While a section of experts emphasized the importance of research for the conservation of vulnerable species, activists and some scientists maintain that the bird can survive without any studies. Researchers are cut up about claims that the bird had become extinct in areas where similar research was carried out were 'baseless'.

"The decline in biodiversity because of habitat loss is being mourned globally. In 1872, the forest owlet was found in Odisha, but it has not been spotted ever since because the forest has been replaced by agricultural fields. It is important to get scientific information including the habitat needs of such species, breeding and nesting requirements for conservation efforts," said Prachi Mehta, lead researcher .

Girish Jathar, who has studied the bird extensively, pointed out that a preliminary study conducted by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) mentions 14 individuals birds in the Toranmal Reserve Forest. A subsequent long-term study conducted in 2003-04 recorded 16 individuals that produced seven young ones during the study period.

"A short-term study (15 field days) carried out after six years in 2010-11 revealed that the species still exists in Toranmal. It is difficult to conclude that all the birds in the forest have vanished," Jathar said.

Mehta said since the forest owlet is not found outside India, the conservation of the bird and its habitat is imperative. Several questions about its distribution remain unanswered including the number of birds surviving in the wild, reasons for them not being widely abundant as spotted owlet or the jungle owlet, the habitat they require to survive and biotic pressures that affect the survival of the species.

"Those opposed to the project are saying that the forest owlet is surviving without us discovering these answers. This is the most unscientific response. It is like saying people are still living when they are afflicted with cancer so we should stop all research on cancer," Mehta said.

Research on the forest owlet will help understand factors affecting its survival and habitat requirements and what can be done to keep them in the wild, she added.

Farah Ishtiaq, among the first to study the bird after it was rediscovered in 1997 by Pamela Rasmussen, said the project could reveal information for habitat management.

"When I conducted my first study in 1998, we did not know its bird call, crucial in identifying birds in the wild. We had no information on its breeding or nesting time," Ishtiaq said.

Adding colour-bands to birds is an important way of identifying them and studying their behaviour over a long term, said Ishtiaq.

Shomita Mukherjee, principal scientist at the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, said that it was only through research that it had come to light that the Forest Owlet was threatened resulting in it being listed as critically endangered by the International Union For Conservation of Nature.

Mehta said the northern spotted owl had been brought back from the brink of extinction in the United States. Over 40 years, banding of the birds, studies on its habitat utilization patterns and a species recovery plan based on the research has allowed the survival of the species, she said.

Ishtiaq said research spearheaded by BNHS had similarly allowed a turnaround for vulture conservation in the country. "There had been so much opposition to the captive-breeding programme suggested for the species, but it has already yielded results," she said.

Scientists have dismissed claims that the project may reveal the location of the birds to the locals exposing them to the risks of poaching.

"Banding of the birds involves putting coloured plastic bands on its legs and releasing it immediately. A banded bird is as visible as a non-banded bird, so there is no truth that it will attract people's attention. Banding of birds has been widely used all over the world and has not resulted in loss of a species anywhere," Mehta said.

Jathar said tribal communities in the vicinity of the nesting sites are aware of their location but never disturb them.

The study

The project will study the distribution, demography and ecology of the Forest Owlet in its habitat in Central India

Funding source

The project is being supported by the Department of Science and Technology and the MBZ Species Conservation Fund.

Ministry's approval

Permission for colour-banding of the birds was obtained from the ministry of environment and forests. Colour banding is essential to locate individual birds for monitoring their nesting and breeding success. It will also answer questions about the bird's ecological requirement

Resistance

The opposition to the project is based on claims that the Forest Owlet became extinct in other areas where similar research was carried out. Those opposed to the research also believe that the bird is doing well in Melghat and there is no need for further research.

"India's conservation actions should be based on sound science and not on emotions."

Asad Rahmani, Director, BNHS India