Manipur: White-cheeked starling spotted for the first time

White cheeked starling has been spotted and photographed in Manipur for the first time.

A small bird of the starling family, the White-cheeked starling, was sighted by a member of Wildlife Explorer Manipur Loyangamba Irungbam at Lamphelpat. It was seen on April 14 during a continuous bird survey carried out by said organisation.

Former assistant director of the Bombay Natural History Society, Dr Raju Kasambi identified the sighted bird as a White-cheeked starling. 

It is recorded that the bird has been sighted only in Arunachal Pradesh. The sighting in Manipur is the first time and 9th in South East Asia. 

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This bird lays eggs in North East Asia and spends winter in Japan, South Korea, South Eastern China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan before migrating to Myanmar, Thailand, the Philippines and India.

Secretary of Wildlife Explorer Manipur, Premjit Elangbam expressed about increase sightings of rare species of birds in Lamphelpat. 

He also stated the essence of preserving and restoring the said water bodies with expectations of spotting more number of such birds in days to come.