Yellow Bittern spotted in Rajasthan in a rare sight after three decades

It is said that nature is the biggest mystery and from time to time, the natural world throws surprises in front of us. One such surprise has been unfolded before the eyes of a few keen ornithologists in Jaipur and Tonk district. The ornithologists have not only managed to witness a random incident but also unearth unique avian behavior which has not been reported in the state in the past three decades.

The issue currently keeping the ornithologists on their toes is the sighting of Yellow Bittern in a small pond on the border of Jaipur and Tonk districts. However, mere sighting of the bird is not the case for festivity amongst avian lovers, the fact that a nesting has occurred and nowadays, the bird is seen with a hatchling is the cause of their celebration.

“It is for the first time that this species is found breeding in Rajasthan in several decades. Even when it bred in the state, there were no records of it moving westwards into Rajasthan and hence, this sighting is a record in itself,” says Kailash Meena, an avid ornithologist who sighted the bird.

The bird has been sighted in a small pond near Mundiya village near Niwai town of Tonk district. “The pond lies near the Jaipur-Tonk border. It is surprising that the bittern has made a nest in the pond taking into account the fact that it lies adjacent to the highway and hence, vehicles move day and night and yet it is not disturbed,” the ornithologist said. 

In the past, the Yellow Bittern has bred in Keoladeo Ghana National Park in Bharatpur. “The last recorded Bittern breeding occurred in Ghana nearly three decades back when we witnessed it,” said Bholu Abrar Khan, retired forest ranger, who spent most of his career at Ghana due to his knowledge related to the birds which he gained directly from a world-renowned ornithologist, Salim Ali.

Interestingly, the Yellow Bittern can be seen in Ghana easily for the most part of the year. “It is only during its breeding season - which coincides with monsoons - that the bird goes missing from Ghana and moves to other areas. For a long time we have not heard of its breeding in Rajasthan and thus this sighting is an important record in the annals of wildlife,” Khan said.

NEAR THE POND

The bird has been sighted in a small pond near Mundiya village near Niwai town of Tonk district. “The pond lies near the Jaipur-Tonk border. It is surprising that the bittern has made a nest in the pond taking into account the fact that it lies adjacent to the highway and hence, vehicles move day and night and yet it is not disturbed,” the ornithologist said. In the past, the Yellow Bittern has bred in Keoladeo Ghana National Park in Bharatpur.