Central Deccan Plateau Dry Deciduous Forests Some of the larger species mentioned here are rare, as is the threatened Indian giant squirrel ("Ratufa indica"). The 300 species of birds include the globally threatened Jerdon's courser ("Rhinoptilus bitorquatus"), which was rediscovered in 1986 having been thought extinct for nearly a hundred years. About 80 percent of the natural habitat in the ecoregion has been lost. Several blocks of habitat larger than 5,000 km remain. Fifteen protected areas cover almost 3% of the ecoregion's area, with Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve as the largest. Central Deccan Plateau Dry Deciduous Forests The Central Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests southern India, containing
Korazim Plateau as well as parts of the Safed Mountains. Stepansky measured the area of the plateau at 135 km. According to the Ministry of Environmental Protection, which does not include the shore of the Sea of Galilee and parts of the slopes of the mountains to the west, which Stepansky do include, the area of the plateau is 117 km. According to Mapa, which marks the northern border at the Mahanayim stream, the area of the plateau is only 80 km. Geologically, the plateau is divided into two main sections. The southern two-thirds are covered in layers of basalt. The basalt