Black-headed penduline tit spotted in Turkey

IĞDIR

Black-headed penduline tit, a rare bird species, has been spotted for the first time in Turkey in the eastern province of Iğdır.

The bird, known as Remiz macronyx, was found during work officials conducted in the Iğdır Aras River Bird Sanctuary as part of the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry’s Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks’ National Ringing Program.

Experts ringed the bird, which will allow them to follow its movements.

The black-headed penduline tit has been spotted 46 times around the world to date. The bird, which weighs only around 9 grams and known for its skill in building a nest, has been, even though rarely, seen in Kazakhstan and Central Asia.

Emrah Çoban, the science coordinator at Kuzey Doga Association, said that they spotted the bird on April 6.

“This is a very rare species in the world, and we were very excited about it,” he said.

Some 313 bird species have been found in Iğdır to date, according to Çoban. “We added one more, and now there are 495 bird species in Turkey. This is very important for Turkey’s biodiversity.”

There are several stations set up under the National Ringing Program. “We now and then get some surprising news from those stations. This year such good news came from Iğdır. As long as the works continue, more bird species will be discovered in Turkey,” he said.