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Amur falcons leave Manipur for onward journey

By Correspondent - 15 Sep 2010 12:00 AM GMT

IMPHAL, Nov 22 - All the Amur falcons (Falcon amurensis) roosting in Manipur�s Tamenglong district have left for their onward sojourn to African continent, Divisional Forest Officer of Tamenglong wrote on its official Facebook page.

The post also informed that the two Amur falcons � �Chiulon� and �Irang� which were radio-tagged in Manipur last year as part of migratory birds study in collaboration with Wildlife Institute of India � are still active and safe. �They are in Somalia,� it stated.

Confirming the news last week, Union Forest and Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar had also tweeted, �After spending close to 20 days in Manipur and adjoining areas, the two satellite-tagged Amur falcons � Chiulon and Irang � were out on their second year migration on November 11 and 12.�

�They have now reached Somalia covering 5,700 km and 5,400 km, respectively, in five-and-half-day non-stop flight,� Union Minister said.

�Chiulon�, named after a village in Tamenglong district, left from Manipur, while �Irang�, named after a river, left from Bangladesh border for second migration, the officials of Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, stated.

A five-member team of the institute conducted the satellite radio-tagging programme in Manipur, and so far the team has radio-tagged five Amur falcons, including Chiulon and Irang at Puching village on October 31 and November 1, with the support of locals.

Thousands of Amur falcons spend their summers at their breeding ground in northern China and in winter, they migrate to South Africa. On their way, they stop in north-eastern States, particularly in Nagaland and Manipur in October, and leave the region in November after having enough food for their non-stop flight to African countries over the Arabian Sea.

The radio-tagging programme was started in Manipur last year as part of projects to study the flight route of these long-distance migratory birds and environmental patterns along the route.

On hearing about Amur falcons� arrival and its annual roosting, Manipur Governor Dr Najma Heptulla�s daughter Asma Heptulla visited the roosting sites of Amur falcons in Tamenglong district last week.