3 more Amur Falcons radio tagged

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Nov 11: Satellite radio transmitters were fitted on three Amur Falcons at the Chiuluan roosting site at Tamenglong district today.
The initiative to study the Amur Falcons' long migratory pattern was carried out by the Tamenglong Forest Division, Forest Department  in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.
While ten birds were captured for the exercise, three were selected to tag the transmitters.
The three included one male and two female birds.
The male bird was christened "Apapang", and the female birds were given the names "Ahu" and "Alang".
Each satellite radio transmitter tagged on the birds weighed about 3.5 gram.
The three radio tagged birds were released at the Chiuluan roosting site at around 4 pm today (November 11).
Chiuluan village volunteer Dinsung Gangmei  led a prayer for the safety of the birds.
Kharibam Hitler Singh, DFO Tamenglong; Dr Suresh Kumar, Scientist, WII; Ramhiamang Gonmei, secretary Rainforest Club Tamenglong, and Mordecai Panmei, director Rainforest Club Tamenglong, volunteers of Chiuluan village and staff of Tamenglong Forest Division took part in the exercise.
Notably, this is not the first time satellite radio transmitters have been fitted on Amur Falcons in Manipur to study their migratory patterns.
In 2018, two Amur Falcons--Tamenglong, a female Amur Falcon bird and Manipur, a male bird were fitted with radio transmitters.
The male bird, Manipur, was found hunted and killed days after its release in the Puching area of Tamenglong.
In 2019, five Amur Falcons named Chiulon (Chiuluan), Puching and Phalong (all named after villages in Tamenglong district) and Irang and Barak (named after rivers) were tagged with radio transmitters.
Several numbers of birds have been tagged with radio transmitters thereafter.
The Amur Falcons (Falco amurensis), locally known as Akhuaipuina, are pigeon-sized world's longest travelling small raptors of the falcon family.
These birds breed in the Southeastern Siberia and Northern China before migrating in large flocks across India, and over the Arabian Sea to Southern and East Africa in the winter.
After migrating from their breeding ground, these birds reach North East India through China, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar during October-November.
They stay in North East States of Manipur, Nagaland, Assam and Meghalaya till the last week of November. Then, they migrate and spend the cold winter season in the warm area of South Africa and stay there up-to March, April.
They take a yearly travel of about 20,000 kilometres.
The hunting of the migratory bird is banned.
Hunting, killing and destruction of the migratory bird is a punishable offence under Section 50 and 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.