CHANDIGARH: A rare avian migrant from Kashmir, Water rail, seems to have fallen into a succession of blessed human hands. The bird had suffered acute trauma and a head injury but was found and rescued by a family in Sector 48C, Chandigarh.The bird was handed over to a concerned citizen and wildlife conservationist, who took the bird to Chhatbir Zoo’s veterinary facility where, much to everyone’s relief, it has staged a remarkable recovery and was released into the aviary on Friday.“The Water rail has been treated and was declared fit. We released the bird into the upcoming ‘walk-in’ aviary for wetland birds on Friday where the zookeeper observed normal movements and searches for food. The injury has healed and a mild scar remains,” Chhatbir Zoo’s chief veterinary officer Dr. Ashish Kumar told TOI.The rail’s tryst with Tricity’s nature-loving citizens started on Tuesday morning when commercial artist Ravinderpal Singh Ghai was on his way to drop his daughter Goonjangeet to school. They saw a bird cowering under a bush near the compound wall of Guru Nanak Vihar in Sector 48C. On his return and accompanied by his elder daughter Arshgeet, Ghai saw the bird was still here. On the prompting of his daughter, who worried that a cat would eat the bird, he picked up the dazed avian. A nallah runs near the society and the rail was likely to have been residing among the nallah’s reeds after migration from the harsh Kashmir winter.“We took it home and gave it water but it refused to eat anything. I contacted Kulbhushan Kanwar , who is known for his rescues of snakes and wildlife. Our family is very fond of pets and my daughters are very much attracted to birds. My wife Sarabjeet Kaur Bhasin is a music teacher and a singer and an artistic sensibility runs in our family creating an empathy for living creatures. That is why we could not bear the thought of leaving the bird there. I saw that the bird was not a common one and had a beautiful orange bill and distinct patterns on wings and feathers,” Ghai, an alumnus of Government College of Art, told TOI.Kanwar took possession of the rail, applied betadine on its head wound and tried to contact Tricity-based animal care groups, including People For Animals (PFA), but got no response. “I then spoke to Chandigarh’s chief conservator of forests Santosh Kumar, who advised me that the traumatised bird needed specialised veterinary care. Along with birdwatcher Dr. Gurpratap Singh, we took the injured rail to Chhatbir Zoo on Wednesday. We suspect the rail was attacked by a ‘shikra’ or a cat. We again visited the zoo on Friday to check upon its health,” Kanwar told TOI.The rail is a migratory bird not as conspicuous as geese, ducks or herons due to its propensity to slink among tall marsh reeds like a sleek snake, aided by a laterally compressed body. A rarity, it was declared ‘bird of the day’ by the winning ‘Falcon Team’ of Chandigarh Bird Club during the annual bird race on February 18, 2018.Legendary Indian birdman Dr Salim Ali had aptly captured the character of this species - “Difficult to see and even more to flush, thus, possibly much commoner in appropriate habitats than it appears to be. When suddenly come upon, flutters up feebly, flying with dangling legs just above the tall reeds for a few metres and dropping into cover again. But it is capable of strong sustained flight over long distances when on migration...(voice/ call) a curious ‘scream’ reminiscent of a squealing of a ‘small pig in trouble’...(food) small freshwater snails complete with shells, slugs, worms and insects. Also vegetable matter .”

Stay updated with all the Latest Jammu headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.