Finn’s weaver faces a risk of extinction

by Deepanwita Gita Niyogi on 23 June 2020

The Finn’s weaver, a lesser-known weaver bird species, currently listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List, is in fact at the risk of extinction, according to the Bombay Natural History Society.

The bird prefers the Terai grasslands, found widely in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, but the landscape in these states has undergone changes due to conversion for agriculture and development.

The Uttar Pradesh forest department has initiated a Finn’s weaver conservation and breeding programme in the Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Finn’s weaver (Ploceus megarhynchus) is listed as vulnerable in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List. However, the bird is at the risk of extinction, alerts the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) a wildlife research organisation in India that is looking to update the bird’s IUCN listing.

According to BNHS director Deepak Apte, the status of the bird is extremely precarious with real threat of extinction. “We have released a species recovery plan and are trying our best to list the species in the IUCN Red List as a Critically Endangered species. We are also working closely with respective state governments where the species is found, as well as with the government of India,” Apte told Mongabay-India via email.

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Supreme Court steps in to save two endangered bird species

February 19, 2020 8:52 am

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday stepped in to save two endangered bird species — Great Indian Bustard and Lesser Florican — by directing the Rajasthan government to chalk out a time frame to remove overhead high-voltage power lines and lay them underground.

A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde and comprising Justices BR Gavai and Surya Kant observed that the two species were vulnerable to fatal collision with overhead power lines.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) echoed the concern and insisted that power lines would have to be laid underground to save the birds.

The Court then asked the Rajasthan government’s counsel to obtain instructions from the authorities concerned on shifting overhead lines below the ground within two weeks.

The top Court observed that the State could go for underground cables in agreements with private companies.

The Court observed that overhead power lines obstruct the flight of the Great Indian Bustard, a larger bird, and as a consequence its movement was restricted.

The Chief Justice said: “One of the solutions suggested to avoid collision of birds with overhead wires is these be laid underground.”

For the other bird species, the top Court reckoned it faced difficulties due to power generation plants and queried the State if it is facing any issues so that the court could issue specific directions.

Additional Solicitor General ANS Nadkarni, representing the MoEF, contended that a team of ministry officials and other wildlife experts had visited Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. Nadkarni said after considering all aspects, the only solution available is to take the cables underground.

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After tigers and elephants, India now plans to protect its endangered birds

February 10, 2020

By Mayank Aggarwal

On Feb. 4, images of a rare oriental darter struggling to free its beak from a piece of plastic went viral. The incident was reported from Palwal in Haryana which, according to the news report, has lost more than half of its wetlands in 30 years (1970s-2000) due to land-use change like agricultural expansion. In June 2018, in a similar incident, in a wetland just outside Delhi, a black-necked stork had its beak sealed with a plastic ring around it. Its photo had gone viral. The bird was later rescued after extensive efforts by forest authorities.

Such incidents where birds are impacted by trash and plastic waste could be reduced as part of a new plan to conserve birds and control dumping of waste into areas like wetlands that are bird habitats.

With the focus on tigers and elephants, conservation and protection of birds take a backseat in India. Now, a 10-year plan proposed by the Indian government hopes to help in the conservation of birds and their habitats in India.

The draft—visionary perspective plan (2020-2030) for the conservation of avian diversity, their ecosystems, habitats and landscapes in the country—was put in the public domain by the ministry of environment, forest and climate change on Feb. 3, seeking comments from all stakeholders.

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Tripura organises its first-ever "Hornbill Festival"

08 FEBRUARY 2020 Last Updated at 6:36 PM | SOURCE: IANS

Agartala, Feb 8 (IANS) The two-day first Hornbill Festival of Tripura began on Saturday with the aim to conserve the striking forest bird "Hornbill" and to boost the livelihood of the people through tourism.

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb inaugurated the state''s first-ever Hornbill Festival at the famous Barmura hill (in western Tripura), one of the biggest hill ranges of Tripura which was last month renamed as "Hathai Kotor", or "big hill" in the tribal language "Kokborok".

The "Hornbill" festival, named after the Indian Hornbill, the large and colourful forest bird which is displayed in the folklore of most of the tribals in northeast India, usually takes place in the first week of December every year since 2000 at Naga heritage village Kisama, about 12 km from Nagaland capital Kohima.

Deb said that with the conservation of the "Hornbill" bird, eco-tourism would flourish enhancing the livelihood of the local tribals, inhabitants of the Barmura hill.

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'Rare bird sighted in Chilika after 1997'

BHUBANESWAR: An unusual bird sighting at the Chilika Lake prompted a bird watcher to embark on a frantic quest for its identity. This, in turn, which was taken up by other bird lovers and was threatening to become a thriller, before a 32-year-old photograph came to the rescue and helped crack the mystery. 

The winged guest, in turned out, is an Australian stilt and its sighting in Chilika's famed Mangalajodi is the first ever, bird watchers claim. The Australian stilt, which is also called the pied stilt (Himantopus leucocephalus), was spotted by a local bird guide, Madhu Behera, on Saturday morning.

"I captured a few photos of the bird but could not identify it. It looked like the black-winged stilt but was morphologically different, having a ridge of black feathers in the upper part of the neck," said Behera, who is part of the Mangalajodi Conservation and Tourism Trust. 

Behera immediately dusted off his copy of the 'Bird Atlas of Chilika', published by the Bombay Natural History Society (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Bombay-Natural-History-Society) (BNHS) and the Chilika Development Authority (CDA), but found no mention of the bird in the Chilika region. "None of the other popular bird guide books and field guides showed any bird that looked like the one I saw. Finally, I found a photo resembling the bird I saw in 'A Field Guide to Birds of Chilika', written by Odia ornithologist Uday Narayan Dev," Behera explained. 

When Behera reached out to fellow enthusiasts, they confirmed that what he had seen was indeed the Australian stilt. Noted wildlife photographers and bird experts like Siba Prasad Parida, Gahar Abedin (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/GaharAbedin) and Shakti Prasanna Nanda concurred with the finding. 

The photo that ended the confusion was clicked in 1987. Dev, whose book helped Behera when others had failed, recalled that he had seen the Australian stilt in the Nalabana area of Chilika (another stretch of the vast lagoon that is a favourite of birds). "Australian stilt sightings in Nalabana were reported till 1997, but stopped afterwards" Dev said. Siba Prasad Parida, an associate professor of zoology at Centurion University who has participated in all the bird censuses at Chilka since 2002, hailed the sighting. "This indicates that the weather and the food in Mangalajodi favours the bird," he said.

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Nature’s cleaners on the brink of extinction

Updated: July 29th, 2019, 21:38 IST

BHUBANESWAR: Vultures, once part of popular Odia culture, have become almost extinct from the face of the capital city and even from the state. Not really known for their aesthetics or hunting skills, vultures are knows as nature’s best scavengers. However, these birds along with a few other species, have gradually been pushed from the category of endangered to extinct due to rapid urbanization and loss of green habitat.

“There are three species of vultures found in India, Odisha has two of them. The first is black or king vulture, this specie is almost extinct everywhere in the country. The second is white-backed Bengal vulture which is known ‘Gidha’ or ‘Saguna’ in Odia. About 50 years ago these were found aplenty in Odisha, especially in rural areas. The third one is White Scavenger, also known as Pariah Kite. Unlike other vultures, this particular type feeds on other smaller birds and rodents,” explained Rabindra Samal, an ornithologist, here.

A report by Bird Life International a decade ago stated that about 14 out of 52 near threatened bird species listed for India are in Odisha. Among the critically endangered types, Oriental White-backed Vulture and Long-Billed Vulture topped the list. The data was recorded on their presence in Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, Sambalpur, North and South of Mahanadi and in Simlipal National Park.

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R''than: Two Great Indian Bustard chicks hatched through artificial incubation

08 JULY 2019  Last Updated at 7:26 PM | SOURCE: PTI

Jodhpur, Jul 8 In what could prove to be a major breakthrough in conservation of the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard, two chicks have been hatched through artificial incubation at the Desert National Park here.

Six eggs had been collected for artificial hatching.

One chick was born on June 21 and the other was born on July 6. Both are healthy and being monitored very closely by a team of experts, officials said.

"This success would lay the foundation for captive breeding in India for this huge bird and set a precedent for others," said a veterinarian associated with project, Sharavan Singh.

Experts from Abu Dhabi have been taking care of the chicks round the clock.

A wildlife expert associated with Great Indian Bustard conservation efforts, Sumit Dukia, said both the chicks are from same family so there was no doubt about their survival.

"We look forward to successful hatching of the remaining eggs. It would be a huge success in the direction of conservation of this endangered bird," he said.

The experts feel that given the persistently hostile conditions of their habitat, artificial incubation is the only way to protect and help increase the population of this bird.

According to the experts, high-tension electric cables have claimed the lives of six Great Indian Bustards in the past two years.

Dukia said the local community will have to be sensitised and educated so that it can become the first guardian of this bird which is on the verge of extinction.

The Rajasthan High Court is also hearing a petition for the safety and conservation of the bird, with a focus on identification and elimination of the threats it faces and a project for its conservation through breeding. CORR DIV DIV

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Suspected electronic device found on bird's body

IANS  |  Hajipur Last Updated at May 3, 2019 17:30 IST

The Bihar police have recovered an electronic device from the body of a dead bird that usually could not be spotted in the local area.

"Local birds had killed a bird on Thursday that is of different species and could not be seen in local region. The villagers spotted the bird and found a chip in his body and a brass tag was also tied on its feet," said Uday Shankar, SHO, Mahnar police station in Vaishali district.

"The police have handed over the body of the bird to the forest department and is probing the matter," he said on Friday.

He said that some times scientists place electronic devices on birds and animals to collect more authentic information about them.

The device is being checked, he said.

Source

The Adjutant Army: an all-female campaign for an Endangered stork

25 Mar 2019

A gangly, bald, leathery bird with a penchant for eating garbage, the Greater Adjutant’s unconventional appearance has brought it to the edge of extinction. But in India, an all-female group of conservationists is fighting to clear its name.

By Neha Sinha

The village hall is a riot of colour. Women in vivid clothing give speeches, sing and shake percussion, and a large, ornately decorated cake is placed at the centre of the throng, complete with candles. But whose birthday are they celebrating? The words iced on the cake offer a clue: “Happy Hatching Hargilla”. This is a hatching ceremony, celebrating the successful breeding of a bird once hated and feared.

Previously widespread across the wetlands of South Asia, the towering Greater Adjutant Leptoptilos dubius (Endangered) suffered dramatic declines during the 20th Century. Some of the causes are familiar – habitat destruction, pollution – but others less so. Their Assamese name, Hargilla – derived from the Sanskrit for “bone-swallower” – gives a clue as to this scavenger’s public image. Because it has a habit of leaving a trail of bones and debris in its wake, the stork was seen as a harbinger of bad luck, to the extent that some villagers even poisoned them or destroyed their nests.

But not anymore. In India today, the stork has found refuge in two locations – the Eastern state of Bihar, and the North Eastern state of Assam, both of which now have substantial nesting sites. Their security hasn’t come easily, though. In both districts, it took eight years of grassroots, intelligent community intervention to secure habitat for these birds.

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Wildlife Officers Rescue 550 Birds Stuffed in Tiny Cages From Illegal Pet Market in India

BY CHIARA CUI

April 16, 2019 Updated: April 17, 2019

Despite massive conservation efforts, the illegal wildlife trade continues around the world, putting endangered species at risk and threatening millions of vulnerable animals. In India, the trade of pet birds is a big issue. Thus, this makes the recent news of 550 protected Indian birds being rescued from an illegal pet market in Kolkata even more harrowing.

On April 7, 2019, the Hindustan Times reported that the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), under the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change and the West Bengal forest department rescued hundreds of Indian birds from a notorious illegal pet market on Galiff Street in central Kolkata in two consecutive raids. The authorities managed to seize 550 protected Indian birds, including the parakeet, hill myna, and Asian Koel. According to the report, several newborn chicks were also found crammed inside a small cage.

Hindustan Times

Nine people were arrested in connection with the raid. The individuals were between the ages of 18 and 32.

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Bird from Himalayas sighted at Yercaud

STAFF REPORTER

SALEM , APRIL 03, 2019 23:50 IST

UPDATED: APRIL 03, 2019 23:50 IST

A rare bird from the Himalayas, Tickell’s Thrush that belongs to Thrush family Turdiadae, was recorded for the first time in the district here recently.

R. Venkatraman, a birder, spotted and photographed the bird while it was foraging among the leaf litter. He said that while waiting to photograph Emerald Dove, he saw a babbler-like bird foraging on the ground and initially overlooked it as a Puff-throated Babbler. On getting a closer look, the bird looked different.

“Before I could click a picture, it went into the darker thickets,” he said and added that after patiently waiting for one-and-a-half hours in the same place, the bird came out and he took the picture.

S.V. Ganeshwar of Salem Ornithological Foundation said that Tickell’s Thrush is named after Col. Samuel Richard Tickell, a British ornithologist, who worked in India and Burma. The birds migrate from Himalayas to peninsular India during winter season.

As per eBird database, there were only nine previous records of Tickell’s Thrush in Tamil Nadu and none from Salem. The sighting in Yercaud is the first for the district as well as the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, he added.

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A double-edged sword': Mumbai pollution 'perfect' for flamingos

The flamingo population of India’s largest city has tripled. Is it thanks to sewage boosting the blue-green algae they feed on?

Payal Mohta in Mumbai

Tue 26 Mar 2019 09.00 GMTLast modified on Tue 26 Mar 2019 11.08 GMT

There is an air of anxious excitement among the urban professionals and tourists on board our 24-seater motorboat as we enter Thane Creek.

A chorus of “oohs” and “aahs” breaks out as we spot the visions in pink we came to see – hundreds of flamingos listlessly bobbing in the murky green water – followed by the furious clicking of cameras.

Then, almost as one, the birds skim the water and take off in sync. “They always stay together,” says Prathamesh Desai, who has been organising birding excursions in the city for seven years. “They are an extremely gregarious species.”

These birds have begun congregating in India’s largest city in astonishing numbers. A count in January this year found 120,000 flamingos in the city – three times their highest population in at least four decades.

“Flamingos began migrating to Mumbai in the 1980s and 1990s,” says Rahul Khot, assistant director of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), one of the oldest scientific institutions in India. “Records show that since then their numbers have hovered between 30,000 and 40,000 each season.”

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Polly wants crack! Parrots 'addicted to OPIUM' wreak havoc on Indian farms as they ravage crops

Parrots in India’s Madhya Pradesh state are tearing apart plants to feed the habit

Local farmers say they are on near constant alert to stop the birds getting high 

The opium addicted parrots are stealing the farmers' most lucrative crop

By MIRANDA ALDERSLEY FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 16:26, 25 February 2019 | UPDATED: 08:16, 26 February 2019

Flocks of parrots believed to be addicted to opium have been ravaging crops on Indian farms in order to feed their bizarre habit.  

Footage recorded in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state shows the birds indulging in the unusual activity of tearing apart poppy seed pods to get to the opium inside - much to the chagrin of the local farmers. 

The wild parrots have apparently learned to wait until the morphine-rich latex is exposed after the farmers slit the poppy pods to help them ripen. 

They then silently swoop into the opium fields - having also learned not to squawk - and frantically nibble off the stalks below the pod.  

The parrots have become so addicted that the farmers say they must be on near-constant alert to stop the birds eating the seeds and getting high.  

Not only have the wild flock become a menace that is wreaking havoc across the state, but they are also stealing farmers' most lucrative crop. 

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Restored, this 100-acre forest is now a sanctuary for birds

Shilpy Arora | TNN | Feb 11, 2019, 07:21 IST

Restoration of water bodies has played a key role in increase in the number of avian species Gurgaon: It’s unusual to spot the grey-headed canary-flycatcher in Delhi-NCR during this time of the year.

However, a recent sighting of the species, in a sprawling and serene forest in Bhondsi, off Sohna Road, has sent a frisson of excitement through the birding community. And it’s not just the flycatcher but several other species, too, that have lately been spotted, among them the Eastern imperial eagle and the Sarus Crane (both listed as vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature).

Meanwhile, the Pied cuckoo, White-breasted waterhen, the Indian robin, the Rufous treepie, the Shikra, kingfishers and members of the Drongo family, can all be found in the woods here. Located about 7km from Gurgaon, these 100 acres of forest land in Bhondsi were always lush green but birds only started flocking here around two years ago.

Avid birder Pankaj Gupta, for one, was pleasantly surprised to see the grey-headed canary-flycatcher. “Spotting the species in Delhi-NCR during winters is not very common as the bird generally moves towards the south when the temperature decreases. Its sighting, and that of many other resident and migratory birds, is evidence that Bhondsi has good potential to come up as a birding destination in NCR,” said Gupta, who is associated with Delhi Bird Foundation, an NGO.

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Fishermen chasing away birds, says environmentalist

Nivedha Selvam | Nivedha.Selvam1 | Feb 16, 2019, 00:41 IST

For the first time in a decade, the Vellalore lake is filled with water, attracting a large number of birds. While a total of 641 birds belonging to 76 species have taken refuge in the lake, they are at the risk of being chased away by fishermen.

“We had put in so much effort to revive the lake and we were happy that a large number of birds, some of them rare species, have made it their habitat,” said R Manikandan of Kovai Kulangal Padukappu Iyyakam, which along with the city corporation and Public Works Department (PWD) desilted the lake last year. “During one of our visits, we spotted several hundreds of birds in the lake. But they weren’t there when we came next day.

If the birds disappear, it will affect the ecosystem in the long run.” Another environmentalist, who didn’t want to be named, said fishermen, who are fishing in  the lake, have been chasing away the birds with stones.

“The fishermen think all the birds are feeding on fish and hence chase them away. It will have an impact on the number of birds returning to the lake.” P R Selvaraj, member of Coimbatore Nature Society, said only a section of birds survive on fishes, while others feed on insects and plant cells. “

As the Vellalore tank has both shallow and deep waters, apart from a good number of trees, it has attracted a variety of species. Chasing them away would cause severe damage to the ecosystem.” Refusing the allegations, M Balamurugan, president of Kovai Fishermen’s Cooperative Society, said the fishermen belonging to the society were not harming the birds in anyway. “Instead, there are many incidents when the fishermen have rescued the injured birds.”

When contacted, officials with the PWD and the fisheries department said they would look into the issue and take necessary action.

Source

Rare Long-Billed Plover bird sighted in Odisha’s Bhitarkanika national park

Sighting of this rare migratory bird during the annual bird census is baffling wildlife officials and ornithologists

By Ashis Senapati

Last Updated: Wednesday 09 January 2019

Forest officials and ornithologists recently sighted a rare Long-Billed Plover (Charadrius placidus) bird at Bhitarkanika National Park in Kendrapara district, Odisha during the annual bird census. Noted ornithologist and deputy director of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) S Balachandran confirmed the sighting.

Long-Billed Plover is a species of bird in the Charadriidae family. It’s an East Asian bird, distributed across Ussuri in southeastern Siberia, Russia, through North Korea and Japan to central China. 

This species has breeding populations in central China, southeastern Siberia, northeastern China and North Korea. It was first sighted in Bhitarkanika during the avian census on Sunday. 

Two young ornithologists Saswat Pati and his younger brother Sourava Pati clicked a photo of this rare bird within the park on January 6, 2019, says Balachandran.

The Long-Billed Plover species are usually found on riverine beds below the town of Rupa, Arunachal Pradesh. It has also been sighted in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.  

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has categorised and evaluated Long-Billed Plover, and has listed them under the category of "least concern".

Habitat loss due to agricultural activities and urbanisation, including hunting, poaching and collision with wires has caused a great decline in the species numbers, says Balachandran.

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Makar Sankranti kite-flying festival: NGOs race to save birds caught in deadly manjha, fewer mishaps this year

Mirror Now

Updated Jan 14, 2019 | 20:06 IST | Kirti Pandey

Bird rescuers have a tough time every year, pleading with people to not use glass powder-coated killer manjha to fly kites as that it imperils human and bird lives. Every year hundreds of birds get entangled.

Mumbai:  Bird rescuers are hard at work on Makar Sankranti day every year as kite flying activity puts many a bird lives in danger. But bird rescuers have some heartening news. There have been fewer accidents involving birds this year and people seem to be paying heed to humanitarian calls, say some social workers.

The kite festival of Uttarayan (Makar Sankranti) is a mega event in the festivals calendar of western Indian states like Maharashtra, Gujarat and even north-western state of Rajasthan. As the Sun enters into the zodiacal sign of Makara (Capricorn), it is also considered the arrival of spring in India. Winds are abundant, harvests are done and over the ages, the tradition of kite flying during Uttarayan became very popular.

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Real Impact: Clean up Drive Helps Rare Bird Return to Mumbai After 80 Years!

Last spotted in Mumbai in 1939, this year, the Great Bittern made a long-awaited comeback in the economic capital.

by Tanvi Patel January 11, 2019, 7:12 pm

Clean-up drives help the environment and also restore the natural beauty lost to decades of urban development.

In the case of Mumbai, a clean-up drive has brought back a rare bird after 80 years!

Last year, we brought you the story of how a beach clean-up resulted in the endangered Olive Ridley Turtles nesting on a Mumbai beach. And this time, nearly ten months later, a Great Bittern was spotted in Charkop, in Mumbai’s Kandivali.

The Great Bittern (or Eurasian bittern) belongs to the heron family of birds. These birds prefer living in the thick vegetation surrounding water bodies because they mainly feed on amphibians and small mammals, and reptiles such as crabs, shrimps, molluscs, frogs and shrimps.

They are also very shy, which is why you will spot them, if you are extremely lucky, in reed beds.

The birds are so shy that if they catch a glimpse of you, they are known to point their bills towards the sky and freeze, hoping to be camouflaged by the reeds around them.

Last spotted in Mumbai in 1939, this year, the Great Bittern made a long-awaited comeback in the economic capital.

Although there was one more report in 2017 about a spotting of the Bittern, this sighting can only be a positive sign that it wasn’t a one-off chance of the migratory bird’s return, but potentially, a recurring phenomenon.

Speaking to The Times of India, Neeraj Chawla, a passionate birder, said, “At around 8.15 am, we saw the Great Bittern come out to sit and preen in the sun. We went on clicking pictures for almost half-an-hour as it sat there undisturbed, cleaning its feathers. We also saw a Yellow Bittern; the latter is not rare but a treat to watch, nevertheless.”

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Two rare migratory bird species spotted in Trichy

Sampath Kumar | TNN | Jan 3, 2019, 12:58 IST

TRICHY: Greater Spotted Eagle and Eurasian Western Harrier are the rare bird species to be spotted this year in water bodies on the outskirts of the city which are an ideal stopover for migratory birds travelling down south and towards Kodiakkarai in Nagapattinam district.

However, the migratory birds coming to Trichy region have come down this year, according to bird watchers in the city. Birds travelling all the way from North Pole to escape the extreme winter come to Vedanthangal after which they fly down south cross Trichy.

While the turnout of birds in Vedanthangal has been less, there has been a fall in number of these birds coming to water bodies in Trichy, they say. Kiliyur, Koothaippar and Devarayaneri tanks on the outskirts of Trichy have been some of the ideal spots for these winged visitors to rest for the past few weeks after travelling several thousand miles.

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Migratory birds make a comeback to the city

Bishwabijoy Mitra | TNN | Jan 5, 2019, 03:00 IST

This winter, Kolkata is once again waking up to the chirping of migratory birds who gave their annual visit to the city a miss for a few years before making a comeback this season. If birdwatchers are to be believed, this winter is special for two reasons — not only are several rare birds being spotted after a long gap, the overall spotting has also gone up.

Veteran birder Shubhankar Patra, who spotted a flock of 50 black-headed ibis in Rajarhat last month, said, “It was a very unusual and beautiful sight. For many years, it was difficult to spot even one black-headed ibis. So, we were totally taken by surprise on seeing a whole flock!” Birder Mitali Saha Deb was equally ecstatic on spotting a square-tailed drongo cuckoo at the Chintamani Kar Bird Sanctuary last month.

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