ITANAGAR, 21 Dec: The Lapland longspur (Calcarius lapponicus) – a widely distributed migratory passerine of the Palearctic – was spotted at the Namdapha National Park recently.
In a recent article in Indian Birds, a bi-monthly journal on ornithology, Ravi Mekola from Roing informed that it is the first instance of the species occurring in India.
The only record from the Indian subcontinent till date is from Bhutan (Chopel and Sherub, 2016).
The Lapland longspur breeds in moist, open, grassy and lowland tundra, above the tree line, in the Arctic region of northern Eurasia, and moves south to southern Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, and rarely to Japan.
“On 17 October, 2023, a Lapland longspur was sighted near Bumra Nallah inside Namdapha National Park, Arunachal Pradesh, at about 9:30 am while we were en route to Vijaynagar from Miao.
It was observed feeding on the ground along a grassy patch beside the road that runs along the Noa-Dihing river. A hill prinia (Prinia superciliaris) and a white wagtail (Motacilla alba) were the only other birds seen alongside.
“We spent about 25 minutes photographing the bird when it approached us to a distance of 50 metres. After taking sufficient pictures, we left the bird and continued our journey towards Vijaynagar,” said Mekola.
“The Lapland longspur is identified by its short, stubby conical bill, with black patch bordering the brown ear covers, sandy-rufous wide supercilium widening behind the eye, and extending down the sides of the nape, well-streaked upperparts, rufous greater coverts with white tips, long primary projection, short tail with a notch, white outer edges to outer rectrices, and distinctly long hind claws,” he said.
