Thursday 3 June 2021

Eurasian Woodcock in Hyderabad


In the month of February, my wife Rithika and I had come across a strange wader stuck in a kite maanja, in Hyderabad. With the help of some concerned onlookers, we rescued the bird and handed it to the bird rehabilitation centre at the Nehru Zoological Park. Little did we know that this encounter would turn out to be Telangana's first documented record of the Eurasian Woodcock! The bird survived for two months in the care of veterinarian Dr. Syed Asaduddin and zoologist Mr. Laxmi Narayan before succumbing to its injuries, but not before becoming a bit of a local celebrity, thanks to my radio jockey friend Shehtaaz aka Mirchi Shezzi. A note on this encounter appears in the latest issue of the Indian Birds journal, along with this cartoon. Thanks to Mr. Aasheesh Pittie and Praveen J for publishing the note. 

No comments:

Post a Comment