Friday, February 25, 2011

[BirdPhotoIndia] 1st Confirmed Record for India - Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus)

Hello,
The Eastern Marsh Harrier (Circus spilonotus) is sometimes treated as a full species or as a sub-species of the Eurasian Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus). This species has a breeding range to the east of India and has been sight-recorded in the past from Corbett (Naoroji, 1994), Periyar and Andaman Islands (Robson, 1991). However, in the absence of physical and photographic records, Pamela Rasmussen, in Birds of South Asia, however, considers the species to be "Hypothetical" for India, perhaps based on the absence of any physical records or diagnostic images from the area.  

The attached bird, photographed in Boshipota, Howrah, West Bengal on 16/2/11 has been identified as subadult male Eastern Marsh Harrier by Dr. Chaiyan Kasorndorkbua, an acknowledged raptor expert and a leading member of the Thai Raptor Group. This would then be a possible 1st photo-documented record of the species from India. Also a hearty thanks to Sumit Sen for his help in this matter.

--
Abhishek Das

Howrah, WB, India.
09874692748

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