Guwahati, Dec. 23: When Assam-based ornithologist Anwaruddin Choudhury sighted a blue-and-white bird during a recent visit to the interiors of Arunachal Pradesh, he had a gut feeling that it was not just another feathered beauty.
Hours of painstaking research later, he knew for sure that the bird he had seen was a male Japanese blue flycatcher. In ornithological terms, it meant the addition of another species to the avifauna of the Indian subcontinent.
Recounting his experience, Choudhury told The Telegraph that the bird he had spotted did not resemble any of the known species of flycatchers in India.
?It was perched on a cliff by the side of the road. I was just about eight metres away and noticed that the bird?s movements were typical of flycatchers. However, its physical features were unlike that of the blue flycatchers found in the subcontinent,? he said.
Watching the bird intently for about 15 minutes through his binoculars, Choudhury recorded each of its physical characteristics. He said its upper part was glossy metallic cobalt blue, while the sides of its face, throat and upper breast were black. The lower breast, belly and under-tail coverts were white.
?After thorough research, I identified the bird as a male of the species Cyanoptila Cyanomelana,? Choudhury said.
The Japanese blue flycatcher, which is slightly larger than a house sparrow, breeds in northeastern China and migrates through south and southwestern China to southeast Asia in winter. The spot where Choudhury sighted the bird is nine km north of Tuting, in Upper Siang district, and about 600 metres above sea level. It forms a section of the Dihang Dibang biosphere reserve.
The Siang river cuts through the eastern end of the eastern Himalayas, making a narrow corridor of tropical forests that serves as a route for migratory birds.
As many as 39 species of flycatchers are found in India and 32 in Assam. Neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh has 24 international bird sites, which have been classified so under the Important Bird Areas Programme of the Bombay Natural History Society, the UK-based Royal Society for Protection of Birds and Birdlife International.