Injured rare great bittern rescued
A Eurasian great bittern, locally known as Bagha Bogla, is currently undergoing treatment after it was rescued in a critical condition on Tuesday night in Sreemangal upazila.
Members of Bangladesh Wildlife Service Foundation (BWSF) rescued the injured rare bird from local fishermen in Atghar area of Pachaun haor under Mirzapur union.
Swapan Deb Sajal, director of BWSF, said “We rescued the bird from them on Tuesday night. It’s now undergoing medical treatment as a fishing hook was found stuck in its neck.”
BWSF rescued another injured great bittern in 2010 and released it in Hail haor after it made recovery, he added.
Bangladesh Bird Club founder and renowned bird researcher Enam Ul Haque told this correspondent that great bittern, scientific name Botauras stellaris, is a nocturnal bird.
In Bangladesh there are four species of the bird -- black, cinnamon, yellow and Eurasian bittern. The last one among the four is very rare, he added.
The secretive bird, seldom seen in the open, prefers to skulk in reed beds and thick vegetation near water bodies. Its presence is apparent in the spring, when the booming call of the male during the breeding season can be heard. It feeds on fish, small mammals, fledgling birds, amphibians, crustaceans and insects.
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