Mongolia’s most famous bird, ‘Onon’, the record-setting common cuckoo, fitted with transmitters by scientists in Khurkh Bird Ringing Station in northern Mongolia in June 2019, reached India on September 3, for a second time.

According to Birding Beijing, five cuckoos were fitted with transmitters in 2019 to learn about their migration route.

The one particular bird, named ‘Onon,’ named after a Mongolian river., appeared in Rajasthan on September 24 after covering a distance of 5,426 km and crossing the borders of three countries. The very next day Onon was tracked over the Arabian Sea. He flew non-stop 2,500km!

In two days Onon reached Yemen from India. According to Birding Beijing ‘it looks as if he is taking a breather in southern Yemen after his marathon crossing of the Arabian Sea’.  He flew more than 3,500 km in just 2.5 days in about 65 hours. That makes his average speed a little over 50km per hour.

During his first flight, Onon had set a record of completing the longest migration by a land bird. Onon crossed 16 countries in its ‘mammoth first journey’, covering a total of 26,000 km, before it reached Mongolia on May 27, 2020. On July 13, 2020, the cuckoo started its second journey once again after breeding at Mongolia for about six weeks.

We have to wait a little longer to see Onon reach his final destination in Africa this time.  Let’s hope the bird stays fit and healthy on its journey!