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Steps needed to save Bon-Murgi from being extinct


Published : 30 Jul 2021 08:58 PM

A group of bird-lovers in Rajshahi had detected an extremely rare bird at the charland beside the river Padma in Rajshahi during the mid-leg of 2018. The bird was thought to be extinct from Bangladesh.

The bird once thrived in abundance in Bangladesh but, due to indiscriminate hunting and killing, the bird is seldom seen anywhere in the country nowadays. In Bangla the bird is mentioned as Mete Titir (Grey-francolin). 

The bird exactly looks like a domestic fowl (Cock or Hen), that we usually rear in our houses. The Char people called this bird 'Bon-Murgi' (Wild fowl). 

The colour of the Bon-Murgi is soil-brown or spotted-grey. The bird bears an extraordinary technique of camouflage. These birds can be seen to live and breed in some spots of the charland round the year. 

However, spotting the bird is very hard and the ever-alert bird takes a flight before anyone can see them. Even seeing the presence of any man or approaching animal from 500 metre away, the bird vanishes somewhere under bushes. For such a technique of camouflage, the bird still exists in the region.

This Bon Murgi lays eggs inside the grass-land or under bushes, usually inside the 'No-man's' land of the frontier and also produces chicklings. These Bon Murgi can also be seen in the dried land of India and in Pakistan. These look exactly like those of the domestic pet fowls and can be tamed like those of any other fowl. 

Bird lover, Ornithologist, Banker and Conservator of Wildlife Hasnat Rony had detected the Bon-Murgi on the char land of Rajshahi in 2018 and for the last three-year he has been visiting the areas advising the char people about the necessity of preservation of the bird and the wildlife. 

Due to expansion of human activities throughout the char areas, the habitat of the bird is now under grave threat. He requested the concerned forest officials to declare some char-areas as the 'sanctuary' for the bird to save this eloquent Bon-Murgi from being extinct.