KARWAR: The Indian Pitta, a medium size passerine bird more often heard than seen, was spotted recently in the Kaiga forest.
A scientific officer in the Kaiga Nuclear Power Station, K Putturaju, also a naturalist and amateur wildlife photographer, spotted the bird.
What makes the bird interesting is its brilliant green, blue, fulvous, black and white coloration with crimson abdomen and under tail, observed Puttaraju. Also the bird has a distinctive loud double or triple note whistle. It has the habit of calling once or twice both at dawn and at dusk. Hence it is often called as the ‘Six o Clock Bird’. The bird was first noticed on the compound walls of the Kaiga Nuclear Power Project in 2010, said Puttaraju.
He claimed that the Kaiga exclusive zone, has provided it a safe and natural abode.
Puttaraju has documented various butterflies and bird species in Kaiga forests. He is also involved in a study on climatic change and migration of birds in DAE units.