Jerdon’s Courser is a critically endangered bird species exclusively endemic to Andhra Pradesh, specifically within the Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary in Kadapa. This elusive bird has not been visually spotted in over a decade. Once thought extinct, with no records after 1900, the species was miraculously rediscovered in 1986 near Reddipalli village in Kadapa, leading to the establishment of the Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary.
Sightings and Surveys
According to the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department, confirmed sightings of the Jerdon’s Courser since its rediscovery have been remarkably scarce, confined to a handful of sites within and around the sanctuary. A comprehensive survey spanning southern Andhra Pradesh, including Kadapa, Nellore, Chittoor, and Anantapur districts, revealed confirmed reports from six locations, with actual sightings in two of these, both situated in Kadapa district. Additional reports, both confirmed and anecdotal, primarily originated from local tribal communities and bird trappers.
Detection Methods
Before 2000, the elusive Jerdon’s Courser was mainly spotted during nocturnal excursions. However, in 2001, a breakthrough detection method was introduced using tracking strips that captured the bird’s unique footprints. These prints were verified with automatic cameras triggered by infrared beams, successfully identifying the bird in three new locations. Unfortunately, one of these habitats was subsequently destroyed during the construction of the Telugu-Ganga canal.
The call of the Jerdon’s Courser was first recorded and identified in September 2002. This involved meticulous observation and taping of a calling individual. These recordings, when played in suitable habitats within a 1 km radius of known sites, elicited responses from nine previously unrecorded locations. An innovative tape transect survey method was later developed to locate the bird in new areas. This method involved playing the recordings at 403 points outside known habitats in and around the sanctuary, resulting in responses from Jerdon’s Courser at three points, all within 14 km of the rediscovery site near Reddipalli.
Conservation and Protection Measures
Sidhout (Siddavatam) forest range officer B Kalavathi explained the conservation and protection measures for the Jerdon’s Courser. The forest management practices have been meticulously adapted to support this critically endangered species. Forests are divided into compartments, each subject to specific management activities. However, the compartment identified as the habitat of the Jerdon’s Courser has been left without human intervention. No activities such as developing check dams, percolation tanks, or trenches are carried out there. The bird species is primarily reported from shrub jungles. Before 2006, plant species favorable to the Jerdon’s Courser were planted in these areas. Since then, no human interventions have been carried out.
Continuous monitoring of the entire Sidhout range, including the sanctuary, through cameras and other means is conducted to sight and identify the tracks of the courser without even the slightest disturbance to its habitat or the bird itself. Funding support for these conservation activities is provided through the annual plan of operations.
Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs):
- Where is Jerdon’s Courser exclusively endemic to?
- A. Kerala
- B. Tamil Nadu
- C. Andhra Pradesh
- D. Karnataka
- When was Jerdon’s Courser rediscovered after being thought extinct?
- A. 1900
- B. 1986
- C. 2001
- D. 2002
- Which method was introduced in 2001 to detect Jerdon’s Courser?
- A. Nocturnal excursions
- B. Tracking strips
- C. Bird watching
- D. Satellite tracking
- When was the call of the Jerdon’s Courser first recorded and identified?
- A. 1986
- B. 2000
- C. 2001
- D. 2002
- What measures have been taken to support the conservation of Jerdon’s Courser in its habitat?
- A. Building dams
- B. Planting favorable plant species
- C. Continuous human intervention
- D. Constructing trenches