They acoustically record call of the bird on August 24, 16 years after it went missing from Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary, Guntur, AP, and after 125 years anywhere outside the 12-sq km area of the sanctuary<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pune: In an exemplary effort, a group of bird watchers have discovered an elusive bird, which was on the list of Top 10 Lost Birds and did not have a sighting for over a decade. These birders have demonstrated that if your hobby is a passion and you are dedicated and determined, you can achieve feats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fact, when group member Harish Thangaraj announced that they sighted and recorded the call of Jerdon\u2019s courser on Pune Birding Community, a dedicated WhatsApp group of birders, mainly from Pune, there was a lot of excitement and curiosity to know more about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harish Thangaraj, Adesh Shivkar, Ronith Urs, Shashank Dalvi, Pranav, and their Telugu-speaking field assistant Manoj, a non-birder, formed the team for the expedition from August 23 to 31.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harish Thangaraj acoustically recorded the call of the legendary bird on August 24, 16 years after it went missing from Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, and after 125 years anywhere outside the 12 sq km area of the sanctuary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After back-to-back rediscoveries of the Sind Woodpecker (February 2025) and the Long-billed Bush Warbler or the LBBW (July 2025), Jerdon\u2019s Courser sighting is a positive sign for conservationists, birders in India and around the world. Bharat Bhushan, a birder, discovered Jerdon\u2019s courser, \u201cassumed to be extinct\u201d after a gap of 86 years in 1986 at Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary with the help of a local guide. In 1994-95, the bird was spotted only at Lankamalleswara, though the search area spanned across five districts under a search project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Andhra Pradesh Forest Department reported to have noted that these bird enthusiasts had recorded the call of the bir. However, efforts will be made to photograph the bird with their inputs. Considering that it is a critically endangered species and being a schedule 1 species, the habitats will be given due protection and also proper protocols will be in place so that it helps in the recovery of the species which has been elusive for many a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his blog post \u2018Dream come true \u2013 Jerdon\u2019s Courser discovered outside Lankamalla after 125 years \u2013 on the first day of our trip!\u2019, Harish Thangaraj writes, \u201cI have had deep discussions with multiple people over the years on this species, but never really believed that the bird was searchable by traveling birders, giving in to the prevalent thought around town that only researchers who keep going at it for months or years can find this elusive night bird, if at all, it was not extinct already. The aura of this legendary bird in the list of \u2018World\u2019s Top 10 Rare Birds to Find\u2018 or \u2018Top 10 Lost Birds of the World\u2018 was just too daunting to commit resources to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Harish says, \u201cOn August 24 evening, Jerdon\u2019s Courser, the ghost bird of the century; the endemic, critically endangered dream bird for India and for the world, was heard and recorded for the first time in almost two decades and for the first time in history outside it\u2019s only-known range at Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary. It gave out it\u2019s typical call with three repetitions in the sequence.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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