Udupi: A group of four birders, Adithya Bhat, Sahana M., Arun Prabhu and Kumudini Prabhu, sighted a Little Bunting at the wetlands in Barkur village of Udupi district on January 28.

According to a press release issued here by Coastal Karnataka Bird Watchers Network on Monday, the Little Bunting is a small passerine bird belonging to the bunting and sparrow family. The breeding range of this bird is Taiga of the far north-east of Europe and Northern Asia. It migrates to Southern China and North-East India during winter.

It is usually seen in agricultural habitat with an altitude of 3,300-6,600 ft. So this sighting of Little Bunting at this altitude in the wetlands of Barkur was a pleasant surprise.

So far in south India, only two sightings of Little Bunting has been recorded – one from Pune in Maharashtra and another from Munnar in Kerala.

This also emphasises the importance of preservation of wetlands in places such as Barkur.

This is the first recorded sighting of the Little Bunting in Karnataka, said M. Shivashankar, co-founder of the network.