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Migration of the Pied Cuckoo
Why is it in News?
- A study of the migration of the pied cuckoo from Africa to India and back has begun.
Details:
- Study is taken up by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), along with the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) and the Government of India’s Department of Biotechnology.
- This is the first study in the country that seeks to trace and observe the migratory routes of the pied cuckoo.
- Pied Cuckoo:
(1) It is also called as Pied Crested Cuckoo and Jacobin Cuckoo.
(2) It has been associated with a bird in Indian mythology and poetry, known as the Chataka.
(3) They arrive in the Himalayan foothills with onset of monsoon.
(4) It is believed that Pied Cuckoo come from Africa, but fact has not proven yet.
(5) It is also found in Sri Lanka and parts of Myanmar.
(6) We find some Pied Cuckoos in South India. But those are resident birds and not migratory.
(7) Its appearance is all black with a white wing patch.
(8) It lays its eggs in the nests of babblers, bulbuls, and shrikes.
- Indian Bioresource Information Network (IBIN):
(1) The pied cuckoo migration study is part of a larger project called the Indian Bioresource Information Network (IBIN).
(2) IBIN is funded by the Government of India’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
(3) IBIN aims to put relevant Indian bio-resources information online.