The Arippa forests proved once again to be a treasure trove of avian wealth in the capital district when it afforded a group of birdwatchers the view of three different nocturnal birds recently - the Great-eared nightjar, Ceylon frogmouth and Sri Lanka Bay Owl.
The group - Biju P B, Ganesh Mohan, Hari Mavelikkara, Abhilash Arjunan and Thomson Saburaj - is particularly excited about the Great-eared nightjar, which though not rare or endemic to Western Ghats, is however an extremely hard-to-spot bird.
“It is considered one of the 50 birds to see before you die by noted Delhi-based birdwatcher Bikram Grewal,” said Ganesh Mohan.
An extremely shy creature and a true forest-dweller, it is one of five nightjar species in Kerala and is characterised by its pronounced ear tufts.
“It is known to inhabit forests in India and is not really rare, but it is very difficult to get a sighting for two reasons - one, it’s a nocturnal bird and two, its camouflage makes it practically invisible,” said Hari Mavelikkara, another member of the group. Their sighting of and photographing the bird, usually noted by its distinct long whistling call, is what has got them on a high since very few photographs of the bird are known to be available.
The other species of nocturnal bird they have been able to spot and photograph is the Ceylon frogmouth, a relative of the nightjar, which is also adept at camouflage. A third species is the Sri Lanka Bay owl, considered a sub-species of Oriental Bay owl, that they came upon when on the look-out for the nightjar early in the morning.
“Though there have been reports of sightings and calls of the bay owl, this is, I believe, the first known photograph,” said A K Sivakumar, education officer, WWF Kerala.