'Extinct' birds to fly from new habitat

Syed Akbar | TNN | Updated: Jan 25, 2017, 09.17 AM IST

Centre accords priority to Jerdon's Courser and Great Indian Bustard, critically endangered birds of Andhra Pradesh in National Wildlife Action Plan 2017-31.

An alternative habitat for these birds will be identified and developed to save these birds from extinction.

HYDERABAD: Jerdon's Courser and Great Indian Bustard, the critically endangered birds of Andhra Pradesh, got a new 'lease of life' with the Centre according priority to these avian species in National Wildlife Action Plan 2017-31. The birds were earlier included in the five-year species recovery plan, which ended with a whimper last year.

Now, an alternative habitat for these birds will be identified and developed in the next four years to save these birds from extinction.

Jerdon's Courser is endemic to Andhra Pradesh and thrives only in Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary in Kadapa district.Only a handful of Jerdon's Coursers are believed to be alive, though the bird was last seen a decade ago. Incidentally, the species became `extinct' and was `rediscovered' twice in last 180 years. It went extinct in 1846 and 1900, but sighted in 1986. The place of its `reappearance' in Kadapa has been declared a wildlife sanctuary.

The Great Indian Bustard is also critically endangered and lives in six states in India, including Andhra Pradesh. Only 300 birds are estimated to exist in the world. Number of birds in its exclusive sanctuary, Rollapadu in Kurnool district, has seen a sharp dip, according to researcher Mohammed Ghouse of Osmania College in Kurnool. Telangana or any other south Indian state does not have this bird. Centre's latest wildlife action plan calls for "safeguarding genetically pure populations from future genetic contamination". It also lays emphasis on identification of "suitable alternative homes for species with single isolated populations such as Jerdon's Courser". The Centre proposes to create alternative habitat for this rare bird by 2021. The task has been entrusted to AP forest department. The Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change will supervise the action plan.Technical support will be taken from scientific and research institutions to achieve the goal. 

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Massive search on for 'missing' bird

KADAPA: A massive search is now on in the Sri Lankamalleswara wildlife sanctuary in Kadapa district for the 'missing' bird - Jerdon's Courser - that was last seen six years ago. And on the trail of this elusive bird are at least seven government and international conservation agencies. The wildlife sanctuary has been kept under round-the-clock surveillance with 200 cameras and radio-telemetry equipment to capture the bird's image when it makes an appearance.

This is perhaps the first time that such a concerted search, backed by the latest scientific equipment including voice recorders and infrared cameras, has been undertaken in the country to search for a bird. What makes Jerdon's Courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquantus) so prized a bird species is its rarity, elusiveness and the perennial threat of its extinction. It is endemic to Andhra Pradesh and has not been found anywhere else in the world.

With the intensive search so far yielding little result, forest officials and naturalists have decided to extend the operation to areas beyond the boundaries of Sri Lankamalleswara wildlife sanctuary. Specialist teams will now fan out to places where the bird was previously sighted, including Anantapur, Nellore and Bhadrachalam.

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Rare bird egg found at university

An egg of one of the world's most endangered species of bird, dating back almost 100 years, has been discovered at a university.

Details of the surprise find in a collection at the University of Aberdeen's zoology museum in 2008 have just been revealed.

The egg is 2-3cm long and is similar to the size of a small duck's egg, but it took five years to establish the egg's identity, including DNA analysis.

Breeding habits of the south Indian bird called Jerdon's Courser, or Rhinoptilus bitorquatus, are unknown and an egg has never been found by an ornithologist.

Experts hope that the discovery will help conservationists identify the species' egg in their work to save it from extinction.

Dr Alan Knox, the university's emeritus head of museums, said: "I was looking through drawers of uncatalogued eggs in the university's zoology museum when I spotted an egg labelled as belonging to this species.

"It was one of those eureka moments - finding something nobody else knows about, something so rare and exciting. I could hardly believe my eyes.

"My first question was how do you identify something that the books say has never been discovered?

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