India, Oct. 5 -- Not too many birders prefer to explore obscure, rough and off-road habitats. Most settle for havens close to roads and relish "served plates" like Chakki Mod in Solan district. Pushkar Bali is a birder who has made a name for himself by plunging off the birding map and coming up with new records and undetermined habitats. A pharmacist by profession, he does not hesitate to file complaints against powerful interests assaulting biodiversity.

On September 28, Bali went looking for a sensation (Golden-fronted leafbird) in the Saketri scrublands adjacent to Sukhna Lake. The scrublands are under threat of annihilation from urbanisation. Bali glimpsed there a slim bird with a regal, upright posture on a mound of 'malba'.

The b...