Birding and Photography Blog By Ritesh.: August 2019

A short two days , in fact one and half day, tour to Ajmer Rajasthan with Nature India Tours Group yielded very fruitful sightings of grasslands birds, and the endangered "Lesser Florican". The number of birds are dwindling fast...and there are supposed to be only 200-250 birds remaining in the wild. Though they are mainly grasslands species and need the grassland habitat for successful breeding and survival which is depleting very fast....surprisingly the agricultural fields of "Mung" and "Bajra" have provided them much needed shelter for breeding. The mung cultivation needs less attention and the farmers here use no pesticides these two factors played a very important role and these birds are finding a safe refuge. Onus is heavily on us to save our grasslands..also the condition is very tense when it comes to flagship species of grasslands which include Indian Bustard and Floricans. As per reports from experts in this field, major chunk of lesser floricans are surviving in this area...even a slight change in methods and proportions of cultivation patterns in this area will have a great impact on the breeding of lesser floricans and we may be advancing to rapid loss in numbers....

The lesser florican male jumps with excitement above the grasses, fluttering its wings rapidly making a croaking sound similar to frog and while swaying its crest feathers in air as it descends and lands gracefully on the ground...it ensures that shy female hiding nearby gets attracted and mates and incubates the eggs silently and goes extremely unnoticed...the male keeps doing its jumping display rituals along a designated path around the area in order to mark its territory and also keep other males away..this display lasts couple of weeks...after completion of breeding the birds are notoriously known to vanish and are very very rarely seen during non breeding season anywhere in grasslands of India...Its incredible mystery about their habits and survival tactics....this rare sight we could enjoy due to tireless efforts of locating and safeguarding these birds by the local authorities of forest division and village chiefs..