Prelims: Environment (species), Spur-winged lapwing, warangal lake, Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds
Mains: General Studies III – Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Environmental Impact Assessment.
Why in News
Birdwatching team from Telangana spotted the spur-winged lapwing which is the rare bird in India.
Source: TH
About
Spur-winged lapwing :
- Scientific name: vanellus spinosus
- Native: North Africa, Middle-East, Mediterranean region.
- IUCN: Least Concern (LC)
- Some population of the birds is resident while some are migratory.
- The spur-winged lapwing is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds applies.
- This species has a preference for marshes and similar freshwater wetland habitats. The food of the spur-winged lapwing is insects and other invertebrates, which are picked from the ground.
Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds.
- independent international treaty developed under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme Convention on Migratory Species.
- HQ – The Hague
- The agreement focuses on bird species that depend on wetlands for at least part of their lifecycle and cross international borders in their migration patterns. It currently covers 254 species.
- Effective from 1999
UPSC CSE Exams Corner
Prelims: PYQ related to Topic:
Which of the following is not a bird?
(a) Golden Mahseer
(b) Indian Nightjar
(c) Spoonbill
(d) White Ibis
Ans : a. Golden Mahseer
Explaination :
- Golden Mahseer is a species of cyprinid fish. Mahseer roughly translates as mahi – fish and sher – tiger, and hence is also referred as tiger among fish. It is a large cyprinid and known to be the toughest among the fresh water sport fish.
- The Indian nightjar species are nocturnal birds with long pointed wings and short legs.
- Spoonbill is any member of six species of long-legged wading birds that constitute the subfamily Plataleinae of the family Threskiornithidae (order Ciconiiformes), which also includes the ibises. Spoonbills are found in estuaries, saltwater bayous, and lakes.
- White Ibises are large wading birds with football-shaped bodies. They are found in freshwater marshes, coastal estuaries, mangroves, flooded pastures, mudflats, and swamps.
