Bird survey finds rarely spotted bird at Mankulam

Avifauna belonging to 173 species documented

KOCHI

A bird survey held at Mankulam forest area of Idukki district has come up with some interesting results for birders.

The birders spotted Little Bunting at Pampadum Para, which is the third record on the presence of the species in the State and the first one from Mankulam, according to those at the Cochin Natural History Society.

The bird, which has been included in the conservation category of Least Concern, winters in Southeast Asia, according to bird enthusiasts.

According to BirdLife International, the species has an extremely large range and its population trend appears to be stable. It prefers moist, shrubby terrain and forests with dwarf birch and willow and feeds both on seeds and a variety of small invertebrate prey. Outside the breeding season, it feeds predominantly on seeds. The breeding season of this northern, migratory species is relatively late and starts in June, says the data on the species.

The female birds build the nest, which will be on the ground, hidden under grassy vegetation. The species is migratory, wintering mainly from the north-eastern Indian subcontinent east to south-east China and south to northern Indochina, according to the information available with the agency.

The four-day survey, which was jointly organised by the society and the Mankulam Forest Division, had birders from Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. G. Jayachandran, Divisional Forest Officer, Mankulam; and K. Vishnupriyan Kartha, secretary of the society, coordinated the survey.