Photos: Red-billed Choughs Successfully Returned to Nature

The Environmental and Soil Inspection Body reports that for the first time in Armenia, rescued and treated red-billed choughs have been returned to the wild. These birds, which have successfully undergone rehabilitation, are now rarely found in their natural habitat.

This unprecedented initiative for Armenia was achieved through the collaboration of the RA Environmental and Soil Inspection Body, the Ministry of Environment, the Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, the ‘Zoo Fauna Art’ exotic animal rehabilitation centers, the BirdLynx Armenia NGO, and the Center for the Conservation of Endemic and Endangered Species (PEES).

Months ago, the birds, which had suffered various injuries in the wild, were transferred to the aforementioned rehabilitation centers by the Inspection Body's staff. The care of the birds was managed by zoologists and veterinarians.

Staff from the Inspection Body and zoologists regularly visited the birds and monitored their recovery process. Fully rehabilitated and ringed, the decision was made to release the birds back into the wild in the Ararat Plain, specifically in the regions near the ‘Khosrov Forest’ State Reserve and Akhuryan.

The released red-billed choughs included the pink-footed chough, the bearded vulture, the blue-breasted beetle, and the wallcreeper. In addition to this bird species, the Inspection Body and the group of specialists also decided to return 1 common starling and 3 storks back to nature.