Published: 22nd Feb, 2021
Recently, a rare sight was noticed by people where they witnessed a spectacular and rare Mandarin duck floating in the Maguri-Motapung beel (or wetland) of Assam’s Tinsukia district.
Context
Recently, a rare sight was noticed by people where they witnessed a spectacular and rare Mandarin duck floating in the Maguri-Motapung beel (or wetland) of Assam’s Tinsukia district.
About
What is the Mandarin duck?
- Considered the most beautiful duck in the world, the Mandarin duck, or the (Aix galericulata) was first identified by Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist Carl Linnaeus in 1758.
- It is a “small-exotic looking bird” native to East Asia.
- The migratory duck breeds in Russia, Korea, Japan and northeastern parts of China.
Why is it ‘rare’ for India?
- The duck, however, rarely visits India as it does not fall in its usual migratory route.
- There are only a handful of recorded sightings here. It was recorded in
- 1902 in Dibru river in the Rongagora area in Tinsukia
- 2013 in Manipur’s Loktak Lake
- 2014 in Saatvoini Beel in Manas National Park and Tiger Reserve in Assam’s Baksa district
Maguri Motapung wetland
- The Maguri Motapung wetland is an Important Bird Area as declared by the Bombay Natural History Society.
- It is located close to the Dibru Saikhowa National Park in Upper Assam.
- The wetland has a grassland adjacent to it.
- The entire ecosystem (grassland and wetland) is very important as it is home to at least 304 bird species, including a number of endemic ones like Black-breasted parrotbill and Marsh babbler.
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