Amur Falcon (Falco amurensis) is a small raptor belonging to falcon family (Falconidae). Every October, a large numbers of Amur falcons arrive in northeast India especially Nagaland, from Siberia en route to their final destination — Somalia, Kenya and South Africa.
Though Amur Falcon is not an endangered species of bird, there has been a huge interest for the majestic bird species because of its migratory behaviour. During summer the raptor breeds in parts of South-eastern Siberia & Northern China.
It undertakes a migration journey from this region all the way to Southern Africa where they spend the winter and then returns to Siberia. Amur falcons travel up to 22,000 km in a year, this being one of the longest migration routes of all birds.
The “Great migration” of the Amur Falcon, it migrates from Mangolia (spend the summer) to South Africa (spend the winter) and back home (Mangolia) One of the most mysterious passage migrants of India is Amur Falcon (Falco amurensis).
This falcon breeds in Northern China and South eastern Siberia and spends all summer there. It undertakes a migration journey from this region all the way to Southern Africa where they spend the winter and then undertake the journey back home.
Some interesting aspects of the Amur Falcon migration are that:
1. It has one of the of longest migration routes of all birds, from eastern Asia all the way to Southern Africa.
2. No one is sure of its migration route, but current thinking (through satellite tracking) is that it migrates large distance across the sea between India and the east African coast. Migrating over the sea is unusual for raptors.
M.Lokeswara Rao said, “The bird of prey visits Nagaland from October to November every year, probably before taking giant leap across Indian Ocean. The raptor spends its day in search of food and settles on the trees for roosting during the night.
There are issues and threats related to conservation of Amur Falcons, particularly during their seasonal migration across the Indian territory.
One of the key requirements for preparing a “Conservation Action Plan” for this species is a comprehensive understanding of their seasonal migration patterns.
As the species is a very long distant migrant there is a need to use specialized satellite transmitters, which can track their seasonal movements”.
Ministry of Environment and Forests, The Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, Convention on Migratory Species Office, United Nations Environment Programme, Environment Agency Abu Dhabi and Nagaland Forest Department are taking up Joint scientific mission to satellite tag Amur Falcons from Nagaland. The birds are tagged with antenna and tracked through satellite.
To undertake joint scientific mission in Doyang area of Wokha in Nagaland, scientists from Wild life Institute of India, Programme Officer – Birds of Prey (Raptors), Convention on Migratory Species Office United Nations Environment Programme Abu Dhabi, and two leading scientists from Hungary who have experiences of satellite tracking of Falcons will be visiting Nagaland in the first week of November.
Mr Rao said, “It is planned to put satellite transmitters on 5 Amur Falcons during the visit of the scientific team to Nagaland. It is first of its kind in the country to put satellite transmitter on Amur Falcons. Nagaland will be in world map with this operation.”
Chief Wildlife Warden T. Lotha and his team of officers from wildlife wing of the department and other forest officers in Doyang will be helping and supervising the whole operation.