Rare White-Bellied Heron Documented in Myanmar’s Kachin State
CJ Platform reports that a group of Burmese young researchers from the NSCI has documented a rare sighting of the white-bellied heron in Kachin State, Myanmar. This species is considered even rarer than the leopard in Myanmar, with an estimated population of only about 40 individuals remaining.
The NSCI (Local Species Conservation and Identification Organization) shared this discovery on its official social network. According to Ko Win Paing Oo, an NSCI official, the white-bellied heron, known locally as NgaHit, primarily inhabits the eastern Himalayas. This makes it predominantly found in Bhutan and India, and possibly in Bangladesh and Myanmar, specifically in Kachin State and the Sagaing Region.
However, the species is reportedly facing extinction in the Sagaing Region due to illegal poaching by locals for food. Ko Win Paing Oo noted, “In Kachin State, the bird is not uniformly distributed across the region but is more frequently found along the Himalayan ranges and near Putao, primarily in the western and northern parts of the state.”
The white-bellied heron, scientifically known as the White-bellied Heron, is one of the world’s rarest bird species and is classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The bird’s survival is threatened by hunting and habitat destruction.
“Our bird expert, Mr. Thet Zaw Naing, estimates the current population to be around 40, although this figure is not exact,” said Ko Win Paing Oo. He emphasized the significance of the recent documentation, the first of its kind obtained by NSCI during its existence, and noted that it depended heavily on local reports from Kachin State residents.
Ko Win Paing Oo also remarked on the difficulty of obtaining records from Kachin State due to the limited number of locals in their group. He celebrated the recording as a significant achievement, as it is a live sighting and not just compiled from secondary data. He refrained from disclosing the precise location and timing of the sighting to prevent further poaching.
Highlighting the vulnerability of the white-bellied heron, he explained, “Due to its large size and aquatic diet, it is easy to capture along water bodies where it is frequently found. Unlike mountain-dwelling species, it is more accessible and therefore more susceptible to being trapped.”
He concluded with a cautionary note on conservation: “If efforts are not intensified, we may lose all remaining birds within the next four to five years.”