The Manas National Park. Picture by UB Photos

Guwahati, June 22: It is a classic lost-and-found case. The shy Manipur bush-quail, which was last seen in Assam in 1907, was spotted again on June 6 this year at the Manas National Park.

The Manipur bush quail (Perdicula manipurensis) has been listed as a globally endangered species. It was spotted by Anwaruddin Chou-dhury, deputy commissioner of Baksa, when he was on an official tour of the area along with Ritesh Bhattacharjee, deputy director of the park.

“One bird was seen twice at about 2.30pm on the track that was covered with grass in the Panbari range of the park. I saw it twice and noticed the grey back which is distinctive of this bird and finally confirmed that it was the Manipur bush quail,” Choudhury said over telephone. The bird has been found after 99 years in Assam and 75 years in the world.

“The moment I tried to use the flash in the camera, it just flew away. It is very difficult to photograph the bird as it hides in the grass,” Choudhury said. “The rediscovery of the Manipur bush quail is a dream of any ornithologist,” he added.

The last authentic record of the Manipur bush quail was from Mornoi in undivided Goalpara district (at present in Kokrajhar district) from where birds were obtained for the British Musuem, American Museum of Natural History and Bombay Natural History Society in 1905-07.

The last confirmed record of the species in the world was mentioned as “pre-1932” in Manipur valley by J.C. Higgins, a civil service officer.

Choudhury said an intensive survey would be done during winter in the Panbari range, as the bird has once been spotted. This will also help Panbari range of Manas which does not have many visitors but is high on the agenda of ornithologists. The size of the bird is 20 cm.

Choudhury, who is also an ornithologist, said the bird generally comes early in the morning and late afternoon for feeding, especially if there is a patch of burnt grassland. Its food includes grass seeds, ants and wild lentils. The bird is also a “restricted range” species as its global range is confined to a small area extending from North Bengal to Manipur.

The Bird Life International said earlier, the birds’ range extended to Chittagong, Chittagong Hill Tracts and Sylhet districts of Bangladesh.

“It was historically descr-ibed as local, but not very rare, although even by the 1930s, it was documented as declining in Manipur owing to pressures on its damp grassland habitat. Searches are needed in grasslands in the Northeast and Bangladesh,” the Bird Life International said.

It said surveys should be conducted during April and May, when grasslands are burnt, or in October and November, when paddy fields are harvested, as birds are likely to be most visible during these periods.

The habitat loss of the bird is due to encroachment for ag-riculture and habitation in the grasslands, cutting of grass and thatch, overgrazing by domestic stock and hunting, including live captures for food.