The longest flying migratory bird Amur falcon and it's Nagaland connect
Recently , raptor Amur falcon which is also known as longest flying migratory bird on earth started its journey for its destination in north east indian States especially Nagaland and Manipur . Wokha district in Nagaland has already declared a three-km area, a silent zone to ensure safe passage for the famed migratory visitors – the Amur Falcons—about a million of these raptors stopover in Pangti village for two months during their over 22,000-km-long yearly flights between Russia, China and Africa.
It has earned Nagaland the moniker--the falcon capital of the world.
It represents a unique and irreplaceable part of the rich biodiversity of Nagaland’. Doyang reservoir in Wokha district of Nagaland gained prominence as these raptors congregate in huge numbers here.
The Amur falcon is a small raptor of the falcon family that breeds in Siberia and Northern China and migrates to winter in Southern Africa. Migratory Amur falcons incredible journey from Nagaland to South Africa to Mongolia and back to Nagaland has been recorded by scientists with the help of satellite tagging. In October, huge numbers of Amur falcons arrive in northeast India from Siberia en route to their final destination — Somalia, Kenya and South Africa. This handsome little raptor has one of the longest migration routes of all birds, doing up to 22,000 km in a year. The birds are unusual in that they migrate a large distance over the sea and also continue their journey at night.
It is listed as Least Concern species under iucn's red data list . They are protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
It is also listed in Appendix II of CITES ( The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).
Apart from Nagaland, these birds visit parts of Manipur and Assam.
BirdLife international had set up an emergency fund to help Bombay natural history society coordinate a series of actions in order to halt the massacre. Many BirdLife Partners such as BirdLife South Africa and the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) also lent their voice to the campaign and received international support.
Amur falcon feeding mechanism :
The Amur falcons feed mostly on insects, mainly mid-air. Their migration to Africa coincides with the time when due to rains swarm of insects will be everywhere, making South Africa a great feeding ground. Their timing is impeccable; their flight over the Arabian Sea coincides with the dragonfly migration which is also their greatest food source during the most arduous phase of their journey.
Illegal trade and hunting :
An estimated one lakh Amur Falcons were trapped and killed by villagers for the commercial meat trade in different years. Both the trade and the appetite for the Amur falcon seem to be growing: while some birds were transported in trucks for sale in places far from the trapping spot, others were discarded, simply because too many had been caught. According to conservation india , Each bird is sold for a price between Rs. 16-25 (always sold as number of birds for Rs. 100 ($ 1.9 / £ 1.2). This sale usually happens door-to-door in Pangti village (where most hunters are from) as well as nearby Doyang and Wokha towns. Hunters (and sellers) know that Amur killing is illegal and banned by the Deputy Commissioner (Wokha district) since 2010.
