VISAKHAPATNAM: The elusive Jerdon’s Courser has called once more, breaking two decades of silence. In the scrublands of Kadapa district in Andhra Pradesh, far beyond its only known refuge in the Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary (LKM), the critically endangered bird was recorded in August 2025, and the first confirmed record since 2004, and the first outside LKM since the last such historical record in 1900.
The breakthrough came on August 24, when a team of Indian birdwatchers, including Harish Thangaraj, Adesh Shivkar, Ronith Urs, Shashank Dalvi, and Pranav Vajapayem, ventured into scrublands after weeks of research. Their preparation had spanned July and August, during which they identified habitats similar to LKM that might still support the bird.
On August 24, during their first day in the field, Harish startled a bird from under a dense bush. From its flight pattern, and the glimpse of its back, he suspected it might be the elusive Jerdon’s Courser.
Encouraged, the group returned at dusk to set up a sound recorder. At 9.35 pm, while walking with torches, the silence was broken by a distinctive two-note call. “The Jerdon’s Courser gave out its typical call, repeated three times in sequence,” Harish later wrote in his blog.
He managed to record the bird’s call on the Merlin bird app in the final seconds of a nearly two-hour recording. The following night, the team heard clearer calls, confirming the rediscovery. In the days that followed, the bird was heard several more times, though it was not sighted and no photographs were obtained.
Kadapa District Forest Officer Vineeth Kumar confirmed the rediscovery, and said the department has already initiated monitoring measures.
“We have identified the location, and are tracking it using camera traps and audio devices,” he told TNIE.
The DFO further clarified that the location is government forest land, and no one should enter without prior permission from the Forest Department. He added that enhanced monitoring and protection measures are in place to avoid disturbance. The rediscovery site was described as a small plateau of red soil with scattered rocks, Carissa shrubs, and termite mounds, a habitat resembling LKM, but with the notable absence of invasive Prosopis.
Jerdon’s Courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus) has long lived up to its reputation as a ‘ghost bird’.
Appearances of ‘ghost bird’
1848 First described by British ornithologist Thomas C Jerdon in Kadapa
1900 Last known record
1986 Rediscovered after 86 years by a local trapper in Kadapa
1986-2004 All confirmed sightings restricted to a 1,200-hectare patch within LKM
2004 Last confirmed sighting inside LKM
2025 (August) Recorded once more after 20 years, and for the first time outside LKM