Ruddy Crake is usually seen in the North Eastern India. This is for the first time that Ruddy Crake has been spotted at the Pong Dam Wetland in Kangra district.
It was spotted at the Sansarpur Terrace village, 6 kilometers from the Pong Dam.
With the arrival of this new winged guest this year, the number of species of migratory birds which have visited the area over the past 10 years have now gone up to 417.
Ruddy Crake measures 20-23cm in length with long toes and a short tail. Also known as the Porzana Fusca, it can be identified by its chirp, a brief descending trill with increasing tempo. It is found in China, Japan and Indonesia.
Last year, the wetland received Falcate Duck as the new visitor.
Of the 89,000 migratory birds visiting Maharana Pratap Sagar this time, the majority were bar-headed geese, while among the rare species arriving at the reservoir are the white-fronted geese, greater-painted snipe, cinnamon bittern, black bittern and the red-crested poacher, DS Dhadwal, Assistant Conservator of Forests (wildlife), Dharamsala said.
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The species of bird visiting the wetland include the Common pochard, Ruddy-shell ducks (Surkhab), Eurasion wigeon and Pintail, Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Eurasion Wigeon and Pintail apart from Mallards, Coots and the rare Red-necked grebe and Gulls.
"These species come from Afghanistan, Mongolia, China, Siberia, Central Asia, Russia, Pakistan and Ladkh," Dhadwal said.
Last year, over 1.2 lakh migratory birds belonging to some 90 species had visited the reservoir from Siberia and Central Asia.
Pong Reservoir or Pong Dam Lake was created in 1975 by building the highest earth-fill dam in India on the Beas river in the wetland zone of the Shivalik Hills in Kangra district.
The reservoir is a well-known wildlife sanctuary and one of the 25 declared international wetland sites in India under the Ramsar Convention.
Thousands of tourists visit the bird sanctuary during the winter season.