Odisha: Rare Bird Sighted At Mangalajodi Wetland; Identified As Common Moorhen

Khordha: A rare avian visitor, a Leucistic Common Moorhen, was spotted at Mangalajodi, popularly known as Odisha’s birds' paradise.

The solitary migratory bird was spotted by noted bird guide and trustee of Mangalajodi Conversation Trust, Madhu Behera. During a routine inspection this morning Behera came across the black-and-white colour bird. He took pictures and videos of the bird and sent them to former honorary wildlife warden Subhendu Mallick of Khordha district for identification.

Mallick identified the bird as partial Leucistic Common Moorhen. Its zoological name is Gallinulachloropus.

Usually, the Common Moorhen is black with large white oval patches under the tail and white line on both the sides. However, this Leucistic Common Moorhen has black colour at the end of its neck and wings like normal birds. More than half of its entire body is white.

The sighting of Leucistic Common Moorhen is touted to be the first of its kind in Odisha and second such incident in India. Earlier in 2017, a Leucistic Common Moorhen was found in the Punchakkari-Vellayani wetlands in Thiruvananthapuram of Kerala. A group of zoologists had spotted the Leucistic Common Moorhen at the Vellayani lake during an expedition.

The Leucistic Common Moorhen bird species belong to the rail family (Rallidae). It is basically found in Republic of Palau, an island country located in the western Pacific Ocean.