It`s a sighting that has surprised wildlife enthusiasts and birders. The Lesser Florican, a critically endangered bird, was spotted for the first time in Ratnagiri district, a fact that underlines the rich biodiversity of the area.
Wildlife enthusiast and birder Nikhita Shinde told mid-day that it was birder and wildlife photographer Prasad Gokhale who spotted the female bird on May 26.
Shinde said, “After we got to know about the sighting of the Lesser Florican female on May 27, Rahul Sohoni, Ketan Chitale and I went to the location and were lucky to observe it for almost 3-4 hours. The bird was taking short flights and may have landed in Ratnagiri to rest. We observed that it was feeding on weeds found near the small lakes formed on the laterite plateaus.”
Shinde has been documenting bird diversity along with other wildlife enthusiasts in the Ratnagiri district.According to a Status of Lesser Florican report by Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Lesser Florican (Sypheotides indicus) is the smallest bird of the bustard family (Otididae).
