Jerdon's Courser
A shy, night-flying bird of Andhra Pradesh was not seen for 86 years. A local man who knew the scrub forest helped find it again.
What was reported
Jerdon's courser is a small, long-legged bird with striking bands on its neck, which lives in the scrub jungle of southern Andhra Pradesh and is active mainly at night. After 1900, there were no confirmed records, and many feared it was extinct.
In January 1986, a researcher from the Bombay Natural History Society, Bharat Bhushan, working with a local trapper named Aitanna who knew its call, found the bird near the Lankamalla hills.
Explanations offered
Its rediscovery led to the creation of the Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary to protect it. It remains critically endangered and very rarely seen, and its survival depends on protecting the scrub forest.
- When
- Lost after 1900; rediscovered 1986
- Where
- Lankamalla hills, Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, India
- Witnesses
- A local trapper and researchers of the Bombay Natural History Society
- Status
- Confirmed
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