The pelican files
G.V. RAMANA RAO
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The pelicans are back at the Kolleru Lake after a gap of 12 years.
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PHOTO: CH. VIJAYA BHASKAR
AT HOME IN FAMILIAR TERRITORY: The Spot-billed pelicans
Professional ornithologists and amateur bird-watchers are flocking in large numbers to Kolleru Lake in Krishna and West Godavari districts to see pelicans building nests. The largest fresh water lake of the country was once famous for its pelicans. Kolleru Lake was known as the best destination for studying the Spot-billed Pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) a couple of decades ago.
Comeback time
But the birds stopped nesting there because of increased human activity and destruction of their habitat. The birds were last sighted in the lake in 1994 and they stayed away from there for over a decade. Kolleru Lake is known for its avian fauna, but the Pelicans that are known to have a wingspan of three metres and weigh up to 13 kg, were the first to disappear from the lake area. Subsequently, a wide range of birds that visited the lake from the Himalayas during winter or for nesting also became scarce. But the Pelicans have made a comeback this season. They are busy building nests to lay eggs and hatch them.
The Spot-billed Pelican that inhabits the lake breeds in southern Asia from India to Indonesia. It is a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially shallow lakes. Its nest is a heap of vegetation in a tree. Three to four eggs is the usual clutch size.
The Spot-billed Pelican is a comparatively small pelican, at 125-150 cm length. It is mainly white, with a grey crest, hind-neck and tail. In breeding plumage, there is a pink tone to the rump and under-wings. As the species' name suggests, there are grey spots on the pink bill in the breeding season.
On the Red List
Due to ongoing habitat lost and human disturbances, the Spot-billed Pelican is evaluated as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. The IUCN Red List (also known as the "IUCN Red List" and "Red Data List"), created in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species. It is maintained by the World Conservation Union.
From the fossil record, it is known that pelicans have been around for over 40 million years.
Forest Department officials recorded 352 pelican nests just in Atapaka area of Krishna district.
Pelican symbol is considered sacred in some parts of the world. The birds were thought to be particularly attentive to their young. In medieval times, people in Europe believed that Pelicans provided their own blood to the young when other food was not available. Thus the symbol of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) is a pelican.
Ornithologists say that the legend may have arisen because the pelican used to suffer from a disease that left a red mark on its chest. Alternatively it may be that pelicans look as if they are doing that as they often press their bill into their chest to fully empty their pouch.
The people of Kolleru considered the Pelicans as birds of good fortune and protected them from predators and hunters for decades, but the advent of aquaculture scared the birds away. They are returning slowly after the State Government put a stop to aquaculture in the lake that is protected under the Wildlife Act.
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