A slaty-breasted rail (scientific name Lewinia striata), a shy-natured bird that keeps away from the urban areas has been sighted by senior scientist S. Chakravarti on the beach road near Pandurangapuram here.
Its foray into the city is probably because of the bare minimum human movement following the lockdown imposed as part of efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Dr. Chakravarti, who heads the Forest Research Centre for Coastal Ecosystem here, told The Hindu on Friday that the slaty-breasted rail was earlier spotted in Tirupati.
“For the first time, it has been sighted in Visakhapatnam. With this, the total count of bird species in the city has reached 359,” Dr. Chakravarti said.
The species of rail are found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It has an intricately barred back and belly and grey throat and breast. It is extremely shy of hustle and bustle of the urban clusters. The Dehradun forests at the foothills of the Himalayas was found to be its breeding spot in July.
Dr, Chakrabarti said it was known for its slate-coloured throat and belly and chestnut brown head and neck. The upper part of the body is covered with white barring and spotting and its tail is very short.
The scientist, a bird enthusiast, said that the species was usually found in semi-aquatic vegetation, mangrove and agricultural fields of peninsular India.
