Nagaland to undertake first Avian counting exercise

Context: Nagaland is undertaking the first avian documentation exercise to go beyond Amur falcons, the migratory raptor that put the State on the world birding map.

Amur Falcon:

• Amur falcon is a small raptor of the falcon family.
• It breeds in south-eastern Siberia and Northern China before migrating in large flocks across India and over the Arabian Sea to winter in Southern Africa.
• The raptor (bird of prey) — the size of a pigeon — makes its home in Nagaland, flying a staggering 22,000 km from there to South Africa, then onto Mongolia and back to Nagaland. The bird has one of the longest and most fascinating migratory paths in the avian world.
• The falcon breeds in south-eastern Siberia and north-eastern China, where the Amur River divides the Russian Far East and China.

• The Centre decided to develop Doyang Lake in Nagaland, famous as a roosting site for longest traveling raptors Amur Falcons, as an eco-tourism spot for bird-watchers.
• It is listed as Least Concern species under IUCN’s red data list . They are protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• It is also listed in Appendix II of CITES ( The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).

Illegal trade and hunting :

• An estimated one lakh Amur Falcons were trapped and killed by villagers for the commercial meat trade in different years.
• Both the trade and the appetite for the Amur falcon seem to be growing: while some birds were transported in trucks for sale in places far from the trapping spot, others were discarded, simply because too many had been caught.
• According to conservation India , each bird is sold for a price between Rs. 16-25 (always sold as number of birds for Rs. 100 ($ 1.9 / £ 1.2).
• This sale usually happens door-to-door in Pangti village (where most hunters are from) as well as nearby Doyang and Wokha towns. Hunters (and sellers) know that Amur killing is illegal and banned by the Deputy Commissioner (Wokha district) since 2010.

Source:  The Hindu