Rare Rufous-bellied eagle recorded in Mancherial for first time

A rare bird Rufous-bellied eagle was photographed on the premises of a temple at an abandoned quarry of MCC near Mancherial town

Mancherial: A rare bird Rufous-bellied eagle was photographed on the premises of a temple at an abandoned quarry of MCC near Mancherial town on November 16, leaving bird watchers and wildlife enthusiasts excited. Incidentally, it was recorded for the first time in the landscape of Mancherial district.

Abdul Raheem, a software professional from Karimnagar and a member of Hyderabad Birding Pals (HBP) told ‘Telangana Today’ that he had spotted the juvenile bird while he was birding at the quarry.

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He stated that it was found for four times in different parts of Telangana, according to ebird.org, a dedicated website which gathers information of the winged wonders in the past.

He said he had photographed birds in forests near Gadpur, Nagaram, Kolamguda and many other forest fringe villages in Hajipur mandal and Gandhari Fort on the outskirts of Bokkalagutta village in Mandamarri mandal.

The software professional said that he photographed various bird species including all the 12 owls dwelling in Telangana. He clicked an image of a stock-billed kingfisher in Sirnapalli in Nizamabad in 2021.

He disclosed that he had ventured into birding in 2019 as he was fascinated by wildlife photography. He had explored several forests and habitats of birds so far.

The nature lover recalled that he had participated in a bird walk organized by the forest department in Kumram Bheem Asifabad in 2019 and managed to shoot images of different birds.

The bird species are distributed in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Indochina, Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Philippines, as per indianbirds.thedynamicnature.com

Mancherial District Forest Officer Aasheesh Singh opined that its a welcome addition to Kawal Tiger Reserve (KTR). He stated that the bird was sighted in Amrabad Tiger Reserve for the first time.

The handsome eagle was recorded at Palarapu cliff on the outskirts of Nandigaon village in Penchikalpet mandal of Kumram Bheem Asifabad district for the first time in 2020, authorities of the forest department informed.