Context
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The migratory Mandarin duck has been sighted in a man-made lake in Ziro Valley.
Key Details
- Considered the world’s most colourful waterfowl, the Mandarin duck is a migratory bird native to east Asia, primarily China. The bird was sighted on the man-made Siikhe Lake in the Lower Subansiri district’s Ziro Valley.
- This was the combination when the ducks came last year in Ziro, Dirang [western Arunachal Pradesh] and Maguri-Motapung wetland in Assam last year.
Photo Credit: AFP - Apart from the Mandarin duck and common teal, forest officials found the Eurasian widgeon and falcated duck on the lake.
- The Mandarin duck had visited eastern Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in 2021 after a gap of 108 years. The bird was sighted on Manipur’s Loktak Lake in 2013 and in western Assam’s Manas National Park in 2014.
About Ziro Valley
- Deemed as one of Arunachal Pradesh’s most beautiful high-altitude valleys, Ziro is known for an array of rare moth and butterfly species such as the Kaiser-i-Hind, Apatani glory, Bhutan glory, Brown gorgon and Paris peacock.
- Other important faunal species in the valley include the clouded leopard, Himalayan bear, brown bear, flying squirrel and the white-bellied heron.
About Mandarin Duck
- Mandarin duck, or the (Aix galericulata) was first identified by Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist Carl Linnaeus in 1758.
- The migratory duck breeds in Russia, Korea, Japan and northeastern parts of China.
- The duck, however, rarely visits India as it does not fall in its usual migratory route.
- While birds usually follow a regular route for migration, it is also common for them to stray from the path.
About Maguri Motapung beel
- The Maguri Motapung wetland — an Important Bird Area as declared by the Bombay Natural History Society — is located close to the Dibru Saikhowa National Park in Upper Assam.
- The wetland has a grassland adjacent to it.
- The entire ecosystem (grassland and wetland) is very important as it is home to at least 304 bird species, including a number of endemic ones like Black-breasted parrotbill and Marsh babbler.
Reference:
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