Slaty breasted rail: Freshwater species at home in Rajasthan?

By Rosamma Thomas* 

Kishan Meena lives on the edges of Lake Chandlai, about 30 km from Rajasthan capital Jaipur. He is well known to wildlife and nature enthusiasts, since he spends much time outdoors, on the fringes of the lake, taking note of the large number of birds that arrive at the lake or breed there. When he sets eyes on a bird he has not seen before, he alerts other birder friends and sets about learning more about his new acquaintance. 

On June 10, 2024, as he was out near the lake, he found a bird that he knew was not a common visitor to his state – the Slaty breasted Rail (Lewinia striata), with its slate-grey neck and foreneck, and a bright red beak.

This reporter had never laid eyes on this Rail before. So she too went on the internet to see what she could find, and discovered that the May 18, 2024 volume of journal Indian Birds had recorded a sighting of this bird in Barmer in November 2022.  The journal noted that this was the first photographic record of the bird in Rajasthan. The distribution of this bird is along eastern Uttarakhand and eastern Nepal and Arunachal Pradesh, central and peninsular India and even into Sri Lanka.

Its large range area and healthy population numbers have caused the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to list it as a species that is of LC (least concern) category. However, rapid climate change and shrinking freshwater pose threats not just to this species, but all life. And if the species is now extending beyond the area earlier listed as its range, it is a matter worth scientific investigation.

Kishan Meena is quick to disseminate information about any new developments at Chandlai Lake to local reporters – and sometimes even reporters a thousand km away, as in the case of this writer. He specializes in just the area near his own home, the 20 sq km Chandlai Lake. 

For many years, he has also been fine-tuning his photography equipment, and now has a collection of advanced lenses and other photography equipment to capture birds with great attention to detail. His photographs help to make identification of birds accurate.

Meena, however, is not a man with a job or a regular income. There are wildlife enthusiasts who help in his work, and he makes a living offering visitors to the lake information about the birds and their habits. With no government or other support, Meena continues to document the birds at Chandlai, working with dedication and enthusiasm, and finding the work itself sufficient reward. 

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*Freelance journalist