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Rare bird species sighted in Chambal areas

Sunny Sebastian

Bird experts reported sighting more than a dozen threatened species during their river cruise

JAIPUR: Winter brings them to the Chambal territory from far and near. As the temperature comes down in the riverine terrain, they are there on the cliffs, on the trees in the gorges dividing the Vindhian formation and nearer to the humanity, even on the mundane telephone wires in the towns. Winter is the best time to watch the birds of prey— a broad category which includes vultures, eagles, hawks and owls.

Two bird experts— Munir Virani of the Peregrine Fund, an Idaho-based NGO, and Harsh Vardhan of the Tourism and Wildlife Society of India— who along with local nature-lover Ravindra Singh Tomar cruised the Chambal river on a boat and later trekked the Bhainsrodgarh sanctuary in Chittorgarh district of Rajasthan last fortnight, reported sighting of more than a dozen species.

Vulture population

The Nairobi-based Dr.Virani is on a regular assignment with the Peregrine Fund in the wake of the steep decline of vulture population in India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

The first and foremost concern of the team was the status of the now threatened vultures and they could spot 33 Whitebacked vultures-- whose population is facing steep decline -- in the southern part of the Chambal river in the company of the Longbilled vultures, Egyptian vultures, Eurasian Griffin vultures and a lone King vulture devouring a buffalo carcass.

Along the Chambal in the north and south phases they could locate 76 occupied nests of Longbilled vultures and some Egyptian vultures as well.

"We could also spot seven occupied nests of Longbilled vultures at the Vindhian gorge overlooking the Rana Pratap Sagar, which extends its expanse to the neighbouring Madhya Pradesh,'' Mr.Vardhan informed.

"We were happy about the sighting of vultures, especially the threatened Whitebacked vulture species but the joy was none the less in sighting an array of other raptors, both migratory and resident,'' he observed.

Among them the sighting of the Black eagle, a bird restricted to the lower Himalayas from Punjab to Arunachal Pradesh, was a record. "The bird can be confused with Changeable hawk eagle, which too has a black face but its under wings are also totally black unlike that of the hawk eagle,'' Mr.Vardhan observed.

The sighting was a new record for the Chambal though the Keoladeo Ghana National Park near Bharatpur has a record of sighting it ("Birds of the Indian Sub Continent'' by Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp, Tim Inskipp).

Changeable hawk eagle— in fact a pair of it— was spotted inside the Bhaisrodgarh sanctuary and the visitors recollected seeing it in Sri Lanka recently. The bird is not common in Rajasthan though its sightings are recorded in Kumbalgarh sanctuary and from the Keoladeo Park.

Bonelli's eagle, a winter visitor in this part of the country, made its appearance to the visitors.

A resident of India, the bird is identifiable by its unique combination of white underbelly, which is variably streaked on the breast with dark terminal bands to the tail.

Tawny eagle, a resident bird soaring high amidst the Longbilled vultures was a common sight. Also flying high was Short toed eagle, another winter visitor to the area, which is identifiable by its dark head contrasting with the white underside of the body dotted with broken bars.

Fresh water regimes

Right on the banks of the Chambal, on a dry tree branch was an Osprey, on a winter foray to the area, nibbling something? The bird, a resident of India, is limited to fresh water regimes as it feeds on fresh water fish.

A pair of Longlegged buzzards, another winter migrant to parts of northwest India, the Thar desert, Rann of Kutch and Saurashtra, showed up hovering over during the surveyors stay in the area.

The bird's preference for semi desert is known. Mr.Vardhan termed the sighting of a Dusky eagle owl-- standing on a ledge near a vulture nest overlooking the Chambal— as "remarkable''. The team recorded Eurasian eagle owl, Kestrel and Blackshouldered kites during their wanderings in the Chambal terrain till now mostly known for its outlaws. "Raptors are the best part of the many splendour glories of the Chambal,'' Mr.Vardhan affirmed.

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