Tagged Amur Falcon
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 15 2019: Chiulon, the satellite radio transmitter tagged Amur Falcon has reached at Bostwania and is likely to reach South Africa by Christmas, said Wild Life Institute of India officials.

Altogether five Amur Falcons- Irang, Barak, Chiulon, Puching and Phalong were tagged with satellite radio transmitters to study their migration patterns in October-November this year by the Wild Life Institute of India (WLII) and State Forest Department.

WLII scientist Dr Suresh Kumar said Chiulon has reached Botswana, a country in the southern Africa.

"Studying its flight patterns, Chiulon is likely to reach South Africa on Christmas day, December 25," he said.

Another satellite radio tagged bird Longleng also known as Naga Queen may also reach South Africa at the same time as Chiulon.

Naga Queen was tagged with satellite radio transmitter in Nagaland, he said.

Irang and Barak are still in Tanzania and they will likely reach South Africa after Christmas, he added.

It may be mentioned that satellite transmissions from Puching and Phalong were lost after their release.

The Amur falcon is a small raptor of the falcon family.

It breeds in south-eastern Siberia and Northern China before migrating in large flocks across India and over the Arabian Sea to Southern Africa in winter.

They mostly visit Tamenglong and Noney districts of Manipur and both the district administrations had stepped up measures to protect the bird from poachers.

Locals in association with the district administrations had banned use of airguns to protect the bird.

Last year, a satellite radio tagged Amur Falcon named Manipur was killed by poachers.

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