Knowledge Nugget: Why is the sharp-tailed sandpiper’s sighting in Delhi significant?

2. Sighting of Sharp-tailed sandpiper is significant because it was only the fifth recorded sighting of the species in India over a period of almost a century and a half.

3. A study published in Indian Birds, widely regarded as the bird journal of record in India, documents the sighting of a male in Gilgit in 1880, a female in Vandalur in Tamil Nadu in 1915, an unconfirmed record from Kurud Tank in Chhattisgarh in 2004, and a photographed individual at the Najafgarh marshland on September 24, 2019.

A sharp-tailed sandpiper at Najafgarh Lake, Sunday. (Image: Akshit Dua)

4. The sharp-tailed sandpiper breeds in northern Siberia, in an area that extends from the Lena river delta on the eastern Arctic Ocean southeastward to the Kolyma region, and migrates south over East Asia to its main non-breeding grounds in Australia and New Zealand.

5. Smaller numbers fly to Melanasia, a cluster of islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean between New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east. The species is, therefore, an exceptionally uncommon visitor to India.

6. The sharp-tailed sandpiper forages in both coastal and inland wetlands, in freshwater and hypersaline habitats. It feeds on seeds, worms, molluscs, crustaceans, and insects after rainfall, and often forages in agricultural pastures and in the shallow-water edges of wetlands.

7. Sharp-tailed sandpiper populations are in decline. A conservation assessment by the Australian government has estimated that population has declined by about 45 per cent over three generations, or roughly 15 years, and listed habitat loss and degradation among the major threats to the species, which is classified as ‘Vulnerable’ in the IUCN Red List.

8. Around the Yellow Sea between China and the Korean peninsula, an important stopover region on the annual migration route of the bird, coastal habitats have been lost to residential, industrial and aquaculture development. Pollution, altered sediment flows, and rise in sea levels have added to the pressure. In Australia, drought and reduced areas of inland wetlands are major concerns.

BEYOND THE NUGGET: What makes Delhi one of the world’s most bird-diverse capitals?

1. The Delhi Bird Atlas, released on June 5, which claims to have mapped the distribution and abundance of bird species across the city for the first time, has placed the Capital “second only to Nairobi among the world’s national capitals in bird diversity”.

2. The atlas was developed by the Delhi Forest Department, Bird Count India, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-India and other partner organisations, with the participation of birdwatchers, students, researchers, forest staff and citizen volunteers. According to the atlas, “The Delhi Bird List now stands at 471 species”, excluding another 22 species that have not been re-recorded since 1975.

3. The atlas cites the rare mix of the city’s geography, including the northern edge of the Aravallis, proximity to the western Himalayas, the Yamuna and Sahibi floodplains, and its location near the Central Asian Flyway (CAF) — a key bird migration route stretching from the Arctic down to the Indian Ocean — as the primary reason behind the bird diversity.

4. The atlas covers 11 per cent of Delhi’s area in its sampling design. The survey started in January 2025, takes place twice a year, in winter and summer, and will run for at least two years. In the first year, 221 species were recorded across the city, including 200 in winter and 152 in summer. Of these, 126 were resident species, 81 were winter migrants and 14 were summer migrants.

5. The atlas also records 18 endemic bird species, that is, species found exclusively in one specific geographic region. It also lists several vulnerable bird species, including the Endangered Egyptian Vulture and Black-bellied Tern, the Vulnerable River Tern and Common Pochard, and Near Threatened species such as the Black-tailed Godwit, Ferruginous Duck, Painted Stork, Black-headed Ibis and Oriental Darter.

6. Experts associated with the atlas attribute Delhi’s bird diversity to the city’s position at an ecological intersection: the Ridge brings the Aravalli landscape into the Capital, while the Yamuna floodplains and associated wetlands provide refuge for waterbirds and migrants.

7. The city’s proximity to the western Himalayas, meanwhile, facilitates seasonal movement. The atlas notes that Delhi “lies almost at the heart of the Central Asian Flyway”, making it “a seasonal haven for species arriving from as far as Central Asia and the Arctic”.

8. Meanwhile, the atlas also describes Delhi as “a meeting point of history, geography, and biodiversity”, noting that such diversity persists despite the pressures of one of the world’s most populous urban regions.

Post Read Question

Consider the following statements with reference to the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper:

1. It is a common visitor to India.

2. It breeds in northern Siberia and migrates mainly towards Australia and New Zealand during the non-breeding season.

3. It is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer Key

(b)

(Sources: Only fifth recorded sighting in 150 yrs: Rare Siberian visitor spotted at Najafgarh lake, Delhi Bird Atlas released on June 5)

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