The Andhra Pradesh Forest Department (APFD) and EGREE Foundation, in collaboration with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), will organise Coringa Bird Festival-2018, which is a first of its kind, at Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary near Kakinada on December 14 and 15.

The event will be inaugurated by Environment and Forest Minister Sidda Raghava Rao on Friday. Interesting sessions on wildlife, including one by renowned wildlife photographer, filmmaker and conservationist Kalyan Varma and a session on conservation through cartoons by Rohan Chakraborty are part of the festival.

The two-day event also features fun activities like an exhibition, puppetry show, bird quizzes, bird portrait painting and bird walks among others. Stalls by Women Self Help Groups and co-operatives will also be set up displaying a variety of handicrafts.

The objective of the festival is to involve people from all walks of life in wildlife conservation, biodiversity and ornithology to protect endangered bird species. Indian Skimmer bird is the official mascot of the Coringa Bird Festival, he said.

Coringa is a bird sanctuary with a recorded population of 271 bird species out of which 95 are migratory. The festival being organised here is to involve people from all walks of life in wildlife conservation