Great Indian Bustard found in Bellary pocket

The Great Indian Bustar (Ardeotis nigriceps), a majestic bird on the verge of extinction, has been rediscovered on Sirguppa in Karnataka- and they are breeding , too. Sirguppa taluk, situated on the banks of the Tungabhadra in Bellary district, is among the few pockets in the country where the bird survives. There are fewer than 500 of the birds in India today, about 400 of then in the Desert National Park in Rajasthan. A small number is found in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The new specimens were found during an expedition undertaken by naturalist Santhosh Martin, president of Sloth Bear Foundation, and Abdul Samad, president of the Society for Wildlife and Nature (SWAN), Hospet, along with mine owner Dinesh Singhi and surgeon S.K.Arun, both wildlife enthusiasts.The Great Indian Bustard, known locally as Yaery bhoota in Kannada and Bathu myaka in Telugu, is a large bird: its height ranges between 92 and 122 cm and it weights over 12 kg. it has a grayish or white neck, a black crown and crest, uniform brown underparts and white spotted black wing coverts. He says the birds exhibit nomadic movements: some times they move quite a distance. This depends on a variety of factors that are not well understood.Being big birds, they require a substantial wild habitat to survive. The habitat covers a vast area in Karnataka as well as Andhra Pradesh. Most of its under agriculture now. Their number is dwindling fast as their habitats get converted into agricultural fields, according to Santosh Martin.

 

The Hindu, 25^th July, 2008