By IANS
Kendrapada (Orissa) : At least 20 endangered white-bellied sea eagles have been sighted in the forests of the Bhitarkanika National Park in Orissa’s Kendrapada district.
“We found the nests of the sea eagles in Habalipadia forest block,” forest officer A.K. Mishra told IANS.
It is for the first time such a large number of birds have been sighted at the park, some 170 km from Bhubaneswar.
White-bellied sea eagles are found in the states of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal in India. They are also found in New Guinea, Indonesia and some other Southeast Asian countries, China and Australia on coasts and major waterways.
Last year, forest officials collected two eggs of the birds from a nest and released the hatchlings after their birth in the Reptile and Avian Research Centre in Dangamala within the park, Mishra said.
The white-bellied sea eagle is characterised by its white colour on the head, rump and belly and dark grey colour on the back and wings.
Each female white-bellied sea eagle lays two eggs at a time and fledglings take about a month to emerge from the eggs. The bird can spread its wings up to a distance of seven feet. Locals call it ‘Kurabala’, or the king of birds.
The Bhitarkanika park is home to 269 species of birds including 98 species of migratory birds. It is also known for its estuarine crocodiles and as a rookery of Olive Ridley sea turtles.
Orissa has three prominent bird habitats – Bhitarkanika, the Nalabana island in the Chilika lake and the Nandankanan botanical garden on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.
Migratory birds rush to these locations during winter. Local birds also gather in these habitats from the first week of July and stay up to September every year if the weather is conducive.