Miscellaneous Topics discussion

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I dont wish to disrupt the above dialog, but just want to file this one in the thread, so as to avoid cluttering the 2012 thread. this is about the part on the bird sacrifice reported in 226 of that thread link of which Husky gave above.

The village is Jatinga, in Cachar Hills of interior Assam. Though the village is in Assam, it is populated by nAga-s.

<img src='http://nchills.gov.in/VISIT3.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

Here are some viewpoint about the annual event of bird-'suicide'.

From a travelog:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->TRIP REPORT  : JATINGA -30TH SEPTEMBER 1986-1ST OCTOBER 1986
---------------------------------------------------------------
By  Govind Kumar , P.O Box 88, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Email : gkumar99@emirates.net.ae
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This is a brief report of a visit to Jatinga , a beautiful valley 
in the North Cachar Hills District of Assam in 1986. 
The valley derives its name from  a small village inhabited by a
Jemi Naga tribe, about seven kilometres from Haflong,the district capital.
Accessible by road or rail from either Lumding or Silchar, the village sits
atop a ridge 742m high and 1.5 kilometres long.The well forested valley is
justly famous for its orange orchards, pineapple plantations and fruit trees.

Jatinga village is also the  site where  birds drop to lights put up by
villagers all along the ridge.

<b>The Nagas first noticed the phenomenon in 1905. </b>

<b>{Writer is writing this in 1986.  He does not mention the source of above observation. So, take the above statement with caution of course}</b>

The following conditions appear to be essential :
(a) Dense Fog
(b) Light Rain
© Southerly winds at speeds 5 to 10 kilometres per hour
(d) Lights placed at vantage points along the ridge.
          The birds drop only in September and October under favourable weather
conditions, rarely in August.
The temperature at this time of year ranges from 9 degrees C to 28 degrees C and
the humidity from 80 to 95 % With high winds, the birds drop lower down; otherwise
they go higher up.
          Bringing down  birds appeared to be a 'sport' with the villagers. Special
poles made of bamboo with tapering ends were used to bring down the birds . While most birds went straight into the pot, new species were taken to the ZSI scientist studying the phenomenon to be  identified. A couple of villagers, employees of the Assam Forest Department, had been trained in field identification and were equipped with field guides .

A ZSI survey had recorded 122 species in the valley in 1983, using mist netting.
Of these, 58 had dropped to the lights.

          When I sat up on the ridge between 8 PM on 30th September and 2 AM on
1st October, the temperature was 22 degrees C with light rain, thick fog and  fairly
strong southerly  winds and generally ideal conditions.

Hundreds of birds of the following species dropped or were brought down in this period:

1.    Red-legged Crake    ( Rallina fasciata )
2.    Slaty-breasted Rail ( Gallirallus striatus )
3.    White-breasted Waterhen  (Amaurornis phoenicurus)
4.    Indian Pond Heron  ( Ardeola grayii)
5.    Chinese Pond Heron ( Ardeola bacchus )
6.    Hooded Pitta  ( Pitta sordida)
7.    Watercock    ( Gallicrex cinerea )  Female
8.    Thick-billed Green Pigeon ( Treron curvirostra)
9.    Pompadour Green Pigeon ( Treron pompadora)
10.    Cinnamon Bittern  ( Ixobrychus cinnamomeus)
11.    Woodcock  ( Scolopax rusticola)
12.    Indian Cuckoo  ( Cuculus micropterus)
13.    Cattle Egret  ( Bubulcus ibis)
14.    Koel    (Eudynamys scolopacea)
15.    Ruddy Kingfisher  ( Halcyon coromanda)
16.    Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher ( Ceyx erithacus)

            I had the privilege of examining many of the smaller species in the hand.
Hooded Pitta was abundant and accounted for almost 60% of the birds that dropped. The
atmosphere was eerie with the silence of the night being broken only by the swish of
bamboo poles cutting through the air and the calls of disoriented birds flying about.
The villagers seemed adept at identification and could recognise species like O
riental Dwarf Kingfisher, Hooded Pitta and Pond Heron from  calls . Some  of the birds
bled profusely from wounds sustained while others appeared dazed.
            The Assam Forest Department had put up two watch towers (one on the ridge
and another lower down) to enable visitors observe the phenomenon at close hand. There
was also a small library with books on birds and some charts prepared by the Forest
Department detailing bird drops.
The Forest Department was also studying the 'post drop' behaviour of some species in captivity.

  Species seen from the lower watch tower on  1st October, in the morning :

1 Ruddy Kingfisher-Common; A large communal roost by a stream at the bottom of the valley
2 Lesser Rufous-headed Parrotbill-Common but not easy to see as the birds kept to thick
  bamboo clumps, uttering wheezy contact calls.
3 Large Cuckoo-Shrike -  Small groups of 5 or 6 birds
4 Oriental Hobby -  Solo
5 Mountain Imperial Pigeon - Several in flight
6 Hill Myna - Large flocks in flight
7 Blue-tailed Bee-eater - Large flock of 100-150 in flight , buffeted by  strong winds . Passage ?
8 Brown-backed Needletail-Flocks overhead in overcast conditions
9 Grey-backed Shrike- Common
10 Red-throated Flycatcher - Solitary male
11 Eurasian Blackbird - A few pairs on tall trees near the watch tower
12 Spangled Drongo - 4 in bird wave .
13 Red-rumped Swallow
14 Barn Swallow
15 Koel                     
16 Magpie-Robin
17 Red-vented Bulbul
18 Spotted Dove
19 Common Myna
20 White Wagtail                     

This is an old report and detailed coverage of this site (and more current information) may be found in the new Birdwatchers Guide to India by Kazmierczak and Singh.

http://www.princeton.edu/~vivekt/trips/Jatinga86.html
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Assam plans to cash in on bird suicide village
11 Jun 2006, 2346 hrs IST,Kounteya Sinha,TNN

SMS NEWS to 58888 for latest updates
NEW DELHI: It's a phenomenon nobody has been able to explain for sure. But Jatinga's mysterious annual ritual of migratory birds committing mass suicide is all set to become Assam's latest tourist attraction.

Assam's tourism ministry is currently preparing a detailed development plan for this village, which is located in North Cachar Hill district, 330 km south of Guwahati.

The village's interior setting and lack of proper infrastructure has been limiting the arrival of tourists, keen to witness the rare phenomenon of bird-suicides, that has baffled ornithologists for more than a century now.

According to Assam's tourism secretary S C Panda, the technically sound and commercially viable development plan would include improving the houses of local villagers for guests to stay, creating sight-seeing points and improving the roads leading to the village.

The plan will be submitted to the Centre for sanction by mid-July. "District officials have been told to finalise the plan proposal by June 30. A final meeting will then chalk out the exact proposals, which will be submitted to the Centre by mid-July.

Because Jatinga is a village inside dense forests, the Forest Conservation Act does not allow us to buy land around the village and set up lodges, guest houses and hotels for visiting tourists," Panda said.



"That's why we have decided to improve the houses of the 2,500 local Jaintia tribal people where tourists can stay. Bathrooms and living rooms will be added to the village huts.

The approach road to the village will also be improved. Bird suicide viewing sites will be created for tourists to take photographs," Panda said.

At present, Jatinga attracts over 500 tourists a month between October to March to witness this rare sight. Most of them don't stay the night due to lack of infrastructure.

Those who do, have only one option - the forest guest house near the village. There is also just one elevated watch tower from where one can see the birds yielding to their death wish.

Just nine km from Haflong, migratory birds come to Jatinga at the end of the monsoon months. During moonless and dark foggy nights, between 7 pm and 10 pm, birds fly and come crashing to the ground with no prior warning.

According to some theories, the birds become disoriented because of the presence of lights, the high altitude and high speed winds due to the widespread fog, and crash into the ground.

Officials say 44 species of migratory birds, including Tiger Bittern, Black Bittern, Little Egret, Pond Heron, Indian Pitta and Kingfishers, take part in this phenomenon.

Interestingly, the birds are not attracted to the entire Jatinga Ridge but only to a well-defined strip, 1.5 km long and 200 metres wide. Also, no long-distance migratory bird is attracted to the light traps. The victims are resident birds of adjacent valleys and hill slopes.

In fact, some of the birds are still alive even after they crash into the ground. But the local villagers kill for their meat.

Conservation groups have taken steps to prevent this killing of the birds, by creating awareness among the illiterate villagers. Since then, the number of birds killed has decreased by about 40%.

Meanwhile, officials said Jatinga will also be part of a tourism circuit that will portray the beauty of Haflong lake. Houseboats like that in Srinagar's Dal Lake will also be created. 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/article...5,prtpage-1.cms
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