The Waterfowl species of Loktak Ramsar in Manipur (IBA)
- Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferriguinea), (Nganuthangong) -

By:- R.K. Birjit Singh *

As a part and program of the presently undergoing study and research on water bird species of Loktak Lake and its associated wetlands of Manipur under the aegis of Wild Life Wing, Forest Department, Govt. of Manipur, a team consisting of Dr. Kh. Shammungou Singh, R.K Birjit Singh ( author of this article),K. Jugeshor Singh with N.Sharat and Kh. Hilter, both rangers of Forest and Wild Life Department supported by professional cinematographers Kh. Brajeshkumar and Kh. Inaomacha with field assistant L. Gopen Singh visited Tangjeng on the 24th of January,2010. Tangjeng is the marginal habitat of the wintering Ruddy Shelduck locally known as "Nganuthangong" .

Nganuthangong
Photo: R.K. Birjit Singh

The selection of Tangjeng village for our study after Phubala was due presence of Shelduck species as no other part of Loktak lake has such a good population of the species in the present condition as in this small part of the dying wetland of Tangjeng.

The village of Tangjeng in the district of Thoubal bordering with Bishnupur district is some 70 kilometers far away from Imphal, the capital city of Manipur. It is located at NS 24019, 198' and EO 93051, 546' longitude with an elevation of 757 meters above sea level (MSL). Since the members of our team belong to different parts of Imphal and Bishnupur district, we gathered at Ningthoukhong at around 3.45.am in the early morning of the 24th, January of 2010 and set out for Tangjeng.

On the way, we pick up H. Pravash and K. Jugeshor Singh from Phubala and Moirang respectively. Our journey for Tangjeng was a bit delayed while trying to refuel our vehicles at Moirang. After a bumpy, dusty and tormenting ride, we arrived at Tangjeng at around 7.45 am. Basically, the wetland of Tangjeng spreads over more than 1 square kilometers of area before some decades but presently it has been compartmentalized to a number of segments for cultivation and fishery. The part of the present wetland has been squeezed to a mere marshy and muddy pond with the vegetations of L.claveliana ,Plantago alimsa,Ehinocloa stegnina, Cynodon dactylon,Ipomea aquatica, Eichhornia crassipes, polygonum plebejum, Saggitara sagittifolia , Oryza rufipogon with the phytoplankton species of Volvox, Anabaena and Ulothrix species etc.

A big grazing and football ground can be seen near the peaty water body. A moment later, we have seen pond heron, a few median egrets and jacana species. Some of the domestic buffalos are creeping and wallowing in the muddy water with no sign of dugs.

Kh. Brajeshkumar, cinematographer of our team asked me, "Sanakhya! Where are those dugs? (Nganuthangong). I told Brajesh to wait for a moment and to camouflage enough his instruments as the dugs can be arrived in any moment. Sharing the talk, K. Jugeshor Singh, Principal, Kumbi College said, Look Brajesh! "These species of Shelduck are very punctual and regular unlike us and never fail to reach Tangjeng in this part of the month and if they are not arriving today, I am ready to offer a grand feast with the taste of a local cock for our team".

Why is Ojha Jugeshor ready to throw away such a party? Because, he was hundred percent sure of the arrival of the birds in this part of Tangjeng and knew that there would be no need for such a party. Within no time a good number of, maneuvering Shelduck with quick flap of the wings and noisy chirps had their majestic perch at Tangjeng carrying winter in their back.

Classification	Name
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Phylum:	Animalia
Class:	Aves
Order:	Anseriformes
Family:	Anatidae
Genus:	Tadorna
Species:	T. ferruginea
Binomial name:	Tadorna ferruginea Pallas

It was indeed, so amazing to see the graceful flight of these migratory birds soaring into the sky and trying to land in their natural runway.

Ruddy Shelduck is a large orange-brown duck as that of domestic dug with paler head and neck, sometimes a faint black collar at its back. Wings white and glistening green with black tail. Male and female are familiar but the female is lacking the black collar and with much paler head.

The species can be seen always in partners not alone or solitary at wetlands, ponds and rivers. Legendary folk tale around the world and the poets irrespective of religion, caste and culture used to portray the picture of the cordial and inseparable relationship of Ruddy Shelduck in their romantic poem and rhymes.

The saying in the legendary folk tale of Meitei about this bird was that once there was an adoring couple in a remote village. One day, the husband set out for cutting firewood in a forest nearby the village. He was feeling very hungry and thirsty after cutting the woods. Unknowingly, he had eaten the tasty fruit of a wild creeping plant of Entada species belonging to the family of Fabaceae (Tinshi kangkhil) used as insecticide by the people of the time and drank the spring water (said to contain poison) in order to quench his hunger and thirst.

After some moment, he was death due to the toxic effect of the fruit and water and his lifeless body was lying nearby the spring water. The wife was worried about her husband as he did not return home. During night, the soul of the death husband came in the dream of the wife and told her about his death. Next day, when she found the death body her husband nearby the spring, the death body was already converted into a male Shelduck. Unable to bear pain of separation, the wife was fallen unconsciously and died at the spot and her body was also converted into a female Shelduck. Thus the soul of the two couple was reunited, flapping their wings and soaring together into the sky for ever more to come.

With this emotional legendary romantic folktale, the people of Tangjeng are still protecting and conserving this beautiful duck at this remote part of Manipur.

Distribution:

The species is widely distributed throughout the Indian-subcontinent, (but rare in extreme south Indian regions), Bangladesh, Pakistan and Myanmar. In Manipur they can be rarely seen in few pockets of Loktak Lake and at Tangjeng. They are winter visiting migratory birds.

Habits:

They can be seen in sandbanks, mud spits than actually on water and in fresh water wetlands. Walks well and with ease and grazes like a goose. They are wariest and most vigilant dugs. It avoids tall or dense herbage, and emergent or aquatic floating plants. In Loktak they can be hardly seen in groups but in pair of one or two in few selected areas. But this species is very rare in Loktak now- a- days.

Foods:

It is omnivorous in habit. It feeds on grains, tender shoots and tubers and other vegetable plants matter, crustaceans, aquatic insects, fishes and molluscs. They are said to eat carrion in company with vultures. It is a gregarious feeder in flocks or family group.

Call of the bird:

A nasal "Aang-Aang", rather like a Bar-headed Goose's honking in the distance, and also reminiscent of the cries of black Ibis.

Nesting and breeding season:

In India the species breeds at Ladakh. The species wintering in Loktak and Tangjeng are believed to have migrated from Transbaikalia and south-west China through Yunnan province and reaching at Chakpi River, Loktak and other associated wetlands of Manipur. But this thought can only be proved through radio ringing.

This is a bird of open country, and it will breed on cliffs, in burrows, tree holes or crevices distant from water, laying 6-10 creamy-white eggs, incubated for 30 days. The Ruddy Shelduck is usually found in pairs or small groups and rarely forms large flocks. However, moulting and winter-gatherings on chosen lakes or slow rivers can be very large.

Nganuthangong
Photo: R.K. Birjit Singh

Global status of conservation and local concerns:

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has given the status of Least Concern of the species but the trend of declination of the species continues in an unprecedented way as never before globally. The depletion of the population of this water bird is more alarming in Loktak than in any other parts of the Indian sub-continent.

The major threat to these species in Loktak Ramsar is indiscriminate poaching by the local fisherman's and changing ecology of the wetland through anthropogenic activities. If this trend and activities of indiscriminate poaching and hunting of these wild birds and disturbing its habitat continues uncheck, then the day will not be too far for us to meet "The Last Species of Tadorna ferriguinea in Loktak" following the steps of Pink-headed Duck (Rhodonessa caryophyllaceae).

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* R.K. Birjit Singh contributes to e-pao.net regularly . The author is a science communicator, member of the investigating team of the ongoing "Loktak Bird Study and Research" under the Wild Life Wing, Department of Forest, Govt. of Manipur . The writer can be contacted at bsningthemcha(at)gmail(dot)com
This article was webcasted at e-pao.net on 09th April 2010.

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