central Asia and Russia to the Murshidabad, Birbhum and Burdwan districts of West Bengal.

These small birds weigh around 16-24 grams and are about 14-15 cm long. They have a pale sandy-brown colour, dark streaks on the upper body, and a short, strong, conical beak. They feed on seeds and insects, enjoy mud baths, and make fallow ground their nesting space.

The agricultural fields of Birbhum, Murshidabad and Malda become rich feeding grounds during the harvest season. The birds prefer long stretches of fertile land, especially areas close to wetlands.

Murshidabad has the highest number of wetlands in West Bengal. Many of these areas are not declared national parks or wildlife sanctuaries. They are used by local communities, which makes them more vulnerable to hunting. The consumption of wild meat is also high in the region.

For poachers, the large flocks become an opportunity.

How poachers target the birds 

The timing of the hunting is linked closely to the birds’ migration cycle.

When the birds arrive after long-distance journeys, their fat reserves are depleted and their body mass is reduced. From October to January, they feed extensively across agricultural landscapes, primarily on insects, to rebuild their energy reserves.

This feeding period is critical for survival, as it prepares them for their return migration around March or April. By February, the birds have accumulated enough fat, which makes them more desirable for consumption.

“The hunting begins in February. When these winged guests arrive, they tend to lose their weight. Their fat reserves get drained, and they turn meatless. The birds start feeding from October to January on whatever is available to fatten up and restore their energies to fly back by the end of March or early April. By February onwards, these birds gain weight, and the poachers start laying nets in the field,” Vasudha tells The Better India.

There are two types of poachers involved in this........

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