UPSC Prelims 2026 Q27: Amur Falcons at Doyang Lake — Explained
Which of the following statements with regard to the arrival of Amur Falcons at Doyang Lake in Nagaland each year from Mongolia is/are correct?
1. It showcases how sustained local conservation efforts can contribute to the arrival and protection of international migratory birds.
2. It reflects the global success of advanced tracking technologies that guide migratory birds back to their stopover sites.
3. It confirms that Amur Falcons have adapted to permanent residency in India due to favourable habitat changes.
- 1 only
- 1 and 2
- 2 and 3
- 3 only
Answer: (a) 1 only
Statement-wise explanation
- 1: correct — In November 2012, conservationists recorded mass trapping of Amur falcons at the Doyang reservoir. Activists estimated that 1.2–1.4 lakh birds were killed in about 10 days, mostly by hunters from Pangti village in Wokha district. Village councils banned the hunting before the 2013 season. With state government pressure, NGO awareness campaigns and community patrolling, the roost became a safe haven. Lakh-strong flocks now stop at Doyang every October–November, and Nagaland is called the 'Falcon Capital of the World'. This is a standard example of local, community-led conservation protecting an international migrant.
- 2: incorrect — Satellite tags only record where a bird flies. They do not guide it. Amur falcons find their route and stopover sites by instinct and navigation cues, as they have for a very long time. Tagging done in Nagaland since 2013, and in Manipur's Tamenglong district in November 2025, only tracks the flight for research. The claim of a 'global success' of tracking technology is also overstated.
- 3: incorrect — The Amur falcon is a long-distance migrant, not a resident of India. It breeds in south-east Siberia, north-east China and Mongolia and spends the winter in southern Africa. It stops in north-east India for only a few weeks in October–November to refuel. From India it flies non-stop across the Arabian Sea, the longest sea crossing of any bird of prey. The birds leave every year, so they have not become permanent residents.
How to eliminate
Statement 3 contradicts the question itself. The question speaks of the falcons' 'arrival … each year from Mongolia', and a bird that arrives every year is a migrant, not a permanent resident. Strike out 3, and options (c) and (d) go. Statement 2 claims that technology 'guides' wild birds back. Any basic knowledge of migration tells you birds navigate by instinct, and a transmitter is only a recording device. The words 'global success' are also an overreach. Strike out 2, and only (a) is left. Statement 1 is mildly worded ('can contribute'), which is typical of a correct UPSC statement. You can solve this question from basic sense alone. The fact to remember is that Pangti/Doyang (Wokha, Nagaland) is a community-conservation success story dating from the 2012 hunting crisis.
Know more
Amur falcon (Falco amurensis) is a small, pigeon-sized raptor of the falcon family. It makes one of the longest migrations of any bird of prey, travelling over 20,000 km a year in a loop between East Asia and southern Africa.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Breeding grounds | South-east Siberia, north-east China, Mongolia |
| Wintering grounds | Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, etc.) |
| Indian stopover | Oct–Nov: Doyang/Pangti (Wokha, Nagaland), Tamenglong (Manipur), also Assam and Meghalaya |
| Key feat | Non-stop flight of about 4,000 km over the Arabian Sea |
| Food at stopover | Mainly termites and other insects |
| IUCN status | Least Concern |
| CMS | Appendix II; covered by the CMS Raptors MoU |
From hunting to protection. In 2012, trapping at Doyang killed about 10% of the global adult population in a single season. The response came from the state government, NGOs and the Pangti community: a village ban on hunting, eco-clubs for children, community patrols, and later a 'silence zone' during the roosting period. Eco-tourism and Amur Falcon festivals now give villagers an income, so they gain more from protecting the birds than from killing them.
Tracking. The Wildlife Institute of India and state forest departments have fitted satellite transmitters to falcons. The first were tagged in Nagaland in 2013. The 2025 tagging project in Tamenglong, Manipur showed birds flying about 6,000 km from Somalia to India in roughly six days on the return trip. The data shows researchers the route and the risks along it. It does not change how the birds behave.
Exam link. Amur falcons sit at the meeting point of three topics UPSC likes: community conservation, migratory-species treaties (CMS/Bonn Convention) and NE India's biodiversity.
In the news
In May 2026, falcons satellite-tagged in Manipur's Tamenglong district were tracked flying back across the Arabian Sea towards India on their return trip. That put the species' migration and India's community-run roosts back in the news just before the exam.
NCERT Concepts to Revise
- Community participation in conservation: Statement 1 hinges on how Pangti villagers and Wokha councils shifted from mass trapping in 2012 to banning hunting and patrolling Doyang's roost.
- Convention on Migratory Species: Amur Falcons cross Mongolia, India and southern Africa, so this treaty frames why protecting their Doyang stopover is an international migratory-species concern.