Winged guests return home from Khinchan as summer sets in
Thousands of migratory birds have begun to leave for their native places from Khinchan, a village located in Phalodi tehsil of Jodhpur district, as summer sets in the state.
At present, only about 1,200 demoiselle cranes, locally called kurjaa, have been left at Khinchan.
More than 50 species of migratory birds visit Khinchan every year during winters, but kurjaa visit the place in large numbers. “This time during the winter, nearly 17,000 kurjaa stayed in the month of February. In the last 10 days, about 16,000 kurjaa have returned to their homes. Now, the last swarm of birds is left,” said Sewaram Mali, a bird watcher.
Migratory birds such as pelican, Indian roller, Eurasian roller, wooly-necked stork, kingfisher, green beeeater, black ibis, swallow and swiftlet cormorants visit Khinchan in the winter season. Khinchan is the world famous wintering ground for demoiselle crane near Phalodi
JODHPUR:
town of Jodhpur district.
The demoiselle is the smallest species of crane. It is 85–100 cm long, 76 cm tall and has a 155–180 cm wingspan. It weighs 2–3 kg. These birds are frequently sighted in and outside Khinchan village, and the salty area of Malar Ran and Bap Ran in Phalodi tehsil.
Mali said that all migratory birds except kurjaa have already left. There are around 1,200 kurjaa left behind, he added.
Kurjaa usually arrive in Jodhpur in the first week of September and begin to leave by the last week of March.
Wildlife expert Dr Hem Singh Gehlot said every year about 100 species of migratory birds fly into India, either in search of food or to escape severe winter of their native habitat. In Indian subcontinent, the majority of migratory birds are winter migrants.