Digboi College A Potential Place BirdingDigboi College, a premiere institution of higher education in the district of Tinsukia, Assam, is imparting quality education in all the three streams (arts, science and commerce) since its inception in 1965. Located on a hillock near the Digboi-Duliajan Road, the college is surrounded by lush green forest, covering an area of about 75 bighas. A part of the college boundary is adjacent to the famous Dehing-Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary and this might be the reason behind the availability of such a diverse range of bird and mammal species. There are also two numbers of military bunkers located in the eastern part of the college that were constructed during the World War-II, which signifies the historical importance of the place during the war.In the year 2011, a track of about 500 meters passing through the forest falling within the College boundary was constructed that proved to be a potential route for photographing birds and other mammals. There are certain uplands that provide eye level view for taking better photographs. Bird calls are preferred but its uses should be limited only to the level of urgency, since, research has revealed that extensive use of bird calls may affect the breeding habitat of the species.Although, Digboi College is rich in its natural resources but still there are certain threats that needs to be tackled before it gets too late. One such threat is illegal chopping of trees and bamboos within the college boundary by certain section of the society due to the absence of a concrete boundary wall. Another matter of concern is the illegal poaching being carried out by certain localities. There are records that deer, mongooses, squirrels, birds, etc. were killed for their meat within the college boundary. Apart from this, the new tea garden that is being planted adjacent to the college boundary is posing a serious threat to the entire ecology. It is the high time to make people aware of the importance of conservation and motivate them to keep themselves away from activities that pose a threat to the entire biodiversity. The forest department along with the college teaching community can play a significant role in conducting programs intended towards educating public and creating awareness regarding the importance of conservation before it gets too late. Checklist of the bird species recorded within Digboi College Campus between January, 2011 and December2013: Common Name1. Grey throated babbler2. Pin Striped Tit Babbler3. Puff Throated Babbler4. Pygmy Wren Babbler5. White Hooded Babbler6. Blue Throated Barbet7. Coppersmith Barbet8. Great barbet9. Lineated Barbet10. Blue Bearded Bee-Eater11. Green Bee-Eater12. Ashy Bulbul13. Black Bulbul14. Red Vented Bulbul15. Red Whiskered Bulbul16. Little Cormorant17. Greater Coucal18. House Crow19. Eastern Jungle Crow20. Chestnut Winged Cuckoo21. Large Hawk Cuckoo22. Black Winged Cuckooshrike23. Large Cuckooshrike24. Emerald dove25. Oriental turtle dove26. Spotted dove27. Black Drongo28. Ashy drongo29. Bronzed drongo30. Greater Racket tailed drongo31. Lesser racket tailed drongo32. Spangled Drongo33. Crested Serpent Eagle34. Cattle Egret35. Intermediate Egret36. White throated fantail37. Scarlet backed flowerpecker38. Grey headed canary flycatcher39. Pale chinned flycatcher40. Rufous gorgeted flycatcher41. Slaty blue flycatcher42. Verditer flycatcher43. Red throated flycatcher44. Black backed forktail45. Common Hoopoe46. Oriental Pied Hornbill47. Common Iora48. Common Kingfisher49. White throated kingfisher50. Chestnut Backed laughingthrush51. Rufous necked laughingthrush52. Greater necklaced laughingthrush53. Lesser necklaced laughingthrush54. Orange bellied leafbird55. Common Green magpie56. Green Billed Malkoha57. Scarlet Minivet58. Scaly breasted munia59. White rumped munia60. Common Myna61. Jungle Myna62. White vented myna63. Common hill myna64. Rufous bellied niltava65. Small niltava66. Black hooded oriole67. Maroon oriole68. Brown hawk owl69. Asian barred owlet70. Spotted owlet71. Rose ringed parakeet72. Kalij Pheasant73. Speckled piculet74. White browed piculet75. Thick billed green pigeon76. Yellow footed green pigeon77. Olive backed pipit78. Hodgsons redstart79. Oriental magpie robin80. White rumped shama81. Rusty bellied shortwing82. Grey backed shrike83. Brown shrike84. Eurasian tree sparrow85. House sparrow86. Asian pied starling87. Chestnut tailed starling88. Little spiderhunter89. Streaked spiderhunter90. Crimson sunbird91. Mrs. Goulds sunbird92. Ruby cheeked sunbird93. Striated swallow94. Barn swallow95. Common tailorbird96. Slaty bellied tesia97. Blue whistling thrush98. Great tit99. Collared treepie100. Grey treepie101. Rufous treepie102. White wagtail103. Yellow wagtail104. Blyths leaf warbler105. Chestnut crowned warbler106. Golden spectacled warbler107. Grey cheeked warbler108. Greenish warbler109. Green crowned warbler110. Grey sided bush warbler111. Pale footed bush warbler112. Tickells leaf warbler113. White spectacled warbler114. Oriental white eye115. Large woodshrike116. Greater yellownape117. Lesser yellownape118. Grey headed woodpecker119. Greater goldenback