Critically endangered Jerdon’s Courser seen for the first time for several years

Jerdon's Courser, seen for the first time for several years. Photo credit Simon Cook.

September 2009. Two Jerdon's Coursers have been seen in the Cudaapah District of Andhra Pradesh, the first confirmed sighting for two years. The birds, a nocturnal ground bird found in scrub jungles, were seen in the heart of the Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary, which, in a second piece of good news, has just been extended by a further 1,200 hectares. The extension is compensation for the construction of a canal, which at one point threatened to destroy the Critically Endangered bird's last stronghold.

Two coursers
The two coursers were seen by BNHS senior research fellow Rahul Chavan, who was appointed to the Jerdon's Courser project earlier this year. Over the last six months, Rahul Chavan has also heard the bird's calls on a number of occasions.

The Chief Wildlife Warden of Andhra Pradesh, Mr Hitesh Malhotra, said: "This excellent news is very reassuring. We need to increase efforts for the protection of Jerdon's Courser with renewed vigour."

Once thought extinct
BNHS Director Dr Asad Rahmani welcomed this further evidence that the courser, long thought to be extinct, is still clinging on in the sanctuary, which will be managed to suit its very particular habitat requirements. He also welcomed the news that the additional land was at last to be added to the sanctuary, following the completion of its transfer from Andhra Pradesh's Irrigation Department to the Forest Department. "It is a big boost to our conservation efforts", he said. "This land, which is between the canal and the sanctuary, is good Jerdon's Courser habitat, according to our assessment."

Still on the verge
Ian Barber, RSPB's International Officer for Asia, said, "Jerdon's courser is clearly a bird on the edge of existence. Although there is a great deal of international co-operation to prevent this bird's global extinction there are many pressures, especially habitat loss that could force the courser into oblivion, but these new developments can only help."

Generous funding
There was further good news for Jerdon's Courser when the Sheik Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, established by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, announced that it had approved funding of US$25,042 for the Bombay Natural History Society's (BNHS) work to study and conserve the species.

BNHS (BirdLife in India) has been conducting field research on Jerdon's Courser for the past nine years, in collaboration with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB, BirdLife in the UK), Andhra Pradesh Forest Department, and the Universities of Cambridge and Reading, funded by the UK Government's Darwin Initiative.

The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund grant will enable BNHS and the RSPB to continue their research into the courser's ecology, breeding habits, distribution and habitat use. Because the bird is nocturnal and elusive, survey work depends on the use of automatic camera "traps", and tracking strips which retain the footprints of the bird. "This is a tremendous boost for the Jerdon's Courser programme and should allow us to carry out the camera trapping we have planned to do", said Dr Rahmani.