Ramana Athreya is a birdwatcher and an astronomer at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune.

In 2006, he described a new species of bird, the Bugun liocichla from the Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in western Arunachal Pradesh, North-east India.

This discovery has been described by BirdLife International as the most sensational ornithological discovery in India for more than half a century.

[1] He was awarded the Pakshishree award in 2009 for this discovery by the government of Rajasthan.

[2] In May 2011, he was conferred the Whitley Award, one of seven people awarded in the year, for his work on conservation and involving communities in Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary.