Report by Shuchi Giridhar
One of the rarest birds in the world, with only one bird of its species known to humans, lives in Odisha.
This bird is the grey-headed swamphen, found 70 km away from Bhubaneswar in the Mangalajodi wetland in the Chilika lagoon.
The findings on the bird have been published on the Wilson Journal of Ornithology.
The research team that identified the bird consisted of three members. These researchers were – Shri Subhendu Mallik, an honorary wildlife warden of Khordha, Shri Shakti Nanda, Associate Professor of the Faculty of Architecture at Sri Sri University, and the Assistant Conservator of Forests, Shri Ashutosh Mallik.
The grey headed swamphen is said to have lived in big marshes.
The bird measures up to 4,550cm, has a big red bill, and purplish-blue plumes.
The species was believed to be extinct until the researchers found the bird in Odisha.
Seeing the bird, the researchers thought it was albino(a disorder caused due to less skin pigment. People with this disorder have pale skin and lighter hair), as it was completely white.
But with more research, they found out that it was not albino and was actually the result of a dilution disorder.
Image Credit: @WilsonOrnithSoc