HEARKEN ALL! The enigmatic Ibisbill of the cold streams

 Unfamiliar to most, the Ibisbill continue to exist in their high-altitude habitat. But for how long?

-  IQRAM UL HAQ , DR ASAD RAHMANI 

Many birds like to go about their lives silently and unobtrusively, while the world goes around them, sometimes with increasing pace. Ibisbill is perhaps the best such example. It lives in the high mountains, mostly above 1700-4400 m and on the roof of the world, i.e., Tibet, near fast-flowing cold streams and rivers, ribboned by small boulders on both sides. This member of the shorebirds group has adapted well to such a habitat - both in behaviour and plumage. Its grey and white plumage, black face and a natty black breast-band, dark long legs, and down-curved crimson bill perfectly camouflage it on smoulderstrewn streams. Its unhurried, slow-pace foraging habits make it almost invisible. No wonder only a few people have seen the Ibisbill, and practically no detailed research has been done on this enigmatic bird.

The second author is always interested to work on lesser-known species so when he met the first author in 2017, a fresh MSc. degree holder, he suggested the study of the Ibisbill for his Ph.D. This created a life-long teacherstudent association. But from where to start? The old records of Ibisbill seen on way to Sonmarg, Kashmir, a famous tourist area, did not reveal anything. So we decided to go to Ladakh where the Ibisbill has been seen near Leh in the Sind (Indus) River. As we moved from Sonmarg early one morning, on a bend of the river near Nilgrath we heard a call that sounded like a wader call. A quick glance revealed not one but five Ibisbill, including two juveniles. For the next five hours, we noted their behaviour, interactions, and habitat use parameters. Surprisingly the birds were quite bold and allowed us to approach to about 50-60 m., as long as we were on the other side of the stream. A good start for the first Ph.D. degree on this uncommon but widely distributed bird.