Fridays for flying

White-Bellied Heron (Ardea

Insignis)
Have you seen the White-Bellied Heron? Fully covered with a consistent grey
with the males having a few white streaks in the mating season. The heron
has a whitish-silver stomach and lower neck, while the legs are a paler shade.
At 127 cms, this bird is the second-largest heron. Its bill is grey with a yellow-
green tip and base;- the face is greenish grey, and the iris is between yellow
and ochre. It has an estimated weight of 3.2-3.5 kgs. Juveniles are a more
brown-like shade rather than the grey and have even more pale bills and legs.

Its habitat is mainly in the foothills of the Himalayas in India, Bhutan, and
Myanmar, thriving in forests, grasslands, wetlands, and freshwater bodies. It's
seen in riparian environments with a slight elevation under 5,600 ft.

It was observed several times in the Namdapha National Park in Arunachal

Pradesh thus proving it as a major site of breeding. In the winter, it was seen
in the Kaziranga National Park in Assam.

The White-bellied Heron's numbers have decreased at an alarming rate,

leaving only 50-249 full-grown herons left in the wild. Day by day, the numbers
are dropping even further. It has been classified as Critically Endangered by
the IUCN since 2007.

Some of the key reasons for the decline is building of hydro power dams in the
rivers, expansion of agriculture and development for tourism. Mining of river
sand, river rocks and logging also affects it. Other factors include overfishing,
noise pollution from the road expansion, and hunting. Lot of herons also get
caught up in the electric cables and get injured or even die. It is extinct in
Nepal and possibly in Bangladesh.

In India the Schedule 1 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 protects it and
its breeding areas. The Royal Society for the Protection of Nature in Bhutan
launched a program with the Department of Livestock and the Department of
Forests and Park Services to breed them in captivity. They successfully
hatched a heron and later released it in the wild. The RSPN has conducted
sessions to raise awareness among the locals.

In India, near the Namphada National Park, the officials have tried to raise
awareness among the locals to conserve the bird. It has been spotted in
Arunachal Pradesh recently while looking for tigers, thus raising the hopes of
the bird thriving in the wild.

We need to conserve it because it is a key indicator species that indicates that

the rivers, forests and mountains are healthy. When it is sighted, its presence
results in clean rivers and it will also help conserve other ecosystems and
species.

Extensive surveys have to be conducted to understand its distribution,

population status and ecological requirements of the species. Support and
maintain habitats and reduce man-made disturbances along the mountains,
rivers and lakes.Initiate conservation awareness program and conserve the
protected areas.