Amur Falcons Begin Journey From Manipur To Africa, IAS Officer Posts Video

At least three GPS-tagged Amur falcons were among thousands of birds embarking on their marathon annual migration journey from India to Africa.

Apapang (adult male, orange track), Alang (young female, yellow track), and Ahu (adult female, red track), were satellite-tagged on 11 November under the Manipur Amur Falcon Tracking Project conducted by the Wildlife Institute Of India.

Data collected from their journey so far has painted a stunning picture of what these little birds are truly capable of. Supriya Sahu, an IAS officer from Tamil Nadu, posted about the progress of the raptors undertaking one of the most demanding migration journeys on the planet.

“And the epic journey begins again in all its glory,” Sahu wrote on X. “Apapang has stunned trackers with an extraordinary non-stop flight, already cutting across central India and now skimming the Arabian Sea, poised for a 3,000 km oceanic crossing to Somalia… These tiny birds barely 150 grams continue to remind us of the sheer wonder of migration, and why India's protection of stopover sites has become a global conservation story. What a wonder!”

She shared photographs showing the tracker fitted to one of the birds. She also posted a video showing thousands of Amur falcons taking off together.

And the epic journey begins again in all its glory. Three new travellers, Apapang (adult male) orange track, Alang (young female) Yellow track, and Ahu (adult female) Red Track, were satellite-tagged on 11th November 2025 as part of the Manipur Amur Falcon Tracking Project (Phase… pic.twitter.com/07Z6wUvz2Y

— Supriya Sahu IAS (@supriyasahuias) November 14, 2025

By Sunday, she shared an update as the birds reached the most demanding leg of their journey. “All three satellite-tagged Amur Falcons…are now undertaking their daring Arabian Sea crossing. Apapang has already flown nonstop for 76 hours, covering 3100 km at an average of 1000 km per day, aided by strong easterly tailwinds. From here, the journey becomes even more extraordinary as they head towards Somalia on their epic 3000 km oceanic flight.”

Here is an update - All three satellite-tagged Amur Falcons Apapang (male), Alang (young female) and Ahu (female) are now undertaking their daring Arabian Sea crossing. Apapang has already flown nonstop for 76 hours, covering 3100 km at an average of 1000 km per day, aided by… https://t.co/9ZUV3XcKyg pic.twitter.com/QwlyMzfoGl

— Supriya Sahu IAS (@supriyasahuias) November 16, 2025

The Arabian Sea crossing is considered one of the toughest continuous flights attempted by any raptor species, requiring immense energy reserves and favourable wind conditions.

Every November, Amur falcons leave their breeding grounds across Russia, China, parts of Korea and Japan, and begin a trans-equatorial journey to South Africa. Their most important stopover lies in northeastern India, particularly Manipur and Nagaland, where a decade of conservation work has turned once-hunted birds into fiercely protected migrants.

Barely ten years ago, Amur falcons were hunted in large numbers across parts of Manipur, Nagaland and Assam during their winter stopovers. This changed after the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) launched its first tracking project in Nagaland in 2013.

Villages such as Chiuluan in Manipur, once sites of hunting, today shelter the birds and even participate in tagging efforts. The village became globally recognised last year when Chiuluan 2, a tagged falcon, flew from Maharashtra across the Arabian Sea to Somalia, then continued across Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique on its way to Johannesburg.

Despite ranging across Siberia and East Asia and numbering over a million, the falcons choose northeast India for a reason: termites.

Studies by WII, including a 2024 paper using over 1,400 food pellet samples from Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, found that 85 per cent of the Amur falcon's diet consists of termites. Northeast India, coming out of its monsoon season in October, offers an abundant supply allowing the birds to build the protein reserves needed for their gruelling 3,000 km non-stop flight.