Relevance (UPSC): GS-III (Environment—biodiversity, species recovery), GS-II (Governance—protected areas)

The news in context

Fresh field evidence from scrub habitats of Kadapa region has confirmed the continued presence of Jerdon’s courser—a shy, nocturnal, ground-dwelling bird once feared extinct. Earlier rediscovered in 1986, it remains one of India’s rarest birds.

Species profile

• Status: Critically Endangered (IUCN); Schedule I under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
• Range and habitat: Patchy thorn-scrub on red soils of the Eastern Ghats; prefers open, stony ground with sparse bushes.
• Behaviour: Active at dusk and night; runs swiftly, low flight; elusive and quiet—detected using track-plot and camera-trap methods.

Why it is vanishing

• Habitat loss and fragmentation from canals, roads, quarries and plantations.
• Invasive Prosopis altering open scrub structure.
• Night disturbance from vehicles and woodcutting; free-ranging dogs and snares.

Protection architecture

• Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary notified to safeguard core habitat; eco-sensitive zone norms apply.
• A Species Recovery Plan under the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats supports monitoring and community engagement with Andhra Pradesh Forest Department and conservation partners.

What the rediscovery demands now

• Secure scrub corridors outside the sanctuary through community reserves and revenue-land protection.
• Regulate night traffic and quarrying near key sites; remove snares, control feral dogs.
• Replace invasive thickets with native thorn-scrub; manage grazing intensity with village committees.
• Continue track-plot surveys each cool season; train local youth as trackers; run awareness for construction and canal agencies.
• Provide compensation and alternative livelihoods for households affected by access restrictions.

Jerdon’s Courser Snapshot

Key terms:

Thorn-scrub, track-plot detection, eco-sensitive zone, species recovery plan, community reserve.

Exam hook

Link the species to scrub-ecosystem conservation, land-use planning, and community stewardship in Eastern Ghats answers.

UPSC Prelims question

The legal protection for Jerdon’s courser in India includes:

1. Schedule I listing under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
2. Habitat notified within a wildlife sanctuary

Choose the correct option:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: (c)

One-line wrap

A second chance for a near-lost bird—save the scrub, soften the night, and the courser will run again in Andhra’s hills.