Matka chowk a grave for rare bird

CHANDIGARH: The slick beauty of Matka chowk may well read like an epitaph for the extinction of a rare bird from the City Beautiful's precincts. The beautification, use of exotic shrubs and chemical fertilizers, at the Matka chowk undoubtedly creates eye candy for commuters but it has driven out the yellow-wattled lapwing from its last habitat in the city.

The good news is that four of these lapwings are still there, waging a grim battle for survival in the dry scrublands and fallow lands lying left of the road meandering from village Kishengarh to Saketri behind Sukhna lake.

Lapwing, which is an uncommon bird of the country's north-western region, is seen in good numbers in peninsular India. Unlike its more raucous cousin, the Red-wattled lapwing, the yellow version is less demonstrative and noisy and less adaptable to urban habitats.

"Yellow-wattled lapwings were discovered quite by chance at Matka chowk. It used to be my daily routine to chase migrant labourers who would poach chicks of red-wattled lapwings in Matka chowk area. One day, I saw these juvenile lapwings at Matka chowk and discovered these to be yellow-wattled.

Continued:  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/Matka-chowk-a-grave-for-rare-bird/articleshow/15971579.cms