The flight of the Akhuaipuina has an interesting connection amongst people living miles apart. Following in the footsteps of the falcons as the birds fly across continents, there are already suggestions to link up people who live in their breeding grounds and those who live in their feeding grounds
By Salam Rajesh
Just imagine a frail-looking pigeon-size bird flying all alone on a long-distance majestic flight covering near 20,000 kilometers across two continents and the vast spread of the Arabian Sea, charting its route by instinct and depending entirely on the benevolent wind flow to achieve its cross-continent passage of rite.
Tamenglong residents in North East India’s Manipur State had lovingly named this frail-looking yet tough bird as “Akhuaipuina” – the harbinger of plenty. As the name suggests, for the Tamenglong natives, the Akhuaipuinas arrive in time year after year to help contain the spread of termites and other pests which otherwise could wreak havoc with their winter crops. This, of course, helps their winter crops and vegetables to flourish plentifully.
Falcons, so much as terns, are cross-continent flying raptors with a committed journey covering months in their annual migration to greener pastures seeking to avoid the harsh winter in their breeding grounds. The Amur Falcons, so lovingly called as Akhuaipuina in Tamenglong, fly south in winter to avoid the harshness of the Russian cold which notoriously tore the spirit of the advancing Nazi troops during the Second World War.
Have a quick look at the global map, and it is flabbergasting trying to understand how this soft, frail-looking bird at the size of a pigeon can fly all the way from its breeding grounds in the Amur landscape of erstwhile Manchuria to the grasslands of Botswana in the southern parts of Africa, transversing non-stop for days on end across the mighty Arabian Sea!
It is beyond imagination how this pigeon-size raptor can fly non-stop for seven days without taking a break to cross the Arabian Sea, and how or when does it sleeps or eats at all. The fuel-load of termites they feed to their fill amongst the bamboo brakes along the banks of the Irang River in Tamenglong sustains them for their remarkable flight over the vast sea.
Two falcons were radio-tagged on 08 November last year at Tamenglong, one a female and the other a male. Both the female (Gwangram) and the male (Chiuluan2) started off from Tamenglong on the remaining part of their journey to South Africa in November 2024, and almost six months later in May 2025 Chiuluan2 has made it home safely in the Russian Amurland, having crossed over the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea. Amazing feat of travelling (flying, that is) 17,000 km transcontinental without foreign passport or visa!
The sad part with the female Gwangram was that her transmission was lost somewhere in South Africa, her fate unknown. It certainly would have been wonderful, and historic, for both Gwangram and Chiuluan2 to reach home safely after their awe-inspiring journey from East Russia via North East India and the Indian mainland to South Africa, and back.
For the natives of Tamenglong subdivisional headquarters in Manipur – the Liangmai, Rongmei and Zeme in particular – the one wish was that both Gwangram and Chiuluan2 would be there later this year in November in time for the annual Amur Falcon Festival, enjoying their moment of glory and basking in the delight on how the Zeliangrong tribes welcome them back with open arms and cultural festivity.
Dr. Suresh Kumar, senior scientist at the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, says of the falcons’ mighty journey, “The ongoing satellite tagging project aims to better understand their migratory behaviour, and improve conservation efforts for this globally migrating species”.
The satellite tracking has been followed by many bird watchers across the globe, fascinated by the singular determination of the falcons to complete their passage of rite without fail each winter, come hail or storm, literally speaking.
The Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) of the United Nations, too, acknowledges the remarkable journey of the Amur Falcons year after year, saying this is one of the fascinating transcontinental journeys by migratory species across the globe, connecting landscapes beyond boundaries. The CMS convention at Gandhinagar (Gujarat) in India during 2020 specifically mentioned the amazing journey of the Amur Falcons – the Akhuaipuinas – in the opening chapter of its plenary session.
For Kharibam Hitler Singh, the Divisional Forest Officer for Tamenglong Division, who has been instrumental in the tireless campaign to garner people’s support for the protection and safe stay of the falcons during their visit to Tamenglong every October-November, and the never-say-die volunteers of the Rainforest Club Tamenglong, the public’s perception of the falcons with a new understanding, and love, is rewarding enough.
Kharibam takes opportunity of any occasion with the local community to appeal for the safe stay of the falcons during their short visit in Tamenglong, turning the sky dark with swarms of the birds flying in and out to catch the termites milling around the bamboo brakes. Its gods’ gift, he would say, and humans have no right to exterminate them unnecessarily like they did indiscriminately not very long back.
Tamenglong’s story is so much like that fabulous tales of hunters turning protectors ultimately, as is heard and seen in many parts of the world. The Bishnois of Rajasthan live with the ungulates Black Bucks as family, the Ahomias of Assam have learnt to live with the Greater Adjutant Storks (Hargila) as family, and today Tamenglong natives have learnt to live with the raptors Akhuaipuinas as family, remarkable of a transformation unimagined in a time past.
The flight of the Akhuaipuina has an interesting connection amongst people living miles apart. Following in the footsteps of the falcons as the birds fly across continents, there are already suggestions to link up people who live in their breeding grounds and those who live in their feeding grounds.
That, simply saying, is about transboundary conservation of the migratory raptors. So, why cannot the people in East Russia link up with Tamenglong natives and those in Somalia and Botswana to chart a roadmap for the safe passage of the falcons in their passage of rite every year. Information sharing on sites along the migratory route of the falcons can reshape the understanding and valuation of the species in long term measure.
With climate change impacting all forms of life on Earth, it is time that endeavours to protect forest habitats start in earnest not only to provide safe haven for transboundary migratory birds, and animals, but also to help mitigate climate change imprints. Conservation with a mind on wildlife protection and sustainable livelihoods for local communities combined can pave the way to achieving much of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations today and in the long run.