Barmer refinery poses threat to Kurja bird

Vimal Bhatia, TNN Aug 29, 2013, 07.06AM IST

JAISALMER: Pachpadra in Barmer that plays host to thousands of Kurja birds especially during winter will become a thing of the past with the construction of refinery here. Once the refinery work starts from August, these birds will be hardly seen. Besides, many rare varieties of birds and plants will also become extinct. Looking to these issues, whether the environment ministry will give clearance to the refinery or not is still uncertain.

Demoiselle cranes are called Kurja in local language. According to bird experts, thousands of kurja birds come for a sojourn to Pachpadra every year in the month of September from cold countries. The atmosphere of Pachpadra is conducive to these migratory birds. They stay at Talar Maidan, Harji, Imartia Chidhani, Navoda, Lyanadi pond and in the Magra area. During their six-month stay, they breed and then fly back in February. There is a lot of excitement among the locals to get a glimpse of their disciplined flight.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-08-29/jaipur/41579612_1_pachpadra-barmer-refinery-refinery-work

Dubai scientists successfully breed rare birds in chicken eggs

Scientists in Dubai have hatched an endangered desert bird with the help of a common chicken egg, in what they hope will be a major boost for conservation.

The Central Veterinary Research Laboratory team has been successful in breeding houbara bustard chicks, a rare falconry prey that is in decline in the UAE.

They believe the new implant system will “provide a tool to hatch damaged eggs, as well as soft-shelled eggs of endangered wild birds”, according to their research paper released this week. With funding from UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the researchers placed fertilised houbara yolks in the whites of chicken eggs and other surrogate houbara eggs to see if they would develop.

The found that after four days, 76 per cent of the yolks surrounded by chicken egg whites and 61 per cent surrounded by houbara egg whites were still alive.

The yolks, and the whites surrounding them, were then moved to bigger chicken eggs to give them a better chance to grow. In the end, two houbara chicks hatched from the chicken egg whites and one hatched from the houbara egg white, comprising seven per cent and five per cent of the samples in the experiment.

While the technique needs to be refined further, it shows that rare bird yolks can hatch in other eggs. This could help the chicks survive if the shell of their own egg is damaged. The findings are significant for the houbara, which is a favourite meal for falcons and therefore a major target for falconers.

However, their numbers have plunged throughout the Gulf because of over-hunting and loss of habitat. The team was particularly keen on trying this technique after watching British scientists clone a sheep known as Dolly. International teams of scientists soon discovered that it is extremely difficult to clone birds because of the complications in extracting genetic material. The Dubai research team hopes this new technique will advance science while also conserving rare species of birds around the world.

http://www.7daysindubai.com/Dubai-scientists-successfully-breed-rare-birds/story-19717760-detail/story.html

Tripartite MoU singed to save Amur Falcons

Village council members of Pangti, Asshaa and Sungro villages, under Wokha have signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and Wokha-based NGO Natural Nagas to assist Nagaland forest department to stop wide-scale hunt of Amur Falcons in Doyang Reservoir.

In a press release, WTI’s Awareness for Conservation assistant manager Subhamoy Bhattacharjee stated that with mass annual hunt potentially threatening the species, a resolution was cleared by the villages to penalize offenders up to five thousand rupees this year onwards.

The tri-partite MoU seeks to start awareness generation through a targeted campaign, including the use of signage, collaterals, wildlife films etc.

MoU pledged to engage locals in protecting Amur Falcons: formulating watch squads to help protect Amur falcon roosting or foraging sites and watch tower construction to promote bird watching.

It was also agreed to formulate laws and guidelines in accordance with the VCMs to prohibit hunting and poaching of Amur falcons and help mitigate human-wildlife conflicts.

Tens of thousands of Amur Falcons were reportedly hunted annually for their meat in the district, as they crossed the region en route to Africa from Siberia.

Read on

VIDEO: Flyover fail as bald eagle crashes into window inside Oklahoma school, falls to ground

The big bird, named Lewis, survived the failed flyover inside the chapel of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa last week. The eagle was supposed to land on the arm of its trainer, Roger Wallace

That’s why the call ‘em bird-brained.

A bald eagle released in a packed auditorium at an Oklahoma university tried to take a detour out of the room, but came to an abrupt stop when it slammed into a window and dropped to the ground.

The big bird, named Lewis, survived the failed flyover that caused a sudden uproar from hundreds of students inside the chapel of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa last week.

The eagle was one of two birds brought to the Christian school to celebrate Golden Eagle Day on Aug. 21, officials said.

“U-S-A! U-S-A!” the students chanted as the bald eagle swirled around the room.

But after one lap, the cheers turned into a gasps of horror as the bird — which was supposed to land on the arm of its trainer, Roger Wallace — soared straight for a window and smacked into the glass.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/video-flyover-fail-bald-eagle-crashes-window-oklahoma-school-falls-ground-article-1.1439452#ixzz2dY8shyuk

Terror Bird's Beak Was Worse Than Its Bite: 'Terror Bird' Was Probably a Herbivore

Aug. 29, 2013 — It's a fiercely debated question amongst palaeontologists: was the giant 'terror bird', which lived in Europe between 55 to 40 million years ago, really a terrifying predator or just a gentle herbivore?

New research presented at the Goldschmidt conference in Florence today (Thursday 29th August) may finally provide an answer. A team of German researchers has studied fossilised remains of terror birds from a former open-cast brown coal mine in the Geiseltal (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany) and their findings indicate the creature was most likely not a meat eater.

The terror bird -- also known asGastornis -- was a flightless bird up to two metres in height with an enormous, ferocious beak. Based upon its size and ominous appearance, scientists have long assumed that it was a ruthless carnivore.

"The terror bird was thought to have used its huge beak to grab and break the neck of its prey, which is supported by biomechanical modelling of its bite force," says Dr Thomas Tütken, from the University of Bonn. "It lived after the dinosaurs became extinct and at a time when mammals were at an early stage of evolution and relatively small; thus, the terror bird was though to have been a top predator at that time on land."

Recent research has cast some doubt on its diet, however. Palaeontologists in the United States found footprints believed to belong to the American cousin of Gastornis, and these do not show the imprints of sharp claws, used to grapple prey, that might be expected of a raptor. Also, the bird's sheer size and inability to move fast has made some believe it couldn't have predated on early mammals -- though others claim it might have ambushed them. But, without conclusive findings either way, the dietary inclinations of Gastornis remain a mystery.

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Arunachal Pradesh: First bird festival to be held in 2014

Jorhat, Aug 29: The endangered bird species of India are finally going to get some attention. Arunachal Pradesh will host its first bird festival in the first week of February next year in the Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in West Kameng district. At an altitude of 500-3,500 meters from the sea level, the scenic beauty and the diversity of flora and fauna is unmatchable. The bird festival will focus on promoting the rich diversity of the region, keeping tourism in mind.

The star attraction of the show is likely to be a new species of bird Bugun Liocichla, which was discovered in 2006. Belonging to the rare Liocichla species, found only in a few mountains of central China, there are said to be just 7 pairs in the sanctuary. However, apart from these babblers, one can also find 450 species of birds including herons, black storks, ducks, hawks, eagles, kites, vultures, falcons, pheasants, jungle fowl, quails, woodpeckers, warblers and cormorants. "We are expecting a large number of tourists, including foreigners, during the festival," Millo Tasser, the divisional forest officer, Shergaon forest division, Rupa, said. The authorities have organized a number of events for the occasion too. Some of them include a bird race for birdwatchers, painting competition for children and photography events. Hoping to attract visitors' attention, the authorities want the festival to become an annual one. Jointly organised by the tourism and the forest department, with the help of Bugun Welfare Society, an NGO involved with the ecotourism here, the festival is expected to raise awareness about the Eaglenest.

Read more at: http://news.oneindia.in/2013/08/29/first-bird-festival-in-arunachal-pradesh-1294265.html

Learning How to Migrate: Young Whoopers Stay the Course When They Follow a Wise Old Bird

Aug. 29, 2013 — Scientists have studied bird migration for centuries, but it remains one of nature's great mysteries. How do birds find their way over long distances between breeding and wintering sites? Is their migration route encoded in their genes, or is it learned?

Working with records from a long-term effort to reintroduce critically endangered whooping cranes in the Eastern U.S., a University of Maryland-led research team found evidence that these long-lived birds learn their migration route from older cranes, and get better at it with age.

Whooping crane groups that included a seven-year-old adult deviated 38% less from a migratory straight-line path between their Wisconsin breeding grounds and Florida wintering grounds, the researchers found. One-year-old birds that did not follow older birds veered, on average, 60 miles (97 kilometers) from a straight flight path. When the one-year-old cranes traveled with older birds, the average deviation was less than 40 miles (64 kilometers).

Individual whoopers' ability to stick to the route increased steadily each year up to about age 5, and remained roughly constant from that point on, the researchers found.

Many migration studies are done in short-lived species like songbirds, or by comparing a young bird to an older bird, said UMD biologist Thomas Mueller, an expert on animal migration and the study's lead scientist. "Here we could look over the course of the individual animals' lifetimes, and show that learning takes place over many years."

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