Rare birds spotted at Pulicat, naturalists cheer

P Oppili | TNN | Updated: Apr 18, 2017, 06.41 AM IST

Over the last month, city-based birders spotted red knots (Calidris canutus), great knots (Calidris tenuirostris), bar-tailed godwits (Limosa lapponica), ruddy turnstones (Areneria interpres), Caspian plovers (Charadrius asiaticus), red necked stints (Calidris ruficollis), dunlins (Calidris alpina), Asian dowitchers (Limnodromus semipalmatus), long-toed stints (Calidris subminuta) and lesser flamingoes (Phoeniconaias minor), Nature Trust founder K V R K Thirunaranan told TOI. The bar-tailed godwit is said to be the longest non-stop flyer, while waders are usually the last to leave tropical regions such as Chennai after the migratory season, he said. Lesser flamingoes usually arrived in mid-April. 

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