Berhampur: Wildlife activists rescued a black bittern, one of the rare birds rescued from a residential area in Gajapati Nagar here on Thursday evening. The bird was handed over to forest officials on Friday after being treated for the minor injuries in its leg, said Sagar Kumar Patra, a wildlife activist.The bird was rescued by Aurabind Desbehera, another activist when the local residents informed him about it. The bird was now under observation and will be released in the natural habitat soon, said divisional forest officer (DFO), Berhampur, Sunny Khokkar.
Though the exact cause of its injury was not known, the activists suspected it might be wounded due to the effect of cyclone Montha, said Patra, president of Anchalika Bikash Parishad.Wildlife activists said they have sighted the black bittern for the first time in the city though it has been seen in other areas like Sonepur, Chilika and Bhitarakanika. Last year, one photographer captured the picture of the black bittern in Sonepur, near here, said Patra, Even though the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has categorized the black bittern under “least concern”, experts have observed a drastic decline in its population.Known for sooty black colours with yellow neck sides, the black bittern is a wading bird which prefers wetlands with thick fringe vegetation. It has a longish neck among other bitterns found in the region such as yellow bittern and little bittern. The bird, which is known for feeding on small creatures like insects, small fish, frogs and lizards, generally fly from the northern part to southern part of the country, they said.
