Sangam city doc spots, clicks Burmese Myna first time in India
Dr Arpit Bansal, a cancer surgeon and wildlife photographer, spotted and photographed the rare Burmese Hybrid Myna in India's Namdapha National Park, becoming the first person to do so in India. Dr Bansal has also recorded 1,102 of the 1,353 bird species of India, and is currently ranked eighth on the list of top 10 'eBirders' of India in 2022. The Burmese Hybrid Myna sighting was recorded in the world's largest online database of birds, eBirds.org.
Dr Arpit Bansal, a local cancer surgeon a wildlife photographer, spotted and clicked the rare Burmese Hybrid Myna the first time in India in the enchanting habitat of Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh last month.
With this, Dr Bansal also crossed the landmark of sighting and clicking 1100 bird species from India, which along with Burmese Hybrid Myna have been recorded in the world’s largest online database of birds ‘eBirds.org’.
The eBirds.org was launched in 2002 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology of the prestigious Cornell University, US and the American non-profit environmental organisation dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats ‘National Audubon Society’, to document the presence and absence of bird species the world over.
Earlier, he did Prayagraj proud by getting a place in the coveted list of top 10 ‘eBirders’ of India in 2022. He has till now recorded 1102 out of 1,353 bird species of India. Dr Bansal, Director of Jeevan Jyoti Hospital in Prayagraj, holds the 8th place in the list.
Hailing the spotting, country’s eminent ornithologist, birdwatcher and author of best-selling guides to Indian birds Bikram Grewal said, “I have been watching birds for over 50 years now but have rarely come across a birder who has seen over 1100 species of birds and I’m not surprised that Dr Arpit Bansal is one of them. Amongst his latest achievements is the sighting of the Burmese Myna Hybrid, a bird we only dream about seeing and also this is the first sighting of it in India.”
{{/usCountry}}Hailing the spotting, country’s eminent ornithologist, birdwatcher and author of best-selling guides to Indian birds Bikram Grewal said, “I have been watching birds for over 50 years now but have rarely come across a birder who has seen over 1100 species of birds and I’m not surprised that Dr Arpit Bansal is one of them. Amongst his latest achievements is the sighting of the Burmese Myna Hybrid, a bird we only dream about seeing and also this is the first sighting of it in India.”
{{/usCountry}}Excited over spotting the rare bird, Dr Bansal said Namdapha is a bird haven and a lot of species found there are rare and endemic. “The park is very popular among birdwatchers, not just in India, but from all over the world. The canopy of this vast forest land provides shelter to great number of Indian hornbills and other colourful birds. A visit to the park was always on my wish list. But little did I expect that I would capture the spectacular image of Burmese Myna (Hybrid) the first time,” recalled Dr Bansal.
{{/usCountry}}Excited over spotting the rare bird, Dr Bansal said Namdapha is a bird haven and a lot of species found there are rare and endemic. “The park is very popular among birdwatchers, not just in India, but from all over the world. The canopy of this vast forest land provides shelter to great number of Indian hornbills and other colourful birds. A visit to the park was always on my wish list. But little did I expect that I would capture the spectacular image of Burmese Myna (Hybrid) the first time,” recalled Dr Bansal.
{{/usCountry}}He said he visited Namdapha National Park for birdwatching and photography along with his close friend and an avid birdwatcher Rofikul Islam from March 10 to 12 this year.
“On March 11, while crossing the river flowing through the park, we observed two Burmese Myna Hybrid amongst a statutory of around 60 Great Mynas. Excited at spotting the bird, we hastened to cross the small and shaky bridge amid strong winds, and slowly approached the statutory of Mynas. Fortunately, I managed to get some good shots of the Myna that looked a bit different from rest of the statutory members. It was later identified as Burmese Myna hybrid by renowned birder and wildlife expert James Eaton. We were thrilled to witness such a rare sight. The sighting of this bird in India may improve our knowledge of the bird’s behaviour as well as its territory,” he added.
City’s other surgeon and birdwatcher Dr Probal Neogi adds, “Dr Arpit Bansal is a gift to Prayagraj as he has not only established himself as a surgeon par excellence with his fantastic laparoscopic skills but has also made it to the coveted list of top 10 birders (as per ebird site) of the country. He is an extraordinarily talented person, both in respect to his fine surgical skills and his intense passion for birding.”
About Burmese Myna
Burmese Myna is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is mainly found in Myanmar. The bird can be spotted in agricultural fields, and open scrublands or grasslands. It wears a thin black bandit’s mask, has a medium-grey back, greyish-pink chest, dark iris and bicolored orange-and-black bill. Like many other starlings, it is typically encountered in pairs or groups.
