New species of birds spotted

Five species of birds and eight varieties of butterflies new to the Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary in Kozhikode have been spotted during the annual survey conducted under the aegis of the Kerala Forests and Wildlife Department and the Malabar Natural History Society (MNHS) here recently.

As many as 35 bird and butterfly watchers from Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu participated in the survey spread across three days from February 13. The survey for birds and butterfly was undertaken at different points of the sanctuary, including Peruvannamuzhi, Chengottakolly, Athikode, Choothupara, Amabalppara, Vattakyam, Raveendra Estate, Shankaranpuzha Estate, Kakkayam Dam site.

Altogether, 123 species of birds were recorded during the survey, said the organisers in a release here. This included five species of birds new to the sanctuary, Viz.

Meni Ponman (Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher),

Kaattu Kocku (Malayan Night Heron),

Kinnari Praparunthu (Black Baza),

Shaheen pullu (Shaheen Falcon) and

Valiya kinnari parunthu (Legge’s Hawk Eagle).

With the new sightings, the total number of bird species recorded in the sanctuary has increased to 202 after five annual surveys, which started in 2011. The organisers maintained that the finding of new species was significant, especially when the survey was limited to three days. According to them sighting 123 species with limited number of watchers in three days was noteworthy. “Because, the total number of 202 species was spotted during many surveys conducted across a few years,” said Jafer Palot of MNHS.

A total of 142 species of butterflies were also recorded during the survey.