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Context:  More than 340 birds of different species, including the rare peregrine falcon, were enumerated in the water bodies inside the core area of the Kawal Tiger Reserve during the Asian Water Bird Census (AWC) 2023

Details:

About:

• Kawal Tiger Reserve is a nature preserve located at Jannaram mandal of Mancherial District (Old Adilabad district) in the Telangana state of India.
• The government of India declared Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary to be a Tiger Reserve in 2012.
• The reserve is the oldest sanctuary in the northern Telangana region of the state. It is well known for its abundant flora and fauna.
• This sanctuary is catchment for the rivers Godavari and Kadam, which flow towards the south of the sanctuary.
• The KWS was established in 1965 and later declared as a Protected Area (PA) in 1999 under the WPA, 1972.
• The sanctuary is one of the richest teak forests in the state, with dense pristine areas free of human disturbance.
• Dry deciduous teak forests mixed with bamboo, terminalia, pterocarpus, anogeissus and cassias.

Peregrine Falcon:

• Peregrine in Latin is peregrinus, which means traveler or wanderer.
• Peregrine Falcons are well known for their long fall and spring migration flights to and from their nesting places and wintering habitats.
• The Peregrine Falcon belongs to the genus Falco, which is characterized by long pointed wings.
• The word Falco comes from falx, the Latin word for sickle (a curved blade used for harvesting) -- referring to the distinct sickle-shaped silhouette of the Peregrine Falcon's extended wings in flight.
• The Peregrine Falcon uses its notched beak to kill prey by severing the spinal column at the neck. The notched beak is unique to this species.
• The Peregrine Falcon is crow-sized and weighs just over two pounds. Its wing span is about three feet. Females are generally 15 to 20 percent larger than males and can weigh 40 to 50 percent more than males.
• Apart from their size, male and female Peregrine Falcons are identical in appearance. Immature peregrines are buff-colored in front and have dark brown backs. Adults are white or buff in front and bluish grey on their backs.
• Adults have bluish grey upper parts, and whitish or buffy under parts with black spotting or barring. They also have a blackish malar stripe or mustache, usually set off by pale buff-colored cheeks.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/telangana/2023/jan/29/rare-species-seen-during-asian-water-bird-survey-2023-in-kawal-reserve-2542340.html

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