by R. Nandini and Sanjay Sane

In popular folklore the appearance of certain birds is considered to herald the approaching rains. But there are other, less conspicuous, organisms whose arrival often goes unnoticed. Migratory insects of several species arrive in the thousands, either alone or in swarms, staggered across the days preceding the arrival of the rains.

In a recent paper that generated headlines worldwide, Globe Skimmer dragonflies Pantala flavescens (also called Wandering Gliders) were discovered to have the longest insect migration route recorded so far - a roundtrip flight between India and Africa with stopovers in the Maldives and the Seychelle islands.

Charles Anderson, reporting his findings in the Journal of Tropical Ecology <1>, recorded the arrival and departure of dragonflies in southern India, Maldives and West Africa over a period of fourteen years, with Malé, Maldives being the focal site. Dragonfly occurrence (particularly P. flavescens) in Malé began in October, peaking between November and December, coinciding with the east-bound high-altitude winds (~ 1000 m asl) of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ <2>).

Putting together dates of arrival across the study sites as well as the duration of residency of dragonflies at Malé, he reconstructs a steady north-south movement of dragonflies from southern India through the Maldives across 500-1000 km. A second wave of dragonflies was recorded in Malé between April and June, coinciding with occurrence of the Somali Jet, a band of fast low-lying southwesterly winds over the Arabian Sea blowing from Africa to India.

While this study was focused on dragonflies, Anderson also reports some information on birds, and found that the pattern of bird arrival in the Maldives mirrored that of the dragonflies, peaking between November and December. Among the bird species he reports as crossing the Western Indian Ocean are the Pied Cuckoo, Lesser Cuckoo, Eurasian Cuckoo and the Amur Falcon.

Collating available information on the migration of birds like the Amur Falcon, wind patterns like the ITCZ and Somali Jet, and records of occurrence of certain species of dragonflies at specific times of the year in the Maldives and India, Anderson hypothesizes that dragonflies, like some species of birds, possibly migrate in a loop from India over the Maldives and Seychelles to east Africa (Tanzania or Kenya) and then back again to India. The ITCZ is known to travel across the African continent, bringing rains to different parts of Africa over the year <3>, and insect, including dragonflies, are reported to migrate with these winds. Anderson suggests that, once in Africa, Globe Skimmers probably move southwards and then loop back north to equatorial east Africa before leaving the continent on the return migration to India.

In all, this incredible circuit would cover a total distance of 14,000-18,000 km, with 3,500 km over the open ocean, and would span possibly four generations of dragonflies.

How could insects only a few inches long undertake journeys that span their own body lengths several million times over? On the face of it, this implies deterministic and purposeful flying, as well as knowledge of which winds to harness to get to a destination. Anderson proposes instead that dragonflies need only rise upwards, encounter a passing wind and then largely soar or glide along this wind till they reach land. If this simple explanation is indeed the way in which dragonflies cover these enormous distances, how will such behaviour be affected by phenomena like global warming, which is known to alter the intensity and speeds of winds like the Somali Jet <4> and the ITCZ?

Dragonflies are reputed to be powerful fliers, and several species migrate long distances <5>. The Globe Skimmer is considered to be the most widespread dragonfly, occurring between the 40th parallels of latitude worldwide, and it is common across India <6>. Several populations of this species are known to migrate, and there are recorded migrations of Globe Skimmers from South America to Easter Island (possibly 3,600 km or more), to New Zealand (2,000 km), across the Chinese Bohai sea (nocturnal migrations) and over the Hindu Kush mountains (at altitudes of 6,500m asl). Within the Indian subcontinent, the Globe Skimmer arrives in Tamil Nadu after the North-East Monsoon, while in the western regions it arrives with the South-West monsoon, implying that there might be more than one migratory circuit even within this region.

While dragonflies and insects remain challenging to track over long distances, a number of studies have used arrival date information, mark-recapture techniques, and even radio-telemetry <7> to determine their migratory patterns. But, given the epic scale of the migration uncovered by Anderson, perhaps it would make sense to simultaneously examine both more visible taxa like birds and more populous taxa like insects. Doing so might provide a more comprehensive account of migratory patterns, mechanisms, and the evolutionary reasons for these spectacular journeys.

References

1. Anderson, R.C. 2009. Do dragonflies migrate across the western Indian Ocean? Journal of Tropical Ecology 25(4): 347-348. Download pdf.

2. The ITCZ is a weather system around the equator where the North-East and South-West trade winds converge. More information.

3. The ITZC in Africa. http://people.cas.sc.edu/carbone/modules/mods4car/africa-itcz/index.html

4. Meijing, L., Ke, F. and Huijun, W. 2008. Somali Jet Changes under the Global Warming. Acta Meterologica Sinica. 22 (4): 502-510. Download pdf.

5. Corbet, P. S. 1999. Dragonflies: Behavior and Ecology of Odonata. Cornell University Press, Ithaca.

6. Subramanian, K.A. 2005. Dragonflies and damselflies of peninsular India. A field guide. Edition 1.0. E-book of Project Lifescape, Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science and Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore, India. 118 pages. Copyright K.A.Subramanian, 2005. Download pdf.

7. Wikelski, M., Moskowitz, D., Adelman, J.A., Cochran, J., Wilcove, D.S. and May. M.L. 2006. Simple rules guide dragonfly migration. Biology Letters, 2: 325-329. (Wikelski and colleagues radio-tagged 14 dragonflies in North America and followed them for 12 days with Cessna planes and ground teams.) Download pdf.

On The Other Side of Migration
By Kulbhushansingh Suryawanshi

Four months of meticulous notes on all the birds that I could see around my camp-site and my bird list was only EIGHTEEN! Winter months in the Trans-Himalayan region are a dream for the beginner bird-watcher. Unlike birding in the rainforest, where you are swamped by some 50-60 species who fly from tree to tree in an obvious attempt to make sure that you only get glimpses of them, birding in the Trans-Himalayas in the winter was a lot of fun. On the down-side it can get cold, very cold.

I study a mountain ungulate called the Blue Sheep (Pseudois nayaur) in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh and on the side I watch and keep notes on birds - mostly opportunistic sightings. For instance, once on a cold February morning when I opened the door to my base-camp I had a flock of Tibetan Snow-Finches rushing inside. I won’t blame them - it was -35° Celsius outside.

The Trans-Himalayas are not a great place for birds to hang out in the winter – and the species counts in winters hover around a twenty-two or so. But as spring approaches the place starts to change in more than one way. I had a chance to witness this winter to spring transformation in Spiti last year.

My first taste of spring was rather unpleasant - a fruit fly in my soup. The first obvious sign of approaching spring was not the appearance of any bird but actually the disappearance of one – the Alpine Accentor (Prunella collaris). As the days started to get warmer the Alpine Accentor disappeared from vicinity of the camp, but I kept seeing it higher up in the mountains at about 5000m till 1 March and that was the last I saw of the bird that winter.

My first real spring bird sighting was on 8 March when I went to the village of Kibber (4200m) to restock the camp provisions. There are two willow trees in the center of the village. As I walked past them I heard the familiar chirp of a House Sparrow (Passer domesticus). The common house sparrow migrates to lower altitudes during winter. Later in the day, as I was passing by a half-frozen stream that cuts across the village I was warmly greeted by the sharp Chi-chee-Chi-chee of the White Wagtail (Motacilla alba). A week later on 16 March I heard the village kids running around the camp shouting kakche-kakche; crow!!! But why were the kids so excited about the Jungle Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos)? Later, I found out that traditionally the crow is seen as a sign of the arrival of spring. I guess the White Wagtail and Sparrows are too small for them to notice or perhaps the early arrival of White Wagtail and Sparrow is a recent phenomenon.

Of all the species that were going to arrive with spring I was most excited about the Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochrurus). This was the first migratory bird that I learned to identify. But I had to wait a bit longer. On 23 March I saw a Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) sitting in a snow-hole as if it was just emerging out of winter hibernation den. A few other altitudinal migrants such as the European Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) and Fire-fronted Serin (Serinus pusillus) arrived in the first week of April. On 8 April came the Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea). Unfortunately, I then had to return to the plains before the first Black Redstart arrived. Later a friend told me that they arrived on 6 May.

I was back in Spiti in September and I knew this time I would get to see who leaves when. But before they all flew off again I had some good sightings. First it was a Eurasian Sparrow-hawk (Accipiter nisus) hunting a Black Redstart, then a I saw a Spotted Dove (Streptopelia chinensis) on the streets of Kaza (3800m) and finally a Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) at 4400m. Meanwhile the Bluethroat (Luscina svecica) paid a transit visit.

And then it was time for the goodbyes. My last sighting of the Grey Wagtail that year was on 25 September. It had snowed some two feet that night but the morning was bright and the wagtail hopped around on the snow. The Black Redstarts were gone by the 15 October. October 21 was the last time I saw the White Wagtail that winter and by then the night temperature was already down to -5° Celsius. And then I was once more with my faithful eighteen friends.

The winter residents:
Golden Eagle, Himalayan Griffon, Lammergeier, Red-billed Chough, Yellow-billed Chough, Raven, Brandt’s Mountain Finch, Plain Mountain Finch, Tibetan Snow Finch, Alpine Accentor, Brown Accentor, Robin Accentor, White-winged Redstart, Great Rosefinch, Hill Pigeon, Himalayan Snowcock, Horned Lark, Wallcreeper

By Umesh Srinivasan

The trails of Namdapha National Park are treacherous, but they almost always seem to lead to wonderful new discoveries. How can one convey the excitement of a journey like this? The bamboo bridges you cross are rickety and fragile, held together only by cane; and the water you hope you will never fall into is freezing cold. Returning after days of tiring foot-slogging in the temperate forests and rhododendrons high up in the hills, we reached the village of Hazulu, where we were staying at the home of a friend. Along with a few others, I was on a Rufford Foundation funded bird survey for the Nature Conservation Foundation in the high altitudes of the hills to the east of Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh, near India’s border with Myanmar. And it was in Hazulu that I saw the bird.

Black Bulbuls (Hypsipetes leucocephalus) are one of the commonest and most conspicuous bird species in the Himalaya and the Western Ghats. Birders who have spent time in these areas will be familiar with huge, raucous flocks of these birds flying over the forest canopy and feeding in fruiting trees. With smoky-black heads and bodies, and thin, coral-red bills, these birds are impressively attired, but balance their visual appeal with a range of loud and piercing cries, which some might call ‘cheery’, but are often more capable of inspiring irritation than joy.

India has three subspecies (or races) of Black Bulbuls. None of these races are strictly migratory, but flocks seem to move long distances in search of food, and changes in weather will often result in the almost magical appearance or disappearance of Black Bulbuls. In BR Hills (southern Karnataka), areas silent one day will become cacophonous the next, ringing with the squeals and cries of vast numbers of Black Bulbuls. It is like watching a session of the Lok Sabha in progress.

Asia has ten Black Bulbul races, from Afghanistan in the west to Vietnam in the east¹. Three of these races have white heads (now you know why they’re called leucocephalus!), and breed in south China, migrating in winter to parts of Myanmar, Thailand and to other countries in Southeast Asia. These birds are certainly more handsome than their drabber Indian cousins, with bright white heads contrasting strongly with black bodies and red bills. The Indian subcontinent has only once seen these birds, in March 1995 in Bangladesh².

So imagine our surprise when we found these birds in Arunachal Pradesh! The friend who was hosting us told us first that there were strange black bulbuls with pure white heads around, we were incredulous and a bit dismissive. Juveniles, we said, whose pale grayish upperparts had been exaggerated into white. But the next morning brought a shock. In the persimmon orchards near the village were huge flocks of the ‘normal’ Black Bulbuls – and mixed with them in small numbers were birds with snow-white heads! They were spectacular. Even more so because they mixed freely with the all-black Black Bulbuls, and stood out in an otherwise drab flock. We found these birds once again at another village, again in a persimmon orchard, with other Black Bulbuls.

The resident Lisu people in the area say that these birds have been visiting the area for the past two winters, and have not been seen before. They should know, because Black Bulbuls frequently raid orchards in the area, and the local people know them well as a pest. In the Lisu language, they are known as Chamtakye. What makes these records really interesting is that these birds have been visiting the area for only the last two years. Global warming and changing climate has the potential to change the routes and timings of bird migration, and one could speculate that these sightings are the result of recent climate change in the area.

—————-
1. Del-Hoyo, J., Elliot, A. & J. Sargatal (2005) Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 10 (Cuckoo-shrikes to Thrushes). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, 896 pp.
2. Thompson, P.M. & D.L. Johnson (2003) Further notable records from Bangladesh. Forktail, 19: 85-102.

A more detailed article about these sightings is published in Indian Birds journal. A pdf version can be downloaded here.

By Anirudh Chaoji
23-24 Oct 2008; Swamp on the Saurashtra-Diu border, close to the Diu Check post; 20° 41′ 60 N, 70° 58′ 60 E

In the last week of Oct, 2008, while traveling from Gir to Diu, I was surprised to come across a swamp just outside the Diu check post that had a number of water birds. A number of Coots were nesting and a few had their chicks in toe.

This is where; I noticed a few Great Crested Grebes (both males and females) feeding in the water-body. Behind this group was a female Grebe sitting on a floating nest with a solitary egg. She would leave the nest for a short while to feed, only to return and sit over the egg. This was very important, as a Brahminy Kite continuously flew overhead and picked up a Coot chick in front of us. Eventually we counted a total of three nesting Grebe pairs. We could observe these birds diving frequently - probably for fish, insects and invertebrate larvae.

Great Crested Grebes are well known for their elaborate courtship display, in which pairs raise and shake their head plumes, and approach each other with weed in their bills, rising up breast to breast in the water and turning their heads from side to side. The male bird had unmistakable ornate decoration on the head and the neck. Interestingly, it was this very decoration that almost led to this birds’ extinction in the Great Britain.

Over a century ago the traffic in eggs and the demand for breast feathers for ladies’ headgear reduced number of these birds to low ebb. As soon as the birds became scarce, collectors eagerly obtained specimens for mounting in glass cases. It is appalling to read that in a single spring one individual in Norfolk, U.K. shot 29 grebes all in full breeding plumage. In 1889 a group of women formed the ‘Fur, Fin and Feather Folk’ in order to protest against the massacre of birds purely for clothing. Within one year the group had more than 5000 members. From 1904 this group came to be known as known as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), and is today one of Europe’s largest and most influential conservation charities, with over one million members. The Great Crested Grebe has since expanded greatly in numbers and range, and is one of the most resounding conservation successes that Great Britain has known.

Some of these birds are known to breed irregularly in Kutch, but probably there are no records of them nesting in this Saurashtra – Diu region. The nest here was a floating platform anchored to vegetation. Both parents were involved in incubation. These birds are known to cover the eggs with rotting vegetation to keep them warm. New born hatching are capable of swimming and diving.They  have their heads striped black and white, much like zebras, are often carried around on the backs of their parents. We did not see any hatchlings.

The long hop: a one-legged bird returns to its winter home
By Meghna Krishnadas

The hero of our story is a courageous Grey Wagtail that was first spotted in the temple township of Biligiri Ranganaswamy Betta within the BRT (Biligiri Ranganaswamy Temple) Wildlife Sanctuary, some 200 km south of Bangalore.

It was noticed by TS Ganesh, a resident at BR Hills for twenty years. Ganesh lives on his farm and coffee estate, where he has been observing and photographing the birds that visit his home. One particular individual caught his attention in 2007, when migratory birds first began to arrive for the winter. Among the birds in his backyard, he noticed a Grey Wagtail with just one leg! Surprised, Ganesh photographed the bird. It was one of a pair of Grey Wagtails that remained in his garden until the following May when both went missing, presumably having headed back northwards to Central Asia (C&NE Afghanistan and NW Pakistan) to their summer home to breed.

This appeared to be the end of the story. Migration is a difficult business for any bird, let alone one with as serious a handicap as a missing leg! Birds migrate back and forth from their breeding to their non-breeding lands, tracking warm weather and food supplies. Some birds are champion migrants, like the Bar-headed Geese that travel at astoundingly high elevations over the Himalayas, under conditions of very low oxygen. However, these arduous journeys are very energy-intensive and the weak often do not survive. Migration requires the bird to be at its fittest in order to undertake the long voyage, so Ganesh didn’t expect to ever see his one-legged wagtail again.

Imagine his surprise and awe, then, when the one-legged wagtail reappeared in Ganesh’s garden in October 2008!

When Ganesh heard of the MigrantWatch project he wrote to them about this remarkable individual. MigrantWatch encourages birdwatchers, naturalists and any interested person to document the arrival and departure dates of migratory bird species that visit India during the winter. The idea is that citizens’ contributions will help evaluate the effects that global warming might have on the timing of bird migration.

This little episode illustrates how fascinating it can be to observe the natural world. The resilience of this little one-legged bird, which weighs just above 15 grams, but still managed to make at least two migration journeys of 1500-2000 km each is something we can only wonder at.

Will our hero survive yet another year and two more long journeys to return to Ganesh’s farm at BR Hills? We shall know the answer in a few months, and all of us, Ganesh included are keeping our fingers crossed!

The early arrival of the monsoon and a possible link with Pied Cuckoo arrivals is the subject of a short article by Max Martin writing in the Mail Today on Saturday, 6 June. (Please note that the photo was taken by Clement Francis.) A shortened version also appeared in The Hindu News Update Service on the same day.

We’d like to clarify that the earliest first sighting date for migrant Pied Cuckoos this year was not from the Biligiriranga Hills in Karnataka (which is what the article says), but rather from Kolkata on 17th May by Kshounish Sankar Ray.

Other recent sightings have included:
Chandigarh, 23 May (Vikram Jit Singh); Bangalore, 24 May (Suma Rao); 26 May, Bhubaneswar (Aditya C Panda); 26 May, Dehra Dun (Suniti Bhushan Datta); 28 May, Nagpur (Soham Mehta); 29 May, Jalpaiguri (Mousumi Dutta); 2 June, Pune (Anirudh Chaoji); 7 June, Goa (Fionna Prins). All these sightings were reported to MigrantWatch and can be seen on the Pied Cuckoo Campaign page after you log in. (you can also see records from previous years, all the way back to 1910).

In addition to these sightings,  Sunjoy Monga saw a Pied Cuckoo at Mumbai on 1 June, Mumbai (sent to birdsof bombay); Arunachalam Kumar reported seeing a Pied Cuckoo on 10 May in Mangalore (sent to bngbirds), but it isn’t clear whether the species is migrant or resident in this area.

For those of you who are tracking the progress of the monsoon rains, the Indian Meteorological Department, Mumbai has a very useful map indicating the dates of normal onset of the monsoon (there is also a more detailed map on wikipedia). The map for this year’s onset of the monsoon (from IMD, Pune) shows how much earlier the rains have arrived in 2009.

On the occasion of Environment Day today (5 June), we thought we’d put together some favourite links from across the web that deal with the environment. These links range from video talks on environmental problems and solutions, to sites where you can compare countries on various environmental parameters through bulging maps.
Happy browsing and here’s hoping for a healthier planet in the year to come!

Websites

UNEP: World Environment Day (WED) was established by the UN General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment.

Measure your Carbon Footprint: A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation etc. You can measure this!

Worldmapper: An interactive map showing population density, pollution, carbon emissions etc. across the world and by country

Videos

Sir David Attenborough: The Truth About Climate Change
The legendary broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough was long unsure about the causes of the observed climate warming. In his documentary, The Truth About Climate Change, he sheds doubt and explains what convinced him.

Synthetic seas
Plastics, like diamonds, are forever. Plastic floating in the ocean is the number one source of pollution of the world ocean, and 80% of marine debris comes from urban run-off. The problem is many marine birds and fish confuse floating plastic particles with food.

Melting Himalayan glaciers
A Greenpeace expedition went to the Himalayas to document glacial retreat there - something that could affect the water supply of millions.

Home (Film on Climate Change)
Through the landscapes of 54 countries captured from above, Yann Arthus-Bertrand takes us on an unique journey all around the planet, to contemplate it and to understand it.

More videos (TED talks)

Kamal Meattle on how to grow fresh air (in Delhi!):
Researcher Kamal Meattle shows how an arrangement of three common houseplants, used in specific spots in a home or office building, can result in measurably cleaner indoor air.

Amy Smith shares simple, lifesaving design: Fumes from indoor cooking fires kill more than 2 million children a year in the developing world. MIT engineer Amy Smith details an exciting but simple solution: a tool for turning farm waste into clean-burning charcoal.

Paul MacCready on nature vs. humans: In 1998, aircraft designer Paul MacCready looks at a planet on which humans have utterly dominated nature, and talks about what we all can do to preserve nature’s balance. His contribution: solar planes, superefficient gliders and the electric car.

E.O. Wilson on saving life on Earth: As E.O. Wilson accepts his 2007 TED Prize, he makes a plea on behalf of all creatures that we learn more about our biosphere — and build a networked encyclopedia of all the world’s knowledge about life.

Jane Goodall on what separates us from the apes: Jane Goodall hasn’t found the missing link, but she’s come closer than nearly anyone else. The primatologist says the only real difference between humans and chimps is our sophisticated language. She urges us to start using it to change the world.

Alex Steffen sees a sustainable future: Worldchanging.com founder Alex Steffen argues that reducing humanity’s ecological footprint is incredibly vital now, as the western consumer lifestyle spreads to developing countries.

Capt. Charles Moore on the seas of plastic: Capt. Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation first discovered the Great Pacific Garbage Patch — an endless floating waste of plastic trash. Now he’s drawing attention to the growing, choking problem of plastic debris in our seas.

Al Gore on averting climate crisis: With the same humour and humanity he exuded in An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore spells out 15 ways that individuals can address climate change immediately, from buying a hybrid to inventing a new, hotter “brand name” for global warming.

By MigrantWatch Admin

The first of the migrant Pied Cuckoos have arrived. Following the first sighting reported on 17 May by Kshounish Sankar Ray from Kolkata we now have reports of other sightings from across the country.

Alibag, Maharashtra
18 May, Alibag, Maharashtra; 18.6N, 72.8E
Reported by Dr. Vaibhav Deshmukh to birdsofbombay
Dr. Vaibhav Deshmukh, Pravin Kawale and Shriniwas made an unexpected discovery when they went to check on the status of a Shaheen Falcon’s nest at a communication tower at Alibag. While the chicks were being fed Rock Pigeons one of the parents got itself a Pied Cuckoo to feast on! According to Dr. Vaibhav “This was our first sighting of Pied crested cuckoo of this season; unfortunately it became meal for Shaheen”. Anecdotes suggest that Pied Cuckoos arrive exhausted from their flight over the Arabian Sea, and often fall prey to crows and other predators - perhaps the bird at Alibag was similarly handicapped. (You can read more about this on bngbirds.)

Note from MigrantWatch Admin: In 1931, Salim Ali recorded the first Pied Cuckoo of the year for Alibag on 24 May (Ali, S. 1931. JBNHS 34:4).

BR Hills, Karnataka
21 May, BRT Wildlife Sanctuary, Chamarajanagar District, Karnataka, 11.98N, 77.13E
Reported by Samira Agnihotri to MigrantWatch
Samira heard the call of the Pied Cuckoo for the first time this season as she walked in the scrubby parts of south BRT. A glance in the direction of the call revealed a pair of these cuckoos flying around from tree to tree and calling repeatedly. The Soliga tribal who was assisting her told her that they call the birds “Malé Godda’ and that it had a reputation of hanging around in the rain a lot.

Sultanpur, Haryana
24 May, Sultanpur National Park, Gurgaon, Haryana, 28.32N, 77.03E
Reported by Cdr. Kanwar B. Singh to MigrantWatch
Kanwar Singh reported the first sighting of the Pied Cuckoo from Sultanpur in Haryana. A trip report by Soma Ateesh Tripathi on delhibird also mentions the sighting.

Nashik, Maharashtra
25 May; Dindori Road, Nashik, Maharashtra, 20.01N, 73.79E.
Reported by Shriram Vaijapurkar to MigrantWatch
Mr. Shriram Vaijapurkar spotted the Pied Cuckoo in the morning at 9:15 AM as it sat on the overhead cable and called. The cuckoo is a annual visitor to the area and this was the first sighting he has had of this bird this year.

By Kshounish Sankar Ray

17 May 2009, Joka Grassland, East of IIM Kolkata Campus, 22.4N 88.3E.

Mr Bhaskar Das and myself were intently watching a reed bed for the Black-browed Reed Warbler when this bird flew across our vision and perched on an acacia bush nearby. It was before 6.00 am and the light was quite poor. As we shifted position for a better angle, it flew and I was lucky to get a few rather poor flight shots. No calls were heard. We stayed in the area for another three hours. No further sightings or calls were recorded.

It’s quite intriguing that the bird which is supposed to enter the subcontinent from the west was sighted early in the east. As per previous records, the Orissa coast is supposedly one of the places where it is observed early. A sea route for the migration?

[Note from MigrantWatch Admin: The first Pied Cuckoos in the Kolkata area last year were seen on 16 May by Radhanath Polley at the Dankuni Wetlands. Read more on bengalbird]