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Birds are usually linked to bright colours, beauty, youth and vigor, but there is one species which is generally known as the old man of the bird world and that is the Lesser Adjutant. Dr. Salim Ali, goes to the extent of describing this species as one of the ugliest storks found in India. The Lesser Adjutant is a huge bird measuring up to four and a half feet while standing. They have a large dirty yellow wedge shaped bill. The body is glossy black above and white below. The neck and head lacks feathers and is orange in colour. Plumes of hair arise from the crown of their head, giving it the convincing old man look.
The status of this species in Goa is very unique. It was thought before that the state was a wintering area for this species since this was also consistent with the general patterns from rest of the subcontinent, but in the past eight years there have been year long record of this species from Goa which shows that they are fairly common in the coastal belt of the state. Unlike their cousins of east India the Greater Adjutant, the Lesser Adjutant are not scavengers and actively hunt for fish, frogs and snakes. There have been no breeding records of the species from Goa till date and it is presumed that they move towards the Deccan plateau for breeding.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed this species as vulnerable due to the rapid decline of its population attributed to hunting, loss of nesting trees, conversion and degradation of wetlands, agricultural changes and intensification. Their population in Goa though has been slowly increasing over the years and has remained fairly stable. After the first record of a single individual in 1998 by Heinz Lainer in Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Sanctuary, 22 individuals were reported from the Syngenta factory water tank in 2003. In 2013, 32 individuals were seen roosting in the Salim Ali Wildlife Sanctuary in Chorao by members of Goa Bird Conservation Network while conducting the annual bird survey for the Goa Forest Department. This species now has been reported from various parts of Goa and is quite common n the state. The upcoming All Goa Waterbird Count will help us in understanding and estimating their populations in the state more precisely.
Image: Bhavesh Rathod
