Danapur (Bihar), May 24 : The bird sanctuary in the Danapur cantonment area of Bihar state has some welcome visitors -- Siberian cranes - who have flown in from far off regions.

Informed sources and regular bird watchers claim that the arrival of the Siberian crane signals the advent of the monsoon season. The cranes choose the cantonment specifically every year, as it is a safe haven. The birds also find a doting host in the Indian army authorities stationed in the cantonment area.

"They (Siberian cranes) arrive from Australia at the end of May. They come in the cantonment area and start nesting. After nesting Siberian cranes leave in the months of October-November-December. These birds are very safe in army cantonment area where as in civilian areas they are killed," said Mahender Singh, a soldier stationed at Danapur.

The cantonment''s officials have marked out certain areas favoured by the cranes as an ecological park, and have restricted human activity and movement of vehicles.

Apart from the hospitality, what also attracts the birds is the logged rainwater in the area, which results in the breeding of small fish. For food, they also find plenty of fish in the nearby Ganges River.

The birds usually finish raising their young ones by the end of summer (around June end) and leave by mid-September.

The urge to play good hosts has caught up with the residents of the area as well, who cooperate with the army in its conservation efforts. They believe that the cranes bring good luck and good rains for the farmers and that more the number of birds, more the rainfall and prosperity.

The Siberians cranes are sensitive but disciplined birds, which fly in groups in search of food. They travel long distances to inhabit amenable environments on a seasonal basis. (ANI)