International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Bangladesh and Bangladesh Birds Club spotted six nightjars between February 6-12 when conducting a bird survey at the river’s shoals in Rajshahi, reports UNB.
Four ornithologists of the bird research charity British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) in the UK took part in the survey.
Nightjars are extremely rare in Bangladesh and are generally seen in Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and some parts of India, said BTO ornithologist Matt Prior.
"This bird turned out to be a Sykes's Nightjar which is a semi-desert species from west of the subcontinent. This bird is well over a thousand miles outside of the previously known range and is the first for Bangladesh," he wrote in his recent Facebook post.
The nightjars have taken shelters on the grassland of the Padma's shoals, said IUCN bird investigator ABM Sarwar Alam, adding that they caught a 21cm-long nightjar during their survey and released it after collecting its sample for further research.
"We need further investigation to know why nightjars have started preparing to stay in the shoals despite being a semi-desert bird," the IUCN bird investigator added.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
