This is the first time since 2010 that a bar-headed goose has been spotted at Pallikaranai, Chennai.
It is considered one of the world’s highest-flying birds.
It is native to Central Asia, and known to migrate over the Himalayas to spend the winter in South Asia, from Assam to as far as Tamil Nadu.
In earlier rare occurrences, a few were spotted at the Andhra Pradesh end of the Pulicat Lake, two in Kancheepuram and five over the Kelambakkam creek in 2018.
Nearly 193 species of birds have been spotted at the Pallikaranai marshland since 2010.