Indian Birds | Vol. 7 No. 2

Vol. 7 No. 2

Shortwings & Sky Islands
Birds in Nainital District
Adjutant-Storks in Bihar

Niranjan Sant
Common Kestrel

Contents

Indian BIRDS
www.indianbirds.in

Vol. 7 Nos. 2

30

A view from the past: shortwings and sky islandsof the Western Ghats
V. V. Robin, A. Sinha & U. Ramakrishnan

33

Birds of three different forest habitats in Nainital district(Western Himalaya), Uttarakhand, India
K. Joshi & D. Bhatt

38

Distribution, and potential breeding records, of Lesser- and GreaterAdjutant-Stork in Bihar, India
D. N. Choudhary, J. Mandal & R. Rohitashwa

40High density nesting of White-Bellied Sea-Eagles on Netrani Island,
Karnataka
S. Pande, N. Sant, S. Pednekar, N. Sakhdeo & A. Mahabal

44

Additions to the birds of Goa, India
P. Lad & P. Rangnekar

45

The status and distribution of Amur Falcon in Gujarat, India
P. Ganpule

47

Spotted Redshank catching fish in association with Great White Pelicanin Rajasthan
H. Singh Sangha, S. Kumar & Divyabhanusinh

48

Wryneck feeding on bird in Sundarbans, West Bengal, India
N. Vikas Madhav & J. R. Victor

49

Unusual nesting site of the Red-wattled Lapwing
H. Singh Sangha• To publish a newsletter that will provide a platform tobirdwatchers for publishing notes and observations
primarily on birds of South Asia.

50

Western Crowned Warbler in Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary
H. Singh Sangha & G. Sagar Bhardwaj• To promote awareness of birdwatching amongst thegeneral public.

51

Dusky striped squirrel as a part of mixed-species bird flocks
R. Vivek, Prerna R. Agarwal & R. Sreekar

52

Rose-ringed Parakeet feeding on an old beehive
P. Ganpule

53

Oriental White-eye and Purple Sunbird feeding on yellow oleander
J. Turaga

54

The dates of seven new taxa described by W. E. Brooks
A. Pittie

56

Crested Serpent-Eagle preying on termites (Termitidae) in
Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat, India
A. Vasava

56

Letters to the Editor

56A

Review

Date of Publication: 15 October 2011ISSN 0973-1407
Editor Emeritus: Zafar Futehally
Editor: Aasheesh Pittie
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Harkirat Singh Sangha, C. Sashikumar
S. Subramanya, K. S. Gopi SundarContributing Editors
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Contributing Photographers
Clement Francis, Ramki Sreenivasan

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Front Cover: White-bellied Sea-Eagle
Photographer: Niranjan Sant

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Indian Birds Vol. 7 No. 2 (Publ. 15 October 2011)

A view from the past: shortwings and sky islandsof the Western Ghats1
V. V. Robin, Anindya Sinha & Uma Ramakrishnan
Robin, V. V., Sinha, A., & Ramakrishnan, U., 2011. A view from the past: shortwings and sky islands of the Western Ghats. Indian BIRDS 7 (2): 30–33.
V. V. Robin, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bangalore 560012, Karnataka, India.
Email: robinvijayan@gmail.com (Corresponding author).
Anindya Sinha, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bangalore 560012, Karnataka, India.
Uma Ramakrishnan, National Centre for Biological Sciences, G.K.V.K Campus, Bangalore 560096, Karnataka, India.

What are sky islands and how do they affect species?

The Western Ghats in southern India, a 1,600 km mountainchain that runs along the western coast of the Indian peninsula,
is a global biodiversity hotspot (Myers et al. 2000), and has awide gradient of elevations. Most of the southern Western Ghats
form highest elevation regions of this mountain range rising well
above 1,500 m (Fig. 1). There are taxa that are often restricted
to, and found only in, these high-elevation regions. For such taxa
that never come down to the lower-elevation regions, it is as
if they are living on islands, except that these are continental
islands. Such islands have been called sky islands that havebeen defined as a, ‘continental or inland terrain made up of asequence of valleys and mountains,’ (Warshall 1994). The criticalparameters in these sky islands are the conditions in the valleys
and the ecological specificity of the sky island species. If thevalleys are ecologically hospitable to some sky island species,
they may serve as bridges, but if not, they become barriers. The
Western Ghats in southern India is one of the twenty such sky
island complexes in the world.

Western Ghats sky islands: what can we expect here?

The Western Ghats are a very old mountain system. The largest
geographical gap in this almost-continuous mountain chain is thec. 40 km wide Palghat Gap, and the smaller Shencottah Gap,
further south of it. Both these geographical gaps are actually
shear zones that have existed for over 500 million years. Even
the topography of the Western Ghats is relatively very old, having
taken shape about 65 million years ago (Ma) (Gunnell et al.
2003). This clearly indicates that the geographic canvas for a bird
species was already set even before any passerine bird cameinto this landscape. Passerines are thought to have evolved
between 55–60 Ma. The Madrean sky island system in the USA
and the Eastern Arc sky islands in Africa are perhaps some of thebest-studied sky islands. It is evident from studies here that somespecies are particularly affected by their geographical isolation
while some are not. Most of the high-elevation parts of thesemountains, however, have been formed approximately over thelast million years making the Western Ghats sky islands someof the oldest formations in the subcontinent. This makes theWestern Ghats landscape an interesting region to examine theeffect of geographical isolation on sky island species, many ofwhich are endemic to these mountains.
There are clearly two major ways that species could colonise
and occupy these sky islands, considering that the islands existed
before the birds came.
1. The species or its ancestor arrived at one end of this linear
1

sky island system and hopped from one sky island to the other,
eventually colonising all the islands (Fig. 2A).
2. The species or its ancestor could have arrived at the foothillsof the Western Ghats and gradually moved up the elevational
gradient (Fig. 2B). There is evidence from other sky islands thatboth these models of colonisation are possible for different
species. If the species had indeed used different sky islands as‘stepping stones’ to colonise all the Western Ghats sky islands,
the populations on the closest islands would be genetically mostsimilar while the northernmost and southernmost populations
would be most genetically differentiated. Moreover, in terms of
the age of populations, the oldest population would be at one
end of this linear sky island system while the youngest, at theother end. It would also be interesting to see how the deep andancient geographical gaps that typically occur along the Western
Ghats affect such species.

The study species: White-bellied Shortwing
Brachypteryx major

We chose to investigate the evolutionary history of the Whitebellied Shortwing Brachypteryx major. It is one among theseveral threatened, endemic avian species of the Western Ghats
that has not been studied scientifically in any detail (Robin &Sukumar 2002). Of the six shortwing species in the world, thisis the only one found in southern India and remains restricted to
the Shola forests of the Western Ghats. It has also been recently
added to the Red Data Book as a globally threatened species(BirdLife International 2001). The nominate race B. m. major
is found north of the Palghat Gap while B. m. albiventris, whichmainly differs from it in plumage colouration, is found south of it(Figs. 3, 4). Whether these races interbreed remains an importantquestion although a single museum specimen at the Museumof Natural History, Tring, UK, exhibits plumage characters of bothraces (BirdLife International 2001). This is yet another questionthat can be effectively addressed by a study on the population
genetics of this interesting bird species.
The shortwing, being a high-elevation species, is particularly
vulnerable to severe fragmentation and loss of habitat. Species
that form small insular populations are particularly vulnerable toextinction and there has thus been concern that this species too
could be lost forever. It is, therefore, important to unravel thegenetic connectivity between such populations of the species inorder to focus research and conservation efforts in a way that would
allow us to implement better-informed adaptive management
measures for the species in the foreseeable future.

This note was prepared on invitation for Indian BIRDS to summarise for readers the author’s findings published in the online journal,
PLoS ONE (Robin, et al. 2010)

Robin et al.: Shortwings and Sky Islands

because of different dispersal patterns between
males and females. Hence, we also sequenced
a nuclear marker to counter this possible
effect of differential sex. Certain sequencesin the mitochondria like Cytochrome Oxidase
1 or COX1, often called the barcoding gene,
have recently been developed as standards toidentify and separate taxonomically different
species. It has been estimated, for example,
based on data from 260 North American birds,
that species differ from one another by 7.9%in the DNA sequence of the barcoding gene
(Hebert et al. 2004). This information has since
been used as a cut-off to identify and classify
different species and we proposed to use thisto examine the differences in shortwings acrossthe Palghat Gap.

Results & discussion
Effects of geographical gaps

Fig. 1. The sky islands of the Western Ghats mountains, south-western India

We found that populations of shortwing thatwere geographically closest to each other were
not genetically the closest. In fact, we found thatthe populations across the Palghat Gap showed
the maximum genetic difference though they
were geographically adjoining populations.
Such a difference was also seen across theShencottah Gap, once again indicating thatgeographical closeness need not imply genetic
similarity. Only the High Wavies population
was found to be very close to the Anamalais–
Kodaikanal complex population, reflecting
a similarity within regions not separated byancient gaps. The genetic differences in thebarcoding region across the populations oneither side of the Palghat Gap were larger
than the threshold set from North American
bird studies and hence the populations could
be considered different species. Our analysis,controlling for the effect of geographicalgaps and geographical distances, shows that

A brief methodology

This aspect of our long-term study primarily involved obtaining
genetic samples (a drop of blood) from 33 individual shortwings
from different sky islands of the Western Ghats (detailed in Robinet al. 2010). In the lab we extracted DNA from these samples
and generated sequences of different segments of mitochondrialand nuclear DNA. Mitochondrial DNA is maternally inherited andits mutation rate is very low. Broadly speaking, this implies thatit may take thousands of years for changes to show up in the
mitochondrial sequence. This marker is thus used to investigate
genetic differences between taxa that could have risen overmillions of years. Mitochondrial mutation rates have been
examined for different bird species and it has been found that
there is an almost constant rate of mutation over millions of years
across several species. This clock-like definitive mutation rate isoften referred to as a molecular clock and can be used to ouradvantage. One can examine the extent of mutations we find indifferent groups and arrive at an estimate of how long ago in timethese groups diverged, giving us a molecular date for the splits
between different groups. Since mitochondria are maternallyinherited, it is likely that we could miss out signals that arise

Current sky island populations

Supposed past populations

Fig. 2. Possible ways that populations could colonise sky islands of theWestern Ghats.

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Indian Birds Vol. 7 No. 2 (Publ. 15 October 2011)

geographical gaps have had a major role in shaping the structureof populations of shortwings.

Population structure

The other conclusion that can be highlighted from thisstudy is that evidently the species did not have a linear modeof colonisation (Fig. 2A) but, a mode that was more consistent
with option B (Fig. 2B), where the species occupied lower lying
areas and then moved up into the sky islands. The reason for thisappears to have been global climatic events. These movements
are not independent of geography, as the splits in the populations
evolved merely because the topographic canvas that existed had
deep valleys, like the Palghat Gap, and Shencottah Gap between
these populations.

Evolutionary history of the shortwing

Taxonomy

2

Glacial refugia are small patches of suitable habitat left behind by
the action of ice ages.

Fig. 4. Rufous-bellied Shortwing B. major, Avalanche, Ooty, Tamil Nadu.

This study was not directed at understanding the taxonomic
status of the species, but was aimed towards an understandingof its phylogeography, and evolutionary history. In the process wefound that the populations of shortwings had clearly separated
into two different species over the last five million years.
Unfortunately, we cannot ascertain the genus-level status of thespecies. There is only a single sequence of a Brachypteryx (B.
montana) individual from north-eastern India that is available
publicly. Our genetic studies indicate that B. major is not close
to B. montana; other Brachypteryx spp., have, however, notbeen examined. This means that Brachypteryx could be close to
Myiomela, Cinclidium or some other chats. As there is currently
no genetic information available for all these congeneric spp., wecurrently cannot conclude to what genus this species belongs.
We are collaborating with other groups of researchers who are
working on similar taxa, to be able to examine this very soon.
Meanwhile, we have proposed that a status quo be maintained

Ramki Sreenivasan

Based on the estimated timing of the splits of different populations,
it appears that all shortwing populations were a single populationthat split into two, on either side of the Palghat Gap, about 5
Ma. Since that period there has been no mixing of individuals
across the Palghat Gap. The next split was across the Shencottah
Gap where the populations split about 1.5 Ma. Interestingly,
we found that the timing of these splits correlated with ancient
global climatic events. We have always known that ice ages affectdifferent species in the northern latitudes, but there has been
little information on how tropical species from regions like theWestern Ghats are affected. The Last Glacial Maxima, or thelast Ice Age, about 20,000 years ago has been even popularly
depicted in movies (such as Ice Age) to affect several species.
During the Ice Age, while much of the northern hemisphere wasturning into ice, and sea levels were falling, the tropics faced asevere dry spell, causing the wet forests to retreat to the higher
reaches of the mountains. Our data indicate that during thattime, all the shortwing populations on different sky islands had
perhaps shrunk. It must be noted that when such glacial refugia2
are formed, the entire population of shortwings across different
sky islands could have formed a single refugia, but this did not
happen in this case. Instead, several independent refugia formedon each mountain-top. Ever since the Ice Age receded, the forests
may have expanded and shortwing populations have been
increasing since then. Conlusive and detaied studies will reveal
its larger impact in this habitat. It must be noted that this increasein population is at an evolutionary scale, in thousands of years,
while it is still possible that recent anthropogenic fragmentationand deforestation could be causing a decline in the populationof this species.

Clement Francis

On the whole, the genetic structure of the shortwing groups does
not reflect their population structure. Populations like those of
the High Wavies and the Anamalais–Kodaikanal complex appear
to have been genetically connected in the recent past, although
they are on different sky islands. This formed a single genetic
population of the ‘central sky island complex.’ All the other sky
island populations appear to be genetically isolated from one
another. The connectivity between the High-Wavies and theAnamalai-Kodaikanal population is interesting as there does
not seem to be any connectivity between these regions at the
1,500 m elevation. There is, however, connectivity between
these regions at an elevation between 1,000 m and 1,500 m.
Our previous studies, including widespread surveys, have shownthat shortwings prefer, and are found in high densities in regions
above 1500 m but they also seem to marginally utilise theregions between 1000 m and 1500 m where they are found inlow densities (Robin & Sukumar 2002; Robin et al. 2006). Thismay be the reason why the High Wavies population is geneticallyconnected to the Anamalai–Kodaikanal population.
Our study did not have a large sample size from the northof the Palghat Gap, which implies that we do not have the fineresolution for a similar story on that side of the Gap. Our future
work would thus be targeted in that direction.

Fig. 3. White-bellied Shortwing B. albiventris, Munnar, Kerala.

Joshi & Bhatt: Birds in Nainital districton the genus-level status of the bird while its species-level split
should be recognised. We have proposed, following Ali & Ripley(1987), that the northern species, i.e., found north of the Palghat
Gap, be called the Rufous-bellied Shortwing B. major, and thesouthern species, i.e., found south of the Palghat Gap, the Whitebellied Shortwing B. albiventris.

Conservation implications

The newly-split northern species of the shortwing now has amuch smaller range, and its conservation status will need to be
re-examined. One of the larger implications of the study has been
the possible impact of climate change on the evolution of thistaxon. While one cannot conclusively state what might happen
to this species in future climate change scenarios, one can draw
broad conclusions, based on the evidence that at the Last Glacial
Maxima, with a drying up of the forested habitats, the shortwing
populations had crashed. It appears that some populations likethe one in the Bababudan Hills (Karnataka), with inherently low
population densities, might be the first ones to disappear, should
we see any major impact of climate change. It is essential then,that a programme be initiated urgently, and efforts dedicated tomonitoring the species in this area in the years to come.

References

Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1987. Compact handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan
together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. 2nd ed.
Delhi: Oxford University Press.
BirdLife International. 2001. Threatened birds of Asia: The BirdLife International
Red Data Book. 2 vols. 1st ed. Collar, N. J., Andreev, A. V., Chan, S., Crosby, M.
J., Subramanya, S., & Tobias, J. A. (eds.). Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International.
Gunnell, Y., Gallagher, K., Carter, A., Widdowson, M., & Hurford, A., 2003. Denudation
history of the continental margin of western peninsular India since the early
Mesozoic–reconciling apatite fission-track data with geomorphology. Earth andPlanetary Science Letters 215: 187–201.
Hebert, P., Stoeckle, M., Zemlak, T., & Francis, C., 2004. Identification of birds throughDNA barcodes. Plos Biology 2: 1657–1663.
Myers, N., Mittermeier, R., Mittermeier, C., da Fonseca, G., & Kent, J., 2000.
Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Nature 403: 853–858.
Robin, V. V., Sinha, A., & Ramakrishnan, U., 2010. Ancient geographical gaps andpaleo-climate shape the phylogeography of an endemic bird in the sky islandsof southern India. PloS ONE 5 (10): e13321, 1–13.
Robin, V. V., & Sukumar, R., 2002. Status and habitat preference of White-bellied
Shortwing Brachypteryx major in the Western Ghats (Kerala and Tamilnadu),
India. Bird Conservation International 12 (4): 335–351.
Robin, V. V., Sukumar, R., & Thiollay, J., 2006. Status and distribution of the Whitebellied Shortwing Brachypteryx major in the Western Ghats of Karnataka andGoa, India. Bird Conservation International 16: 345–351.
Warshall, P., 1994. The Madrean Sky Island Archipelago: a planetary overview.
General Technical Report, United States Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins
CO 80526.

Birds of three different forest habitats in Nainital district(Western Himalaya), Uttarakhand, India
Kamal Joshi & Dinesh Bhatt
Joshi, K., & Bhatt, D., 2011. Birds of three different forest habitats in Nainital district (western Himalaya), Uttarakhand, India.
Indian BIRDS 7 (X): 33–37.
Kamal Joshi, School of Allied Science, Graphic Era Hill University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. Email: kamal_josi@yahoo.com(Corresponding author)
Dinesh Bhatt, Avian Diversity and Bioacoustics Lab, Department of Zoology and Environmental Science, Gurukula Kangri University, Haridwar
249404, Uttarakhand, India.
Manuscript received on 22 January 2010.

Abstract

The present study was made to estimate the avifauna in terms of species richness and diversity and guild structure in forest habitats ofNainital district of Uttarakhand (350–2450m asl; 29°N). Field studies were conducted during January 2006 to December 2007. A totalof 88, 106 and 95 species, respectively were recorded from Nainital, Bhowali and Haldwani forest habitats. A checklist of 160 avian
species was recorded in the Nainital district forest habitats. This study could provide a base line structure for further studies on species
distribution in different forest habitats in Nainital district.

Introduction

On a global scale, the Himalayan regions are rich in biodiversity
because of various factors including the diverse forest types
such as broad leaf mixed, dry deciduous, moist deciduous andconifer that are found here. Therefore, conservation of forest
areas of Himalayan region is imperative. These forests also havea large number of endemic and globally threatened species. The
avifauna of this region has been extensively documented from
Jerdon’s (1862–1864) pioneering investigation to Ali & Ripley’s(1983) authoritative Handbook. Thereafter, some other studies
have also been conducted in recent years to prepare the checklistof the avi fauna in some parts of Uttarakhand state (Sankaran
1995; Sharma et al. 2001; Sathyakumar 2003; Singh et al. 2004;
Sultana et al. 2007; Joshi & Bhatt 2009; Naithani & Bhatt 2010;
Bhatt & Joshi 2011).
In the context of avian diversity many studies have identified

the factors such as vegetation structure profile, tree diversity,
weather conditions, etc., responsible for variation in avifaunafrom habitat to habitat in India (Beehler et al. 1987; Daniels
1989; Johnsingh et al. 1986). These studies also emphasised
the value of avifaunal studies in quantifying and monitoring forest
degradation.
The history of ornithology from this hilly region is brief. The
last comprehensive field work in the area was by Hudson (1930)
who compiled a checklist. After Hudson, detailed work was carriedout by the famous Indian ornithologist Salim Ali, who published
his work in a book entitled “Indian Hill Birds” (1984). However,few studies concentrated on the avian species abundance andcommunity structure in forest habitats of the Himalayan region.
In the light of this background, we decided to prepare anavian species checklist for three different forest habitats in Nainital
district of Western Himalaya.

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Indian Birds Vol. 7 No. 2 (Publ. 15 October 2011)

Study sites

The survey was carried out in three different forest habitats in
Nainital district of Uttarakhand for a period of two years during
January 2006 to December 2007 (Fig. 1. Table 1). The Nainital
district occupies the southern portion of the Kumaun division(28°44’N — 30°49’N, 78°45’E — 81°01’E). Geographically Nainital
district is heterogeneous; its northern portion consists of hills andthe southern portion of the alluvial plain called Bhabar (Valdia &Bartarya 1980).
The study site is dominated by four species of oak: rainj
Quarcus lannginosa, banj Q. inacana, karkshul Q. semicarpifolia,
and tilonj Q. dilatala, Himalayan cypress Cupresus torulosa anddeodar Cedrus deodarus. Among oaks, banj is most common.
The forest habitat of Bhowali is rich in chir pine Pinus roxburghii
and banj oak and the shrub, lantana Lantana camarana is wide
spread in this area.
Immediately at the foot of the Nainital hills is the Bhabar belt
(Haldwani). This belt contains deciduous forest. The Haldwani
forest area is dominant with valuable trees such as sal Shorea
robusta, sain Terminalia tomrntosa and haldu Adive cordifolia,
dhauri Lagerstroemia parviflora, shisham Dalbergia sissoo andkhair Acacia catechu. Lantana is widely spread here too.

Methods

The present study was carried out in three forest habitats of Nainital
district namely (A) Nainital, (B) Bhowali, and (C) Haldwani along
different sections of the elevational gradient. Forest habitat of thestudy areas consisted of oak and deodar (Nainital), pine–oak mix(Bhowali) and sal–khair mix (Haldwani).

Field studies were conducted for two years during January
2006 to December 2007 using field binoculars (7x50) and GPS(e-trex Vista). Fixed width line-transect count method (Verner
1985) was used for measuring bird abundance. The methodof bird census used in the various habitats was the same. We
recorded all birds seen within 50 m on each side of the transect
line. Observations on birds in each line transect was made bywalking on foot. Transect lines were not necessarily straight; at
Bhowali and Nainital forest there were a lot of uphill and downhill
tracts. However, transects did not criss-cross one another.
At each study area three transects of one km. each were laidin each habitat and each transect was visited monthly. The totaltransects laid were 108 [12 months x 3 transects per forest types
x 3 study areas = 108]. The same transects were revisited thefollowing year too.
The time of sampling was between 0730–1030 hrs and
0500–0800 hrs in the mornings and 1600–1800 hrs during
winter and summer, respectively. Sampling was avoided during
rainy days. The identification of birds in the field was based on
Grimmett et al. (1998).

Data analysis

Bird species diversity was measured using Shannon’s index (H`)
(MacArthur & MacArthur 1961). The average of monthly meanabundance of both the years was accounted for calculating totalabundance of the species. This value was then used to measure
BSD and BSR during the study.
To understand the similarity among the species compositionin different forest types Sorensen’s
quantitative index (Magurran 1988)
was used. Species can be categorised
as rare depending on the criteria used
to define rarity. Species that had lessthan five observations per sighting werecategorised as rare (Gaston 1994;
Maguran 1988).
To determine the guild structure
foraging birds were observed in thefield. The frequency of foraging on agiven foraging substrate, and wheneverpossible, types of food obtained wereascertained for each species on the basisof at least ten observations per species.
Species were accordingly classified
into guilds of insectivores, frugivores,
granivores, carnivores, or nectarivores.

Results

Fig.1. Study location map of Nainital district, western Himalaya, India.

160 bird species belonging to 24 families
were recorded in forest habitats (seeAppendix). Among these, maximum
numbers of species 63 (39.24%) were
found in site B (Bhowali forest) andminimum 42 (26.26%) at site A (Nainital
forest). Site C (Haldwani forest) supported
55 (34.17%) species. Among the 24
families, Muscicapidae (32.09%) was
the most represented followed by Picidae(18.20%), Phasianidae (7.31%), andAccipitridae (4.82%). Table 2 indicates the
species diversity indices (BSR and BSD).

Joshi & Bhatt: Birds in Nainital district

The largest number of rare species (19.31%) were found in siteA, while the least number of rare species (12.26%) in site B and(13.68%) site C respectively. Maximum similarities of avian species
were observed between oak and pine forests (Site A and Site B);
followed by pine and sal forests (Site B and Site C) (Table 3). Studyof the guild structure revealed that insectivores dominated in theforest types, followed by omnivores. The percentage of carnivores,
granivores, frugivores, and nectarivores among forest type habitats(Tables 4, 5), indicate differential availability of the resources in the
habitat studied.

Discussion & conclusion

The results indicate that pine mixed forest has high number of
unique species as compared to other forests. This shows that pine
mixed forest has its own bird community. According to Thiollay
et al. (1988), each forest type has its own species composition.
Similarity indices indicate the similarity between species
associated with vegetation types. The distribution and abundanceof many bird species are determined by the configuration andcomposition of the vegetation that comprises a major elementof their habitat (Cody 1985; Morrison 1992; Block & Brennan
1993). It is interesting to know that the abundance of Red Jungle
fowl Gallus gallus was good in site C forest showing less humaninteraction/ poaching in this area.
In this study it was found that insectivore species were
dominant in forest habitats, indicating rich abundance and easy
availability of insects. The variation in bird community, consistent
with the distribution of food resources was also reported by
Lefebvre & Poulin (1997). Some studies conducted in the Indian
Subcontinent (Johnsingh et al. 1994; Kropil 1996; Sharma
2001; Singh 2004) have also shown that the insectivore guild isdominant in forest habitats. We also found that species diversity

fluctuated across seasons among forest types and maximum
diversity was found in spring/summer season at mid-elevation
forest (Bhowali). Very few studies have been conducted in thisarea and our knowledge of the avifauna is virtually unknown.
Hudson (1930), documented 124 bird species in Nainital (sevenhills); Briggs (1931) documented 83 avian species in Ranikhet
forest; Tak (1995) documented 127, 94, and 82 species ofbirds from Nainital, Almora, and Pithoragarh districts, and Sultana(1997) documented 182, 81, and 162 bird species from Almora,
Nainital, and Pithoragarh respectively.
The difference observed in species diversity among study
areas could be due to elevation and vegetation differences
associated with elevation. For example, the Bhowali forest is mixed(e.g. P. roxburghii, Q. leucotrichophora along with some Ficus),
providing better food resources for bird communities comparedto Nainital or Haldwani forests where mostly C. deodara and S.
robusta trees predominate, respectively. Probably due to thishabitat characteristic the Bhowali forest (mid-elevation) supports
more avian species compared to low and high elevation forest.
Similarity, the positive relationship between habitat characteristics
and BSD has been demonstrated by a number of studies (Wines
1989; Wilson & Comet 1996; Raman et al. 2005; Vijayan &Gokula 2006). It has also been suggested that species similarity
or turnover along elevation is the consequence of vegetation types
and climatic conditions (Terborgh 1977; Terborgh & Weske 1975;
Rehbek 1995, 1997).

Acknowledgements

Financial assistance from UGC-SAP grant is gratefully acknowledged.

References

Ali, S., 1981. The Himalaya in Indian Ornithology. Him. Asp. Change. ed. Lall &Moddie.16-31.
Beehler, B. C., Krishna Raju, K. S. R., & Shahid, A., 1987. Avian use of man
disturbed forest habitats in the Eastern Ghats, India. Ibis. 129: 197-211.
Table 1. Showing the Vegetation zone and elevation sections of the study areas
Bhatt, D., & Joshi, K., 2011. Bird assemblages in natural and urbanized
Study area Vegetation zone Approximate Elevation Climate Zone Annual mean temp. (ºC) habitats along elevational gradient in Nainital district (Western Himalaya)of Uttarakhand state, India. Curr. Zool. 57 (3): 318-329.
Nainital Oak–Conifer forest
1900–2450 m asl
Temperate
14.73
Block, M. W., & Brennan, L. A., 1993. The habitat concept in ornithology.
Bhowali
Pine–Oak mixed
1450–1700 m asl
Subtropical
16.03
Current Ornithology. 11: 35-91.
Haldwani Broad leaf mixed
350–500 m asl
Tropical
23.45
Briggs, F. S. 1931. Birds observed in the neighbourhood of Ranikhet. J.
Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 34: 1072-1079.
Cody, M. L., 1985. Habitat selection in birds. New York: Academic Press.
Table 2. Showing the comparative diversity indices of species in forest habitat along
Daniels, R. J. R., 1989 A conservation strategy for the birds of the Uttara
elevational gradient (2006-2007)
Kannada district. Phd. Thesis, Bangalore: Indian institute of science.
Site A
Site B
Site C
Gaston, K. J., 1994. Rarity, population and community biology. Series –(Nainital forest) (Bhowali Forest)(Haldwani forest)
13 London: Chapman & Hall.
Dominant Tree species
Deodar, Oak
Pine, Oak
Khair, Sal
Grimmett, R. Inskipp, C. Inskipp, T., 1998. Birds of the Indian subcontinent.
New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Shannon’s diversity index (H’)
3.72
3.86
3.77
Hudson, C. 1930. A list of some birds of the seven hills of Nainital, U.P. J.
Species richness (R)
10.21
11.67
10.43
Bombay. Nat. Hist. Soc. 34 : 821-827.
Exclusive species in forest habitat
26
39
34
Jerdon, T. C., 1862-64. Birds of India, vol. 2 (3 parts). Culcutta.
Rare species (n<5)
17
13
13
Joshi, K., & Bhatt, D., 2009. Avian species distribution in Pine forest andSpecies individuals (N)
5029
8064
8170
Urban habitat of Almora, Uttarakhand, India. Berkut. 18: 16-21.
Joshua, J. & John Singh, A. T. J., 1986. Observation on birds on Mundathurai
Table 3. Matrix of number of species in common (upper right) and percentage similarity
Plateau, Tamilnadu. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 75: 1028-1035.
(Sorensen’s index) (lower left)
Joshua, J., & John Singh, A. T. J., 1994. Avifauna in three vegetation types
for birds of different study areason Munduthurai Plateau. Trop. Ecol. 10:323-335.
Study areas forest
Site A
Site B
Site C
Kropil, R., 1996. Structure of the breeding bird assemblage of the firbreech primeval forest in the west Carpathians (Badin natural reserve).
A (Nainital)
062 (no. of common species) 40 (no. of common species)
Folia Zoologica. 45: 311-324.
B (Bhowali)
49 (% similarity)055 (no. of common species)
Kunte, K., Jogleker, A., Utkarsh, G. & Pramod, P., 1999. Patterns of butterfly,
C (Haldwani)
31 (% similarity)
43 (% similarity)0bird and tree diversity in the Western Ghats. Curr. Sci. 77: 577-586.
Lefebvre, G. & Poulin, B., 1997. Bird communities in Panamanian black
Table 4. Showing the species feeding guilds in forest habitat at different study sites (2006–2007)
mangrove: potential effects of physical and biotic factor. J. Tropic. Ecol.
Main feeding guilds Sub feeding guilds
Nainital
Bhowali
Haldwani
13: 97-113.
Insectivore
6
58 (65.90%)
58 (54.71 %)
51 (53.68 %)MacArthur, R.H. & MacArthur, J., 1961. On bird species diversity. Ecology.
Omnivore2
9 (10.22 %)
13 (12.26 %)
14 (14.73 %)42: 594-598.
Frugivore2
7 (7.95 %)
9 (8.49 %)
14 (14.73 %)Magurran, A.E., 1988. Measuring Biological Diversity. Australia: Blackwell
Carnivore
4
6 (6.81 %)
8 (7.54 %)
7 (7.36 %)publishing.
Morrison, M.L. 1992. Bird abundance in forests managed for timber andGranivore2
6 (6.81 %)
15 (14.15 %)
7 (7.36 %)wildlife resources. Biol. Conserv. 60: 127-134.
Nectarivore
22 (2.27 %)
3 (2.83 %)
2 (2.10 %)

35

36

Indian Birds Vol. 7 No. 2 (Publ. 15 October 2011)

Table 5. Showing the species sub feeding guilds in forest habitat
among different study sites (2005–2006)
Main- & sub-feeding guilds
Site A
Site B
Site C(Nainital)(Bhowali)(Haldwani)
Insectivore
Aerial insectivore
22 (25%)20 (18.86%)
19 (20%)
Bark gleaning insectivore
9 (10.22%)
7 (6.60%)
12 (12.63%)
Foliage gleaning insectivore
6 (6.81%)
6 (5.66%)
2 (2.10%)
Sallying insectivore
9 (10.22%)
10 (9.43%)
9 (9.47%)
Under-storey insectivore
8 (9.09%)9 (8.49%)
5 (5.26%)
Grass land insectivore
4 (4.54%)
6 (5.66%)
4 (4.21%)
Omnivore
Terrestrial omnivore
4 (4.54%)
7 (6.60%)
6 (6.31%)
Arboreal terrestrial omnivore
5 (5.68%)
6 (5.66%)
8 (8.42%)
Granivore
Granivore seed eater
4 (4.54%)
9 (8.49%)
4 (4.21%)
Frugivore granivore
2 (2.27%)
6 (5.66%)
3 (3.15%)
insectivore seed eater
Frugivore
Frugivore seed eater
4 (4.54%)
6 (5.66%)
10 (10.52%)
Frugivore insectivore
3 (3.40%)
3 (2.83%)
4 (4.21%)
Carnivore
Sallying carnivore
1 (1.13%)4 (3.77%)
4 (4.21%)
Arboreal terrestrial carnivore
2 (2.27%)
1 (0.94%)
1 (1.05%)
Terrestrial carnivore
1 (1.13%)
3 (2.83%)
1 (1.05%)
Wading carnivore
2 (2.27%)0
1 (1.05%)
Nectarivore
Nectarivore insectivore
1 (1.13%)1 (0.94%)
1 (1.05%)
Nectarivore
1 (1.13%)
2 (1.88%)
1 (1.05%)
Naithani, A., & Bhatt, D., 2010. A checklist of bird of Pauri district, Uttarakhand, India.
Indian Birds 6: 153-157.
Pramod, P. Joshi, N.V., Ghate, U. & Gadgil, M., 1997. On the hospitability of Western
Ghats Habitats for bird communities. Curr. Sci. 73: 122- 127.
Price, T. D., 1979. The seasonality and occurrence of birds in the Eastern Ghats ofAndhra Pradesh. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 76: 379-422.
Raman, T. R. S., Joshi, N. V. & Sukumar, R., 2005. Tropical rainforest bird community

Appendix

SpeciesSpecies recorded during the present study (2006–2007)
Species
Accipitridae
Black-shouldered Kite Elanus caeruleus
Black Kite Milvus migransEgyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus
Indian White-backed Vulture Gyps bengalensis
Himalayan Griffon G. himalayensis
Besra Sparrowhawk*Accipiter virgatus
Common Buzzard Buteo buteo
Booted Eagle* Hieraaetus pennatus
Phasianidae
Black Francolin Francolinus francolinus
Common Quail Coturnix coturnix
Koklass Pheasant Pucrasia macrolopha
Red Junglefowl Gallus gallus
Kaleej Pheasant Lophura leucomelanos
Cheer Pheasant (* Vocal)* Catreus wallichii*
Indian Peafowl Pavo cristatus
Columbidae
Blue Rock Pigeon Columba livia
Oriental Turtle-Dove Streptopelia orientalis
Spotted Dove S. Chinensis
Eurasian Collared-Dove S. decaocto
Emerald Dove* Chalcophaps indica
Psittacidae
Alexandrine Parakeet Psittacula eupatria
Rose-ringed Parakeet P. krameri
Slaty-headed Parakeet P. himalayana
Plum-headed Parakeet P. cyanocephalastructure in relation to altitude, tree species composititon and null models in theWestern Ghats, India. J. Bombay Nat. His. Soc. 102: 145-157.
Rahbek, C., 1995. The elevational gradient of species richness: a uniform pattern?
Ecography 18: 200-205.
Rahbek, C., 1997. The relationship among area, elevation and regional species
richness in Neotropical birds. Am. Nat. 149: 875-902.
Sankaran, R., 1995. Ornithological survey of Nanda Devi National Park, India. Forktail
10: 115-128.
Sathyakumar, S., 2003. Conservation status of mammals and birds in Nanda Devi
National park: an assessment of changes over two decades.pp. 1-14. In:
Biodiversity monitoring expedition Nanda Devi 2003. A report.
Singh, A. P., 2000. Birds of lower Garhwal Himalayas Dehradun valley and neighboring
hills. Forktail. 16: 101-123.
Singh, S., & Bhatt, D., 2004. Avian diversity and vegetational association in four districtlandscape elements in Bishnpur district and adjoining area of Manipur. PhD.
Dissertation. Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India: Gurukul Kangri University.
Sharma, R. K., 2001. Avian diversity and vegetation association in four distinct
habitat types in Haridwar. Ph.D. theses. Gurukul Kangri University Haridwar,
Uttarakhand.
Sultana, A & Khan, J. A., 2000. Birds of Oak forest in the Kumaun Himalaya, Uttar
Pradesh, India. Fork tail. 16: 131-146.
Sultana, A., Hussain, M. S., & khan, J.A., 2007. Bird communities of the proposed
Naina and Pindari Wildlife Sanctuaries in Kumaun Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India.
J. Bomby Nat. Hist. Soc. 104: 19-29.
Tak, P. C. 1995. Aves. Pp 169-200 in Director, ed. Himalayan ecosystem series:
fauna of western Himalaya, Part I, Uttar Pradesh. Calcutta: Zoological Surveyof India.
Terborgh. J., 1977. Bird species diversity on an Andean elevational gradient. Ecology
58: 1007-1019.
Terborgh, J., Weske, J. S., 1975. The role of competition in the distribution of Andean
birds. Ecology 56: 562-576.
Thiolly, J. M. & Meyburg, B. U., 1988. Forest fragmentation and the conservation of
raptors: a survey on the island of Java. Biol. Con. 44: 229-250.
Verner, J., 1985. Assessment of counting technique. Curr. Ornithol. 2: 247- 463.
Vijayan, L. & Gokula, V., 2006. Human impacts on forest birds communities in
the Western Ghats, India. Acta Zool. Sinica 52: 692-696.
Wines, J. A., 1989. Ecology of Bird Communities. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Wilson, M. F. & Comet, T. A., 1996. Bird communities of Northern forest patterns ofdiversity and abundance. Condor 98: 337-349

Feeding guild Status

Distribution at
study sites

Carnivore
Carnivore
Carnivore
Carnivore
Carnivore
Carnivore
Carnivore
Carnivore

r
r
r
r
r
r
wv
wv

H
N; B; H
H
N; B
N
B
N; B
H

Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore

e
r
am
r
am
r
r

B
B; H
N
H
B; N
N
H

Granivore
Granivore
Granivore
Granivore
Granivore

r
r
r
r
r

H; B; N
N; B
B; H
H
B

Frugivore
Frugivore
Frugivore
Frugivore

r
r
r
r

H
H; B
N; B
B

Cuculidae
Pied Crested Cuckoo Clamator jacobinus
Indian Cuckoo Cuculus micropterus
Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus
Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopacea
Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis
Lesser Coucal Centropus bengalensis
Capitonidae
Great Barbet Megalaima virens
Brown-headed Barbet* M. zeylanica
Lineated Barbet* M. lineata
Blue-throated Barbet M. asiatica
Coppersmith Barbet* M. haemacephala
PicidaeSpeckled Piculet Picumnus innominatus
Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker
Dendrocopos nanus
Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker
D. canicapillus
Brown-fronted Pied Woodpecker D. auriceps
Fulvous-breasted Pied Woodpecker D. macei
Rufous-bellied Pied Woodpecker
D. hyperythrus
Himalayan Pied Woodpecker D. himalayensis
Small Yellow-naped Woodpecker
Picus chlorolophus
Little Scaly-bellied Green Woodpecker*
P. xanthopygaeus
Large Scaly-bellied Green Woodpecker
P. squamatus
Black-naped Green Woodpecker P. canus

Feeding guild Status

Distribution at
study sites

Omnivore
Omnivore
Omnivore
Omnivore
Omnivore
Omnivore

sv
r
r
r
r
r

H
H –B; NH
H; B
H
H

Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore

r
r
r
r
r

N; B
B
B
B; H
H

Insectivorer

N

Insectivore

r/am

B; N

Insectivorer

N

Insectivore
Insectivore

r
R

B
B

Insectivore

R

B; H

Insectivore

R

H; B

Insectivorer

N

Insectivore

r/am

B

Insectivore

r

N; B

Insectivore

r

B; H

Joshi & Bhatt: Birds in Nainital district

Species
Himalayan Golden-backed Woodpecker
Dinopium shorii
Common Golden-backed Woodpecker*
D. javanense
Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker
D. benghalense
Greater Golden-backed Woodpecker
Chrysocolaptes lucidus
Great Slaty Woodpecker* Mulleripicus
pulverulentus
Alaudidae
Eurasian Skylark Alauda arvensis
Eastern Skylark A. gulgula
Motacillidae
White Wagtail Motacilla alba
Grey Wagtail M. cinerea
Eurasian Tree Pipit Anthus trivialis
Upland Pipit A. sylvanus
Campephagidae
Large Cuckoo-Shrike Coracina macei
Bar-bellied Cuckoo-Shrike C. striata
Small Minivet Pericrocotus cinnamomeus
Long-tailed Minivet P. ethologus
Scarlet Minivet P. flammeus
Pied Flycatcher-Shrike Hemipus picatus
Common Woodshrike
Tephrodornis pondicerianus
Pycnonotidae
Red-whiskered Bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus
Himalayan Bulbul P. leucogenys
Red-vented Bulbul P. caferBlack Bulbul Hypsipetes leucocephalus
Muscicapidae
Blue-headed Rock-ThrushMonticola cinclorhynchus
Blue Whistling-Thrush Myophonus caeruleus
Grey-winged Blackbird Turdus boulboul
Himalayan Rubythroat * Luscinia pectoralis
Oriental Magpie-Robin Copsychus saularis
Indian Robin Saxicoloides fulicata
White-capped Redstart
Chaimarrornis leucocephalus
Plumbeous Redstart Rhyacornis fuliginosus
Black-backed Forktail Enicurus immaculatus
Common Stonechat Saxicola torquata
Pied Bushchat S. caprata
Grey Bushchat S. ferrea
Indian Chat Cercomela fusca
White-throated Laughingthrush
Garrulax albogularis
White-crested Laughingthrush G. leucolophus
Streaked Laughingthrush G. lineatus
Rusty-cheeked Scimitar-Babbler
Pomatorhinus erythrogenys
Common Babbler Turdoides caudatus
Striated Babbler T. earlei
Jungle Babbler T. striatus
Rufous Sibia Heterophasia capistrata
Yellow-naped Yuhnia Yuhina flavicollis
Brown Prinia Prinia crinigera
Black-throated Prinia P. atrogularis
Jungle Prinia P. sylvatica
Ashy Prinia P. socialis
Plain Prinia P. inornata
Blanford’s Bush-Warbler Cettia pallidipes
Aberrant Bush-Warbler C. flavolivacea
Yellow-bellied Bush-Warbler * C. acanthizoides
Grey-sided Bush-Warbler C. brunnifrons
Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius
Tickell’s Leaf-Warbler Phylloscopus affinis
Orange-barred Leaf-Warbler P. pulcher
Grey-faced Leaf-Warbler P. maculipennis
Lemon-rumped Leaf-Warbler P. chloronotus

Feeding guild Status

Distribution at
study sites

Insectivore

r

B; N

Insectivore

sv

H; B

Insectivore

r

N; B

Insectivorer

B

Insectivorer

B

Granivore
Granivore

wv
wv

H
H

Insectivore
Insectivore
Granivore
Granivore

wv
wv
r
r

H; B
H; B
H
H

Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore

r
wv
wv
wv
r
r/am

B; H
H; B
H; B
N
B; N
B; N

Omnivore

r/am

H; B

Frugivore
Frugivore
Frugivore
Frugivore

r
r
r
am

H
H; B; N
H; B; N
N; B

Insectivore

wv

B

Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore

r/am
r/am
r/am
sv
r

H; B; N
N
B
H
H

Insectivore

wv

N; B

Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore

wv
r
wv
wv
wv
r/am

B
B
H
H; B
H
H

Insectivore

sv

N

Insectivore
Insectivore

wv
wv

B
B; N

Insectivore

wv

B

Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore

r
r/am
sv
r/am
r
r/am
r
r/am
sv
r
sv
r
r
wv
r/am
r
wv
r
r

H
N; B
H
N
N
B
B
H
H
H
H
B
N; B
N; B
H
N
B
B
B; N

Species
Greenish Leaf-Warbler P. trochiloides
Gold-spectacled Flycatcher-Warbler
Seicercus burkii
Grey-headed Flycatcher-Warbler
S. xanthoschistos
Common Lesser Whitethroat * Sylvia curruca
Asian Brown Flycatcher Muscicapa dauurica
Red-throated Flycatcher Ficedula parva
Little Pied Flycatcher F. westermanni
Verditer Flycatcher Eumyias thalassina
Small Niltava Niltava macgrigoriae
Rufous-bellied Niltava N. sundara
Blue-throated Flycatcher *Cyornis rubeculoides
Grey-head Flycatcher Culicicapa ceylonensis
Asian Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone paradisi
Yellow-bellied Fantail Rhipidura hypoxantha
White-throated Fantail R. albicollis
White-browed Fantail R. aureola
ParidaeRufous-bellied Crested Tit* Parus rubidiventris
Spot-winged Crested Tit P. melanolophus
Brown Crested Tit P. dichrous
Great Tit P. major
Green-backed Tit P. monticolus
Black-lored Yellow Tit P. xenthogenys
Black-spotted Yellow Tit P. spilonotus
Sittidae
Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch Sitta castanea
Certhiidae
Eurasian Tree-Creeper Certhia familiaris
Dicaeidae
Thick-billed Flowerpecker Dicaeum agile
Fire-breasted Flowerpecker D. ignipectus
Nectariniidae
Purple Sunbird Nectarinia asiatica
Crimson Sunbird Aethopyga siparaja
Fringillidae
Common Rosefinch Carpodacus erythrinus
Passeridae
Cinnamon Tree Sparrow Passer rutilans
Chestnut-shouldered Petronia
Petronia xanthocollis
Baya Weaver Ploceus philippinus
Sturnidae
Chestnut-tailed Starling Sturnus malabarica
Brahminy Starling S. pagodarum
Asian Pied Starling S. contra
Common Myna Acridotheres tristis
Jungle Myna A. fuscus
Oriolidae
Indian Oriole Oriolus kundoo
Black-headed Oriole O. xanthornus
Common Iora Aegithina tiphia
Dicruridae
Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus
Spangled Drongo D. hottentottus
CorvidaeEurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius
Black-headed Jay G. lanceolatus
Yellow-billed Blue Magpie Urocissa flavirostris
Red-billed Blue Magpie U. erythrorhyncha
Indian Treepie Dendrocitta vagabunda
Grey Treepie D. formosae
House Crow Corvus splendens
Jungle Crow C. macrorhynchos
Common Raven C. corax

Feeding guild Status

Distribution at
study sites

Insectivorer

N

Insectivorer

N

Insectivore

r

N; B

Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore

r
sv
r/am
r
r
r
r/am

B
B
N; B
H; B
N; B; H
B
B

Insectivore

r/am

N

Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore

r
wv
r
r
r

N; B; H
B
N
H; B
N; B

Omnivore
Omnivore
Omnivore
Omnivore
Omnivore
Omnivore
Omnivore

r
r
r
r
r
r
r

N
N
B; N
N
N
N; B
N; B; H

Insectivorer

N

Insectivore

r

N; B

Insectivore
Insectivore

r
r

N
H

Nectarivore
Nectarivore

am
r

N
B; H

Granivore

r/am

H

Insectivorer

H

InsectivorerN

Granivorer

B; N

Insectivore
Insectivore
Insectivore
Omnivore
Insectivore

am
am
r
r
r

H; B; NH
H; B
H
H

Frugivore
Frugivore
Omnivore

r
r
r

H; B
H
H

Insectivore
Insectivore

r
r

H; B
N

Frugivore
Omnivore
Frugivore
Frugivore
Frugivore
Frugivore
Frugivore
Omnivore
Frugivore

r
r
r
r
r
r
r
r
r

B; H
H; B; NNN
N
H –B; NAL –B; N
N; B
N; B

Abbreviations: ai = aerial insectivore, bgi = bark-gleaning insectivore, fgi = foliage-gleaning
insectivore, si = sallying insectivore, usi = under-storey insectivore, gli = grassland insectivore,
to = terrestrial omnivore, ato = arboreal terrestrial omnivore, gse = granivore seedeater, fgse =frugivore granivore insectivore seedeater, fse = frugivore seedeater, fi = frugivore insectivore, sc= sallying carnivore, atc = arboreal terrestrial carnivore, tc = terrestrial carnivore, wc = wading
carnivore, ni = nectarivore insectivore, n = nectarivore, r = resident, am = altitudinal migratory, sv= summer visitor, wv = winter visitor, B= Bhawali, H= Haldwani, N= Nainital.

37

38

Indian Birds Vol. 7 No. 2 (Publ. 15 October 2011)

Distribution, and potential breeding records,of Lesser- Leptoptilos javanicus, and GreaterL. dubius Adjutant-Stork in Bihar, India
D. N. Choudhary, Jainandan Mandal & Rahul Rohitashwa

Fig. 1. Greater Adjutant-Stork L. dubius. Photo: D. N. Choudhary

Choudhary, D. N., Mandal, J., & Rohitashwa, R., 2011. Distribution, and potential breeding records,of Lesser- Leptoptilos javanicus and Greater- L. dubius Adjutant-Stork in Bihar, India. Indian BIRDS 7 (2): 38–40.
D. N. Choudhary, Post-Graduate Department of Zoology, P. N. College, Parsa (Saran), Bihar 841219, India.
Jainandan Mandal, Senior Activist, Mandar Nature Club, Bhagalpur, Bihar, India.
Rahul Rohitashwa, Mandar Nature Club, Bhagalpur, Bihar, India.
Manuscript received on 5 November 2009.

Introduction

There are about 2,000 species of birds found in the Indian
Subcontinent (Ali & Ripley 1987) including the migrants thatcome during winter to this part of the world. Out of 1,200 species
found in India around 22% are totally dependent on wetlands(BirdLife International 2007). One such wetland-dependentgroup, whose population is declining alarmingly, comprises storks(Order Ciconiiformes) (Ishtiaq 2001).
There are 19 species of storks found in the world of which 15
are regionally threatened. Tropical Asia and Africa have the largest
concentrations of storks (Ishtiaq 2001).
Since 2004 we have been studying the breeding and nesting
behavior of a few stork species, mainly Asian Openbill-Stork
Anastomus oscitans, Lesser- Leptoptilos javanicus, and GreaterL. dubius Adjutant-Storks, Black-necked Stork Ephippiorhynchus
asiaticus, and Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala in different
parts of Bihar.
Besides Asian Openbill-Stork the other four species, whichhave been categorised as Threatened, are breeding successfully
in different districts of Bihar, especially in the northern and easternparts of the state, and their numbers are significantly increasing(Choudhary et al. 2008; Mishra et al. 2010; Choudhary et al.
2010). In this note, we provide our observations on breeding
Lesser- and Greater- Adjutant-Storks in new locations.

This was the first time that Asian Openbill-Storks bred at this site.
Presently both the species are breeding together on these trees.
Koabari village is located on the Thankurganj–Kishanganj
road, and River Mahananda flows c. 500 m away from this village.
This river is most likely the major source of food and water forboth Asian Openbill-Stork and Lesser Adjutant-Stork.
About 150 m away from this nesting site stands another big
semal tree, on the same side of the road, completely covered with
Indian flying fox Pteropus giganteus. According to the villagers
more than 1,000 have been roosting on this tree since a decadeor more. Asian Openbill-Storks have also occupied this tree, andwe recorded three nests, containing three grown-up chicks each,in October 2008. Roosting flying foxes surrounded all the threenests, but there was apparently no disturbance to the nesting
birds. In July 2009 we recorded 21 nests of Asian Openbill-Storkon the same tree. Asian Openbill-Storks start to assemble here to
breed after the second week of May, where as Lesser AdjutantStorks commence building nests in August.
Dr Lakshmi Narayan Sharma, a popular Ayurveda doctor ofthis region, owned this tree, and he was ready to sell it. Our
regular visits to study the birds convinced him and his family
members not to do so. Gradually they began protecting thenesting birds. Mr Gopal Choudhary, a local press reporter andresident of this village (Koabari) is enthusiastic to save these

Breeding of Lesser Adjutant-Stork

D. N. Choudhary

According to Ali & Ripley (1987) the Lesser Adjutant-Stork breeds
only in Sri Lanka, India (Kerala, Tamil Nadu, parts of the Malabar
Coast, and Assam), and Bangladesh. Subramanya (1996), in
his detailed work on heronries in India, reported the nesting ofLesser Adjutant-Stork at Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, Orissa.
This is the only documented breeding site outside north-eastern
India. The Lesser Adjutant-Stork has been declared Vulnerable.
Its global population is estimated at about 5,000 birds, and the
population of this species in Assam is believed to exceed 2,000
individuals (BirdLife International 2007).
However, 31 nests in 2004, 33 in 2005, and 38 in 2006 in
Kishanganj- and Katihar- districts of northern Bihar have alreadybeen reported by Choudhary et al. (2006), and Mishra et al.,(2005) recorded about 42 nests in the Koshi region of northern
Bihar. In Kishanganj district we found nine nests in 2006 and 14
in 2008. In 2008, the storks nested on banyan Ficus bengalensis
and semal Salmalia malabarica trees at Koabari village under
Taiyabpur railway station (Fig. 2). In 2008 many nests of Asian
Openbill-Stork surrounded the two nests of Lesser Adjutant-Stork.

Fig. 2. Lesser Adjutant-Stork L. javanicus on nest with juvenile.

39

Choudhary et al.: Adjutant-Stork in Bihar

nesting birds. His articles favouring their conservation havecreated a positive awareness among the villagers and local
community. The awareness for protecting the birds is one of themain reasons for letting them breed undisturbed. The numberof nesting Lesser Adjutant-Storks, and Asian Openbill-Storks aregradually increasing in this area.
Lesser Adjutant-Storks are regularly seen in pairs or in a flockof five–seven, in cultivated fields and nearby wetlands, in otherparts of the district. We regularly communicate with villagers andremain alert for new nesting records in other areas. Recently
we received some reports about their nesting in villages along
the Indo–Nepal border, in the Kishanganj-, and Araria- districtsof Bihar. We plan to survey these areas in the near future. The
numbers of nests of Lesser Adjutant-Storks have increased at
Dandkhora (10 in 2008), and Karhagola (8 in 2008) in Katihar
district, in comparison to the previous report of Choudhary et al.
(2006).

Breeding of Greater Adjutant-Stork

1

Area covered by floodwaters of a river.

Additional observations regarding Greater AdjutantStork•

Greater Adjutant-Storks generally prefers to build their nests
on large, widely-branched trees with thin foliage cover.
•Though nesting sites were located within the village, they
suffered minimum human disturbances.
•
The tributary of River Koshi, and the wetlands surrounding
the villages are the main sources of food and water forGreater Adjutant-Storks.
•
All the nests were looking like spherical baskets made ofplant twigs of c. 1–1.5 m diameter at the treetop.
•
Both the parent birds alternately shared in incubation.
•
After the eggs hatched, the parents were observed guarding
the chicks alternately, during which time they also rearrange
the nesting materials, nurse the chicks by preening andshading by spreading their opened wings above the chicks.
•
Juvenile birds (90–100 days old) were observed leaping into
the air, from the nest floor, flapping their wings vigorously.
•
Sometimes the juveniles took short flights, and returned totheir nest, just like those of Asian Openbill-Stork and Lesser
Adjutant-Stork.
•
Parents fed their young more actively during the middle ofthe day.
•
We found that the breeding period of Greater Adjutant-Storks
in Bihar is between October and March. Nest construction
begins before mid-October, and the chicks fledge between
March and April.
Choudhary & Ghosh (2004) first reported Greater AdjutantStork from the wetlands of Bihar, i.e., near Kursella, Naugachia,
Bihpur, and Pasraha, while Choudhary et al. (2004) reported
it from Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary in Bhagalpur,

D. N. Choudhary

The Greater Adjutant-Stork (Fig. 1) has been categorised as
Endangered by BirdLife International (2007). According to IUCN
(2007) the global population of this species may be 650–800
birds. At the beginning of the Twentieth Century the Greater
Adjutant-Stork was found often in large numbers in South andSouth-East Asia, from Pakistan through northern India, Nepal,
Bangladesh, Vietnam, and the Kingdom of Cambodia. But now
their global numbers have decreased alarmingly. This massive
decline is due to the effects of pollutants, and the continuous
reduction in the availability of nesting-, and the quality of, feedingsites (Islam & Rahmani 2002).
IUCN (2007) reports that there are only two potential
breeding sites in the world: Assam (India), and Cambodia. Indianrecords are from the Brahmaputra and Gangetic plains (Singha
2001; Choudhury 2007, 2009). Choudhary (2009) reported that
313 Greater Adjutant-Storks were recorded by a local birdwatcher,
Mr Lakhan Tron, near Deepor beel, Guwahati (Assam), in January
2008. However, a larger congregation of 446 birds was recordedby Choudhary (2009) at the Paschim Boragaon dumping groundin Guwahati in September 2008.
We recorded 13 live nests of Greater Adjutant-Storks with
their chicks for the first time in December 2006 at two diara1
villages under Naugachia block in Bhagalpur district. These two
diara villages are Kashimpur and Ashramtola surrounded bymany smaller and larger wetlands but mainly affected by River
Koshi and its tributary. The Greater Adjutant-Stork was also
found foraging and roosting in these wetlands and tributaries.
The distance between these two villages is about two kilometers.
Six nests were recorded at Kashimpur on a big peepal tree F.
religiosa located adjacent to this village, whereas seven nests
were recorded at Ashramtola on a pakar tree F. virens. In boththe sites the nests were located at the top of the tree, which has
thin foliage covering. Both the trees were very large, and widely
branched.
One of us (JM) observed the nesting for the first time andwas the basis for a more detailed survey that resulted in theinformation provided above.
The birds were provisioning chicks at the end of the third
week of March 2007. Out of 13 nests, eight (four each in
Kashimpur and Ashramtola) contained two chicks each, whereas
five nests (two in Kashimpur and three in Ashramtola) contained
three chicks each (Fig. 3). However, two dead chicks were found

fallen on the ground in Kashimpur in the first week of April 2007.
In all, the birds successfully raised 29 chicks, i.e., 2.2 chicks per
breeding pair. When we observed them, they were leaping in the
air from the nest floor, flapping their wings.
In January 2009, in the same diara villages Kashimpur andAsharamtola, we recorded 17 nests in both the sites. Of these,seven were at Kashimpur on the same peepal tree. Ten were
found at Asharamtola, of which four were on the top of a large
kadam tree Anthocephalus cadamba, and six on a large semal
tree. This shows an increasing trend in the population of Greater
Adjutant-Storks in Bihar.

Fig. 3. Greater Adjutant-Stork L. dubius juveniles (110–120 days) in Ashramtola.

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Indian Birds Vol. 7 No. 2 (Publ. 15 October 2011)

Bihar. However, the largest congregation of Greater AdjutantStorks, containing 53 individuals, was recorded on the banksof River Ganga, within Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary
in May 2006, along with 57 Painted Storks, and other water
birds (Choudhary & Mishra 2006). The sighting of such a large
numbers of Greater Adjutant-Storks and Painted Storks catalysed
us to be more vigilant.
In the last week of January 2009 two Greater Adjutant-Storks
were recorded roosting, with seven Lesser Adjutant-Storks, on alarge banyan tree in Koabari village (Kishanganj district, northern
Bihar). Villagers report that their number could be more thanfive. But their sudden appearance here reveals that in future this
could become a preferred site for roosting or breeding and that
their numbers may ultimately increased. This is certainly a goodsign for us.

Conclusion

The above facts make it quite clear that both the threatened storks
are breeding successfully in Bihar. Tolerance of villagers towards
the birds, and awareness created by members of Mandar Nature
Club, Bhagalpur help in their successful breeding. Traditional
beliefs of farmers combined with relatively simple awarenessprogrammes to ensure villagers retain pride can aid to improve
numbers of species that are of global conservation concern.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the villagers of Koabari (Kishanganj district, Bihar) for cooperatingin various ways, during our field observation. We convey our special thanks to Dr
Lakshmi Narayan Sharma, and Mr Gopal Choudhary for providing security to thesenesting birds and also for creating awareness in the local community. We are again
grateful to the villagers and tree owners of Kashimpur and Ashramtola of Naugachia
block of Bhagalpur district, for their cooperation and hospitality during our field
trips. We are thankful to Dr T. K. Ghosh, Dr Amita Moitra, Dr Sunil Agrawal, Mr
Arvind Mishra, and Dr T. K. Pan of Mandar Nature Club, Bhagalpur for their valuablesuggestions.

References

Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1987. Compact handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan
together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. 2nd ed.
Delhi: Oxford University Press.
BirdLife International. 2007. List of threatened birds downloaded from <http://www.
birdlife.org/>
Choudhary, D. N., Mandal, J. N., Mishra, A., & Ghosh, T. K., 2010. First ever breeding
record of Black-necked Stork Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus from Bihar. Indian
BIRDS 6 (3): 80–82.
Choudhary, D. N., & Mishra, A., 2006. Sighting of some threatened bird species in
Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary (VGDS) Bhagalpur, Bihar. Newsletter
for Birdwatchers 46 (5): 68–70.
Choudhary, D. N., Dutta, G. R., & Pan, T. K., 2007. Lesser Adjutant breeds in partsof north Bihar - a recent finding. Newsletter for Birdwatchers 46 (6): 86–88(2006).
Choudhury, A., 2007. The status of endangered species in northeast India. J. Bombay
Nat. Hist. Soc. 103 (2&3): 157–167 (2006).
Choudhury, A., 2009. Counting large gatherings of globally threatened Greater
Adjutant Leptoptilos dubius. Indian Birds 4 (4): 133–135 (2008).
Choudhary, D. N., & Ghosh, T. K., 2004. Sighting of Greater Adjutant Storks in thewetlands of north Bihar. Newsletter for Birdwatchers 44 (4): 62–63.
Choudhary, S. K., Dey, S., Dey, S., & Mitra, A., 2004. Sighting of the Greater AdjutantStork Leptoptilos dubius in Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary, Bihar,
India. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 101 (2): 313–314.
Choudhary, D. N., 2008. Danapur military cantonment (IBA): the largest breedingsite of Asian Openbill in Bihar. Mistnet 9 (2): 6–8.
Islam, M. Z.-u., & Rahmani, A. R., 2002. Threatened birds of India. Buceros 7 (1&2):
6 pr.ll., iii–x, 1–102.
Istiaq, F., 2001. Summaries of the PhD thesis on birds. Buceros 6 (3): 45.
IUCN. 2007. IUCN Red list of Threatened animals, Gland, Switzerland, IUCN.
Mishra, A., Mandal, J. N., & Ghosh, T. K., 2005. Breeding of Lesser Adjutant froman unexplored area of Kosi region of N. Bihar. Newsletter for Birdwatchers 44(6): 84. (2004).
Mishra, A., Ghosh, T. K., Mandal, J. N., Agrawal, S., Choudhary, D. N., Kumar, A., 2010.
Protection of Greater Adjutant in Bihar. Mistnet 11 (3): 10-12.
Rahmani, A. R., Narayan, G., & Rosalind, L., 1990. Status of Greater Adjutant Stork(Leptoptilos dubius) in the Indian subcontinent. Colonial Waterbirds 13 (2):
139–142.
Singha, H., 2001. Summaries of PhD thesis on birds. Buceros 6 (3): 49–50.
Subramanya, S., 1996. Distribution, status and conservation of Indian heronries. J.
Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 93 (3): 459–486.

High density nesting of White-Bellied Sea-Eagles
Haliaeetus Leucogaster on Netrani Island,
Karnataka: a possible IBA site
Satish Pande, Niranjan Sant, Shivkumar Pednekar, Nitin Sakhdeo & Anil Mahabal
Pande, S., Sant, N., Pednekar, S., Sakhdeo, N., & Mahabal, A., 2011. High density nesting of White-Bellied Sea-Eagles Haliaeetus leucogaster on
Netrani Island, Karnataka: a possible IBA site. Indian BIRDS 7 (2): 40–43.
Satish Pande, Niranjan Sant, Shivkumar Pednekar, Nitin Sakhdeo & Anil Mahabal: Ela Foundation, C-9, Bhosale Park, Sahakarnagar-2, Pune 411009,
Maharashtra, India. Email: pande.satish@gmail.com
Manuscript received on 28 August 2010.

Introduction

Netrani Island (14°59’N 74°19’E) is a heart-shaped, steep-sloped
offshore island jutting out of the Arabian Sea off Uttar Kannada
district. It is about 19.6 km from the coastal town of Murudeshwar,
and 24 km from coastal town of Bhatkal, in Karnataka, India(Figs 1 & 2). It is 4.2 km2 in area, and ranges in altitude from 0 m
to 77 m above mean sea level. It is covered with dense evergreen
vegetation, with Ficus sp., dominating, along with lianas, climbers,
shrubs, and grasses. A small un-named rocky islet is located tothe south-west of Netrani (Fig. 2), and is devoid of trees, butsome grass was seen.

White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster is widelydistributed along the Indian seaboard and offshore islands southof the latitude of Mumbai (c. 19°N), and affects the seacoast,tidal creeks, and estuaries (Ali & Ripley 1968). Extralimitally, it isrecorded on the coasts of Myanmar, the Malay Peninsula, andarchipelagos east to Australia, Tasmania, and W. Polynesia (Ali &Ripley 1968). It breeds in India from October to January (Ali &Ripley 1968).
Pande (2005) had recorded pre-breeding activity of about
60 White-bellied Sea-Eagles flying over Netrani Island during
October 2005, when Pande, and others (NS, SP) had observed41Pande et al.: White-Bellied Sea-Eagles on Netrani Is.

these eagles and some of their nests from an Indian Coast
Guard ship, from a distance, but had not set foot on the island.
We therefore visited the island again in November 2008, for apreliminary avifaunal survey, and also to evaluate the breeding
activity of this eagle during its breeding season.

Methodology

We reached Netrani Island (Fig. 3) in motorised boats hired at
Murudeshwar, and conducted the avifaunal survey during 22 and23 November 2008. A 90-minute boat ride later we landed on
the island on 22 November in the evening and returned to themainland at night. In the morning of 23 November we re-visited
Netrani for a full day’s survey, returning at night.
We walked and conducted a visual survey for birds, and nests,
exploring the entire island, and mapping our route and marking
the location of White-bellied Sea-Eagle nests on it (Fig. 4). We
also recorded details like height of the nest from the ground, thedimensions of the nest, the distance between adjacent nests,
nest material, status of occupancy of each nest, parental andchick activity, presence of prey remains under the nests, on the
branches, or on the ground, etc. We circumnavigated the islandby boat, searching for nests on the tall trees growing on thesteep slopes where we could not have otherwise reached on
foot. We were especially on the lookout for any aerial activity ofbirds around the island. From the boat we also, visually, surveyed
the un-named adjacent rocky islet for any nesting activity. We
photographed birds seen on both, the island, and the islet.

Observations & results

1. Netrani Island: 25 nests were located, of which 18 were active,
and the remaining seven, unoccupied (Table 1). All nests were on

Fig. 1. Google satellite image showing the western coast of Karnataka,and Netrani Island. (Downloaded 2009.)

Niranjan Sant

Fig. 2. Google satellite image of the heart-shaped Netrani Island, and theun-named adjacent rocky islet. (Downloaded 2009.)

Ficus spp. The minimum height of the nest from the groundwas 5 m, and the maximum height was 20 m (Table 1)—theiraverage height being 12.7 m. The average diameter of nests was
2 m, and the average thickness was 1.2 m. Adjacent nests were,on an average, 35 m apart (range 25–50 m). Nesting trees held
only one nest per tree, except for two, where two nests eachwere present; but of these only one was active, and the othereither old, broken, and not in use. No nests were seen on cliffs.
We observed White-bellied Sea-Eagles engaged in various
activities: noisily chasing each other, soaring, courtship display,cart-wheeling with locked talons (Fig. 5), offering prey to a mate,mating, bringing nesting material, and hunting at sea. Someparents were engaged in feeding their chicks. They were also
guarding their nests from approaching raptors such as Common
Kestrel Falco tinnunculus and Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus.
When these species came near the nest of the White-bellied SeaEagle, the eagle chased them away. We never saw them perchingon the tree bearing the nest of the White-bellied Sea-Eagle.
Nests were constructed of twigs, sticks, and branches of trees.
The shallow cup in the nest was lined with green leaves. The
chicks were noted to be sitting in this small cup (Fig. 6). However,some of the larger chicks were seen at the edge of the nest.
Based on their plumage, the age of these chicks was estimatedbetween one to three weeks. We recorded two chicks each in 14
nests, and a single chick each in four nests: totaling 32 chicks.
When two chicks were present in one nest they were interactingwith each other in the form of pecking or wing flapping. Such
activity was followed by periods of sleeping. The chicks also
vocalised when they saw their parents approaching.
We saw the White-bellied Sea-Eagles bringing waterfowl(Fig. 7), sea snakes, and fishes for the young. We also foundremains of sea snakes (Family: Hydrophiinae) on the branchesof the nest trees, and also on the ground below nests. Amongst
prey remains those of the fish called pakit (local Kannada name)Balistes stellatus were most abundant. We were told that this fish iscommonly netted by fishermen in the area, and is unfit for humanconsumption because it has a thick skin. These fish can grow up
to 0.3 m in length, have prominent canine teeth, and can gnaw
fishing nets thereby causing economic loss to the fishermen. The
fishermen are aware that sea-eagles consume this fish, and lookupon the sea-eagles as its natural controllers. Other fish remains
under the nests were shark Scoliodon laticaudus, puffer-fish Diodon
hystrix, Clupea sp., and other fishes known in local language astarli, surmai, shedaka, daeen, and dayan. We also saw a partiallyeaten skink under one nest, along with some crabs, feathers ofbirds, and mollusc shells. The nest trees were heavily infested with

Fig. 3. Netrani Island.

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Indian Birds Vol. 7 No. 2 (Publ. 15 October 2011)

red ants that had been attracted by the prey remains.
We recorded four nests of Brahminy Kites Haliastur indus,
25 m high on Ficus sp. trees. The kites were bringing nestingmaterial, and displaying.
2. Un-named rocky islet: There were at least three nests of
the White-bellied Sea-Eagles on the un-named rocky islet, but wecould not evaluate their status, as they were located on ledges,
high up on the rocks. No nests of Brahminy Kites were observed.

Discussion

The nests of the White-bellied Sea-Eagle are generally widely
spaced on the seaboard of the western coast in Maharashtra,with an average of one nest per 2.6 km in Ratnagiri district, andone nest per 3.8 km in Sindhudurga district (Katdare et al. 2003,
2004). Pande et al. (2007a) recorded nests of White-bellied
Sea-eagles on Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where the nests
were also widely spaced, not clustered. Pande et al. (2007b)
did not record White-bellied Sea-Eagles, or their nests, in the
Lakshadweep Archipelago.
However, records of White-bellied Sea-Eagles nesting on
Netrani Island exist since January 2003, when Madhyastha (2004)
reported c. 100 nests on tall trees, such as Ficus. Further, he has
also stated that there is no other such congregation of theseeagles along the Indian coast. Our November survey recorded
18 active, and 7 inactive nests. It is likely that more eagles may
arrive on the island subsequently in December–January, later intheir breeding season.
It is possible that reasons such as bombing practices by thenavy, (information given to authors SP and NS by local fishermen
and coast guard personnel) with Netrani Island as the target, may
have caused a drastic reduction in the number of nests of theseeagles from 100 to 25 in a short span of 4 to 5 years. We also
saw a few empty bomb shells on the island during the survey.
Therefore, it will be interesting to visit the island periodicallythroughout their breeding season to precisely document thecurrent nesting status of the eagles on the island. However, it

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

18 m
12 m
12m
10 m
10 m
15 m
8m
10 m
12m
16 m
5m
18 m
20 m
18 m
15 m
12 m
12 m
15 m
10 m
13 m
9m
12 m
12 m
11 m
12 m

2
2
2
2
2
2
1
2
2
1
1
2
1
2
2
2
2
2
Inactive
Inactive
Inactive
Inactive
Inactive
Inactive
Inactive

is undeniable that the nesting density of the White-bellied Seaeagles on Netrani Island is not only high but also unusual andunique.
White-bellied Sea-eagles are known to use the same nest orsite traditionally for over 50 years (Ali & Ripley 1968). The heightof the tree-nest from the ground level on Netrani Island wasquite low (5 to 20 m) as compared to the documented rangeof 10–50 m (Ali & Ripley 1968); 20–40 m in Ratnagiri district,and 10–30 m in Sindhudurga district, Maharashtra (Katdare etal. 2003, 2004). Though nests on Netrani Island are constructed
only on Ficus sp., on the western coast of Maharashtra nests
were recorded on eleven tree species with the commonest being
Mangifera indica and Casuarina equisetifolia, followed by Ficus
sp. (Katdare et al. 2003, 2004).
The absence of nests on the cliffs of Netrani Island indicatesthat trees play an important role in nesting of these eagles atSatish Pande

Fig. 4. Sketch map of Netrani Island showing various locations of 18 active
nests, and the survey route followed by the study team. Nest sites are shown bysolid dots and the route is marked by a line with arrows to indicate the directionof in which the survey was undertaken.

Table 1. Nest data of White-bellied Sea-Eagles recorded on
Netrani Island on 22 and 23 November 2008.
Nest Number
Approximate height of the nest fromNo. of chicks
the ground in metersin the nest

Fig. 5. White-bellied Sea-Eagles Haliaeetus leucogaster cart wheelingwith locked talons.

Niranjan Sant

Pande et al.: White-Bellied Sea-Eagles on Netrani Is.

Fig. 6. White-bellied Sea-Eagles Haliaeetus leucogaster chicks, and ahalf-eaten fish in the nest.

Netrani. On Burnt Island, Vengurla Rocks, Maharashtra, or on otheroffshore islands in the Arabian Sea, which are relatively devoid of
any tall trees, there is only an occasional incidence of nesting of
the White-bellied Sea-eagles (unpublished observation of SP). On
the contrary, on such barren offshore islands particularly on the
Burnt Island, though there are no trees, the islands alternatively
offer nesting opportunities for other pelagic ground nesting birds
like various species of terns (Pande 2002a, b).
Local fishermen revealed that the average catch around theisland is about 600 quintals on a good day. This indicates therichness of marine life in the waters adjacent to Netrani. This is no
doubt important for sustaining such a large breeding populationof the White-bellied Sea-eagles on such a small island. At thesame time, since the island is quite far away from the nearest
coast, there are no regular human visitors on the island except
during the annual pilgrimage when fishermen come to the island
to the worship the local deities. The landing on the island is alsodifficult, even on calm days; hence the human interference isalmost negligible. All these factors are favourable for the nestingof these eagles.

Recommendations

Niranjan SantThe observation of high density nesting of the White-bellied SeaEagles on Netrani Island stresses the need for its protection. Apart

Fig. 7. White-bellied Sea-Eagles Haliaeetus leucogaster with a waterfowl(Aves: Rallidae?).

from the White-bellied Sea-Eagles the avifaunal diversity on theisland is substantial, comprising 40 spp., from 32 genera in 27
Families (Pande et al., in press). The Indian Swiftlet Aerodramus
unicolor, which is a protected species, also nests in the caveon Netrani Island (Mahabal et al. 2007). Hence, Netrani Island
may be considered as a befitting candidate for declaration as an
Important Bird Area (IBA). It may be pointed out here that Burnt
Island, which is an important breeding site of pelagic terns, andthe Indian Swiftlet, is already notified as an IBA site (code IN-MH02), meeting IBA criteria as A4iii (Islam & Rahmani 2004).
Islands present fragile, ecologically sensitive, and biogeographically significant ecosystems (Das 2001). The
conservation of the flora on the island is of utmost importance forthe successful and continued breeding of the White-bellied SeaEagles. In the past, the Indian Navy has used Netrani Island forbombing exercises from the ships. If such exercises are continued
in the future, the trees on the island could be destroyed, andin turn, the nest sites further reduced, causing an irreversible
damage to a very important and unique high-density nesting siteof the White-bellied Sea-Eagles in India.

Acknowledgements

The survey team included Satish Pande, Niranjan Sant, Shivkumar
Pednekar, Nitin Sakhdeo, and Amit Pawashe of Ela Foundation,
Pune. We thank the local fishermen for their cooperation. We thankVice Admiral Manohar P. Awati, AVSM, for his continued supportand encouragement. Dr Sanjay Kharat, Principal, Modern Collegeof Arts, Science, and Commerce, Ganeshkhind, Pune, identified
the fish remains. Ela Foundation, Pune, supported the project.

References

Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1968. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together
with those of Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Ceylon. Divers to hawks. Vol 1. 1st ed.
Bombay: (Sponsored by the Bombay Natural History Society) Oxford University
Press.
Das, A. K., 2001. Islands. (Pp. 317–347.) In: Ecosystems of India. ENVIS-Zool. Surv.
India. Pp. 1–410.
Islam, Z.-u., & Rahmani, A. R., 2004. Important Bird Areas in India. Priority sites
for conservation. 1st ed. Mumbai: Indian Bird Conservation Network: Bombay
Natural History Society and BirdLife International (UK).
Katdare, V., & Mone, R., 2003. Status of White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus
leucogaster in Ratnagiri District, Maharashtra. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 100(1): 113–116.
Katdare, V., Mone, R., & Joshi, P., 2004. Status of White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus
leucogaster in Sindhudurg District, Maharashtra. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 101(2): 314–316.
Madhyastha, N. A., 2004. A paradise for White-bellied Sea Eagle: Netrani Island.
Newsletter for Birdwatchers 44 (1): 14.
Mahabal, A., Pande, S., Sharma, R. M., & Pednekar, S. N., 2007. Status survey ofIndian Edible-nest Swiftlet Collocalia unicolor (Jerdon) in Western Ghats, west
coast and Islands in Arabian Sea, India. 1st ed. Director, Z. S. o. I. (ed.) Kolkata:
Zoological Survey of India.
Pande, S., 2002a. A rocky adventure at Vengurla Islands. Hornbill 2002 (April-June):
22–24.
Pande, S., 2002b. Terns nesting on the Vengurla Rocks Archipelago. Newsletter for
Birdwatchers 42 (1): 10–12.
Pande, S., 2005. Report of the First Ocean Bird Survey and Coastal Bird Survey in
the Arabian Sea and the West Coast of India from Mumbai to New Mangalore.
Jointly Conducted by Ela Foundation and Ecological Society, Pune with Indian
Coast Guard. Pp. 1–36. Submitted to Indian Coast Guard, Mumbai and New
Delhi. (Unpublished Report).
Pande, S., Sant, N., Ranade, S., Pednekar, S., Mestry, P., Deshpande, P., Kharat, S.,& Deshmukh, V., 2007. Avifaunal survey of Andaman and Nicobar Islands,
January 2007. Indian Birds 3 (5): 162–180.
Pande, S., Sant, N. R., Ranade, S. D., Pednekar, S. N., Mestry, P. G., Kharat, S. S.,& Deshmukh, V., 2007. An ornithological expedition to the Lakshadweep
archipelago: Assessment of threats to pelagic and other birds andrecommendations. Indian Birds 3 (1): 2–12.
Pande, S., Sant, N., Pednekar, S., Pawashe, A., Sakhdeo, N., & Mahabal, A., Avifaunalsurvey of Netrani Island, Karnataka and importance of offshore islands forbirdlife. Indian BIRDS. (In Press).

43

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Indian Birds Vol. 7 No. 2 (Publ. 15 October 2011)

Additions to the birds of Goa, India
Pankaj Lad & Parag Rangnekar
Lad, P., & Rangnekar, P., 2011. Additions to the birds of Goa, India. Indian BIRDS 7 (2): 44.
Pankaj Lad, M-11, Housing Board Colony, Vidyanagar, Gogal, Margao 403601, Goa, India. Email: pankajrlad@gmail.com
Parag Rangnekar, Bldg 4, S-3, Technopark, Chogm Road, Alto-Porvorim 403601, Goa, India. Email: paragrangnekar@yahoo.com(Corresponding author)
Manuscript received on 21 January 2010.

T

he avifaunal diversity of Goa has been fairly well
documented over the years (Grubh & Ali 1972; Rane 1982;
Saha & Dasgupta 1992; Lainer 1999). Lainer’s (2004) wellresearched work listed around 420 species of birds from Goa.
Recently, the Zoological Survey of India added 38 species to his
work (Mahabal & Patil 2008) thereby bringing the tally of birds
of Goa to 458.
Though Goa’s avifaunal diversity has been well documented
by researchers, as well as visiting birdwatchers, as always, thereis scope for new discoveries as more and more people getinterested in field work, as in the instances of the White-backed
Woodpecker Chrysocolaptes festivus (Rangnekar & Lad 2009),
and the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Merops persicus (Holt 2009).
In this note we report for the first time from Goa, theoccurrence of Slaty-legged Crake Rallina eurizonoides, Spotted
Creeper Salpornis spilonotus, and Streaked Weaver Ploceus
manyar.
Slaty-legged Crake On 15 June 2009 PL spotted a pair at
Ganje, on the outskirts of Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary. They were
foraging in sparse undergrowth along the roadside. PR observed
an adult, and a juvenile on 8 August 2009 at the same location.
An enthusiast birdwatcher accompanying him managed to takea video of the bird. The presence of an adult with a juvenile
indicates that this crake is a breeding resident.
Spotted Creeper Both the authors first sighted this bird on 25
April 2004 in the Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary near Bondirwada on
the way to Cadval. It was part of a mixed-hunting party. It was seena second time, in Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary on 15 November
2007 by PR, near the artificial waterbody on the way to the entry
gate. The presence of the bird in two different locations, in two

different seasons, clearly suggests that the sightings are not ofstragglers; neither is the bird known to migrate.
Streaked Weaver has been observed in and around Mhadei
Wildlife Sanctuary. The birds were first observed in April 2000 in
Keri village wherein they were nesting at two locations, one in thesugarcane fields opposite the government primary school, and thesecond on vegetation along the nullah flowing under the water
distribution canal of the Anjunem Reservoir. A few individuals
nested on the electricity wires passing over sugarcane fields. The
birds have been subsequently observed regularly at the same
locations every year. Streaked Weavers have been spotted at twoother locations on 9 June 2002; in Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary atSatrem, and at Karmali, Sattari.
The addition of these three species increases the number of
species for Goa to 462.

References

Grubh, R. B., & Ali, S., 1976. Birds of Goa. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 73 (1): 42–
53.
Holt, P. I., 2009. A sight record of Blue-cheeked Bee-eater Merops persicus in Goa.
J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 105 (2): 217–218 (2008).
Lainer, H., 1999. The birds of Goa. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 96 (2): 203–220.
Lainer, H., 1999. The birds of Goa (Part II). J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 96 (3):405–423.
Lainer, H., 2004. Birds of Goa. A reference book. Mapusa, Goa: The Goa
Foundation.
Mahabal, A., & Patil, S. R., 2008. Aves. In: Fauna of Goa. Director, Zool. Surv. India(ed.). Kolkata: Zoological Survey of India: Pp. 365–403.
Rane, U., 1982. Goa. Hornbill 1982 (2): 29–32.
Rangnekar, P., & Lad, P., 2009. Occurrence of Chrysocolaptes festivus in Goa. J.
Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 105 (2): 219–220 (2008).
Saha, B. C., & Dasgupta, J. M., 1992. Birds of Goa. Records of the Zoological
Survey of India. Miscellaneous Publication, Occasional Paper No. 143 (Series).
Director, Zool. Sur. India (ed.). Calcutta: Zoological Survey of India.

With compliments ofG.B.K. Charitable Trust
Rajan House, 2nd Floor, A.M. Marg, Prabhadevi, Mumbai 400025

The status and distribution of Amur Falcon
Falco amurensis in Gujarat, India
Prasad Ganpule

Introduction

Amur Falcon Falco amurensis is a long distance migrant, occurring
as a passage migrant in Gujarat. It breeds in central Siberia east
to Amurland, south to northern and eastern China and winters ineastern and southern Africa (Naoroji 2006).
There is very little published data regarding the Amur Falcon
in Gujarat. Naoroji (2006) has listed four sight records for Gujarat
during autumn passage. Kazmierczak (2000) shows two records,
Grimmett et al. (1998) show only one record, while Rasmussen& Anderton (2005) show its occurrence in southern Gujarat
and southern Saurashtra areas during passage migration. Ali& Ripley (1978) did not show a single record for Gujarat. Ali(1954) did not record it during the surveys carried out in Gujarat.
Dharmakumarsinhji (1955) also does not mention the bird.

Sightings

On 17 February 2011, I saw and photographed a single female
Amur Falcon in the Little Rann of Kachchh area. On 24 April 2011,
I again observed a female (Fig. 1), and a juvenile Amur Falcon near
Navlakhi, Morbi. The sighting in February could be considered as
autumn passage and the sighting in late April was indicative of thebird being seen during spring passage migration. Naoroji (2006)
considered it to be only an autumn passage migrant to the Indian
Subcontinent and states that, “From the scattered sight records it
is difficult to build up a complete picture of the migration routes
taken, especially the return migration route.”
Amur Falcon has been observed and photographed recently
St No
1
2
3
4
4
5
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

from different areas in Gujarat. Sight records have been publishedin Vihang, and Flamingo, the local birdwatching journals publishedin Gujarati, and English respectively, and many photographsfrom Gujarat have been put up on birding and bird photography
websites. I have tried to collect the published sight records(Table 1, Fig. 2), and as many photographs as possible thathave been posted on different websites, to bring up to date ourknowledge about its status and distribution in Gujarat state.

Results

An analysis of the records shows that the earliest sighting is on 31
October, and the last, 7 May. Maximum records here are during
the autumn migration from December to February. There are four
records from late April–May, which suggest a spring migration.
These records are the western-most sight records for India.
Recently, Meyburg and his team (http://www.raptor-research.
de) have been tracking the migration of the Amur Falcon bysatellite telemetry. The data has been published on the web(http://www.kestreling.com), and on other web based birding
groups. The data relevant for Gujarat shows a satellite-tracked
Amur Falcon was tracked crossing Gujarat during its spring
migration. A rough migration path for Gujarat is shown in themap. It appears that the falcon travelled, roughly, in a straight linefrom the Gulf of Kachchh, eastward, up to north-eastern India.
Co-incidentally, my sighting of the Amur Falcon in late April falls
almost directly on the migration route as shown by the satellitetracking project.

Table 1. Recorded sightings of Amur Falcon in Gujarat
Place
Naliya, Kutch (23˚15’N 68˚56’E)
Positra Bay, Dwarka (22˚23’N 69˚10’E)
Porbander area
Near Madhavpur, Porbander (21º36’N 69˚38’E)
Gir National Park area (21˚10’N 70˚36’E)
Gir National Park area
Velavadar National Park, Bhavnagar (21˚50’ 72˚06’E)
Victoria Park, Bhavnagar
Dharasana , Valsad District (20˚36’N 72˚54’E)
Dang Forest, Ahwa (20˚45’N 73˚41’E)
Wadhwan, Surendranagar (22˚43’N 71˚38’E)
Surendranagar
Navlakhi, Near Morbi (22˚58’N 70˚27’E)
Venasar area, Little Rann of Kachchh (23˚20’N 71˚15’E)
Bajana area, Little Rann of Kachchh (23˚12’N 71˚34’E)
Little Rann of Kachchh
Little Rann of Kachchh
Little Rann of Kachchh
Little Rann of Kachchh

Fig. 1. Female Amur Falcon Falco amurensis.

Date

7 May 2010
2 Feb 1996
Unknown
16 Jan 1989
Feb 1984
24–27 April 2010
Unknown
Nov 2008
31 Oct 200914 April 2008
Nov 2010
13 Nov 201024 April 201117 Feb 2011
Feb 2008
Jan 2009
24 Dec 2008
Jan 2011
Jan 2011

ObserverGadhvi: INW
Khacher 1997
Mundkur in Naoroji 2006
Mundkur & Pandya 1992
Mundkur & Pandya 1992
Joshi 2010
Prakash in Naoroji 2006
Gadhvi 2009
Jat 2010
Joshi 2010
Mori: INW
Parmar 2011
Prasad Ganpule: author’s sighting
Prasad Ganpule: author’s sighting
Shah: INW
Shah: INW
Shah: OBI
Dutt: INW
Parekh: Delhibirdpix

Abbreviations: INW: http://indianaturewatch.net; OBI: http://orientalbirdimages.org; Delhibirdpix: http://groups.google.com/group/delhibirdpix

Prasad Ganpule

Ganpule, P., 2011. The status and distribution of Amur Falcon Falco amurensis in Gujarat, India.
Indian BIRDS 7 (2): 45–46.
Prasad Ganpule, C/o The Parshuram Pottery Works, Nazarbaug, Morbi -363642.Gujarat.
Email: prasadganpule@gmail.com
Manuscript received on 15 August 2011.

46

Indian Birds Vol. 7 No. 2 (Publ. 15 October 2011)

Conclusion

Looking at the available data and sightings it is clear that theAmur Falcon occurs in Gujarat during the autumn, as well as thespring migration. It is quite uncommon but not a vagrant. It canbe said that a small number of these birds are regular passage
migrants in Gujarat, though they are rarer during spring migration.
Their distribution in Gujarat is widespread, with sightings fromcoastal areas, forest areas as well as from the desert areas, withthe maximum sightings from the Little Rann of Kachchh area.

Acknowledgements

I thank Dr B. M. Parasharya for his help in the preparation of thisnote.

References

Ali, S., 1954. The birds of Gujarat. Part I. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 52 (2&3):
374–458.
Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1978. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together
with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Divers to hawks. Vol
1. 2nd (Hardback) ed. Delhi (Sponsored by Bombay Natural History Society.)
Oxford University Press.
Dharmakumarsinhji, R. S., Undated [=1955]. Birds of Saurashtra, India: With
additional notes on the birds of Kutch and Gujerat. 1st ed. Bhavnagar,
Saurashtra: Published by the author.
Dutt.U. Amur Falcon. http://www.indianaturewatch.net/displayimage.php?id=202395. [Accessed on 10 May 2011.]
Gadhvi, D., 2009. Amur Falcon. Flamingo 7 (1&2): 24.
Gadhvi, D., Amur Falcon. http://www.indianaturewatch.net/displayimage.
php?id=69739. [Accessed on 10 May 2011.]

Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 1998. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 1st
ed. London: Christopher Helm, A & C Black.
Jat, M., 2010. Amur Falcon near Valsad. Flamingo 7 (3&4): 12.
Joshi, J., 2008. ‘Sighting of Amur Falcon.’ Vihang 2 (3): 18. [In Gujarati.]
Joshi, T., 2010. ‘Amur Falcon in Gir.’ Vihang 4 (4): 17. [In Gujarati.]
Khacher, L., 1997. Redlegged Falcon Falco vespertinus in Gujarat. J. Bombay Nat.
Hist. Soc. 94 (2): 401.
Kazmierczak, K., 2000. A field guide to the birds of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan,
Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. 1st ed. London: Pica Press /Christopher Helm.
Meyburg, B. http://www.raptor-research.de for details of satellite telemetry of
raptors. [Accessed on 12 May 2011.]
Mori,D.
Amur
Falcon.
http://www.indianaturewatch.net/displayimage.
php?id=190352 [Accessed on 11 May 2011.]
Mundkur, T., & Pandya, P., 1992. Records of the Redlegged Falcon Falco verpertinus
amurensis in Gujarat. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 88 (2): 281–282.
Naoroji, R., 2006. Birds of prey of the Indian Subcontinent. 1st ed. New Delhi: Om
Books International.
Parmar, D., 2011. Common Kestrel and Amur Falcon. Vihang 5 (3): 11–13. [InGujarati.]
Parekh, J., Amur Falcon juvenile in flight. http://delhibirdpix.googlegroups.com/
attach/100e99d73d12896e/_DSC4158lr.jpg?view=1&part=4 [Accessed on
15 July 2011.]
Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2005. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide:
field guide. 2 vols. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution
and Lynx Edicions.
Shah,Y. Amur Falcon. http://www.indianaturewatch.net/displayimage.php?id=122095,
http://www.indianaturewatch.net/displayimage.php?id=88911,
http://orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?p=26&Bird_ID=1064&Bird_
Family_ID=&pagesize=1 [Accessed on 12 May 2011.]
www.kestreling.com For the map showing the details of the passage migrationroute of the Amur Falcon from South Africa to its breeding grounds in Russia.
[Accessed on 12 May 2011.]

Map: P. Ganpule & S. Subramanya

Fig. 2. Sightings of Amur Falcon Falco amurensis in Gujarat. “= =”Approximate migration path of satellite tracked Amur Falcon through Gujarat.

Sangha et al.: Spotted Redshank & Great White Pelican

Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus catchingfish in association with Great White Pelican
Pelecanus onocrotalus in RajasthanHarkirat Singh Sangha, Shantanu Kumar & Divyabhanusinh
Sangha, H. S., Kumar, S., & Divyabhanusinh. 2011. Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus catchingfish in association with Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus in Rajasthan.
Indian BIRDS 7 (2): 47.
Harkirat Singh Sangha, B-27, Gautam Marg, Hanuman Nagar, Jaipur 302021 Rajasthan, India.
Email: harkirat.sangha@gmail.com
Shantanu Kumar, Firdaus Farm, Kalwar Road, Bye-pass Zone C, Jaipur 302012 Rajasthan, India.
Divyabhanusinh, Suryodaya, 310, Gom Defence Colony, Vaishali Marg, Jaipur 302021.
Rajasthan, India. Email: sawaj.cheetah@gmail.com
Manuscript received in April 2010.

C

hhatrasagar (26º06´38”N 74º01´15”E) is an ephemerallake at Nimaj, Pali district, Rajasthan. On 6 March 2009 wewere watching birds from its high embankment. There were
not many birds in the drying waterbody but c. 350 Great White
Pelicans Pelecanus onocrotalus resting on the edge of the lake
attracted our attention. Around 1400 hrs c. 30 pelicans enteredwater and started hunting fish in the lake. Soon afterwards eight
Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus were noticed swimmingaround these pelicans. They were moving with the pelicans either
on one side or behind them. A few times they were observed
swimming ahead of the pelicans and once or twice in their midst.
While the pelicans were in a compact flock most of the time, thesandpipers were loosely scattered around them.
Swimming confidently, with head and neck almost immersed
in water, the redshanks appeared to be working in a coordinatedmanner, perhaps hunting fish and/or invertebrates disturbed
by the concerted action of the pelicans. We observed them for
more than 20 mins. When not able to match the speed of theswimming pelicans, they took off two or three times and landed
near the hunting pelicans to resume foraging.
While feeding behaviour of Spotted Redshank is typical of
the genus, greater attenuation of form and bill gives added
delicacy to all actions and it is able to forage in deeper water thanany other Tringa species (Cramp & Simmons 1983; Colston &Burton 1988). Although their feet are not webbed, many waders
can swim and several habitually do so (Hammond & Pearson
1994). Probably no other Tringa species swims as frequently,
while foraging, as does Spotted Redshank, and virtually all of its
foraging is done while standing or swimming in water rather thanon muddy or sandy substrates (Johnsgard 1981).
The large Tringa sandpipers such as Spotted Redshank,
Common Greenshank T. nebularia, and Marsh Sandpiper T.
stagnatilis feed on small invertebrates, but during migration, andon wintering grounds they are prone to operate in large flocks thatmake fairly synchronised movements to drive together, and feedon schools of small fish in shallow water (del Hoyo et al 1996).
While Common Redshanks T. totanus periodically take a
few small fishes measuring 2.5–4.0 cm in length (NethersoleThompson & Nethersole-Thompson 1986), Spotted Redshank is
known to eat fishes up to 6–7 cm long (del Hoyo et al. 1996;
van de Kam et al. 2004).

Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus feeding in association
with Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus.
Photo: Harkirat Singh Sangha

Spotted Redshank is known to forage socially in dense flocks
of conspecifics, or mixed with other tringines, e.g., Common
Greenshank, and may appear to be working in a co-ordinatedway (del Hoyo et al 1996). In the Indian Subcontinent the
species has been observed feeding in fairly deep open waterand freely up-ending like ducks to reach the bottom mud (Ali &Ripley 1980). At Ghauspur (Pakistan) a closely packed flock was
observed feeding in shallow water (Roberts 1991). Inglis (1903)
recorded one bird with its ‘gullet full of small fish’ in Madhubani,
Darbhanga district, Bihar.
Although feeding association with Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
has been recorded (Cramp & Simmons 1983), we have notfound any reference to their feeding association with Great White
Pelican. This association appears to be an example of facultative
commensalism.

Acknowledgements

Nandi Vardhan and Harsh Vardhan of Nimaj were helpful, hospitable, and generous
with their time during our brief stay at Chhatrasagar.

RefrencesAli, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1980. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together
with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Megapodes to Crab
Plovers. Vol. 2. 2nd (Hardback) ed. Delhi: (Sponsored by Bombay Natural
History Society.) Oxford University Press.
Colston, P., & Burton, P., 1988. A field guide to the waders of Britain and Europe
with North Africa and the Middle East. Sydney, London, Auckland Toronto:
Hodder & Stoughton.
Cramp, S., & Simmons, K. E. L., 1983. The birds of the Western Palearctic. Vol. 3.
Waders to gulls. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Sargatal, J. (eds.). 1996. Handbook of the birds of theworld. Volume 3. Hoatzin to Auks. 1 ed. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.
Inglis, C. M., 1903. The birds of the Madhubani sub-division of the Darbhanga
district, Tirhut, with notes on species noticed elsewhere in the district. Part V. J.
Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 14 (4): 764–771.
Hammond, N., & Pearson, B., 1994. Hamlyn bird behaviour guide. Waders. London:
Hamlyn.
Johnsgard, P. A., 1981. The Plovers, Sandpipers, and Snipes of the World. Lincoln
and London: University of Nebraska Press.
van de Kam, J., Bruno, E., Piersma, T., & Zwarts, L., 2004. Shorebirds. An illustrated
behavioural ecology. Utrecht, The Netherlands: KNNV Publishers.
Nethersole-Thompson, D., & Nethersole-Thompson, M., 1986. Waders: theirbreeding, haunts and watchers. Calton: T. & A. D. Poyser.
Roberts, T. J., 1991. The birds of Pakistan: Regional studies and non-passeriformes.
Vol. 1. 1st ed. Karachi: Oxford University Press.

47

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Indian Birds Vol. 7 No. 2 (Publ. 15 October 2011)

Wryneck Jynx torquilla feeding on birdin Sundarbans, West Bengal, India
N. Vikas Madhav & Jayanthi R. Victor
Madhav, N. V., & Victor, J. R., 2010. Wryneck Jynx torquilla feeding on bird in Sundarbans,West Bengal, India. Indian BIRDS 7 (2): 48.
N. Vikas Madhav & Jayanthi R. Victor: c/o Professor Reginald Victor, Department of Biology,
College of Science, P.O. Box 36, Sultan Qaboos University, Al Khod, Muscat, PC 123,
Sultanate of Oman. Email: jayanthi.victor@gmail.com
Manuscript received on 26 March 2010.
Fig. 1. Wryneck Jynx torquilla with a headless dead bird, possibly
an Oriental Magpie-Robin Copsychus saularis.

An extensive perusal of literature shows that the diet of the
Wryneck Jynx torquilla (Piciformes: Picidae) comprises,
almost exclusively, ants, ant larvae and pupae, spiders, small
coleopterans, and occasionally, berries (Terres 1980; Winkler etal.1995). There are also rare reports of Wryneck feeding on aterrestrial gastropod, Limacus flavus, and tadpoles (Allen 2004;
Burnie et al. 2007). Despite being a member of the woodpecker
family, Wrynecks seem to feed more on the ground than ontrees, but have also been known to pick insects off branches
and bark crevices (Ali & Ripley 1983). During a recent visit to
the Indian Sundarbans, West Bengal, from 20–26 January 2010,
we observed an unusual feeding behaviour of Wryneck that isreported below:
On 25 January 2010, in the early evening at about 1630
hrs, in the Tiger Camp Resort at Sathjalia Island, we spotted a
Wryneck sitting very still on a lamp-post. This species has been
listed as an uncommon winter migrant in the Indian Sundarbans(Chowdhury & Roy 2005). While one of us (NVM) quietly
approached the bird to take a photograph, we were distracted byan agitated skirmish, and a peculiar shriek, in the bushes nearby.
We searched the bushes and spotted a second Wryneck, sitting
on a low branch, holding a smaller head-less dead bird, in its
toes (Fig. 1). The dead bird was black-and-white in colour, and we
could see a prominent tail. When we attempted to get closer for abetter photograph, the startled Wryneck transferred the bird to its
beak and flew to a higher branch in another tree where it started
feeding upon the carcass. It held the bird pinned under its toes
and systematically plucked its feathers in small clumps to get tothe body (Fig. 2). Its feeding method was very much like that ofsmall raptors and carrion consumers. Our observations suggestthat this was a practised, natural feeding activity. We continued toobserve the feeding for another five minutes before it flew away
still clutching the remaining carcass. From the discarded black
and white feathers, we believe that the dead bird was an Oriental
Magpie-Robin Copsychus saularis, very common in that area.
Since the carcass was head-less when we first saw it, it ispossible that the bird was not alive when the Wryneck picked it.
This is why we have not deliberately used the term “prey” here,
crediting this Wryneck the status of a “predator” in the strict sense.
Wryneck is certainly a predator of ants, and other invertebrates,
but it could also be an opportunistic scavenger that feeds ondead animals including dead birds. Are Wrynecks capable ofhunting small birds? Was the skirmish we heard in the bush,
before sighting the bird, the sound of its physically hunting theOriental Magpie-Robin that resulted in the removal of the latter’shead, or was it the result of an encounter between scavengers

vying for the same carcass? We did look for the decapitatedhead, but could not locate it; nor did we spot another potential
scavenger in the area.
Wrynecks are noisy at their nest sites and have also been
known to evict other hole-nesting birds (ARKive 2010). Do they
kill the evicted bird, or it’s nestling, and secure a meal in theprocess? Our observations, in addition to reporting an unusual
feeding behaviour, raise several questions about the food andfeeding habits of Wryneck (Mermod et al. 2009).

Acknowledgements

We thank Dr Prasanna Sriya, and Professor Reginald Victor, who accompanied us
during this field trip, and the latter also for his assistance in writing this short note.

References

Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1983. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together
with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Forgmouths to pittas.
Vol 4. 2nd (Hardback) ed. Delhi: (Sponsored by Bombay Natural History
Society.) Oxford University Press.
Allen, J. A., 2004. Avian and mammalian predators of terrestrial gastropods. In:
Natural Enemies of Terrestrial Molluscs. Ed: Barker, G. M., Wallingford: CABI
Publishing.
ARKive Images of Life on Earth. 2010. Wryneck (Jynx torquilla). Species information.
http://www.arkive.org/wryneck/jynx-torquilla/info.html
accessedon
09/02/2010.
Burnie, D., National Audubon Society, BirdLife International, & Frances, P. 2007. Bird:
the definitive visual guide. London: DK Publishing.
Chowdhury, B. R., & Vyas, P., 2005. The Sunderbans. A pictorial field guide. New
Delhi: Rupa & Co.
Mermod, M., Reichlin, T. S., Arleltaz, R., & Schaub, M., 2009. The importance of antrich habitats for the persistence of the Wryneck Jynx torquilla on farmland. Ibis
151 (4): 731–742.
Terres, J. K., 1980. Piciformes. The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American
Birds. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Winkler, H., Christie, D. A., & Nurney, D., 1995. Woodpeckers. A Guide to the
Woodpeckers of the World. 1st ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Fig. 2. Wryneck Jynx torquilla with a bunch of plucked feathers in its beak.

49

Sangha: Nesting Red-wattled Lapwing

Unusual nesting site of the Red-wattled Lapwing
Vanellus indicus in human habitation in Jaipur, RajasthanHarkirat Singh Sangha
Sangha, H. S. 2011. Unusual nesting site of the Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus in human habitation in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
Indian BIRDS 7 (2): 49.
Harkirat Singh Sangha, B-27, Gautam Marg, Hanuman Nagar, Jaipur 302021, Rajasthan, India. Email: harkirat.sangha@gmail.com
Manuscript received on 22 February 2010.

T

he nest of Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus is a naturaldepression or scrape in the ground sometimes lined with
mud pellets or goats’ droppings and prepared with bits ofcow dung or pebbles and sited on waste or stony land, fallow
fields, dry bed of village tanks, and shingle banks or islets in rivers(Ali & Ripley 1980).
The species is also known to nest at unusual sites like theflat concrete roof of a residential bungalow in New Delhi (Ali &Ripley 1980), and on the ballast of railway lines, so close to therails that the rail-boards of carriages actually pass over the nests(Baker 1929; McCann 1941).
Notes about the nesting on rooftops have accumulated over
the years, and various reasons have been offered to explain thephenomenon (Gole & Mundkur 1980; Tehsin & Lokhandwala
1983; Patnaik 1980; Mundkur 1985). However, this habit is not
new (Baker 1935).
Recently I discovered an unusual nest of the species near
my residence in Jaipur (Rajasthan, India). This nest was on topof a stone boundary wall, and birds were incubating on 29 June
2009.

The nest was in an irregular depression, c. 30 cm at its
maximum width, on top of the c.1.60 m high wall. The birds had
actually filled the uneven depression with pieces of pebbles, grit,and limestone (c. 66) to create a somewhat flat surface in the
depression. It is difficult to say why the bird chose this site to lay
eggs even though fairly suitable open area was available in thevicinity, and the species has been observed breeding successfullyon open ground.

References

Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1980. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together
with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Megapodes to Crab
Plovers. Vol. 2. 2nd (Hardback) ed. Delhi: (Sponsored by Bombay Natural
History Society.) Oxford University Press.
Baker, E. C. S., 1929. The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Birds.
Vol. 6. London: Taylor and Francis.
Baker, E. C. S., 1935. The nidification of birds of the Indian empire [Pandionidae–
Podicepidae]. Vol. 4. London: Taylor & Francis.
Gole, P., & Mundkur, T., 1980. An unusual nest of a pair of Redwattled Lapwing.
Newsletter for Birdwatchers 20 (6-7): 15.
McCann, C., 1941. Curious nesting site of the Red-wattled Lapwing (Lobivanellus
indicus indicus Bodd.). J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 42 (2): 441–442.
Mundkur, T., 1985. Observations on the roof-nesting habit of the Redwattled
Lapwing (Vanellus indicus) in Poona, Maharashtra. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.
82 (1): 194–196.
Patnaik, H. P., 1980. Unusual nesting site of Redwattled Lapwing. Newsletter for
Birdwatchers 20 (11): 9.
Tehsin, R. H., & Lokhandwala, J., 1983. Unusual nesting of Redwattled Lapwing(Vanellus indicus). J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 79 (2): 414.

Harkirat Singh Sangha

L: The nest with four eggs; R: Bird incubating.

50

Indian Birds Vol. 7 No. 2 (Publ. 15 October 2011)

Western Crowned Warbler Phylloscopus occipitalis
in Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary, southern RajasthanHarkirat Singh Sangha & Gobind Sagar Bhardwaj
Sangha, H. S., & Bhardwaj, G. S., 2011. Western Crowned Warbler Phylloscopus occipitalis in Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary, southern Rajasthan.
Indian BIRDS 7 (2): 50.
Harkirat Singh Sangha, B-27, Gautam Marg, Hanuman Nagar, Jaipur 302021-9 India. Email: harkirat.sangha@gmail.com
Gobind Sagar Bhardwaj, Scientist-E, Department of Protected Area Network, WL Management, and Conservation Education, Wildlife Institute ofIndia, Chandrabani, Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Email: gsbswm@rediffmail.com

Wof the peninsula (Ali & Ripley 1988) but winter distribution
elsewhere is uncertain (Grimmett et al. 1998).
From the available literature it is not possible to determine its
status in Rajasthan. None of the 20 specimens in the collectionof Bombay Natural History Society is from Rajasthan (Abdulali1986). The distribution map in Rasmussen & Anderton (2005)
indicates that it is a passage migrant through eastern and southern
Rajasthan but does not refer to any record. Kazmierczak (2000)
shows only isolated record(s) from Bharatpur during passage.
Although Ali & Ripley (1988) note that it is recorded on passage
in Rajasthan, and refer to, “records from
Rajasthan on 22 July,” they have notindicated the location of these records inthe state. While listing it in, “the list of birds
ringed from Bharatpur bird sanctuary,”
Saxena (1975) has erroneously ascribed
its status as resident in Bharatpur.
Thus the above sightings of thespecies in Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary
constitute the first wintering record of
the species in Rajasthan. It is possiblethat Western Crowned Warbler winters
more regularly in other suitable parts ofsouthern Rajasthan and further reports
are encouraged. It has been seen aslate as December in Delhi and it has
been suggested that odd individuals
might winter there (Harvey et al. 2006),
so a similar situation might pertain to
Rajasthan.

References

Abdulali, H., 1986. A catalogue of the birds in thecollection of the Bombay Natural History Society-31.
Muscicapidae (Sylviinae) (contd.). J. Bombay Nat.
Hist. Soc. 83 (2): 339–359.
Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1998. Handbook of thebirds of India and Pakistan together with those of
Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Robins
to wagtails. Vol 9. 2nd (Hardback) ed. Delhi:(Sponsored by Bombay Natural History Society.)
Oxford University Press.
Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 1998. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent.
London: Christopher Helm, A & C Black.
Harvey, B., Devasar, N., & Grewal, B., 2006. Atlas of the birds of Delhi and Haryana.
1st ed. New Delhi: Rupa & Co.
Kazmierczak, K., 2000. A field guide to the birds of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal,
Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. New Delhi: Om Book Service.
Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2005. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide:
field guide. Vol 1. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and
Lynx Edicions.
Saxena, V. S., 1975. A study of flora and fauna of Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary. Jaipur:
Forest Department, Government of Rajasthan.

Gobind Sagar Bhardwaj

hile birding near Sitabari / Valmiki Ashram (24º15’N
74o30’E) in Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary, Chittorgarh districtin southern Rajasthan on 21 December 2009 we noticed
a comparatively large warbler foraging in the middle canopy, but
our view was heavily criss-crossed with twigs and leaves, and thebird was constantly flitting back and forth, frantically feeding andpicking off insects as it went. Eventually it flew towards us andstopped for a brief second, and allowed us to see it better. GSB
managed to take photograph it during that brief period.
We looked at the results on the camera monitor and were quite
pleased to identify it as Western Crowned
Warbler Phylloscopus occipitalis. Later,
this bird, and at least four more birds,
in different parts of the sanctuary, gave
clear views to us during the day. The
species seemed to prefer denser partsof forest along the dry streambed. We
realised the significance of this sighting
in the evening when we consulted theavailable literature, in the forest rest house
at Bansi. We found it was recorded only
from Bharatpur in Rajasthan (Grimmett etal. 1998; Kazmierczak 2000).
The most obvious features of the firstbird, which was photographed by GSB,
were two yellowish wing-bars, crown stripe,
light grey-brown legs, and conspicuous
pinkish lower mandible (looked yellowishorange in good light).
After better views and results on camera
monitor, we were also able to discern thatthe bird had conspicuously long supercilia
extending to nape, yellower before andabove eye, whiter towards nape; lores andeye stripe dark-grey (looked almost blackin bad light); cheeks and ear-coverts faintly
yellowish. The upper parts had a greyishgreen cast and the under parts and ventwere essentially white with a grey wash
to the breast and flanks. Two yellowish wing bars and the headpattern of a greyish-white crown stripe and two broad dusky olive
coronal bands were very distinctive on the bird.
Western Crowned Warblers breed in the western Himalayas:
Safed Koh, Chitral and Swat, and Baltistan, east to Garhwal andKumaon, and winter in the Indian peninsula from southern Gujarat(Surat Dangs) and north-western Maharashtra (Dhulia), Madhya
Pradesh (Raipur), and the Eastern Ghats (Visakhapatnam) south
to the southern-most hills; more common on the western side

Dusky striped squirrel Funambulus sublineatus
as a part of mixed-species bird flocks
Ramachandran Vivek, Prerna R. Agarwal & Rachakonda Sreekar

M

Fig. 1. Dusky striped squirrel Funambulus sublineatus.

the Quaker Tit-Babbler is the leader species in mixed-species
flocks (Goodale et al. 2009; Sridhar & Sankar 2008), which
probably attracted other species by calling. It might be possiblethat Quaker Tit-Babblers formed flocks and led them to exploit
the foraging dusky striped squirrel by following it.
Research efforts are needed to study the behaviour and roleof the dusky striped squirrels in mixed-species flocks and elucidate
species-specific associations and assessment of interactions
between all members of these flocks.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr T. Ganesh and the ‘Academy for Conservation Sciences
and Sustainability studies’, ATREE for organising the certificate course and funding,
Agasthyamalai Community Conservation Center, ATREE for providing logistic support.
The Tamil Nadu Forest Department and Tamil Nadu Electricity Board for permission
and logistics. RV would like to thank the Department of Science and Technology(GOI) and NORAGRIC (UMB) for support.

References

Goodale, E., Nizam, B. Z., Robin, V. V., Sridhar, H., Trivedi, P., Kotagama, S. W., Padmalal,
U. K. G. K., Perera, R., Pramod, P. & Vijayan, L., 2009. Regional variation in thecomposition and structure of mixed-species bird flocks in the Western Ghats
and Sri Lanka. Current Science 97 (5): 648–663.
Greenberg, R., 2000. Birds of many feathers: the formation and structure of mixedspecies flocks of forest birds. In: On the Move: How and why animals travelin groups (Eds. S. Boinski & P. A. Gerber), pp. 521–558. Chicago:University of
Chicago Press.
Nimnuan S., Round P. D., & Gale G. A., 2004. Structure and composi­tion of mixedspecies insectivorous bird flocks in Khao Yai National Park. Nat. Hist. B. Siam
Soc. 52: 71–79.
Oommen, M. A., & Shanker, K., 2009. Shrewd alliances: mixed foraging associations
between treeshrews, greater racket-tailed drongos and sparrowhawks on Great
Nicobar Island, India. Biology Letters 6 (3): 304–307.
Sridhar, H., Beauchamp, G. & Shanker, K. 2009. Why do birds participate in mixedspecies foraging flocks? A large-scale synthesis. Animal Behaviour 78: 337–
347.
Sridhar, H., & Sankar, K., 2008. Effects of habitat degradation on mixed-species bird
flocks in Indian rain forests. J. Trop. Ecol. 24: 135–147.
Sandeep Das

ixed-species bird flock composition and structure changes
in response to forest habitats and geographical locations(Shridhar et al. 2009). It has been hypothesized that
mixed flocks evolve due to the increased benefits of foraging
and reduced costs of predation (Greenberg 2000; Sridhar et al.
2009; Oommen & Shanker 2009). On certain occasions, small
mammals form part of the mixed-species bird flocks, which are acharacteristic feature in South, and South-East Asia (Nimnuan etal. 2004; Goodale et al. 2009). However, not many reports areavailable on the association of small mammals like treeshrews,
squirrels with the avian component of mixed flocks from India(Goodale et al. 2009; Sridhar & Sankar 2008; Oomen & Shanker2009). In the present note, we report the presence of dusky
striped squirrel Funambulus sublineatus (Fig. 1) in mixedspecies insectivorous bird flocks in the selection-felled forests of
Kodayar (8o32’N 77o21’E; 1300 m above sea level) in Kalakad
Mundanturai Tiger Reserve (KMTR), Tamil Nadu, India.
On the afternoon of 20 August 2010, while walking through ariparian forest fragment habitat in Upper Kodayar, a mixed-species
insectivorous bird flock was sighted, which was led by a dusky
striped squirrel. The flock comprised individuals of Quaker TitBabbler Alcippe poioicephala, Grey-headed Flycatcher Culicicapa
ceylonensis (Fig. 2), and a Greater Racket-tailed Drongo Dicrurusparadiseus led by a dusky striped squirrel. The flock was spreadin the under-storey and mid-storey regions. The birds fed on theinsects flushed by the squirrel as it gleaned on tree bark. We
observed the flock for around ten minutes, till it disappeared in
the woods.
One of us (RV) has been studying bird communities in thisarea and has observed the dusky striped squirrel in mixed-species
flocks on 23 different occasions. Of the observed mixed foraging
associations between squirrels, and other bird species, barkgleaning insectivorous species such as Velvet-fronted Nuthatch
Sitta frontalis, and Common Flameback Dinopium javanense
were detected only on two of those occasions. The Quaker TitBabbler and Grey-headed Flycatcher were detected in all theflocks. The Greater Racket-tailed Drongo was a participant on
16 occasions. A total of 17 species were associated with theseflocks.
These observations suggest that the mixed flocks probably
associate with the dusky striped squirrel in the absence of barkgleaners like woodpeckers and nuthatches, which form an
important part of a mixed-species insectivorous bird flock in theregion. We observed dusky striped squirrel being at the forefront
and followed by the birds. However, previous studies show that

Sandeep Das

Vivek, R., Agarwal, P. R., Sreekar, R., 2011. Dusky Striped Squirrel Funambulus sublineatus as a part of
mixed-species bird flocks. Indian BIRDS 7 (2): 51.
Ramachandran Vivek, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) Royal Enclave,
Srirampura, Jakkur Post, Bangalore 560064, India. 1Email: vivekr@atree.org
Prerna R. Agarwal, Department of Biodiversity, M.E.S. Abasaheb Garware College, Karve Road,
Pune 411 004, India.
Rachakonda Sreekar, Agumbe Rainforest Research Station, Agumbe, Shimoga District 577411,
Fig. 2. Grey-headed Flycatcher Culicicapa ceylonensis.
Karnataka, India.
Manuscript received on 9 October 2010.

52

Indian Birds Vol. 7 No. 2 (Publ. 15 October 2011)

Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri
feeding on an old beehive
Prasad Ganpule
Ganpule, P., 2011. Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri feeding on an old beehive. Indian BIRDS 7 (2): 52.
Prasad Ganpule, C/o Parshuram Pottery Works, Opp Nazarbaug Station, Morbi-363642. Gujarat. E-mail: prasadganpule@gmail.com
Manuscript received on 11 January 2011.

T

Prasad Ganpule

observed pecking at beehives (Micklewright 1998).
he Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri is a common
The Rose-ringed Parakeet is particularly known for its habit
and widely occurring bird inhabiting all kinds of habitats inof wasting far more than what it actually consumes (Ali 2002).
India (Rasmussen & Anderton 2005). It is seen in good
According to Ali & Ripley (1981), these birds eat fruits, cereals,
numbers in all parts of Gujarat also.
grains, flower petals, seeds, and nectar of various flowers. TheseOn 21 December 2010, at around 1100 hrs, near my house
birds are known to eat various seeds (Chaturvedi 1995), leaves
in Morbi, Rajkot district, Gujarat (22°49’N, 70°50’E), I observedof Salvadora persica (Balasubramanian 1989) and even shoots,
a flock of four Rose-ringed Parakeets feeding on an old andbark, and mature phyllodes of Acacia auriculiformis (Tessierabandoned beehive. This beehive is constructed in the same
Yandell 1976).
tree every year probably by the giant honey bee Apis dorsata,
However, the Rose-ringed Parakeet is not known to eat
which is known to make large beehives in trees, buildings, etc.
beeswax from abandoned beehives, and this could be considered
The beehive is abandoned annually at the beginning of winter.
an addition to its varied diet.
The bees return in late February or early March and reoccupy/
rebuild it.
References
The four Rose-ringed
Ali, S., 2002. The book of
Parakeets were perched
Indian birds. 13th (Revised)ed. Daniel, J. C. (ed.) Mumbai:
on the abandoned
Bombay Natural History Society
beehiveandwere& Oxford University Press.
breaking it apart with
Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1981.
Handbook of the birds of India
their beaks. They would
and Pakistan together withthen swallow a bit of thethose of Bangladesh, Nepal,
beeswax, and in their
Bhutan and Ceylon. Stone
usual fashion, waste
Curlews to Owls. Vol 3. 2nd ed.
Delhi: (Sponsored by Bombay
a large part of it. They
Natural History Society.) Oxford
continued doing this
University Press.
for about ten minutes
Balasubramanian, P., 1989. A
note on Roseringed Parakeet
and then flew away. I
Psittacula krameri feeding
was able to take someon the leaves of Salvadoraphotographs of thispersica in the Point Calimere
behaviour for one bird
Wildlife Sanctuary. J. Bombay
Nat. Hist. Soc. 86 (1): 103.
(Fig. 1).
Chaturvedi, N., & Almeida, M.
I believe the birds
R., 1995. Roseringed Parakeets
were, either eating thePsittacula krameri (Scopoli)
feeding on seeds of Karvi
wax, or searching for, andCarvia callosa (Nees) Bremek.
eating, residual honey
J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 92
in the comb. Though(1): 121.
the beehive is repaired/
Horne, J. F. M., & Short, L. L.,
1990. Wax-eating by African
constructed every year,
Common Bulbuls. Wilson Bull.
this was the first time I
102 (2): 339–341.
Fig. 1. Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri feeding on wax from beehive.
had observed the RoseMicklewright, S., 1998. Green
Woodpeckers: Unusual feeding
ringed Parakeets eating
behaviour.
Worcestershire
the beeswax.
Record 4 (May): 15.
The eating of beeswax by birds is well documented. In a study
Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. 2
conducted in Africa, many species of birds were observed feeding
vols. Washington D. C. & Barcelona, Smithsonian Institution & Lynx Edicions.
Tessier-Yandell, J., 1976. Unusual behaviour of Psittacula krameri borealis. J.
at an artificial beeswax ’feeding station‘ with the Common Bulbul
Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 72 (2): 538.
Pycnonotus barbatus feeding regularly on the beeswax (Horne& Short 1990). Many seabirds, and Honeyguides (Indicatoridae)
are also known to feed on wax. (Horne & Short 1990). In England,
Green Woodpecker Picus viridis, Great Spotted Woodpecker
Dendrocopos major, and Nuthatch Sitta europea have been

Turaga: Birds feeding on yellow oleander

Oriental White-eye Zosterops palpebrosus and Purple Sunbird
Nectarinia asiatica feeding on yellow oleander Thevetia peruviana
Janaki Turaga
Turaga, J., 2011. Oriental White-eye Zosterops palpebrosus and Purple Sunbird Nectarinia asiatica feedingon yellow oleander Thevetia peruviana Indian BIRDS 7 (2): 53.
Janaki Turaga, G-5, New Palam Vihar, Phase 1, Gurgaon 122017, Haryana, India. Email: janakituraga@gmail.com
Manuscript received on 10 June 2010.

Y

ellow oleander Thevetia peruviana is an alien invasive
species introduced purportedly from Tropical America(Reddy et al. 2008). Its native range includes the West
Indies, and Mexico’s dry and hot areas. It has found its range
extended as an ornamental plant in the tropics (Krishen 2006).
In India, its date and nature of introduction is unknown. Its
primary promoters in India are the urban horticulturists and theyuse it extensively to ‘green’ urban areas, and it makes a pretty
picture with its white, peach and yellow flowers lining the roadsof our cities and towns. Its range is not confined to urban areas,
but extends to rural areas of India. It is able to thrive in poor
soils. Cattle do not feed on the leaves, enabling its survival, andwhich is one of the reasons why horticulturists favour this plant.
Though, considered as an alien invasive species, its impact on
the ecosystems that it invades is not much understood. It is oneof the known poisonous plants of the world and all its parts arepoisonous. But surprisingly, some birds have been observed tofeed on its nectar and fruits.
A few of a flock of approximately ten Oriental White-eyes
Zosterops palpebrosus were observed feeding on the unripe fruit
which was still on the tree, of the poisonous yellow oleander treeon 7 December 2009. The yellow oleander trees were avenue
trees in Palam Vihar, a residential colony in Gurgaon. This isan addition to the list of birds reported to have fruits of yellow
oleander as part of their diet—Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopacea(Krishnan 1952; Kannan 1992), Indian Grey Hornbill Ocyceros
birostris (Neelakantan 1953), Common Myna Acridotheres
tristis, (Krishnan 1954), Lesser Coucal Centropus bengalensis(Raj 1963), Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer (Raj 1960),
White-headed Babbler Turdoides affinis, White-browed Bulbul P.
luteolus (Raj 1960), Red-whiskered Bulbul P. jocosus (Raj 1963),
Brahminy Starling Sturnus pagodarum (Raj 1963), and domestic
fowl (Rajasingh & Rajasingh 1971). The ground below was litteredwith half eaten fruit indicating that the birds avidly ate the fruits. The
half-eaten fruit litter was very like that of parakeets’ feast of guava
fruits in an orchard. Purple Sunbirds Nectarinia asiatica were also
observed feasting on the nectar of flowers of yellow oleander.

It is well known that all parts of yellow oleander are poisonous
to humans. What are not known are the immune propertiesof these birds vis-á-vis the poison contained in the fruits andflowers of yellow oleander and whether the poison is neutralised
by ingestion of a neutralising agent. Also, whether the fruits of
the yellow oleander are an integral part of the regular diet ofthese birds, or only taken during times of food scarcity. It is also
not clear whether this is a phenomenon confined only to areas
where the tree has been widely introduced by civic agencies ingreening areas, especially urban, which could imply that given its
relatively recent addition to the local ecosystems, it has increased
the food diversity and security, especially, of urban populations ofOriental White-eyes. Further, it is also not known whether there
is any impact of the toxins on predators of birds that have fed on
the fruits and flower nectar of yellow oleander.

Acknowledgements

I thank Dr V. Santharam for his valuable inputs and guidance.

References

Kannan. R., 1992. Koels feeding on the yellow oleander. Blackbuck 7 (2): 48.
Krishnan, M., 1952. Koels (Eudynamis scolopaceus) eating the poisonous fruit of
the Yellow Oleander. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 50 (4): 943–945.
Krishnan, S. M., 1954. Birds eating the poisonous fruit of the Yellow Oleander(Thevetia neriifolia). J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 52 (1): 207.
Neelakantan, K. K., 1953. Common Grey Hornbill (Tockus birostris) eating fruits of
the Yellow Oleander (Thevetia neriifolia). J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 51 (3):738.
Krishen, P. 2006. Trees of Delhi: A Field Guide. New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley India
pp 360.
Raj, P. J. S., 1960. Birds eating poisonous fruit of Yellow Oleander (Thevetia
neriifolia). J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 56 (3): 639.
Raj, P. J. S., 1963. Additions to the list of birds eating the fruit of Yellow Oleander(Thevetia neriifolia). J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 60 (2): 457–458.
Rajasingh, S. G., & Rajasingh, I. V., 1971. Birds and mammals eating the fruits of
Yellow Oleander (Thevetia peruviana). J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 67 (3):572–573 (1970).
Reddy, C. S., Bagyanarayana, B., Reddy, K. N., & Raju V. S., 2008. Invasive alien
flora of India. National Biological Information Infrastructure, USGS, USA. http://
www.gisinetwork.org/IndiaInvasivePlants/documents/assessment_Invasive_
India-jan08.pdf[Accessed on 6 September 2011].

53

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Indian Birds Vol. 7 No. 2 (Publ. 15 October 2011)

The dates of seven new taxa described by W. E. Brooks(Certhia Hodgsoni, Sitta Cashmirensis, Dumeticola major,
Horites [sic] Pallidus, Phylloscopus Tytleri, Motacilla
Cashmirensis, and Alauda Guttata)
Aasheesh Pittie
Pittie, A., 2010. The dates of seven new taxa described by W. E. Brooks (Certhia Hodgsoni, Sitta Cashmirensis, Dumeticola major,
Horites [sic] Pallidus, Phylloscopus Tytleri, Motacilla Cashmirensis, and Alauda Guttata). Indian BIRDS 7 (2): 54–55.
Aasheesh Pittie, P. O. Box # 68, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad 500034, Andhra Pradesh, India. Email: aasheesh.pittie@gmail.com.

In the Nineteenth Century, ornithologists from South Asia used
the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (JASB) to publish
descriptions of many new bird taxa. The JASB was however
fraught with problems like financial constraints, and lack of editors,
which resulted in delays in publication. Consequently, two dates
are sometimes cited for the same description—one, the volume
year, and the other, the year in which the JASB was actually
published, or publication year. Sometimes, papers were read out
in the monthly committee meetings of the Society and publishedas part of the dated minutes in the JASB. However, after 1865,
the minutes were published separately in the Proceedings of the
Asiatic Society of Bengal (Mitra 1885). This caused additional
confusion, as some taxa seemed to be described as new in both,
the JASB, and the Proceedings.
The ninth paper tabled at the 6 September 1871 meeting of
the Asiatic Society of Bengal was by the Civil Engineer (Railways)of Etawah, William Edwin Brooks. It noticed eight avian taxa from
‘Cashmir’ [=Jammu & Kashmir], seven of which were considered

Author(s)Oates 18892, 18903
Baker 19224, 1924, 1926, 19305
Mayr & Greenway 1960
Greenway 1967a
Greenway 1967b
Ripley 1982
Watson et al. 1986
Ali & Ripley 1987
Dickinson et al. 2001
Dickinson 2003
Bairlein 2006
Harrap 2008b, a
Dickinson 2008

‘new species’ at the time (Brooks 1871; Table 1). Of these, twotaxa, namely, Motacilla Cashmirensis, and Alauda Guttata havesince become part of the synonymy of other taxa (Table 2). The
remaining five taxa are still in use, but various authorities haverecorded their dates of publication inconsistently, over the years—
except for that of Sitta cashmirensis (Table 1).
At the end of Brooks’s paper was an editorial note stating,“This paper will be published in full in the 1st number of the
Natural History Part of the Journal for 1872,” (p. 210). The paper
was indeed published in the Journal of the Society (Brooks
1872b) in the first issue of Part II1 of Volume 41, which dates
from 1 May 1872, and this has usually been cited in subsequent
ornithological works (see Table 2). However, the correct citation
for these taxa is from the Proceedings (Brooks 1871).
Certhia Hodgsoni, Sitta Cashmirensis, Dumeticola major,
Horites [sic] pallidus, and Phylloscopus Tytleri, are all valid newnames with valid descriptions as published by Brooks (1871),
and fulfill the requirements of the Principle of Priority laid down in

Table 1. Taxa described by Brooks (1871), and their year of publication given in various sources(Correct dating is in bold font)
Certhia
Sitta
Dumeticola
Horites [sic]Phylloscopus
Hodgsoni
Cashmirensis
major
pallidusTytleri
1872b
1872b
—
—
18737
1872b
—
1872b
—
18738
—
187110
1871

1871
1871
—
1871
—
1871
—
1871
—
1871
—
1871
—

1872b
1872b
—
—
—
1871
1872b
1871
—
1872b
1872b

1872b
1872b
—
—
—
1872b
1872b
1872b
—
1871
1871

1872a
1872a
—
—
—
1872a
1872a
1872a
—
1872a
1872a?9

1871

—

1871

Motacilla
Cashmirensis

AlaudaGuttata

1871
1871
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

1872b
1872b
18736
—
—
1872b
—
1872b
1871
—
—
—
—

1 Part II comprised four issues in ‘Natural Science’ published between May and December 1872. The dates of issue of Part I are
not known to me. The dates of publication of Part II are printed below the ‘List of contributors,’ after the title page.
2 Oates used an incorrect subsequent spelling: Sitta kashmirensis (1: 303).
3 Oates used an incorrect subsequent spelling in the synonymy of Motacilla personata: Motacilla cashmeriensis (2: 290).
4 Baker used an incorrect subsequent spelling: Sitta kashmiriensis (1: 128).
5 Baker used an incorrect subsequent spelling in the synonymy of Motacilla alba personata: Motacilla cashmeriensis (7: 260).
6 This is an erroneous date for Brooks 1872b.
7 This is an erroneous date for Brooks 1872b.
8 Wrong year. No reference cited.
9 Bairlein does not cite the source publication.
10 del Hoyo et al. (2008) quote the wrong reference: “Brooks, W.E. (1871). J. Asiatic Soc. Bengal 41 (1872): 74 [Certhia hodgsoni]” (p. 799).

Pittie: New taxa by W. E. Brooks

Table 2. Recommended citations of taxa described by Brooks (1871)
SourceRecommended citation

Citation in Brooks 1871

Current Usage

Certhia Hodgsoni, p. 209

Certhia familiaris hodgsoni

Harrap 2008b

Certhia familiaris hodgsoni W.E. Brooks, 1871, Proc. Asiatic Soc. Bengal p. 209.

Sitta Cashmirensis, p. 209

Sitta cashmirensis

Harrap 2008a

Sitta cashmirensis W.E. Brooks, 1871, Proc. Asiatic Soc. Bengal p. 209.

Dumeticola major, p. 210

Bradypterus major

Bairlein 2006

Bradypterus major (W.E. Brooks, 1871), Proc. Asiatic Soc. Bengal p. 210.

Horites [sic] Pallidus, p. 210

Cettia fortipes pallida

Bairlein 2006

Cettia fortipes pallida (W.E. Brooks, 1871), Proc. Asiatic Soc. Bengal p. 210.

Phylloscopus Tytleri, p. 210

Phylloscopus tytleri

Bairlein 2006

Phylloscopus tytleri W.E. Brooks, 1871, Proc. Asiatic Soc. Bengal p. 210.

Motacilla Cashmirensis, p. 210

Motacilla alba personata

Sharpe 1885
Baker 1930

Motacilla alba personata Gould, 1861, Birds of Asia, pt. xiii, vol. iv., pl. 63.

Alauda Guttata, p. 210

Alauda gulgula lhamarum

de Juana et al. 2004

Alauda gulgula lhamarum R. Meinertzhagen & A. Meinertzhagen, 1926,
Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl. 46: 100.

Article 23 of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature(ICZN 1999). Therefore they have precedence over Brooks(1872a, b).
It is recommended that future citations follow column 4 inTable 2.
To further learn how Alauda guttata was placed in synonymy(Table 2) please see Dickinson et al. (2001).

Acknowledgements

I thank E. C. Dickinson for pointing out this anomaly to me, literally putting thefacts on my plate, and commenting on earlier drafts; I also thank Dharan, etc., of
BNHS library, Bombay, and Amar Bhagat, and Harsh Bajoria in Kolkata for help withpublications of the Asiatic Society.

References

Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1987. Compact handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan
together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. 2nd ed.
Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Baker, E. C. S., 1922. The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Birds.
Vol I. 2nd ed. Shipley, A. E. (ed.) London: Taylor and Francis.
Baker, E. C. S., 1924. The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Birds.
Vol II. 2nd ed. Shipley, A. E. (ed.) London: Taylor and Francis.
Baker, E. C. S., 1926. The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Birds.
Vol III. 2nd ed. Shipley, A. E. (ed.) London: Taylor and Francis.
Baker, E. C. S., 1930. The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Birds.
Vol VII. 2nd ed. London: Taylor and Francis.
Bairlein, F., 2006. Family Sylviidae (Old World warblers). In: Handbook of the birds ofthe world. Volume 11. Old World flycatchers to Old World warblers. Pp. 492–
709. del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Christie, D. (eds.). Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.
Brooks, W. E., 1871. Notes on the ornithology of Cashmir. Proc. Asiatic Soc. Bengal
1871 (September): 209–210.
Brooks, W. E., 1872a. On a new species of Phylloscopus. Ibis 14 (1): 22–23. [Publ.,
January 1872.]
Brooks, W. E., 1872b. Notes on the ornithology of Cashmir. J. Asiatic Soc. Bengal XLI(Part II No I): 73–86. [Publ., 1 May 1872.]
Craig, A. J. F. K., & Feare, C. J., 2009. Family Sturnidae (Starlings). In: Handbookof the birds of the world. Volume 14. Bush-shrikes to Old World sparrows.
14: 654–758. del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Christie, D. (eds.). Barcelona: Lynx
Edicions.
de Juana, E., Suárez, F., Ryan, P. G., Alström, P., & Donald, P. F., 2004. Family Alaudidae(Larks). In: Handbook of the birds of the world. Cotingas to pipits and wagtails.
Pp. 496–601. del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Christie, D. (eds.). Barcelona: Lynx
Edicions.
del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Christie, D., 2008. Handbook of the birds of the world.
Volume 13. Penduline-Tits to Shrikes. Vol. 13. 1st ed. Barcelona: Lynx
Edicions.
Dickinson, E. C., (ed.) 2003. The Howard and Moore complete checklist of the birdsof the World. 3rd ed. London: Christopher Helm.
Dickinson, E. C., 2008. Howard & Moore (2003): Corrigenda 8 (15 October 2008).
Pp. 1–87. Unpublished pdf file downloaded on 23 May 2010 at 1314 hrs from:http://science.naturalis.nl/media/133200/hm_corrigenda_8_oct_2008.pdf
Dickinson, E. C., Dekker, R. W. R. J., Eck, S., & Somadikarta, S., 2001. Systematic
notes on Asian birds. 12. Types of the Alaudidae. Zoologische Verhandelingen,
Leiden 335: 85–126.
Dickinson, E. C., Loskot, V. M., Morioka, H., Somadikarta, S., & van den Elzen, R.,
2006. Systematic notes on Asian birds. 66. Types of the Sittidae and Certhiidae.

Zoologische Mededelingen, Leiden 80-5 (18): 287–310.
Greenway, J. C., Jr., 1967a. Passeriformes: suborder Oscines, family Sittidae. In:
Check-list of birds of the world. A continuation of the work of James L. Peters.
XII: 125–150. Paynter, R. A., Jr. (ed.) Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of
Comparative Zoology.
Greenway, J. C., Jr., 1967b. Passeriformes: suborder Oscines, family Certhiidae. In:
Check-list of birds of the world. A continuation of the work of James L. Peters.
XII: 150–160. Paynter, R. A., Jr. (ed.) Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of
Comparative Zoology.
Harrap, S., 2008a. Family Sittidae (Nuthatches). In: Handbook of the birds of theworld. Volume 13. Penduline-tits to Shrikes. Pp. 102–145. del Hoyo, J., Elliott,A., & Christie, D. (eds.). Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.
Harrap, S., 2008b. Family Certhiidae (Treecreepers). In: Handbook of the birds ofthe world. Volume 13. Penduline-tits to Shrikes. Pp. 166–187. del Hoyo, J.,
Elliott, A., & Christie, D. (eds.). Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.
ICZN, 1999. International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. 4th ed. London: The
International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature.
Mayr, E., & Greenway, J. C., Jr. (eds.). 1960. Check-list of birds of the world. A
continuation of the work of James L. Peters. Vol IX. 1st ed. Cambridge,
Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology.
Mitra, R., 1885 (Reprinted 1986). Centenary Review of the Asiatic Society 17841884. Part I. History of the Society. Reprint ed. Calcutta: The Asiatic Society.
Oates, E. W., 1889. The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma (Birds).
Vol. I. 1st ed. Blanford, W. T. (ed.) London: Taylor and Francis.
Oates, E. W., 1890. The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma (Birds).
Vol. II. 1st ed. Blanford, W. T. (ed.) London: Taylor and Francis.
Ripley, S. D., 1982. A synopsis of the birds of India and Pakistan together with thoseof Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. 2nd ed. Bombay; Oxford:
Bombay Natural History Society; Oxford University Press.
Sharpe, R. B., 1885. Catalogue of the Passeriformes, or Perching Birds, in thecollection of the British Museum. Fringilliformes: Part I. Containing theFamilies Dicæidæ, Hirundinidæ, Ampelidæ, Mniotiltidæ, and Motacillidæ. Vol.
X. London: British Museum of Natural History.
Watson, G. E., Traylor, M. A., Jr., & Mayr, E., 1986. Passeriformes: suborder Oscines,
family Sylviidae. In: Check-list of birds of the world. A continuation of the workof James L. Peters. XI: 3–294. Mayr, E., & Cottrell, G. W., (eds.). Cambridge,
Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Hume-isms“So few birds, comparatively speaking, are named
after ladies, that one grudges the loss of even oneof these delicate tributes of affection, but still I muchfear that Maria’s Pomatorhinus must disappear into
the shadow-realms of synonyms.”[Stray Feathers 5: 136, wherein stating that Blyth’s
P. albogularis (1855) was similar to Lord Walden’s P.
mariae (1875).]

55

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Indian Birds Vol. 7 No. 2 (Publ. 15 October 2011)

Crested Serpent-Eagle Spilornis cheela preying on termites(Termitidae) in Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat, India
Anirudhkumar Vasava
Vasava, A., 2011. Crested Serpent-Eagle Spilornis cheela preying on termites (Termitidae) in Shoolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat, India.
Indian BIRDS 7 (X): 56.
Anirudhkumar Vasava, Wildlife institute of India, Post Box no 18, Chandrabani, Dehradun-248001, Uttaranchal, India.
Email: aniruddh.vasava@gmail.com
Manuscript received on 20 January 2011.

T

he Crested Serpent-Eagle Spilornis cheela has a wideranging diet comprising snakes, lizards, frogs, toads, small
mammals, and birds (Naoroji & Monga 1984; Ali & Ripley
1987; Ferguson-Lees & Christie 2001; Waghray et al. 2003;
Naoroji 2006). It occasionally supplements this diet with treefrogs, grubs, fish, and crabs (Ferguson & Christie 2001; Naoroji2006). However, reports of it feeding on small insects are scarce(Naoroji 2006).
On 10 July 2009, at 1700 hrs I was in Shoolpaneshwar
Wildlife Sanctuary (21o41’4.69”N 73o47’54.00”E) in Narmada
district, Gujarat, India. While driving back from the Malsamot area
I spotted a Crested Serpent-Eagle on the ground. It was about
130 m away from me, and was hopping around trying to catch,and feed upon some swarming termites (Termitidae). It also
perched on low branches and swooped down to catch them as
they flew about. The monsoon had just begun in western India
and alates of these termites were emerging from the ground fortheir annual mating session. I observed the bird feeding for nearly
15 min., after which it flew away. Though Naoroji (2006) does
list termites in the diet of the Crested Serpent Eagle, I present thisobservation, as it is an uncommon occurrence.

References

Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1987. Compact handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan
together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. 2nd ed.
Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Ferguson-Lees, J., & Christie, D. A., 2001. Raptors of the World. 1st ed. London:
Christopher Helm.
Lerner, H. R. L., & Mindell, D. P., 2005. Phylogeny of eagles, Old World vultures,and other Accipitridae based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. MolecularPhylogenetics & Evolution 37: 327–346.
Naoroji, R., 2006. Birds of prey of the Indian Subcontinent. New Delhi: Om Books
International.
Naoroji, R. K., & Monga, S. G., 1984. Observations on the Crested Serpent Eagle(Spilornis cheela) in Rajpipla forests - South Gujarat. Journal of the Bombay
Natural History Society 80 (2): 273–285.
Waghray, P., Siddiqui, I., Siddiqui, A., 2003. Saving Andhra’s Tigers. Sanctuary 23(6): 54–59.

Letters to the Editor
Dear Sir,I read the lead article on Gwendolen (Wendy) Mary Beryl Sparks
in the Indian BIRDS volume 6 no. 6 with great interest, but alsowith a tinge of nostalgia, for I knew Wendy, in a way, and wecorresponded for a few months by snail mail during 1998–1999.
The article prompted me to pull out our old letters. She had
graciously responded, to my appeal in the Oriental Bird Club
Bulletin for records of Sociable Lapwing Vanellus gregarious
from the Indian Subcontinent, by writing a detailed and formal
letter on 26 August 1998. Interestingly she had recorded a large
flock c. 200 Sociable
Lapwings as early as
3 August on the golfcourse near Vijay Vilas
Palace, Mandvi. In the
concluding
paragraphof the letter she advised
me to contact M. K.
S. Himmatsinhji if I
was not, “already incorrespondence
withHimmatsinji
Jadejaregardinghisown
records,
andolder
records from Kutch.”
In one of her lettersto me she expressed herfeelings and views quite freely. She wanted to send me the list of
waders seen by her in India by going through her, “bird notes of
1947–8”. However, “in the event this proved to be much morelaborious,” than she had anticipated and, therefore, promised tosend me copy of her, “Indian Sub-continent bird lists,” very soon.
She added that she’d better get on with it, as at her advanced
age, “one does not know how much time one has got. I am
already eighty-two years old!”
Before sending her, “Indian Sub-continent bird lists,” tome she informed me that her main list was in diary form, inchronological order, but lamented, “there were not many books
available at the time,” and, “Stuart Baker left much to be desired
as a Field Guide!”
In her last letter to me, 27 October 1999, which was hand
written in blue ink, matching the colour of the letterhead, she
enclosed, “the promised copy,” of her “1947–8 BIRD LIST.”
Incidentally, while I was corresponding with Wendy Sparks I
was also corresponding with Himmatsinhji of Bhuj. When I had
asked for his views regarding the rather early arrival dates ofSociable Lapwing mentioned by Wendy Sparks, Himmatsinhji very
promptly sent a handwritten letter (most letters were typewritten),and informed me that, “she had taken meticulous notes of thebirds she had seen. In fact she was good at identification.” Healso shared some personal information about himself, adding,“she encouraged me a great deal in my hobby of birdwatching.”– Harkirat Singh Sangha

B-27, Gautam Marg, Hanuman Nagar, Jaipur 302021, Rajasthan, India.

Review

Review
Nightjars, potoos, frogmouths,
oilbird and owlet-nightjarsof the world
Author: Nigel Cleere
ISBN: 978-1-903657-07-2
Pages: 464
Colour photos: 590
Cover: Hardback with dust jacket
Dimensions: 176mm x 250mm
Publisher: WILDGUIDES
Supporting: BirdLife International’s
Preventing Extinctions ProgrammeIn forty years of tramping over India’s wilderness, no order ofbirds has caused me so much consternation (and indeed joy)than the cryptically colored Caprimulgiformes—the nightjars(Caprimulgidae), and allied species. By day these nocturnal,
hardly-seen, obscurely known species lurk hidden in tropicalforests, or grassland, pretending to be tree-stumps, or leaf litter. To
compound their esoteric behaviour, they all look similar, making
them almost as difficult to identify as leaf-warblers (Phylloscopusspp.).
Therefore Nigel Cleere’s Nightjars of the World comes as agreat relief to those of us who have lain awake all night trying tofigure out which nightjar we had a fleeting glimpse of. This pathbreaking book covers 135 species of nightjars and 17 species offrogmouths (Podargidae). Even though the Indian birdwatcher,has to deal with only 11 nightjars and two frogmouths, I would
strongly urge, those who can afford it, to buy it for the sheer
pleasure of holding such a worthy tome.
Caprimulgus means ‘goat-sucker’ in Greek, as the ancientsthought these birds, fed off the udders of livestock under cover of
darkness, and so spread disease amongst their herds. The Indian
birder, for whom this review is meant, has no such illusions, being
occupied by the big question of how to differentiate between the‘Indian’ and the ‘Grey’. In recent times my friend Pam Rasmussen
has (quite rightly) tried to bring some ‘sanity’ amongst this alreadyconfusing family. She has split the Large-tailed– earlier called
Long-tailed and created Jerdon’s of the southern peninsula. The
Andaman Nightjar has been promoted to full species status, but
beware; there still exists an ‘Indian Jungle Nightjar‘ as well as a
‘Little Indian Nightjar.’ All this goes to prove how essential Cleere’sbook is!
The two frogmouths, found in India, are much easier to
identify, only because they exist in separate parts of India, with
the Sri Lankan Frogmouth being a peninsular bird, and Hodgson’s,
having scattered records from Eaglenest, Namdapha, and Bhutan
in north-eastern India.
Most of us see nightjars in the murky evening light, oroccasionally stumble upon them sitting motionless during theday, but they rarely afford a good look. Using vocalisation in
identifying these birds is perhaps the best way to identify thesebirds and in the past most birders have depended on the calls for
positive identification. Having said that, for nine species of (nonIndian) nightjars, vocalizations are yet to be recorded!
Cleere’s book starts with a long and detailed introduction. His
aim is “to present an easy-to-use guide to help identify nightjars
and related birds by providing a tool to help identify [this family]… it is hoped to stimulate greater interest in finding, observing,and studying these phantoms of the night.” The introduction,with broad distribution maps, discusses, inter alia, plumage andstructure, the challenges of taxonomy and biology. The foreword
by conservation expert Nigel Collar too makes for fascinating
reading.
Over 550 photographs, (taken by 190 photographers)
add great value to the book. As Collar says in his foreword,“artwork usually trumps photography to illustrate field guides andhandbooks … but, on the other hand, if a publisher is so generous
as to provide multiple shots of the species in question, a whole
new dimension to the business of field identification opens up”.
Every species is illustrated, mostly with images of live birds, but
in case where such photographs do not exist, photos of museum
skins have been used. Interestingly these include five species thathave not been seen since they were first discovered.
There has been some criticism that the text is too sketchy,
and while this book does not provide detailed descriptions, therange map, identification pointers, and vocalization are enoughto help the reader find his way. The exquisite photographs are ofcourse a great help.
The book itself is a joy to hold, with the publisher not stinting
on its production. The printing and binding are excellent as is
the simple but elegant layout. I am not too sure about its easy
availability in India, but if you can lay your hands on it, I urge you
to buy it, for it is, in my opinion, one of the most significant books
produced recently, and one that will give you immense pleasure
as you browse through it in the late evenings.
–Bikram Grewal

Hume-isms“His Lordship (Lord Tweeddale) in this letter seems
to think that any one who ventures to dispute his
dicta is a public offender. This is very childish; weare all quite willing to give him full credit for all thegood work he does and has done; but of course if
he will [use italics for caps] mar the effect of this byflagrant self-sufficiency adn an affectation of being
the supreme authority in such matters, he will belaughed at despite all his merits, and when he makes
blunders, as he and all of us too often do, of course
he will be more sat upon than other less pretentious
mortals.”[Stray Feathers 6: 54 footnote re a letter from Lord
Tweeddale to the Ibis regarding some taxonomic
matters.]56ANiranjan Sant

For private circulation only.

Common Buzzard

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