A young Shikra bird was rescued from the Moti Bagh area in South Delhi, after it got exhausted due to heat and dehydration, an NGO said. The bird, which was found from the Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA) area on Saturday, is currently under observation and will be released back into its natural habitat post recovery.
Shikras (Accipiter badius) are widely found throughout the Indian subcontinent, the NGO, Wildlife SOS said.
“Suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration, the bird was struggling to fly,” it said in a statement. The bird breeds between January and June in India and the clutch is two to four eggs. This raptor, commonly known as the little banded goshawk, feeds primarily on small mammals, birds, reptiles and insects.
“A large number of the avian population in New Delhi is falling prey to the rising temperatures due to dehydration, heat exhaustion and lack of shade. They are often found lying unconscious on the ground and some even suffer from heat stroke, which can result in death, if appropriate counter-measures are not taken on time,” Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS, said.