An Amur falcon bird radio tagged by scientists of Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Manipur's Tamenglong district has entered Kenya and is heading towards Tsavo East National Park, a scientist said.

Dr Suresh Kumar scientist of Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India told PTI on Tuesday that the Amur falcon bird named 'Chiuluan 2' has crossed Somalia and entered Kenya.

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Tamenglong, Kharibam Hitler Singh told PTI that two Amur falcons which arrived in Manipur from Siberian region on October 12 were captured by a team of Tamenglong forest division and local volunteers under the supervision of Suresh Kumar from Chiuluan roosting site.

The two birds were radio-tagged by scientists of the Wildlife Institute of India in Tamenglong district. The male bird was named 'Chiluan 2' and the female 'Guangram', after two important roosting villages in Tamenglong district.

'Chiluan 2' was released on November 8 after tagging it with satellite transmitters. It reached the coastal areas of Orissa on November 15 after a non-stop flight. From there it went to Maharashtra and eventually crossed the Arabian Sea to reach the Somalia-Kenya borders", Singh said.

The female bird 'Guangram' is, however, yet to leave Manipur, he added.

The Amur falcon is a small raptor of the falcon family. It breeds in south-eastern Siberia and Northern China. To escape from the harsh winter of Siberia and Northern China the birds travel a distance of around 14,500 km to head for the wintering grounds in Southern and East African coasts. In April-May they start their return journey, said the DFO.

The birds make a stop-over in Nagaland Manipur and a few other areas of North East region while on their way to Africa. The Amur falcons locally known as 'Akhuaipuina' roosts for an average of 45 days where they engage in feeding for the arduous journey ahead, Singh said.

The radio tagging programme of Amur falcons started in 2018 in Manipur. Earlier an Amur Falcon named 'Tamenglong' had reached Somalia but further data could not be retrieved at that time, the DFO said.

The objective of the research is to study the migratory route of one of the world's longest-travelling birds, Singh said.

The research programme was taken up under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

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