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The Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve successful Assam has 30 taxon of raptors and six taxon of storks, a accelerated survey focused connected these 2 categories of birds has revealed.
The survey, conducted by a 10-member squad betwixt the past week of February and March 2, was released connected Friday (June 5) to people World Environment Day. The Kaziranga Tiger Reserve authorization surveyed successful collaboration with researchers of Gauhati University.
The enumerators recorded 217 idiosyncratic raptors — buzzards, eagles, falcons, owls, and vultures — crossed 30 taxon and 266 idiosyncratic storks crossed six species.
Critical habitats
India is location to 112 taxon of raptors, some diurnal and nocturnal. Kaziranga and the adjoining scenery harbour astir 50 taxon of these raptors. Assam’s rich, divers wetlands and the Himalayan foothills supply captious habitats for these birds of prey.
India houses 8 of the 20 stork taxon recovered successful tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. All 8 of these are recovered successful Assam, though Kaziranga has recorded six.
The raptor-stork survey was conducted crossed Kaziranga’s 3 administrative zones — the East Assam Wildlife Division, the Biswanath Wildlife Division, and the Nagaon Wildlife Division.
The Eastern Assam Wildlife Division recorded 21 taxon of raptors and 5 taxon of storks. While Biswanath recorded 20 taxon of raptors and six taxon of storks, Nagaon recorded 14 and five, respectively.
Among the stork species, the Asian openbill (Anastomus oscitans) was the astir abundant, with 92 individuals spotted. The greater adjutant stork (Leptoptilos dubius) was the rarest, with 3 individuals recorded. Among the raptors, the Himalayan griffon vulture (Gyps himalayensis) was the astir communal with 69 idiosyncratic sightings, portion the booted eagle and white-tailed eagle were the rarest taxon with 1 idiosyncratic sighting each.
Enigmatic bird
“Kaziranga’s scenery besides serves arsenic a past stronghold for the enigmatic Pallas’s food eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus). A survey conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India successful January 2020 reported 10 progressive nests of Pallas’s food eagle successful Kaziranga, making it the protected country with the highest fig of [this bird’s] breeding sites successful the world,” an authoritative connection read.
Pallas’s food eagle perched connected a histrion astatine Kaziranga National Park successful Assam. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
In different study, the Wildlife Science and Conservation Centre of Mongolia confirmed that a antheral Pallas’s eagle named Ider, tagged successful central-western Mongolia’s Buun Tsagaan Lake connected August 21, 2020, visited Kaziranga National Park each twelvemonth to breed, changing nesting locations lone once.
It has been visiting the Buun Tsagaan Lake consistently during the non-breeding season, from June to September.
The different taxon recorded successful the one-horned rhino domain see the slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris), red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus), steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis), greater spotted eagle (Clanga clanga), grey-headed food eagle (Haliaeetus ichthyaetus), brownish food owl (Ketupa zeylonensis), dusky eagle-owl (Bubo coromandus), lesser adjutant stork (Leptoptilos javanicus), black-necked stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus), and the achromatic stork (Ciconia nigra).
