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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Near-threatened water bird spotted after 16 years in Manipur

A group of Mayang Urok, or the black-headed ibis, was spotted during the annual water bird census 2018 at the Tangjeng, an associated wetland of Loktak in Manipur.

INDIA Updated: Jan 22, 2018 21:09 IST

Sobhapati Samom
Hindustan Times, Imphal

The oriental white ibis or black-headed ibis (threskiornis melanocephalus), a near-threatened water bird, which is locally known as Mayang Urok, was sighted after a gap of 16 years at Loktak and its associated wetlands in Manipur on Saturday.

A group of Mayang Urok, which has been listed as a near-threatened bird species under the Birdlife International and IUCN Red list, was spotted during the annual water bird census 2018 at the Tangjeng, an associated wetland of Loktak, according to state coordinator of Indian Bird Conservation Network, Manipur, R K Birjit.

The annual water bird census was conducted across 50 spots in and around Loktak and its associated wetlands. Around 250 enumerators, representatives of many social bodies around the lake, conducted the census under the aegis state forest department.

In 2017, the census team spotted only around 5,000 birds of 17 species in the lake against the sighting of about 47,088 birds of 68 species in 2016.

A total of 50,725 water birds, including the migratory bird population belonging to 65 species, visited the Lake in 2015 whereas 32,852 water birds of 57 species were seen in 2014.

The black-headed ibis will be listed in the census list for the first time this year.

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Monsoon brings black-headed ibis to Delhi-NCR for breeding

 SWETA GOSWAMI

The birds have built their nests on date palm groves — an unusual habitat

Heavy rain in Delhi-NCR this monsoon may have spelt chaos for residents, but it has brought rare joy to birdwatchers as a large flock of the black-headed ibis, a threatened species, has flown to Surajpur Wetland of Greater Noida for breeding.

Not just the black-headed Ibis, the rain seems to have done wonders as nearly a dozen other bird species have also been spotted with their nestlings.

While sightings of the black-headed Ibis are not exactly rare in the Capital, experts say they hardly choose the region for breeding. So a flock of at least 50 birds nesting at Surajpur Wetland has been a pleasant surprise for bird lovers and experts.

“Generally, this threatened species flies to the Soor Sarovar Bird Sanctuary in Agra for nesting and breeding. There, they are found in large numbers. But this is probably the first time that Delhi-NCR has witnessed such a large flock for reproduction,” said T.K. Roy, the Delhi state coordinator for Asia Waterbird Census.

Unusual habitat

This is not all. The birds have sprung another surprise by building their nests on date palm groves — a highly unusual habitat for them. They mostly build their nests on Jamun trees. However, they may have been unable to settle there because of constant human disturbance for plucking of the fruit.

“The rain has revived the Surajpur Wetland. The area now has good marshlands and thick grasslands that provide good nesting and breeding ground for birds,” Mr. Roy added.

One of three species

The breeding of black-headed Ibis took place in a very small numbers at the Delhi zoo over five years ago.

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