New Delhi: The project is being undertaken by the DU’s student at the zoo on the project to study the impact of pollution on the aural quality of birds.

At the National Zoological Park, students study those houses around 642 birds of 51 different species.

Zoo officials said, "Delhi zoo with its rich diversity of birds and animals has always been a destination for various environmental projects. The avian project will record the sounds of birds here in order to gauge the impact of pollution on their acoustic quality,"

Ankita Das, final year Environmental Science student of the DU who is part of the project, says, "Birds generally produce low frequency sounds so that these signals travel long distances and reach their mates or other birds. But due to the rising pollution level, there has been a sharp increase in their frequency levels."

PTI reports which Das told"Delhi is only second to Kenya with a rich diversity of birds despite having high levels of noise pollution. The project tries to decipher the connection between pollution and acoustic quality of birds further,"

She explained that how the environment quality of an area affects acoustic level of birds.

"There are many interesting facts about birds. For instance, the indigenous birds rarely perch on exotic trees. Their sound levels can vary from place to place depending on the plantation and human settlement," she says.

She added, "Though birds are active throughout the day, early morning and evening time is apt to record the avian sounds. In other words, as the day passes and the sun grows stronger, the ground heats up and the sounds get refracted or dispersed,"

The project is also being undertaken at other places in the city, including DU campus, Sanjay Jheel, Lodhi Garden, district parks etc.