Russian native bird, Greenish Warbler, sighted in forests of Mancherial for first time

Similarly, Papillio Crino or common banded peacock butterfly, a rare species, was recorded in the forests of Chennur. It was one of the three butterflies suggested to the government to be a State butterfly

Mancherial: A Greenish Warbler, a native bird from Russia, was sighted in the forests of Chennur for the first time, cheering Forest officials and environmentalists.

Resource persons of World Wildlife Fund (WWF) carried out an extensive survey of fauna of the forests, streams, Shivvaram wildlife sanctuary, Dr Ambedkar Eco Park and Godavari river basin under Chennur forest division recently. The activity is being conducted to assess the biodiversity and to educate staffers of the department as well.

“Around 70 bird species were found to be inhabiting the forests of Chennur. Of them, 20 were migratory species including Greenish Warbler,” Rajashekhar, a resource person said. The forests are conducive for inhabitation of various common and migratory bird species. They can attract birds from different Asian and European countries in winter.

The officials said that the Warbler weighing barely 10 grams plays a vital role in ecology by consuming somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000 insects by actively moving for 14 hours a day. The tiny bird is crucial in maintaining balance of biodiversity in the environment just like how tigers and other carnivores do, the officials stated.

According to Bird Count India’s website, Greenish Warbler is an attractive bird which has green on the back and pale below. It breeds in the high Himalayas and Central Asia and migrates to Northeast India, Bangladesh and Southeast Asia. It migrates to the Indian subcontinent in winter.

Meanwhile, a black-bellied tern, which was facing the threat of fast extinction, was sighted by the resource persons in the forests of Shivvaram wildlife sanctuary in Jaipur mandal.

Similarly, Papillio Crino or common banded peacock butterfly, a rare species, was also recorded in the forests of Chennur.

The WWF resource persons disclosed that 22 varieties of butterfly species were recorded in the basin of Godavari river during the survey, reflecting the wealth of the biodiversity of this region. They attributed the suitable weather conditions to the thriving population of the butterflies.