Bird on the Brink

An accidental fire brings the exquisitely speckled Blyth’s Tragopan to the brink of extinction in Nagaland.

Ornithologists have always flocked to the broad-leaved moist forests of Nagaland to behold a dramatic sight—the orange-breasted and exquisitely speckled Blyth’s Tragopan. Though it is also found in Arunachal Pradesh, Bhutan, north Myanmar and China, it is Nagaland that’s adopted this dazzler as its state bird. “Over the years, forest destruction and hunting caused a population decline,” says Rahul Kaul, Senior Director, Wildlife Trust of India. But an accidental fire early this year has accelerated this bird’s progress towards the brink of extinction. Campers mistakenly caused a blaze in the Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary Trust. While there’s been no official survey yet, experts fear for this charismatic pheasant species.

NagalandornithologyTragopan