1 Tahrcountry Musings: Madagascar Pochard Rediscovered

Monday, January 15, 2007

Madagascar Pochard Rediscovered

Madagascar pochard(Aythya innotata) last seen alive in 1991 has been rediscovered in the wild after a search of 18 years. Scientists of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust made the discovery. The bird is extremely secretive and little is known about its life cycle and behaviour. Scientists had all along believed that the bird preferred marshy lakes with lots of reeds and emergent vegetation and had concentrated on these areas but the newly discovered population was found in a steep-sided volcanic lake with little shoreline marsh and reeds. The scientific world is agog with this discovery

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