More than four decades after a juvenile Sedge Warbler was trapped and ringed at Tikse in Ladakh, birders in Kerala have spotted the bird at Ezhome in Kaipad area of Kannur district. The sighting of the migratory bird has been recorded for the first time in Kerala. This is also the first time that the bird has been documented on the field in South Asia.
The bird was spotted by Manoj Karingamadathil, a bird watcher, and Sachinchandran, a research student of Payyanur College, during their routine bird watching. This medium-sized warbler was noticed foraging close to the ground of field shrubs and grasses.It is distinguished from other warblers by its streaked brown back, wings, colorless dull belly, prominent whitish eyelid and dark forehead. These have been uploaded to eBird and iNaturalist, which publishes naturalistic information.
They breed in the cooler regions of Europe and West Central Asia. As soon as they finish their post-breeding feeding, they migrate to southern Europe in August and September and then cross the Sahara desert to Africa as winter migrants. The sedge warbler feeds mainly on insects. “We think it’s a straggler,” said Manoj Karingamadathil. A straggler refers to a bird that strays out of its usual range.
Their presence has been recorded during the Ladakh expedition of the University of Southampton, which lasted for six years from 1976 to 1982. The bird was caught using a net before it was documented in 1982. According to currently available information, the Ezhome sighting is the first report of field observation in South Asia.
Sedge refers to grass-like plants in the Cyperaceae family. Famous for hand paddy cultivation, the fields of Ezhome are a paradise for migratory birds.
This warbler was found in a clump of grass known as sedge. Noticing that Schoenoplectus litoralis has a special interest in the plant Urunipotta, bird lovers have started discussions about giving it the Malayalam name Potakuruvi.