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In a first, east Asian birds make Andaman stopover
Why in news?
- East Asian birds have spotted for first time on Andaman and Nicobar Island.
- Researchers say that sighting of news species on the island chain has gone up since the 2004 Indonesian tsunami
- Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with just about 0.25 % the country’s landmass, is home to about 350 species of exotic birds.
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Some new species found here:
- Horsfield’s Bronze Cuckoo:(1) A native of Australia and New Guinea.(2) The tiny bird is about 15 cm and weighing 22 g and known for its repeated, loud and piercing whistle.(3) It has been encountered in a tsunami ravaged coastal forest in the Great Nicobar Island.(4) The sighting was the first recorded instance of the bird in India.
- Zappey’s Flycatcher:(1) A song bird that breeds in China and spends the winters in the Malay peninsula, Sumatra and Java.(2) It was spotted six times in different areas of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.(3) Javan Pond Heron:(4) This bird usually found in Thailand and Cambodia.(5) Larger than Horsfield’s Bronze Cuckoo and Zappey’s Flycatcher.
- They migrate from north to south:(1) During their migration from north to south, these birds make a stopover at the Andaman and Nicobar island.(2) These birds also use Andaman and Nicobar Islands for a few weeks rest before they can fly along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF).
- EAAF:(1) It is one of the world's great flyways.(2) It stretches eastwards from the Taimyr Peninsula in Russia to Alaska. Its southern end encompasses Australia and New Zealand.(3) Between these extremes the Flyway covers much of eastern Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, South-East Asia and the western Pacific.
Source
The hindu.