Updated:
Jan 2, 2019, 06:40 AM IST
Birdwatching
on the first day of the year proved to be quite an exciting affair for an
Andheri-based birding enthusiast Akshay Shinde who spotted a Sykes's nightjar
at the Bhandup Pumping Station, making it the first documented sighting from
Mumbai and adjoining areas in 104 years.
What
makes this spotting important and interesting as per renowned ornithologist,
photographer and naturalist Sunjoy Monga is the fact that there is just one
specimen of Sykes's collected in October 1915 from somewhere in Kalyan area,
which is a part of the Bombay Natural History Society's (BNHS) collection.
"There
are few unusual bird sightings that are being reported from Mumbai currently
and it could be due to cold, unusual weather condition and drought conditions
in north-west part of India. Nightjars are nocturnal and very elusive birds and
the difference between nightjar species is also very subtle and hence it was a
soft flight image that Shinde managed to take helped in tis
identification," shared Monga, adding that Sykes's Nightjar is commonly
found on the north-west region of the country, including Gujarat and Rajasthan
boundaries.
Continued
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