While Gotabaya Rajapaksa emerged winner in presidential race in Sri Lanka on Sunday, a butterfly named after the island nation turned a rare sighting in a combined survey of birds and butterflies in Coimbatore.
A three-member team of observers spotted Sinhalese Five-ring ( Ypthima singala ) from a hilly terrain of Coimbatore forest range.
They also photographed the butterfly with five rings in each wing, claimed to be the first photographic record of its sighting in Coimbatore district.
The butterfly was earlier sighted in a few places in Tamil Nadu.
“Though it is sighted in Sri Lanka and peninsular India, its a rarity in peninsular India. The butterfly is seen in grasslands,” said A. Pavendhan, president of Tamil Nadu Butterfly Society (TNBS) that conducted the survey in association with the Forest Department, WWF-India and Coimbatore Nature Society (CNS) in seven forest ranges of Coimbatore Forest Division. The observers recorded 192 species of butterflies and 211 species of birds in the two-day survey involving 66 naturalists and 40 forest officials, which concluded on Sunday.
Interesting butterfly sightings included Common Onyx, Nilgiri Grass Yellow, Blue Admiral, Nilgiri Tit, Common Sergeant, Many-tailed Oakblue, Common Imperial and Leaf Blue.
Butterflies such as Common Rose, Lime Butterfly, Grass Yellows, Common Emigrant, Mottled Emigrant, Tigers and Crows and Bushbrowns were dominant in all ranges.
Of the 211 species of birds recorded, 90 % were resident birds and 10% were migratory.
Important sightings
Important sightings of birds included that of White-rumped Vulture, Indian Vulture, Nilgiri Wood Pigeon, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Green Imperial Pigeon, Oriental Turtle Dove and Peregrine Falcon.
Observers spotted large number of vultures in Sirumugai range, which shares boundary with Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve and eastern slope of the Nilgiris.
“A few hundreds of green pigeon were also spotted in Sirumugai. Of the all eight types of bulbuls spotted in the survey, Yellow-throated bulbul and Grey-headed bulbul were rare good sightings,” said Mr. Pavendhan
D. Boominathan, landscape coordinator, WWF-India, wanted continuous monitoring of the status of birds and butterflies of the division.
Announcing the survey results, District Forest Officer D. Venkatesh said that the data generated on the birds and butterflies will be used as a baseline that will help in identifying areas that need special focus with respect to conservation.
He asked TNBS, WWF-India, and CNS to conduct surveys regularly covering different seasons over the next few years for continuous monitoring of the ecosystem.
New experience
R. Selvaraj, president of CNS, said that the survey was a new experience for the members of CNS despite the regular weekly field visits they do.
