As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Wednesday 4 March 2020

Female Great Indian Bustard, one of estimated 7, dies in Kutch


Forest officers of Kutch circle said that the bird died while foraging near Bhanada, around 15 km south of the GIB Sanctuary located near Naliya, the headquarters of Nakhatrana taluka of Kutch district.

By: Express News Service | Rajkot | Published: February 27, 2020 1:54:02 am

Two days after the 13th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (COP13 CMS), a global body functioning under the aegis of the United Nations, included the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) on its Appendix-I and called for concerted action for its conservation, a female GIB died in Kutch on Tuesday after a lizard was stuck in its throat.

Unofficial estimates suggest that with Tuesday’s death, the number of GIB individuals has plunged to just six GIBs in Kutch, all of them females. As many as 25 birds were counted during the great Indian bustard census conducted in Gujarat in 2016.

Forest officers of Kutch circle said that the bird died while foraging near Bhanada, around 15 km south of the GIB Sanctuary located near Naliya, the headquarters of Nakhatrana taluka of Kutch district. The area falls in the jurisdiction of Kutch (west) forest division.

“This is an extremely rare phenomenon. Prima facie, the reptile tried to escape after being preyed on by the bird and in the process, choked the trachea of the bird,” said Tushar Patel, Assistant Conservator of Forests, Kutch (West).

With this, the number of GIBs in Kutch has declined further. “One of our watchmen saw the bird exhibiting unusual behavior. The bird sat awkwardly for a rather long time. The watchman tried to check on the bird but when he reached the spot, it had died. We do not have present population estimation of the birds, but the incident means one bird less” the CCF said.

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