Black ibis injured by manjha rescued

The distressed bird was rescued by officials of Noida authority’s animal shelter and hospital at Sector 94, where the medical team said the wound looks a few days old.

A black ibis — a bird species of decreasing population though not endangered — was rescued from near Okhla bird sanctuary late Friday. The bird’s wing was almost chopped due to the kite string (manjha) stuck in a tree.

The distressed bird was rescued by officials of Noida authority’s animal shelter and hospital at Sector 94, where the medical team said the wound looks a few days old. Hence, they said, they could not give stitches. Veterinarians said it’s unlikely that the bird would ever fly or get fit enough to be released back to its natural habitat. The bird will stay in rehab for rest of its life.

Given the cause and nature of the wound, and the arrival of the kiting season that will stretch till August 15, the animal shelter officials said they have postponed release of a few birds, including a peacock back to their natural habitat.

“We received the distress call yesterday and rescued the bird, with its left-wing severely cut. The bird is still distressed and we are afraid that it will join a number of birds in the shelter, which would never fly and have become permanent residents,” said Vineet Arora, caretaker, and medical officer at the animal shelter.

According to the officials and rescuers, a number of incidents of injured birds are reported, mostly around the kiting season in July and August in Noida.

Officials said that while Chinese manjha are banned, birds often get injured by local manjha too.

“Kite strings and glass coated manjha are one of the major causes of bird injury. When the injured bird is a female, there are high chances that its chicks also die of hunger or the eggs it is hatching become infertile. Also, manjha doesn’t decay easily and at times it gets stuck on a tree posing a consistent threat to birds,” said Dr Sunil Chawla, a veterinarian at the animal shelter.

A medium-sized bird and resident species of Okhla bird sanctuary, the Red-naped ibis has a red patch on the head with glossy dark brownish plumage. The bird that attains a height up to 70 cms and flies with a loud noised of Nosal scream can be spotted around lakes, marshes, riverbeds and irrigated farmlands of Gangetic plains.