Diario de ivijayanand

We documented over 250 species of birds in the Karimganj District of Assam. When I completed my work at the Makunda Christian Leprosy and General Hospital, I spent several months at Bhopal. During this time, I was invited by "Birds of the World", the most comprehensive database of all the birds of the world, to revise the species account of one of the rare, little known species in Assam, the Cachar Bulbul, Iole cacharensis.

This task took a few months but when it was completed, it became a comprehensive review of known information about this species. It was accepted for online publication in March 2022.

The revised species account can be viewed online here: 10.2173/bow.cacbul1.02 ( https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/cacbul1/2.0/introduction )

I discovered a new species of Hepialid moth at Makunda in February 2019. I contacted Prof. John Grehan from the USA, expert on Hepialidae, who said that it could be an interesting specimen, possibly a new species.

The collected specimen was deposited at the National Center for Biological Sciences at Bengaluru. Dissection and analysis confirmed that it was indeed a new species. I suggested that it be named after the hospital where I worked for nearly 30 years, the Makunda Christian Leprosy and General Hospital.

A detailed description of the new species, named Endoclita makundae, along with comments on this genus in northeastern India was published in February 2022.

The article can be downloaded from here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358478921_ZooNova_A_NEW_SPECIES_OF_ENDOCLITA_C_R_FELDER_1874_GHOST_MOTH_FROM_KARIMGANJ_DISTRICT_OF_ASSAM_INDIA_WITH_COMMENTS_ON_THE_GENUS_IN_NORTHEASTERN_INDIA_AND_CLARIFICATION_OF_E_SIGNIFER_WALKER_1856_LEPIDO

At the Makunda Nature Club, we were privileged to work with may subject experts. One of them was Shantanu Joshi, an odonatologist. I sent him photographs of a rare odonate, Nannophyopsis clara, which I had taken in Makunda. At that time, its known distribution was only in Taiwan - later it was found in other countries, including Thailand.

He visited us at Makunda and along with Rejoice Gassah from our Club, we did an extensive search for odonates in our areas of biodiversity documentation.

This exercise led to a checklist of 97 species of odonates (dragonflies and damselflies). We described these with detailed reports of 8 species, four new to India Ceriagrion calamineum, Nannophyopsis clara, Phyllothemis eltoni, and Zyxomma breviventre, and four noteworthy species newly recorded from the state: Megalogomphus smithii, Orientogomphus indicus, Pseudothemis zonata, and Sarasaeschna khasiana.

This article was published in September 2021. It can be downloaded from here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354958555_Dragonflies_and_damselflies_Insecta_Odonata_of_Karimganj_District_Assam_India_with_four_additions_to_the_Indian_checklist

As part of the biodiversity documentation activities of the Makunda Christian Leprosy and General Hospital, the Makunda Nature Club was given a camera-trap.

Rejoice Gassah placed the trap on a trail and among many observations, a remarkable set of photos documented the first photographic evidence of the Asiatic Brush-tailed Porcupine (Atherurus macrourus) for the first time in the Barak Valley of Assam.

Our short note documenting this observation with a brief discussion on distribution was published in December 2020. The article can be downloaded from here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347914399_First_Photographic_Record_of_the_Asiatic_Brush-tailed_Porcupine_Atherurus_macrourus_Linnaeus_1758_Mammalia_Rodentia_Hystricidae_from_the_Barak_Valley_Region_of_Assam_India

Rejoice Gassah from the Makunda Nature Club was the first to observe the Siberian Blue Robin (Larvivora cyane), a rare winter visitor to India near Dosdewa in Karimganj District of Assam. This species had been recorded in several locations in India but not from northeastern India. Many birders travel to Dosdewa at present to see this remarkable species.

Our article discussing the observation and discussing its distribution in India was published in December 2019. The article can be downloaded from here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338137338_Siberian_Blue_Robin_Larvivora_cyane_from_the_Barak_Valley_of_Assam_with_a_status_update_for_India

Urosphena squameiceps, the Asian Stubtail is a rare winter visitor to India. Rejoice Gassah from the Makunda Nature Club was the first to observe this species in Assam - near Dosdewa village of Karimganj District.

Our record of the observation and a brief description of its status in the Indian subcontinent was published in May 2019. The article can be downloaded from here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332866279_Asian_Stubtail_Urosphena_squameiceps_in_the_Karimganj_District_of_Assam_and_its_status_in_the_Indian_Subcontinent

During a visit to the Jaintia Hills, Rejoice Gassah documented this rare species of Wren Babbler, previously known only from the Khasi Hills (near Cherrapunjee). Although not very distant, the new location is a significant range extension for this species which was previously confined to a very small area.

Our article on the observation of this species and its distribution in the Meghalaya state of India was published in May 2019.

The article can be downloaded from here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332866269_Tawny-breasted_Wren-Babbler_Spelaeornis_longicaudatus_in_the_Jaintia_Hills_and_an_update_on_its_status_in_Meghalaya

After starting the Makunda Nature Club, I found Rejoice Gassah, a very talented student of our Makunda school. We started exploring nearby forests together and in the following years, I taught him most of what I knew about biodiversity documentation.

He was the first to observe the Golden-crested Myna, near Dosdewa village in Karimganj District of Assam. This is a rare bird and many birders travel to Dosdewa now to see it.

Our description of this species and notes on its distribution was published in December 2018: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330320761_Sighting_of_the_Golden-crested_Myna_Ampeliceps_coronatus_in_Karimganj_District_Assam_with_notes_on_its_distribution

One day, I noted a very unusual moth at my home at Makunda. It was identified as a Hepialid moth on social media. I contacted Prof. John Grehan in the USA who was an authority on Hepialids and we co-wrote an article on the Hepialid moths of northeastern India.

The article can be downloaded from here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315660193_Forest_ghost_moth_fauna_of_northeastern_India_Lepidoptera_Hepialidae_Endoclita_Palpifer_and_Hepialiscus

I started the Makunda Nature Club at the Makunda Christian Leprosy and General Hospital in Assam where I worked for nearly 30 years. Following our collaboration with Siddharth Kulkarni, India lead on the World Spider Catalog, a very interesting spider was discovered by one of the student members of the Club. This story was reported here: https://diversityindianews.blogspot.com/2017/02/rare-spider-spotted-in-remote-hospital.html#:~:text=February%201%2C%202017-,Rare%20spider%20spotted%20in%20a%20remote%20hospital%20in%20Assam%20through,(Araneae%2C%20Thomisidae)%E2%80%9D.

The observation was published in January 2017.

At that time, it was identified as Platythomisus octomaculatus - which was being observed 140 years after its discovery in Borneo. Later, we were informed that this could be a new species, Platythomisus xiandao - if so, we were the first to observe the species.

The published article can be downloaded from here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313108517_Report_of_Platythomisus_octomaculatus_C_L_Koch_1845_and_Platythomisus_sudeepi_Biswas_1977_from_India_Araneae_Thomisidae