Arunachal- Rare Bird found
Itanagar
Arunachal Press Club (APC) president Chopa Cheda, while coming from Seppa in East Kameng district to the state capital recently, purchased the bird for Rs 800/– from an old woman from a place in between Relloh and Sagalee. The woman caught the bird in a forest and was looking for potential customers.
The black-breasted Khalij Pheasant (Lophura Leucomelanos Lathami) was handed over to the IBP curator, Raya Flago. The rare bird is included in the Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The males are purple black. The head is bluish black with a red face and a narrow projecting crest. The feathers are rounded. The upper parts are glossy blue black with a purple sheen, except the concentric barring on the lower back and rump. The females are brownish in colour, each feather tipped to a lighter shade and the tail-feathers black, except the top or central pair.
These birds keep in pairs or small groups and search for food in open areas, early in the mornings. They are very shy and scuttle for cover at the slightest hint of alarm. Earlier on June 1, 2013, Cheda had donated a monitor lizard (Voranus Bengalensis), a Schedule I animal, to the park, which was caught in his residence.
