last seen in 1876 in the Nainital region, the Himalayan Quail is feared to be extinct, but there have been some unconfirmed sighting of this bird in parts of Uttarakhand in recent years.

The State Forest Department has now launched Mission Himalayan Quail as part of which the Nainital Zoo is offering Rs one lakh to anyone who provides irrefutable proof of this bird's presence in the State.

According to the Nainital divisional forest officer and director of the Nainital Zoo, Parag Madhukar Dhakate, the Himalayan quail was last sighted in 1876 at Sher Ka Danda in Nainital. This medium-sized bird belonging to the pheasant family was once quite common in the State and in the later part was seen in Mussoorie and Nainital areas.

"In the 137 years since its last reported sighting, there was no confirmed sighting of this bird and there was dearth of specific searches for this bird. Through Mission Himalayan Quail, we want to involve villagers and facilitate capacity building in the department. Only forest staff and villagers on the fringe of forests frequently visit the jungle so the chance of either of these spotting the bird are good. I think the chances of this bird being rediscovered in the State are good. The aim of this mission is to scientifically ascertain the presence of the Himalayan quail in the Himalayas of Uttarakhand," said Dhakate. The department will accept photograph, video film or even observation report of the bird in a particular area. Based on reports of observation, camera traps will be installed in the said area and on rediscovery of the bird, the person who informed about the presence of the bird will be rewarded.

The Nainital DFO further said that the department is undertaking genotyping of the eight birds of the pheasant family found in Uttarakhand. "Since we do not have any specimen of the Himalayan quail at present, we are trying to secure a sample from Europe where 12 bodies of this bird are preserved in five museums," said Dhakate.

The Himalayan quail was found in grassy land between 1800 and 2300 metres altitude. It was once common in the State, but was also considered a game bird which is considered to be the major reasons for its extinction.