: Pied Wheatear, a rare migratory bird, was recently spotted at Madayipara by a bird watcher here.
Bird enthusiast Jayan Thomas, who is an eye specialist here, said he had spotted the Pied Wheatear at Madayipara on September 25. This, he said, was the first sighting of the bird in the district. The bird is about the size of a House Sparrow and is insectivorous, he said. He also said that the male and female of the Pied Wheatear have different appearances.
As some of the Wheatear birds are confusingly similar in appearance, there was some confusion initially about the Pied Wheatear spotted at Madayipara, Dr. Thomas said.
It was finally confirmed as Pied Wheatear by ornithologist C. Sashikumar and J. Praveen, he said. A French ornithologist Alban Guillaumet has also confirmed this finding, he said quoting Mr. Guillaumet as saying that Pied Wheatear is not completely unexpected in Kannur.
Dr. Thomas said the bird spotted at Madayipara may have most probably come from East China or Mongolia and would be on its way to East Africa.
