Khammam: Residents of Chintapalli village are anticipating good rains in their area this year as winged guests, painted storks, have come calling this time after a gap of three years. The migratory birds from Siberia have been coming to the village for the last two decades.
Chintapalli is heaven to these birds that arrive in December and leave in July after building nests and breeding their young ones. But this two decade-long legacy ended in 2013 due to drought. Another reason was also told that some of the locals cut the tamarind trees because of the nuisance created by the birds. Said a local, Thota Jagan, “We are confident that good rainfall will occur this year. The last three years was a dry as the migrated birds did not come to the village.”
The locals, particularly farmers, expressed their happiness after noticing the painted storks in their village. It is estimated that about 1,000 birds have come from Siberia this year and the village wore a different look after the arrival of the guests.
Zoology lecturer N. Malleswara Rao said that though painted storks are one of the most abundant of the Asian storks, this species are near threatened because it is thought to be undergoing a moderately rapid population decline owing to hunting, wetland drainage and pollution.”
He said that ornithologists should conduct more research on the birds in Chintapalli.
The birds this year are also facing a threat from primates. The monkeys are raiding on the nests of painted storks and destroying the eggs. M Venkamma, a villager said, “We are trying to keep away the langurs, but they are coming in massive number.”
She said that there are hundreds of villages in the district and state, but the birds are coming to their village as they have some with the Chintapalli.
