http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/monitoring/media_reports/newsid_1628000/1628188.stm
   
   Wednesday, 31 October, 2001, 13:45 GMT
   
   Afghan danger for migrating birds
   
   Ornithologists are concerned for the vulnerable pelicans Scientists
   fear for the migrating birds
   
   Thousands of migratory birds from Siberia and Central Asia may not
   make it to their winter homes further south as a result of the war in
   Afghanistan, according to ornithologists in Kazakhstan.
   
   At this time of year, as the northern winter advances, hundreds of
   thousands of birds fill the skies across Siberia and Central Asia as
   they make their way to over-wintering sites further south - many via
   Afghanistan.
   
   The scientists can only wait helplessly for the spring when they can
   count the numbers of birds who return
   Kazakh TV But Kazakh television said this year birds could fall victim
   to the war on terrorism.
   
   The television said the fighting could prevent the migrating birds
   from stopping off in their usual favoured places to rest as they fly
   over Afghanistan.
   
   It said local ornithologists were worried about many native Kazakh
   birds.
   
   The wetlands of south-eastern Kazakhstan are home to hundreds of
   species of migratory birds, including two protected species of
   pelicans.
   
   The crane population is already endangered
   Cranes fly thousands of kilometres on their way south
   Also at risk are the rare Siberian Cranes, which the International
   Crane Foundation says are the third rarest of the crane species and
   arguably the most endangered of all.
   
   Kazakh TV said cranes are extremely sensitive to stress; the air
   activity and bombing could cause flocks to split up and many could get
   lost and die.
   
   It said thousands of other birds, including pelicans, flamingos,
   geese, swans, ducks and cranes, might not make it to their usual
   winter homes.
   
   Vulnerable
   
   One Kazakh ornithologist said that if this happens and the birds have
   to over-winter in less favourable conditions, many may not return next
   spring.
   Many waterfowl fly south ahead of the northern winter
   Scientists can only wait and see how many return in the spring
   
   The western and central Siberian Crane (Grus leucogeranus) migrate
   over 5,000 kilometres to India or Iran and the eastern birds a similar
   distance from eastern Siberia to China.
   
   The population of pelicans in the wetlands of south-eastern Kazakhstan
   is considered "vulnerable".
   
   The TV said the scientists could do nothing but wait.
   
   "The saddest thing is that the scientists cannot do anything. They can
   only wait helplessly for the spring when they can count the numbers of
   birds who return," it said.
   
   BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects
   and translates information from radio, television, press, news
   agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70
   languages.