Rare migratory bird spotted in Faridkot

RUFOUS VENTED PRINIA, FOUND IN NORTHWEST INDIA AND THE SINDH REGION OF PAKISTAN AND A THREATENED SPECIES, WAS SPOTTED BY TWO BIRDWATCHERS

FARIDKOT:A rare migratory bird, rufous vented prinia, was recently spotted near Machaki Mal Singh village, 10km from Faridkot town.

The bird, which was put in the ‘nearly threatened’ category of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUNC) in January last year, is only found in northwest India and the Sindh region of Pakistan.

A birdwatcher, Jasvir Singh, who captured the rufous vented prinia in his camera, had first encounter with the bird in south-west Punjab in September last year.

But, Jasvir was not aware of the fact which he came to know about after attending a conference on rare birds.

“When I came to know about it I rushed to the area again and luckily found the bird on February 5 and 8,.” said Jasvir, a government teacher who started wildlife photography in 2014

Another birdwatcher Varinder Sharma also claimed to have captured the rufous vented prinia in his camera on October 26, 2017, and February 5 at the same village.

Varinder, a head teacher at government school at Machaki Mal Singh, said he had seen the bird in August 2017 but he was not aware about its rarity.

Gurharminder Singh, senior scientific officer, Punjab bio-diversity board, said the bird has been seen spotted in south-west Punjab for the first time.

“We are already working in every district through districtlevel bio-diversity management committees to explore bio-diversity in Punjab,” said Gurharminder.

Wildlife officer (Faridkot) Tajinder Singh said rufous vented prinia is rarely spotted in Punjab.