About the Jerdon's Courser
Jerdon's Courser is one of the world's rarest and most enigmatic birds — a strictly nocturnal, rock-haunting wader that was completely unknown to science from 1900 to 1986, when it was dramatically rediscovered in the Nallamala Hills of Andhra Pradesh. The only known breeding population in the world lives in the steep rocky gorges of the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve — the largest tiger reserve in India by area — where it nests on rocky ledges above the Krishna River.
Jerdon's Courser is so rarely seen that very little is known about its behaviour, breeding biology, or population size. It is active only on dark, moonless nights, spending the day hidden in rock crevices or dense vegetation on steep hillsides. The proposed Telugu Ganga canal and irrigation projects in the Nallamala Hills — which would flood critical habitat — represent the most direct threat to the species. A handful of ornithologists and forest staff have seen it; most Indian birders spend entire careers without a sighting.