A bar-headed goose (Anser indicus), a rare migratory bird, was sighted for the first time in Morshing village, West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh, on Friday.
Lobjang Nima, a local resident, shared his excitement, saying, “This is a rare sighting for us to have such a winter visitor for the first time. It highlights that the Morshing-Domkho-Sanglem (MSD) area is a sanctuary for migratory birds.”
Earlier in February, a pair of black-necked cranes was also spotted for the first time in the district. Rinchin Norbu, the owner of Lama Tenpai Dronmey Museum, commented, “In the past, many migratory birds visited the region, but due to hunting, these seasonal visitors have stopped coming.”
The bar-headed goose, which migrates across Asia and Europe, is listed as ‘least concern’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. While not considered globally rare, the bird’s population has been declining in some areas due to habitat loss and hunting. However, it remains a rare winter visitor in parts of the Indian subcontinent, while it is more widespread in regions such as the Tibetan Plateau and parts of Europe.
