Eurasian Bittern, a rare migratory bird also known as Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris), was recently spotted at the Ezhome wetlands, near Pazhayangadi, here.
The bird was spotted and photographed by birdwatcher Jayan Thomas on March 24.
According to Dr. Thomas, eBird, an international platform to record bird sightings, mentions that the only other photograph of this bird in Kerala is from Thiruvananthapuram and this is the third picture from southern India. He says the sighting of this rare bird has been confirmed by ornithologists C. Sashikumar and Praveen J.
When contacted, Mr. Sashikumar said there had been total seven sightings of this bird in the State, mainly from the kole wetlands of Thrissur 10 years ago.
There was one specimen at the Parassinikadavu Snake Park here which died in captivity in December 1997, he said.
Dr. Thomas, an ophthalmologist practising here, said the Eurasian Bittern was a bird in the bittern subfamily of the heron family. It was larger than a pond heron, golden brown in colour and cryptically patterned with blackish cap and a moustache.
“It is a secretive bird seldom seen in the open field and prefers to skulk in reed beds and thick vegetation near waterbodies. It feeds on fish, small mammals, baby birds, amphibians, crustaceans and insects. The bird makes a big foghorn-like booming sound which sounds scary in the night.”
The Eurasian Bittern breeds in areas between Great Britain and Japan and flies to South East Asia during winter. Ezhome wetlands is a unique habitat for migratory birds and very special waders such as Swinhoe’s snipe and Long-toed stint.
