Newsletter for Birdwatchers 52 (6), 2012

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Vol. 52

No. 6

Nov - Dec 2012

Editorial Board Dr. A.M.K. Bharos Harish R. Bhat Dr. S.P. Bhatnagar Dr. A.K. Chakravarthy Dr. Ranjan Kumar Das Dr. S. Devasahayam B.S. Kulkarni Arvind Mishra

Dr. Geeta S. Padate K. Mrutumjaya Rao A.N. Yellappa Reddy Dr. Rajiv Saxena Dr. A.B. Shanbhag Arunayan Sharma S. Sridhar Dr. Abraham Verghese, FRES (London)

Publisher : S. Sridhar

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Note from the Publisher A welcome reprieve for Amur Falcons in Na galand Ar ticles Ring recovery of Russia n marked Black Stork (C icon ia n i g ra ) i n Am ra vati d i stri ct o f Ma ha ra s h tra , by Ash ahar (a) Krishna Khan and Raju Kasambe Are Pi g e o ns Be a u ti fu l bi rd s o r R a ts wi th Win g s ? by A.N. Yellap pa Reddy a nd S. Sridhar Varie nt call o f the Eura sian Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), by Arun M K Bharos Fi rs t re port of Ju ng le o r Gre y Nig htja r (Ca prim ul gu s in di cu s) in Kha di r Isl an d, R apa r (Kachchh), Gu ja ra t, by Hire n Soni and Justus Jo shua Correspondence Grey Headed Lapwing (Vanellus cinereus) : A new sighting and some insight by Patil V. K., Mhaiske V. M & Bhave S. G.. First sighting of River Lapwing (Vanellus duvaucelii) in the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, by Dipankar Lahkar In te re sting h un ti ng be ha vi or of Barn ow l (Tyto al b a ) by Aravind Bh aros. R e ce n t si g h tin g reco rd s o f Gre y-he a d e d L a p wi n g (Vanellus cinereus) in Maharashtra, by Raju Kasambe, et. al. Vultu res in Pul icat Lake by Vaithi anathan Ka nnan, Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus Lob atus) In breeding plu mage In fres hwate r ecos ystem of Ka chchh Distri ct, Guja rat, b y Hiren Soni and Jus tus Jo shua

Note from the Publisher Dear Fellow Birdwa tchers A welc ome reprieve for Amur Falcons in Na galand Beginn ing this yea r, Amur Falcons (Falco am urensis Radde 1863), often referred to as Eastern Red-legged Falco ns are being given a welcome reprieve i n Nagalan d. Researchers Shashank Dalvi and Ramki Sreenivasan, had reported in 2012, with g ruesome de tails, the slaughtering of more than one lakh Amur falcons in a remote part of n orth-easte rn India d uring Octo b e r-N o vem b e r e a ch ye a r. The vis ua ls of s ho ckin g massacre of tens of thousands of migrating falcons congregating along the banks of the Doyang reservoir in Wokh a dis trict of Nagal and had se nt the glo bal bird l oving comm unity to g rieve in utter disbeli ef. Graphi c evidence of thousa nds of bea utiful Amu r fal con s b ei n g ca u gh t i n m is t n ets , p lu cke d a li ve ,

skewered, and then smoked before transport to market for sale as a cheap source of prote in, was rather revolting. Thankfully, robust conservation action was initiated by Birdlife International in coordination with BNHS, Indian Forest Authorities and District Administration to stop the mindless slaughter of this spe cies. Media reports have claimed that during the last year, nets were destroyed, captured birds were released, sale of falcons was stopped and arrests were made. Plans were then put in place to ensure the atrocity would not be repeated this year. Simil ar conservation me as ure s oug ht to b e i ni tia te d o n a w ar fo oting a t o th er destinations; for e.g. E. Africa, where good numbers of this species are landing in the cooking pots of countryside hamlets. Popularly identi fied as ‘Daotu hagra’ by the locals, Amur Falcon is kno wn to breed in N orth Cachar in N orth Eas t In dia as reported by Baker and sub sequently recorded i n North Ea st by Hume a s ‘appearin g in large numbers by about mid-October and dis appe arin g ab out mid-D ecem ber’ . Th is b ird is a lso re co rd ed as a regu la r, co ld w ea the r vi sitor to N. As sa m, (Dibru garh Dist) and Manipur and comparatively com mon in East Bengal during monsoon. It is obviously a passage migrant to an d from Eas t and South Africa. However, stragglers have been o bserved du ring autumn and spring passage b etween Se ptem be r an d Ap ri l in m an y area s of p en in su la r In di a, includi ng N ilgiris, Karn ataka , Ne llore an d once in Mum bai area. Inci dentally, Butler had observed a huge flock numbering s om e th ou s an d s p as s in g Be lg a um on 24 th N ove m be r. Davidson had al so come a cros s imm ense scattered flo cks during N ov-D ec in some yea rs al ong the coast near Karw ar. Large flocks were als o ob serve d by E. H. Atkins in the s ame locality in November. These observation s had confirmed th eir bulk migrati on betwe en NE. India and E. Afri ca. Whil st, at l east in autum n the migration take s pl ace i n the Indi an Ocean from so mewh ere in this area i n a con tinu ing tre nd i n N E –SW. Benson in 1951 h as confirm ed that thi s bird is a regular winter vis itor to Malaw i arrivin g in Dece mber and leaving a gain in March. Many obs erve rs h ave p ropo unde d th e th eory tha t a large proportion of th e mig rants tra verse thro ugh south ern pen insul ar India in a NE-SW tre nd. This n oteworthy bird is eco nomically important too, for it feeds predom inantly on l ocusts, gra sshoppers, beetles and winged termites. It seems to have coevolved with the locusts and flocks o f fal con s a re rep e ate dl y o b se rve d re nd e zvo us i ng an d le apfroggi ng w ith Des ert Locu sts (Schistoce rca gre gari a). Desert locust is a pest of unusually destructive powers. Asmall part o f an averag e swarm, ab out one to nne of locu sts, eats the same amount of food everyday as 2,500 people. Plagues of desert locusts have threatened agricultural production in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia for centuries. The livelihood of at least one-tenth of the world’s human population can be affected by this voracious insect. Amur Flacons arrive bySeptember-October in the North East and change their diet to feast on winged termites; a monsoon bonanza. Winged termites are also serious woodland pe sts and thus th e Am ur Falco n’s rol e as a bio-controll er of locusts and termites can never be underestimated. This accumulation of Amur falcons in Nagaland is the largest aggregation of these falcons along their vast migration route from Siberia through this gap in the Himalayas all the wayto Somalia, Ke nya and eve ntu ally So uth Africa. Th ey cove r th is 22,0 00 kilometers round trip every year, undertaking the longest logically

Printed & Pub lished b i-monthly b y S. Sridhar at Navb harath Enterprises, Bangalore 20. For Private Circulation only ISSN:0028-9426

Newsletter for Birdwatchers 52 (6), 2012 deduced sea crossing of any raptor, twice a year during their 4,000 km crossing of the Indian Ocean between Africa and India. While we are on the subject, it is relevant to note that a few weeks ago, two Am ur falcons, named Naga and Pangti, which were s atellite-tagged in N agaland an d tracked flying ove r the Arabi an Sea o n 14th Novem ber 2013, the most d ifficult s tretch of the ir migrato ry routes, after pas sing over Bangladesh , the Bay of Bengal, An dhra Prades h, Karnataka and Maharashtra towards their final destination in South Africa. Yet another falcon, named Wokha, wa s tracked flying over the Bay of Bengal . The movements of all three birds are being monitored by scientists in Hun gary, filte ring satel lite data through a de dicated we bsite. The tagging was a joint mission undertaken at Pangti village in

81 Wokha district by leading scientists from MME/BirdLife Hungary, Wildl ife Institute of Ind ia, and Na galand Forest Department. The re sults from this rese arch exped ition are eagerly aw aited and let us fervently hope that Amur Falcons’ enigmati c lives are unearthed through these experi ments. In the meantime, we ought remem ber that we are all ob li gated to p ro tect and s afegu ard thi s fra gi le falco ns’ liveli hood for a ll times to come, fo r the o ve rw h e l m i n g s e rvi ce b e i n g re n d e red to mankin d as ace p est-contro llers. Thankin g you, Yours i n Bird Conse rvation S. Srid har, Publishe r, NLBW

Ring recovery of Russian marked Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) in Amravati district of Maharashtra Ashahar (a) Krishna Khan* and Raju Kasambe ** ** 205, Trimurti Apartment, Borkar Galli, Tilak Nagar, Dombivli (East), Distt. Thane, Maharashtra On 10 Marc h, 2013, the first aut hor (K K) sighted two Black Storks Ciconia nigra at a small reservoir, Baslapur which is on the Amravati-Chandur Railway road. K K does bird watching and bird photography. He saw the Black Storks foraging along the back wat ers of t he reservoir. He photographed the storks and also realized that one of t he storks had rings in both the tarsi. So he took many pic tures to ensure that the numbers on the ring could be read. (cover photo no. 1) KK cont acted the sec ond author (RK ) and informed about the sighting. RK in turn contacted the various ringing agencies in Europe and Russia about the ring recovery in India. Dr. Frantisek Pojer of the Colour Ringing Project on Black Stork in the Czech Republic replied to RK email and the ringing data was supplied to RK. The ringing and ring recovery data is given in the table below. Distance travelled by the Black Stork by crow’s flight was 3684km to reach the B aslapur reservoir. The elaps ed time between the ringing date and the re-sighting date was 3885 days, which is 10 years and 235 days (the age of the bird). Presuming that the bird visited nearby areas for ten years of its life, it had travelled a minimum of 73,680 km distance in its life! The bird travelled in an angle of 187° to reach the place. Black St ork s are known to regularly winter in A mravati Details Ring Number Species Sex Age Date Place Coordinates Ringer Remarks

and ot her dis t rict s of Maharasht ra in good numbers (K asambe, et al., 2005; Pande, et al., 2007). In 2007, two B lac k Storks radio-tagged in Cz echoslovakia were rec aptured in A kola dis tric t and were again released (Narwade, 2011) as a part of the New Odys sey Project st art ed by the Czec h Radio. But the information about their migration patt ern, part icularly about their place of origin t o A mravat i was lac king. This ring recovery has result ed into new information about the origin of the Black St orks wintering in Amravati area and also about t he longevit y of their life. Acknowledgements: Thanks to Dr. Frantisek Pojer of the “Colour Ringing P roject on Black Stork in the Czech Republic” for providing the ringing information to RK. Refere nces: Kasambe, R., Wadatkar J., Khode, M. & Khode, R. (2005): Sighting records of Black Storks (Ciconia nigra) in Amravati District of Maharashtra. Newsletter for Birdwatchers. Vol. 45(5): 78-80. Narw ade, S. (2011) Of Black Sorks, politicians and terrorism. Hornbill. April-June, Pp.12-15. Pande, S., Paw ashe, A., Deshpande, P., Sant. N., Kasambe, R. & Mahabal A. (2007): Recent records, review of w intering distribution, habitat choice and associations of Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) in India and Sri Lanka. Biota. 7(1-2): 65-75.

Table: Ringing and ring recovery data of the Black Stork. Ringing Data Recovery Data PRAHA B X 14646 + white 605W White 605W Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) Unknown Unknown Pullus (3) Adult 21-07-2002 10-03-2013 time 14: 35hrs. Suzun, Novosibirsk Area, Russia Baslapur Reservoir, Dist.Amravati, Maharashtra, India 53°48’N and 82°09’E 20°51’N and 77°56’E Dr. Frantisek Pojer Krishna Khan Alive and healthy. Feeding with another Black Stork.

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Newsletter for Birdwatchers 52 (6), 2012

Are Pigeons Beautiful Birds or Rats with Wings? A.N. Yellappa Reddy, Karnataka Lokadalat, High Court of Karnataka, ‘Dharini’, 9C, 5th Block, Metropolitan Housing Society, H S R Layout, 6th Sector, Bangalore - 560 034. S. Sridhar, Publisher, Newsletter for Birdwtchars, No 10, Sirur Park B Street, Seshadripuram, Bangalore 560 020.

Introduction Pigeon populations are growing by leaps and bounds in the metropolis across the country. In October 2013, many experts, inc luding the first author had suggested banning the feeding of pigeons at t he Cubbon Park , Bangalore. While some have reacted strongly to the suggestion, others have welcomed the proposal. Earlier in July 2012, the Karnatak a High Court had dis mis sed a public int erest litigation which sought permiss ion for bird lovers to continue feeding pigeons inside the Golden Jubilee Gate of the high court, which is s ituat ed in the nort hwest corner of Cubbon Park. “I go for a walk every day, I see them being fed,” obs erved Chief Jus tice Vikramajit Sen heading a divis ion bench. The authorities had imposed t he ban after notic ing that rodents, rooting around for foodgrain left for pigeons by the feeders, were ent ering court buildings and damaging records, apart from attracting snakes which triggered panic among employ ees of the High Court. Pigeon populations have grown exponentially across the globe and for decades efforts are underway in many countries to tac kle this asc endant menac e, either t hrough legis lation or education. Therefore, an at tempt is made in this article to discuss the issue threadbare with facts, figures and inputs obtained from various authorities and sources. Pigeons among the first species domesticated by man Ac cording to P rofess or Daniel Haag-W ac kernagel, of Institut e of A nat omy, Univers ity of Basel, S wit zerland, pigeons and people have a long and distinguished history. In fact the pigeon was among the first species domesticated by man. It was about in the 8th millennium that pigeon keeping was discovered by the first people who were farmers in the Eastern region, in the region of today’s Iraq for example. Feral pigeons are the free-living domest ic pigeons which have adapted to city life in the last 100 years . It’s principally not a wild bird; it ’s a free-living domestic bird. Andrew D. Blechman has provided a historical pers pective of the rise and fall of the pigeons in his much ac claimed book “P igeons: The Fascinating Saga of the World’s Most Revered and Reviled B ird”. Blechman elucidates t hat one million pigeons served in World War I and World War II, and many of them were decorated heroes and saved literally thous ands of s oldiers’ lives. They were decorated war veterans; they were feted upon their return. These were birds that delivered critical mes sages through must ard gas, through barrages of bullets all s ort s of t hings …. A nd forgett ing the fact that just even in World War II thes e birds served heroically, they’re now try ing to shoo them away like they’re gnats, and they’ve not having any luck at it either, and they’re trying to use like weird birds of prey calls from speakers, that blare out speakers; doesn’t work. They’re

trying to do the owl, that doesn’t work. S o it’s amazing how far the bird has fallen. Forty, 50, 60 years ago it was a revered animal, and nowadays it’s just a pest, and now the military has completely forgotten that history and is just trying to get rid of it.” ‘Rats w ith Wings’ slur coined in the 1960s Thomas P.F. Hoving (1931-2009), the former city parks commissioner and longtime director of t he Met ropolitan Museum of Art, New York, was the first to brand the pigeons “rats with wings”. Hoving had cited the s pecies, along with litterers and vandals, as a plague on Bryant Park. Though the epit het “rats with wings”-was coined by Hoving, in the 1960s, this slur on pigeons really stuck with Woddy A llen’s screen play, Stardust Memories, co-st arred with Charlotte Rampling, in 1980s. A ccording to Hoving, pigeons were the park’s greates t menace: “our most persist ent vandal. ” ”Everyone seems to want to feed them,” he continued to lament. “It’s impossible to stop the pigeon feeders.” A January 12, 1990 W as hingt on P os t art ic le ask ed, “Pigeons: Beautiful B irds or Rats with Wings?” The same newspaper affirmed that they were indeed “rats wit h wings” three months later (Welzenbach 1990). A 1991 Times article pointed out that while “some [ people] tak e bags of grain or bread t o their favorite parks t o feed pigeons… others insist, against all taxonomic evidence, that pigeons are winged members of the order Rodentia;” However, Colin Jerolmac k, an ass oc iate profess or of Environmental studies and sociology at New York University, in his paper “How P igeons Became Rats: The CulturalSpatial Logic of Problem, Animals” has reiterated that despite their bad reputation our urban encounters with pigeons “are profoundly social.” He adds that, “Though the New York scene is typical in many ways, the relationship between pigeon and person is not always so harmonious, and people complain about pigeons and homeles s people in t he same way.” Jerolmack avers that “It’s part of this narrative of urban disorder.” Relying on New York Times articles from 1851 to 2006, and articles from 51 other newspapers from 1980 to 2006, Jerolmack also focus es on the process by which pigeons as a species were problematized. He says t hat the catch phrase “rats with wings” neatly summarizes society’s evaluations of, and anxieties about this bird. According to him this metaphor reflects a framing of pigeons by claimsmakers that render them “out of place” in the cit yscape. From a stalwart all y to an urba n pest. In a program that was broadcast in t he Australian media on 11th March, 2007, K eri Phillips had said that it’s their very succes s at adapting to city life, of cours e, that has turned pigeons from a stalwart ally and sometime delicious dinner, into an urban pest.

Newsletter for Birdwatchers 52 (6), 2012

Professor Daniel Haag-Wackernagel recollected that in most European towns, pigeon populations increased considerably after World War II. According to him, ‘today one can assume that there is one pigeon for every 20 citizens. There are hundreds of millions of pigeons worldwide, and this explosion of the feral pigeon population seems to be due to the large food supply bec ause after World War II, food became cheap in relation to inc ome, and it was possible for every person to throw food on the s treet, and this is the main reason. And als o in earlier t imes, the mark etplaces were where a certain amount of rubbish occurred. But today, first of all, there are the pigeon feeders who supply the birds with food. They sometimes feed 10, 20 tons per year and we have one case where we could find an old man who fed here in Basel, yearly 12 to 16 tons of food, and he provided food for 1,500 pigeons , and in every city you will find such individuals who care for the pigeons. They have a very close emotional relation with thes e birds, and they feed them and they care for them, they bring it to the vet if they are sick. I think this is the main problem’. Compulsive pigeon feeders Andrew D. Blechman also admits that there are also groups which are compulsive pigeon feeders; ‘you’ll find them around the world, you’ll find them all over Australia in the cities, all the way to Perth and B risbane, you’ll find them in London, you’ll find them in Paris, New York City, everywhere. These are the folks who actually are the compulsive feeders, they’re the ones who actually are the problem in a lot of ways . It’s not the pigeon that’s the problem, it’s too many pigeons, and if you over-feed the pigeons, they over-breed, and when they over-breed you’ve got a lot of mess, and the trick really is, Ken Livingstone has it part right where he’s forbidden the feeding. The point is you c an’t outlaw feeding altogether because people always do it particularly these compulsive types. They’ll do it at 2 am in the morning; they will fend off folks who try to st op them from feeding pigeons’. Lou W it hers , Manager, A pplied E nvironment al Healt h Department, Western A ustralian Department of Health, has remarked that ‘in Pert h, Western Aus tralia, about 80 birds were released in the late 1880s simply for the landed gentry to have something to shoot at for t heir weekend s hooting exercis es. They have gradually multiplied and now there are about 50,000 feral pigeons that cover the metropolitan area of Perth, from the north at Yanchep all the way down to Rockingham, and they are a nuisance because they don’t breed naturally in trees, they tend to go into buildings and they go into places where people are forced to put netting on their buildings to try and keep them out, but as y ou can appreciate, the pigeons have been ex tremely succes sful in colonising areas , and not many people obs erve t heir presenc e, except when it becomes a problem. Pigeons are a problem because they create a mess. In the nature of breeding and establishing nests, they build nests in areas where t hey’re difficult to eradicate, off the top of buildings, on lintels or joists or beams in buildings, they tend to create a mess in waste matter, the faeces they produce, their nesting, they’re very messy animals, and they tend to attract other problems like ticks and cockroaches and rats’.

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Three main health risks: James Branley Head of Microbiology, Nepean Hospit al, Sydney has confirmed that there are three main health risks: ‘the first one is infections, and in particular psittacosis which is an infectious disease of the lungs and t he body. This is a chlamydial infection and it’s spread from birds to humans. Each year we see about 100 cases of psittacosis in New South Wales. It’s an uncommon disease but we do regularly see c ases. Birds can just be c arrying t he chlamydial infection. We believe that they excrete this in their feathers and their dander and also in their body secretions and faeces. And these can obviously contaminate an area where there’s a very heavy bird population. One of the ways we’ve seen this then transmitted to humans has been through lawnmowing or motorised garden equipment causing a dust storm over these heavily contaminated areas, and enabling humans to breat he in this mat erial’. James Branley insists that the second major group of risks that pigeons pose to humans would be allergic reactions, and these reactions c an be either acute or chronic, and they can result in res piratory sympt oms such as shortness of breath arising in people who are expos ed to the proteins that are related to pigeon faeces and pigeon feathers. The third group that Branley mentions is the people who are immuno suppress ed, because we know that immuno suppress ed patients, and in particular, patients with AIDS are at risk of acquiring a particular yeast infection from pigeons. This Cryptococcus, as it’s called, can infect the lungs and also the nervous system of people who are immuno suppressed, and can have serious health issues associated with it. Control measures Keri Phillips also wonders that what then can be done about feral pigeons, especially in the light of t his odd paradox. He notes t hat although many of us have become less t olerant of the bird as its numbers have increased, we’ve also become more squeamish about how we get rid of them. Ins tead of trying to kill the birds, money has been spent on spikes and nets and sticky gels, trying to make city buildings inhospitable. And then there’s the novel strategy pioneered by Britain’s Pigeon Control Advisory Service, the birdhouse now being deployed in Melbourne’s Batman Park. Keri P hillips also cautions that culling pigeons will not be effective. According to him in the 1960s Basel began culling its pigeons with trappers and mark smen, a demoralizing Manuscript for publicat ion should be sent (in duplic ate) by post or courier to

Newsletter for Birdwatchers No 10, Sirur P ark B S treet, Seshadripuram, Bangalore 560 020, Tel. 080 2356 1142, 2346 4682. along with a soft c opy (text only in MS Word format and illustrations in Jepg or Tiff format with a minimum of 200 pixels each) via e-mail to

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Newsletter for Birdwatchers 52 (6), 2012

process that ultimately had no effect on the number of birds, in spite of the fact t hat over the next 25 years, 100,000 pigeons were killed. A remark able method was adopt ed by Daniel HaagWackernagel to control the pigeon population in t he late 1980s. He established 13 rooftop dovecotes and began replacing eggs with dummies. When he started his Pigeon Action of Basel, there were 25,000 feral pigeons, and four years later they were reduced to 8,000 birds; a massive reduction of this feral pigeon population indeed! Incidentally, Melbourne City Council built a dove cote in 2007, in an attempt to gain the upper hand in t he war against the feral pigeon. The idea was to lure birds away from their usual nesting spots at the Town Hall and Flinders Street Station to the $60,000 loft in Batman Park, where their eggs were exchanged for dummy eggs; an elaborate form of mechanical birth c ontrol. Daniel Haag-Wackernagel explains that first of all we had large media campaigns where we told the people that pigeon feeding is a cruel act because you cause an overpopulation, a slum like situation where the pigeons suffer from parasites and diseases, and on t he other hand we tried to talk with the pigeon feeders . And it was very interesting that it was the indirect press ure, it was not us; it was persons on the street who asked persons who were feeding pigeons, ‘Don’t you know that it’s cruel for pigeons that it’s not positive if you feed the birds?’ So there was an indirect pressure. Formerly pigeon feeding was positive. It was a generous act and after our campaigns, people knew that it was a negative act to feed pigeons, because you cause negative situations for thes e birds. It’s not a pigeon problem, it’s not the problem of the pigeons. It’s the problem of the people in a city who provide the food base that allows the high pigeon population and you have to work there. If you kill the pigeons, you don’t work at the source of the problem. Daniel HaagWack ernagel concludes that ultimat ely the only way to control the number of pigeons is to stop people feeding them. Clumsy dovetailing antics in Ba ngalore Years ago, the second author of this article had come across a clumsy pigeon control method, while vis iting a tax office complex in the heart of Bangalore for Tax assessment. The office was situated on the fourt h floor of a commerc ial building. Just as he s ubmitted his files for review to the designated officer, he noticed an office-attendant creeping furtively behind a pigeon that had settled, on a tall pile of files. But the ot herwise alert pigeon tried to ratchet out futilely towards the window. Nonet heless the att endant quickly overpowered the hapless bird and placed it deftly into a long kaki cott on bag and placed the bag inside a

cupboard. Later in the evening, when he returned to t he taxoffice to complete his assessment , he at once saw the attendant repeating the exercise to catch yet another pigeon, barely escaping his clutches, avoiding the stacked-up files and rambling around in agitat ion. But t he att endant quickly blocked the exits and pinned the pigeon down. After awhile, he was seen c arrying home t he bag containing two or three pigeons and his colleagues approaching him in the corridors and the lift, to weigh up the contents of the bag in the hand, peeping inside and nodding in appreciation. Even though this clumsy dovetailing antic had been perfected over a period, involving various methods of accurate planning and execution, there seldom will be any impact whatsoever on the escalating pigeon population. Is com pulsive pige on feeding a law unto itself ? At the High Court complex in Bangalore, hordes of pigeons could be seen perc hed in all accessible points and inviting the at tention of t he legal fraternity wit h their monotonous crooning calls and court ing; reminiscent to the somber moans of some deranged inmates of an asylum. Often in the verandas and rarely during the proc eedings in t he court yard, pigeon droppings play giant-spoilers on t he otherwise spotless black apparels of the attorney s or on t he c l ot hing of t h e bedraggle d lit igant s alik e. Hence there is a growing perc eption that compuls ive pigeon feeding in public park s, is a law unto itself and that the whole community needs to understand this for perfectly genuine reasons. At the adjacent Cubbon Park, it is a regular sight to watch pigeon feeders gat hering in multitudes and jostling to offer bagful of grain, puffed rice and bread-crumbs, which are instant aneously gobbled up by the endless pigeon flock. Increased redation risks to native fauna Leftovers from pigeon-feed att ract millions of ants and they can caus e danger to the nesting birds in the Cubbon Park, such as Mynas, Bulbuls, Tits, Sunbirds, Barbets, Robins, Hoopoes , Owls and S wifts. Haemig has in his paper “Predation risk alters interactions among species: competition and facilitation between ants and nesting birds in a boreal forest”, published in Ecology Letters, Volume 2, Issue 3, pages 178–184, May 1999, has detailed the interaction between ants and nesting birds. Hypothesizing that predation risk might be a critical factor in altering the interaction of ants with birds, he investigated the interaction of wood ants Formica aquilonia with nesting birds under different levels of predation risk. In a controlled field experiment, he allowed tits (Parus major, P. caeruleus, P. ater) and pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) to select nest boxes in trees

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Newsletter for Birdwatchers 52 (6), 2012

with ants (ant trees) or trees without ants. He found that birds us ually nested in trees without ants, apparently to avoid t he danger of injury from encounters wit h ants. In a published paper in 1997, Radunzel et al have discovered that in Eastern Bluebirds, about 55 to 84% of nest ing attempts fail chiefly due to attacks by ants, followed by ot her reasons such as rats, pesticides, racc oons, red squirrels, snakes, starlings and starvation. There are many published papers which have confirmed that ants sometimes “infest” bird nests. Some species of ants can be a serious problem, as t hey will kill and eat nestlings. Other ant species may not harm eggs /young, but may pester them by crawling on their bodies , which c ould p ot ent ially r es ult in pre mat ure fledg ing or abandonment of eggs and chicks. Rodents, ants, snakes & crows are auxiliary benefic iaries

Leftovers from pigeon-feed also attract hundreds of crows and they can cause nesting failures of res ident birds in the neighborhood. In a study by Jennifer Stien, Nigel G. Yoccoz & Rolf A. Ims, Department of B iology, University of Tromsø, NO-9037 Tromsø, Norway, the said authors have evaluated the effect of the removal of hooded crows on common eider nesting success using a partial Before and After Comparison of Impac t (BACI) design over three y ears in eider breeding colonies in northern Norway. Eider nesting success increased from 61% in the pre-removal to 80% during crow removal in 2007. Therefore, auxiliary-benefactors of pigeon-feed such as crows indisputably cause nesting failure in native birds. Kate Shaw Yoshida has in his research paper confirmed that Omnivorous predat ors such as rats often find new food sources by smell and that birds are a common prey for rats, and bird populations have been hit especially hard by the populat ion increase and range expansion of these rodents. Throughout history, rodents have hitched rides on boats, wagons, and trains, invading nearly every c orner of the globe. Many avian species have become endangered, or even gone extinct, as a res ult of increased predat ion by rats. Researchers argue that reintroducing native birds is also a c hallenge, sinc e established rodents quickly learn that the new avian species and their nestlings are a profitable source of food. Frank Thompson and C.A. Ribic have in their paper entitled “Conservation Implic ations When the Nest Predat ors Are Known” have observed that Conservation and management of passerines has largely focused on habitat manipulation or rest oration becaus e the natural communities on which these birds depend have been destroyed and fragmented. However, productivity is another important aspect of avian conservation, and nest predation can be a large source of nesting mortality for passerines. Recent studies using video surveillance to identify nest predators allow researchers to start evaluating what methods could be used to mitigate nest predation to help passerines of conservation concern. In the s aid research, video technology revealed predation of bird nests mostly by rodents, ants, snakes and crows.

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Jameson F. Chacea, John J. Walshb, of Depart ment of Biology, Villanova University, Villanova, PA 19085-1699, USA, have found that birds respond to vegetation composition and st ruc ture, and urban areas t hat retain native veget ative characteristics retain more native s pecies than those that do not. Avian fecundity in urban areas is a reflection of species-specific adaptability to stimulated urban resources, and to levels of nes t predat ion and nest paras it ism. Additionally, non-consumptive human activities that increase with urbanization are recognized as having negative impacts on native avian populations and c ommunit ies . A vian survivorship in urban areas is influenced by changes in the predat or ass emblage, food supply, disease and human population growth. In Cubbon park, leftovers from the pigeon feed have become regular source of food for rodents too, and they have taken refuge in good numbers in the park as auxiliary benific iaries. In the Journal of River Partners and also in Ohio State University Ext ension Fact Sheet, Horticulture and Crop Science, it is reported that park trees and vegetation provide rodent s with cover during day time. These rodents could weaken s oil integrity surrounding the tress by exc avating network s of tunnels and cavities. S ome rodents ty pically live in family-groups or colonies of many individuals . They will excavate their burrows in the surface two to three feet deep, similar to the roots of plants, though collapsed borrows will leave deep holes into t he soil. Rodents can develop networks of burrows covering many square feet affecting the root sys tem and tree balance. Few ty pes of rodents eat the bark and roots near the surface and nest underground. Trees badly damaged by rodents usually die the following summer. Their gnawing and burrowing activities often weaken the roots, induce termite infestation, and cause toppling of trees, which is happening frequently at Cubbon park. For the foregoing reasons, some countries have incorporated pigeon feeding in The Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003, which is being used effectively to stop people feeding pigeons due to the nuisance caused to neighbours. If an Anti Social Behaviour Order is breached the person feeding the pigeons may be ordered to pay a large fine and / or serve a prison sentence. Concl usion Therefore, we believe it is our fundament al duty to educate the public as to why pigeons should not be fed and that feeding result s in all year round breeding which causes overcrowding in roosting sites, allowing disease t o spread quickly within the flock. The birds thus live in an unhealthy and stressful condition, exposed to parasites and diseases which can be passed onto other wild birds or even transmitted to humans. The leftovers also attract rats , crows, and ants, that prejudice the ecology of a given habitat, compound misery of native birds and indirectly cause tree loss etc. Pigeons are wild birds , capable of s earching out t heir own natural food supply. Regular feeding by humans destroys t heir abilit y t o fend for thems elves and makes t hem completely dependent on humans. P.S. For References please contact

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Newsletter for Birdwatchers 52 (6), 2012

Varient call of the Eurasian Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) Arun M K Bharos, # B -101, Gayatrinagar, PO ; Shankernagar, Raipur, CG , 492007. Email ; [email protected] During the observations on breeding behavior of the Eurasian Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) a t Si dh i (N -24 .4 16 6 7 , E -8 1 .8 8 3 33 ) Madh ya Prad esh, variations in its calls were recorded, and are tabulated below. Breeding season of the species has b een described as March to Augu st by Ali & R ipley, Grimm ett & Inski pps & others, du ring this p eriod male s vocalize with a variety of cal ls while chasing the females. The calls of the fe male are described to be similar to wa ter-bubb ling and such ca lls are made whi le attra cting male s (Wyllie , Ian ). The bree ding at Sidhi was o bserved b etwee n Jun e to Augu st. (Bha ros, A M K, JBNHS-93 -2 – 2 94). Thereafte r birds w ere more or less abse nt an d the ir ca lls w ere rarel y hea rd. From the table, it is evid ent that the Eurasia n Cuckoo renders its ca ll with occasional variation o r subtle m odulation. Such variations have not been reported in the avail able literature

Date 05 08 17 05 08 06 24 06 25 06 26 06 27 06 28 06 30 06 01 07 02 07 03 07 04 07

1992 1993 1993 1993 1993 1993 1993 1993 1993 1993 1993 1993 1993

05 07 1993 06 071993 09 07 1993 12 07 1993 17 07 18 07 20 07 31 07 01 08 02 08 04 08 09 08 13 08

1993 1993 1993 1993 1993 1993 1993 1993 1993

Time 7.30 AM 6.30 AM 7.00 AM Morning 7 .00 AM 8.30 AM Early morning Morning Noon hours 10.00 AM Morning Morning Morning 7.50 AM Morning Noon hours Morning Morning Late morning Morning Morning Morning Morning Morning Morning Morning

Nos 02 02 01 03 01 03 01 01 03 01 01 01 02 01 01 01 01 01 02 02 01 01 01 01 02 01

References Ali Sálim & Ripley D, Compact Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan, Oxford University Press, Ed – 1989, Vol. 5 Ripley II, Sidney Dillon, A synopsis of the birds of India and Paki stan, BNHS – second edition. Grimmett R, Inskipp C & Inskipp T, Birds of the India Sub Continent , Ed – 1998, Ali Sálim & Ripley D, A pictorial guide to the birds of the Indian Sub Continent, BNHS – 1996. Hugh Whistler, Popular Handbook of Indian Birds, Gurney & Jackson, 4th Edition 1949 B E Smythies , Bir ds of Burma , American Baptist Mission Press, Ed – 1940 , P- 264. Ian Wyllie, The Cuckoo, B .T. Batsford, London, Ed 1982, P -80 - 99. Ghosh, Basu, Dutta & Sett , Fauna of MP (including Chhattisgarh) Part 2, Zoological Survey of India , Kolkata, Ed –July-2008. A M K Bharos, Cuck oo in Sidhi Di stt M P, JBNHS- 93-2- 294.

Call as heard Silent Cuckoo..cuckoo.. cuckoo Cuckoo…cuckoo Cuckoo….cuckoo Cuckoo, c uckoo—koo Cuckoo..cuckoo.. cuckoo Cuckoo…. .cuckoo Cuckoo succeeded by harsh ka ka ka Silent Cuckoo……..cuckoo Cuckoo……..cuckoo Cuckoo……cuckoo Cuc…cuc…koo Cuc…cuc…. cuckoo.Cuckoo……c uckoo Cuckoo…….cuckoo Cuckoo……….cuckoo Silent Ka..ka…koo, ka…ka…koo then rapid Cuc..cuckoo, cuc.followed by low koooo Cuckoo….cuckoo Cuckoo……cuckoo Cuc…koo, cuckoo, cuc…c uc…koo, Cuckoo…. .cuckoo Cuckoo……cuckoo Cuckoo…….cuckoo Cuckoo…….cuckoo Silent Silent

Remarks Perched In flight Birds c alled separately for long duration In flight In flight and perch

In flight At dis tance Last call with variation & neck tucked Perched Perched Variation in call In flight In flight, variation in call. Perched Fewer birds sighted Perched & in flight Perched Thereafter, birds mostly absent, rarely heard

Newsletter for Birdwatchers 52 (6), 2012

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First report of Jungle or Grey Nightjar (Caprimulgus indicus) In Khadir Island, Rapar (Kachchh), Gujarat Hiren Soni* and Justus Joshua** *

P.G. Department of Environmental Science & Technology (EST), nstitute of Science & Technology for Advanced Studies & Research (ISTAR), Post Box No. 13, Vallabh Vidyanagar – 388 120, [Dist. Anand, (Gujarat), India] * Corresponding Author: [email protected] **

Green Future Foundation, 45, Modern Complex, Opp. Jaideep Public School, Bhuwana, Udaipur (Rajasthan) – 313 001 (India) E-Mail: [email protected]

In April 2002, during our survey of rare and endangered (R & E ) spec ies in Chapparia Res erved Forest (CRF) near Dholavira Archeological Site (DAS) in Khadir Island, Rapar taluka, Kachchh district, Gujarat, two dark grey-colored birds were flushed from moderately dense bushes of Euphorbia nevulia inters persed with small c ongregat es of Ac ac ia senegal. From its shape, size, flight pat tern and silhouette, we could be able t o identify them as Nightjars. We approached the spot where the birds had perched. After some t ender effort s, we were able to locate the individuals with fair visibilit y. As the birds were indistinguishable from the ground litter during daytime roost, we employed a closer observation of birds with a pair of 10x50 binoculars. The body tinge of birds was grey to grey-brown, heavily marked with black blotches above, broken white throat-band, and brownish buff plumage mottled with black streaks and spots. The apparent markings on birds c onfirmed their identity as individuals of Jungle or Grey Nightjar (Caprimulgus indicus). Due to our incessant presence and continuous observation, the birds got pert urbed and took-off again from the refuge, and moved in different directions. The one which was perching nearby started making the typical calls ‘chunk -chunk -chunk chunk …..’ resembling the ‘engine sound or diesel pump’. The loud resonant c all was repeated distinc tively at every 35 minut es interval. This call was very familiar to one of us (JJ) in forted pock ets of South India, whic h further confirmed its ident ity as individuals of Jungle or Gray Night jar (Caprimulgus indicus). The Jungle or Gray Nightjar (Caprimulgus indicus Lat ham) is found in Himalayas, NE hill states, Bangladesh, rest of the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka (Ali and Ripley, 1996). The species has also been reported to have a widespread distribution, but unfortunately unrecorded in parts of northwest India t ill date (Grimmett et al., 2009). Ali (2000) has stated that t he northern race hazarae of Jungle or Gray Nightjar is resident and locally migrant along the entire Himalay an and Eastern India, the nominate race indicus occurs throughout the Indian subcontinent, and south of the Himalayas except wes t ern Rajast han and K ac hchh, t he race jot ak a is presumably a winter visitor to Bhutan and the Andamans, and the race k eelarti is res ident in Sri Lanka.

Ali (1945) has not mentioned this species in his book (Birds of Kutch, OUP, Bombay). Moreover, the birds were observed in moderately dense bushes of E. nevulia and s parse congregates of A. senegal interspersed with other scrub forest elements on a gentle slope with boulders. Ali and Ripley (1996) have mentioned that this bird species is found only in dry and moist deciduous forests (not in arid or semiarid biogeographical z ones). It also occurs in the forest clearings, scrub-covered slopes (Grimmett et al,. 2009), teak plant ations and blue pines (Kazmierczak, 2006). According to Ali (2000), it is an ex clusive forest species dwelling in Indian subcontinent and its adjacent geographical provinces. Keeping in mind the s ubstantial rec ords and distribution maps of this species in Indian Subcontinent and other parts of Gujarat Stat e (K azmierczak, 2006; Grimmet t et al, . 2009), the sighting of Jungle or Gray Nightjar by us is the first report of this species in Kachchh, which is an addition to the birds of Kachc hh, and may be a range extension of this species for the Kachchh province. Till date, this is the fourth nightjar species being reported from Kachc hh. The ot her t hree are Common Indian or Indian Nightjar (C. as iat icus ), S y k es’s night jar (C. mahrat t ensis ) and Franklin’s or Allied or Savanna Nightjar (C. aff inis) (Joshua and Soni, 2005) References Ali, S. (1945 ). The Birds of Kutch. Oxford University Pre ss, Bombay. 209 p. Ali, S. (2002). The Boo k of Indian Birds. 13th Ed. (Re vised). Oxford University Press, Bombay. 326 p. Ali, S. and S.D. Ripley (1996). A Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. Oxford University Press, Bombay. 183 p. Grimmett, R., C. Inskipp and T. Inskipp (2009). Pocket Guide to the Birds of Indian sub continent. Oxford University Press, New Delhi. 384 p. Joshua, J. and H.B. Soni (2005). Occurrence of Franklin’s or Allie d or Savan na Nightj ar (Capri mulgus affinis) in Bhuj taluka, Kachchh district, Gujarat. Newsletter for Birdwatchers. 45 (4): 61. Kazmierczak, K. (2006). A Field Guide to The Birds of India. Pica Press, Helm Information Ltd., East Sussex, U.K. 352 p.

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Newsletter for Birdwatchers 52 (6), 2012

CORRESPONDENCE

GRE Y HE A DED LA PW ING (V anel l us ci nereus) : A NEW S IGHTING AND SOME INSIGHT by PATIL V. K.*, MHAISKE V. M. and BHAVE S. G.., College of Forest ry, Dr. B . S. K onk an Kris hi V idyapeet h, Dapoli, Dis tric t Ra t n agi ri, Maha ra s ht ra – 415 71 2, * corresponding aut hor - vinjack @s ify.c om

20"N and 170 45' 9"E. This location is in the typically rugged coastal terrain of Ratagiri dist rict. The first author has been visiting this tank regularly for the past 6 years. But t his was the firs t time a V. cinereus was sighted at this tank. Since we had not visited the tank prior to the s ighting, the exact date of arrival of this species could not be determined.

Grey headed lapwing Vanellus cinereus (Blyt h.) is a winter visitor to India. It breeds in the regions east of India in large numbers ; and so its s tatus is assessed by IUCN as Least Concern (Birdlife International 2009). It is long considered a st raggler t o t he Indian subc ont inent (Grubh 1968 and references therein) and recent ly a vagrant to the peninsular India (Gopi Sundar 2000). Grimmet t et al. (1999; 2001 reprint) and Kazmierczak (2000; 2006 edition) have depicted the winter distribution of V. cinereus in Indian subcontinent more or less s imilarly. They have shown c ontinuous occurrence in North-East India and B angladesh, in parts of Nepal and individual records in different parts of the mainland of the subcontinent. These illustrations show only a few records from the peninsular India es pecially south of the Tropic of Cancer. We report here a sighting of this s pecies from Konkan region of Maharashtra and review what seems to be a probable range ex tension.

Intermittent visits to the tank resulted in the conclusion that, possibly, the same individual stayed there upto 24.3.2012 i.e. the last visit before this manuscript was submitted. Interestingly, the first author had sighted a single individual of this species during the monsoon of 2010. Unfortunately, the record was not kept properly and photographs were lost. The individual was sighted in a grassy plateau not too far away from the location of the present sighting. Could it be that the birds straggling to this region get s tranded here? More observations in the coming months could answer this question.

Subramanya (1987), Daniels et al. (1990) and Lainer (1991) have claimed their res pective sightings of this species at Bangalore, Uttara Kannada and Goa as first records from the peninsular India. This, perhaps, happened inadvertently nevert heles s c ont ribut ing s ubs tantially t o the range ext ension of V. cinereus. S ubsequently, Ravindran and Nameer (2001) and Conroy (2003) reported this species from Kerala and Andhra P radesh respectively for the first time. In recent years this species has also been reported from other states of peninsular India viz. Maharashtra (Pande et al. 2003 and Palkar 2010) and Gujarat (Parashrya 2004). Of c ours e, Pande et al. (2003) and P alk ar (2010) are independently first rec ords for western Maharashtra and Konkan respectively which are two independent geopolitical and ecological regions . Palkar (2010) holds addit ional importance because t he species was not mentioned in the unpublis hed checklist of birds of Konkan (eds. Kat dare and Pande 1999). Yet, V. cinereus does not find a mention in the chec klist of birds of Maharashtra maintained by ENVIS centre at BNHS (accessed on 23rd January 2012). We report another rec ord of this species from Konkan. We sighted a single individual of V. cinereus on 18th January 2012 at a small tank in the campus of DBSKKV, Dapoli. The individual was a juvenile and c ould be distinguished easily from the Red-wattled lapwings present there (cover photo no. 4). It also had a dis tinct call and distinctly white secondaries. The coordinates of the location are 730 10'

Santharam et al. (2006), while summarizing sight ings of V. cinereus in coastal Tamil Nadu, have s peculated it to be ‘interesting to plot any further increases of its range over time.’ They have reviewed several records from coastal Tamil Nadu between 2003 and 2004. These records are not single individuals but mention upto 80 birds at a single loc ation. Recently even Newspapers have publicized sightings of large numbers of V. cinereus in coast al regions of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Cros sland and S itorus (2011) have est ablished t hat V. cinereus is expanding its wintering range towards the equator in Sumatra. Regular records of this species from different parts of peninsular India would give insight into the progression of its range expansion in India. Simultaneously, it seems interesting t o correlate the range expans ion with climate change. However, only a large database of sightings, land-use, populations and weather parameters would enable us to conclude this perception with confidence. References Ali, S. & S. D. Ripley (1980) Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Megapodes to Crab Plovers. BirdLife International 2009. Vanellus cinereus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Dow nloaded on 23 January 2012. Conroy, C. (2003) Grey-headed Lapw ing Vanellus cinereus seen around Machilipatnam, Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, India. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 100(1): 122-123. Crossland, A. C. & A. W. Sitorus (2011) More Grey-headed lapw ings Vanellus cinereus in Northern Sumatra – Vagrants or an extension of w intering range? Stilt. 60: 34-36. Daniels, R. J. R., Joshi, N. V. and M. Gadgil (1990) Changes in the bird

Newsletter for Birdwatchers 52 (6), 2012

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fauna of Uttara Kannada, India in relation to changes in land use over the past century. Biological Conservation. 52:37-48. Gopi Sundar, K.S. (2000) The Greyheaded Lapw ing, Vanellus cinereus (Blyth) in Kaliveli tank, Tamil Nadu. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 97(2): 277-278.

References Coudhur y, S. S. (2000). Ranthambhore beyond tiger s. Himans hu Publications. Pp.213-230.

Grimmett, R., C. Inskipp & T. Inskipp (1999) Pocket Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. Oxford University Press. London.

Dipankar Lahkar, J. Peter P. Chakrabarthy, Farhat Masood and Sanjay Babu (2010). Some Avifaunal observations in Ranthombhore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India. Newsletter for Birdwatchers. Vol. 50. No.3, pp.41-43.

Grubh, B. R. (1968) Greyheaded Lapw ing Vanellus cinereus (Blyth): New Record from Rajasthan. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 65(2): 484.

Grimmett, R., C. Inskipp and T. Inskipp (1999). A pocket guide to the birds of the Indian Subcontinent, 1st Ed, Oxford University Press, Delhi.

Katdare, V. & S. Pande (1999) Current Checklist of Birds of Konkan. Vasundhara Nisarg Seva Sangh, Khed, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra.

Kazmierczak, K. (2000). A field guide to the birds of the Indian subcontinent, 1st Ed, Pica press, London.

Kazmierczak, C. (2000) A Field Guide to the Birds of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. 2006 edition by Om Book Service, New Delhi Lainer, H. (1991) Greyheaded Lapw ing Vanellus cinereus (Blyth) in Goa. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 88(1): 111. Palkar, S. B. (2010) First Record of Grey-headed lapw ing (Vanellus cinereus) from Konkan. Newsletter for Birdwatchers. 50(5): 74. Pande, S., S. Tambe, M. Clement Francis & N. Sant (2003) Birds of Western Ghats, Kokan and Malabar ( including Birds of Goa). Bombay Natural History Society/Oxford University Press, Mumbai. Parasharya, B. M., Borad, C. K. & D. N. Rank (2004) A checklist of the birds of Gujarat. Bird Conservation Society, Gujarat. Ravindran, P.K. & P.O. Nameer (2001) Grey-headed Lapw ing Vanellus cinereus (Blyth) (Family Charadriidae) in Kerala. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 98(3): 450-451. Santharam, V., Ali, R. & Prieto, P. (2006) Grey-headed Lapw ings Vanellus cinereus extend range into coastal Tamil Nadu, India. Indian Birds. 2 (6): 172–173. Subr amanya, S. (1987) Occurrence of the Grey-headed Lapw ing, Vanellus cinereus (Blyth) in Bangalore. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 84: 205-206.

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FIRST S IGHTING OF RIV E R LA PWING (V anel l us duvaucelii) IN THE RANTHAMBHORE TIGER RESERVE, RA JASTHAN, by DIPANKA R LA HKAR, A aranyak , 50 Samanwoy Path, Beltola, Survey, Guwahati,Assam, E mail: dipankar.lahk [email protected] Ranthambhore tiger reserve is situated between the longitude of 76.23’ E to 76.39’ E and latitude 25.84’ N to 26.12’ N covering an area of 1334 Km2 in the Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan. On 3rd November 2010, I saw a pair of River Lapwings feeding on the bank of river Banas flowing nearby the Talra village. As the river had dried-up completely, I observed the pair from very close distance and also took some photographs. (cover photo no. 6) Talra village is situated very nearby the Talra Range of Ranthambhore tiger reserve. I could easily see its black cap and black breast and also yellow legs. The pair was observed for almost 20 minutes. River Lapwing was not previously recorded from this area (Coudhury 2000; Grimmett et al. 1999; Kazmierczak 2000; Lahk ar et al. 2010). Thus this is first report of the species in the Rant hambhore tiger reserve.

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INTERESTING HUNTING BE HAV IOR OF BARN OWL (Tyto alba) by ARAVIND BHAROS. C-9, Dhebar Pink City, Gayatrinagar, Raipur. CG, 492007. The Barn owl is a crepuscular and nocturnal hunter occurring commonly in urban and rural areas. Though it feeds on small birds and bats, it predominantly subsists on rats and mice, which it silently hunts by pouncing and capturing method (Ali & Ripley). However the species has been observed indulging in interesting method of capturing its prey.

The street lights attract a large number and variety of insects particularly during the rainy season. Numerous insects land on the walls near the street lights and House Geck os also crawl on the walls to devour the insects. During dusk a Barn owl loiters in the vicinity of my residence at Dhebar Pink City, Gayatrinagar, Raipur. It would invariably perch on a vintage point behind the street lights. As soon as the Geckos start c rawling on the walls to feed on the insects, the Barn Owl would stealthily pounce on the unwary gecko to capture it with its t alons and fly away nort hwards towards its nest. This act was repeated t hree to five times a night for about a month during the rainy season. The success rate was around 60% and similar observations were made by my brother on 10 July 2007 near his residence.The above observations reveal;  That the species also feed on House Geckos, which are not mentioned in its diet.  That the Owl has adapted an int erest ing method of capturing by pounc ing upon its prey, and swiftly collecting the prey from the vertical flat-surfaced walls with its talons. Thes e observat ions were found to be interest ing and demonst rates the owl’s adaptation to urban habit ats and hence worth highlighting. Refere nces; Salim Ali & S. Dillon Ripley, Compact Hand Book of the Birds of India & Pakistan, Ed 1987. Vol –3 , P- 238. Salim Ali & S. Dillon Ripley, The Pictorial Guide to the b irds of the Indian Sub continent, Ed 1995. · R. Grimme tt, C Inskipps & T In skipps , Birds o f the Ind ian Sub continent, Ed 1998, P-429.

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Newsletter for Birdwatchers 52 (6), 2012

RECENT S IGHTING RECORDS OF GRE Y-HEA DE D LAPWING (Vanellus cinereus) IN MAHARASHTRA, by RAJU KASAMBE1, GAJANAN WAGH2, ANIL MAHAJAN3, JAYANT WADATKAR4 and MUKUND DHURVE5, 1. 205, B-Trimu rti Apartmen t, N ear Tila k Na gar Vidyalaya, Domb ivli (East)- 4 21201, Distt. Thane, Ma harashtra. E-mail: kasamb [email protected]. 2. Asst. Professor, Dept.of Zoology, Shri Shivaji Science College, Amravati-444603, Maharashtra. 3. Anil Mahajan, Qtr.no.184/A Ord.Fy.Varangaon-450308, Dist. Jalgoan, Maharashtra E-mail: anil.b [email protected]. 4. Sant Gadge Bab a Amravati U niversity, Amravati-444 602, Maharashtra. E-mail: [email protected]. 5. Balaji Nagar Layout, Gouri Nagar Road, Ganesh Nagar, Gondia-441601, Maharashtra. E-mail: [email protected]

Grey-headed Lapwing Vanellus cinereus is a rare winter vis itor in the peninsular India and there are only a few publis hed records available regarding its sight ing in peninsular India. It c an be eas ily ident ified from other lapwings , because of its grey head, neck and breas t, with diffuse black border and black tail band. It has a yellow bill with a black tip and y ellow legs Grimmett et al. (2011). In this note we report the recent sighting records of the Grey-headed Lapwing Vanellus cinereus at various places in Maharashtra. Sighting a t Gondia: On 31 January 2010 t he members of Gondia Nature Club had gone to Zilmili Lake near Kamtha village in Gondia district for bird watching. The tank is just 10kms away from Gondia city and is adjacent to the Birsi Airport of Gondia. The authors were acc ompanied by Mr. S anjay Ak re, Mrs. Manik

Des hmukh, Mrs. Dhomne, Mr. Sawan Bahekar and Mr. Parihar of Gondia Nature Club. They saw a lone Grey-headed Lapwing feeding along with a pair of resident Red-wattled Lapwings Vanellus indicus along the muddy bank of the tank. The Red-wattled Lapwing pair was chasing the Greyheaded one away from the area but t he latter returned to the same place after some time. Sighti ng at Dombivli, Distt. Thane: NYASS Trust had organised a birding trail on 31 December 2011 at Padle village near Dombivli in Thane dis trict of Maharas htra. When the birders reached the creek near the village, RK noticed a different lapwing in a flock of waders and standing behind a Red-wattled lapwing. The bird was identified as Grey-headed Lapwing and photographed. The Red-wat tled Lapwing however chased the migrant cousin after a few minutes depriving the remaining participants of the trail from getting a glimpse of the uncommon lapwing. On 26 January 2012 the bird was still there and was again photographed by Mr. Harishchandra Mhatre, an avid birder from Thane area. The bird was again reported at t he same place after one year on 27 December 2012 by Prathamesh S. Desai, an avid birder from Dombivli. Sighting at Hartala Tank, Distt. Jalgaon: During the bird survey with the team of Chaatak Nature Conservation Society at a small Hartala Tank near Bhusaval town in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra on 23 February 2013, a Grey-headed Lapwing was seen in the backwater area of the tank. Few Red-wattled Lapwings and many waders were there along with the Grey-headed Lapwing. Anil Mahajan of the CNCS, Raju Kasambe and Siddhesh Surve of IBCN were part of the survey team during this visit.

Table: Sighting records of Grey-headed Lapwi ng from Maha rashtra Sr.No. Peer Birder

Loca tion

Date

Source

Tadoba Andhari T.R.,Chandrapur

23 Janua ry 2010

indianaturewatch

1

Atul Dh amankar

2

Mukun d Dhurve a nd Rajkama l Job Zilmil i Lake, Gon dia, Maharashtra

31 Janua ry 2010

This a rticle

3

Gajan an Wagh, Jayant Wad atkar

Malkhe d Reservoir in Amravati Distt

22 Apri l 2012

This a rticle

4

Latish D ekate (Cover Photo No. 7)

Malkhe d Reservoir in Amravati Distt

1 May 2012

Pers. Comm.

5

Gajana n Wagh

Chhatri Tank, Am ravati

12 Febru ary 2013

This a rticle

6

Rahul Rao

Pune

January 2010

indianaturewatch

7

Rohit Gupta

Pune

24 Janua ry 2010

indianaturewatch

8

Santosh Gulavani

Gandha ri Tank, Kal yan, Distt. Thane 14 Novem ber 2010

indianaturewatch

9

Raju Kasambe

Padle Village, Domb ivli, Distt. Thane 31 Decem ber 2011

This a rticle

10

Haris hchandra Mhatre

Padle Village, Domb ivli, Distt. Thane 26 Janua ry 2012

Pers. Comm.

11

Prath amesh S. Desai

Padle Village, Domb ivli, Distt. Thane 27 Decem ber 2012

Pers. Comm.

12

Sachin Palkar

Chiplu n, Dist. Ratnagiri

1 March 2010

Palkar (2010)

13

Anon.

Near Nasik

N.A.

(Grimm ett et al.1998) (Prasad, 2003):

Newsletter for Birdwatchers 52 (6), 2012

Sighti ng at Malkhe d Tank, Amravati: On Sunday, 22 April 2012 a team of birdwatchers including Dr. Gajanan Wagh, Dr. Jayant Wadatkar, Nandakishore Dudhe, Kiran More and A lk esh Thakare had gone to Malkhed Reservoir in Amravati district for regular bird survey. They saw and photographed a Grey- headed Lapwing in the backwater area of the reservoir. It was feeding in the company of the resident Red-wattled Lapwings. The Greyheaded Lapwing remained there until 1 May 2012, when Mr. Latish Dekate could take pictures of the bird.(Cover Photo No. 7) Sighti ng at Chhatri Tank, Amravati: A Grey-headed Lapwing was sighted and photographed by Dr. Gajanan Wagh at Chhatri Tank, in the backwat er area of a small reservoir adjacent to Amravati City in Maharashtra on 12 February 2013. Other re cords from Maha rashtra: It was reported for the first time from near Chiplun in Konkan, Maharashtra by Sachin Palkar on 1st March 2010 (Palkar, 2010). It was sighted at other places in Maharashtra, which include, one bird at Chandrapur by Atul Dhamankar, at Pune by Rahul Roy and Rohit Gupta, and at Kalyan in Thane distric t by Santosh Gulavani (see Table). Ali and Ripley (1983) mentions it is a winter visitor, regularly seen in small flocks in West Bengal (near Calcutta), quite common in Assam, Manipur and Bangladesh. It oc curs in North Bihar and stragglers recorded in Kashmir, Dehra Dun and Rajasthan and the Andaman Islands. It mentions that a large proportion of our visitors are young birds without the pectoral band. The Ripley Guide (2012) mentions it to be a regular winter visitor to Bihar, South Assam hills, South-West Bengal and Oriss a, a few reaching Delhi and Bharatpur areas , and straggling to Kashmir, North and South Gujarat and South Penins ula. Grimmett et al. (2011) mentions its distribution as mainly North-East India. It has been sporadically reported from various places in south India, like Hyderabad (Sreek ar and Ram, 2010) and Machilipatnam (Conroy, 2003) in Andhra Pradesh; in Goa (Lainer, 1991); near Kaliveli (Sundar, 2000) and in c oastal area of Tamil Nadu (Santharam et al., 2007); in Bangalore, Karnatak a (Subramanya, 1987); Kerala (Ravindran and Nameer, 2002). Discussion: In most of our sightings, the birds were seen with Redwattled Lapwings and other waders. The birds were seen in the backwater area of freshwater reservoirs. It seems that the number of sighting records for this spec ies has gone up in recent years. It may be due to various reasons, the firs t being the increase in the number of birdwatchers and availability of good equipments like the camera to record the sightings. Access to each other’s data also makes it easy for collating suc h useful information. There could be

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other reasons why this otherwise scarcely reported bird is being sighted at so many locations and that too as single birds (whereas it is mentioned as gregarious in all bird guides). The reasons need to be researched. Acknowledgements: Thanks to MigrantWatc h and indianaturewatch webs ite for the ex cellent data being collected about migratory birds in India. RK wish to acknowledge t he members of NYASS Trust, Dombivli who organised the birding trail to Padle village. MD wishes to thank Mrs. Manik Deshmukh help and to the members Gondia Nature Club mentioned in the article for accompanying during the bird watching at Birsi, Gondia. Thanks to Siddhesh S urve and members of Chaatak Nature Conservation Society, Jalgaon for their help in field work. Thanks to Harishchandra Mhatre and Prathamesh Desai for sharing their sighting records. Refere nces: Ali, S. And Ripley, S.D. (1983): Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Compact Edition. Oxford University Press. Pp.737. Conroy, C. (2003): Grey-headed Lapw ings Vanellus cinereus seen around Machilipatnam, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 100(1): 122–123. Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C. and Inskipp, T. (2011): Bir ds of the Indian Subcontinent. Second Edition. Oxford University Press. Pp.528. Lainer, H. (1991): Greyheaded Lapw ing Vanellus cinereus (Blyth) in Goa. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 88(1): 111. Palkar, S. B. (2010): First record of Grey-headed Lapw ing (Vanellus cinereus) from Konkan. Newsletter for Birdwatchers. 50(5): 74. Pr as ad, A. ( 2003) : Annotated c hecklist of the birds of Wes tern Maharashtra. Buceros. 8(2&3): i–ii, 1–174 (2003). Rassmussen, P.C. and Anderton, J.C. (2012): Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Vol.2. Second Edition. National Museum of Natural History- Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions, Washington, D.C., Michigan and Barcelona. Pp.684. Santharam, V. (2003): The Grey-headed Lapw ing in Tamil Nadu - a rejoinder. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 100(1): 123. Subramanya, S. (1987): Occurrence of Grey-headed Lapw ing, Vanellus cinereus (Blyth) in Bangalore. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 84(1): 205–206 (Journal article) Sundar, K. S. Gopi (2000): The Greyheaded Lapw ing, Vanellus cinereus (Blyth) in Kaliveli Tank, Tamil Nadu. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 97(2): 277 Ali, S. & Ripley, S. D. (1987): Compact Handbook of the Birds of Indian and Pakistan. Second Edition. Oxford University Press. Vol.4. pp.94-95. Ravindran, P. K. and Nameer, P. O. (2002): Grey-headed Lapw ing Vanellus ciner eus (Blyth) (Family Charadriidae) in Kerala. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 98(3): 450–451. Santharam, V., Ali, R. and Prieto, P. (2007): Grey-headed Lapw ings Vanellus cinereus extend range into coastal Tamil Nadu, India. Indian Birds. 2(6): 172–173. Sreekar, R. and Ram, R. (2010): Sighting of Grey-headed Lapw ing Vanellus cinereus (Bly th) in Hy derabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 106(2): 207.

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Newsletter for Birdwatchers 52 (6), 2012

VULTURES IN PULICAT LA KE b y VA ITHI ANATHA N KANNAN, PG Research Department of Zoology & Wildlife Biology, A. V.C. College (Autonomous), Mannampandal 609 305, Mayiladut hurai, Tamil Nadu. Email: k [email protected] Sprawling across the states ofAndhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in Nello re a nd Ti ruval lur districts (Sco tt 19 89) respe ctive ly, Pulicat Lake (1 3Ú24’ to 1 3Ú47’ N a nd 080Ú.03 ’ to 80Ú.1 8’ E) is the second larges t lake after Chilika in In dia. The enti re area is vas t with bra ckish sali ne water a nd extensi ve mudflats. The histo ry of the Pulicat ha d immense heritage value right from the 6th century (Krish nan et al. 2001 ) and it is now identified as a po tential Important Bird Area (Islam and Rah mani 20 04). The L ake extend s an area of 720 sq. km of whi ch 84% fal ls in Andhra Pradesh and the remaining 16% in Tamil Nadu. In 2010 the Pu licat Lake was notified as a Threatened Lake of th e Year by the Global Na ture Fund (Kannan and Pandiyan 2010). Vultures are an im portant spe cies among the birds of prey. They usually eat ca rrion a nd play a vital role i n ecosys tem, especially in preventing the outbreak and spre ad of contagious diseas es. Nine s pecies of vultures o ccur in In dia of whi ch the White-Rumped Vul ture Gyps b engalen sis, Long -billed Vu lture Gyps in dicus and Red-head ed Vulture Sarcogyps calvus are the only three species found in southern India. These species are reside nt too and can be fo und throughout Indi a (Ali and Ripley 1987; Grimmett et al. 2001), the remaining six species are largely found in northern India. A d eclin e in vulture pop ulati on wa s obs erved in th e Ind ian subcontinent (Praka sh 1999; Gil bert et al. 200 2; Praka sh et al. 2003; Oaks et al. 200 4; Gilbe rt et al. 200 6) and a decline i n the population of vultu res in Andhra Pradesh wa s reported i n 1981 (Rao 1992). Ini tially several hypo theses have been pro posed fo r the p opu la tio n decli ne of vulture s pe cie s, in cl udi ng a reduction in food availabili ty, poison ing, habita t loss, pes ticide intoxica tion, cal cium deficiency and viral dis ease (Prakash 1999; Cunningham e t al. 2003). Since the se hypothese s were projected for va rious reas ons, recen tly residu es of Dicl ofenac have b een identi fied as a cause of the declini ng population of Gyps b engalen sis in Pakistan (Oaks et al. 20 04). Owing to lack of data on the population of vul tures thro ughout the co untry, mea sures for the conservation of the specie s will indee d be diffi cult. Duri ng a resea rch project assignme nt at Pulicat Lake, I maintained a record of vulture sightings in and around Pulicat Lake from 2000 to 2001. There were no sightings

of vultures throughout Pulicat Lake and its surrounds in 2000. However in 2001, a total of seven sightings of vultures were recorded at different locations and at different times of the day. During e ach s ighti ng th e num bers were coun ted a nd after confirming the identity of the vulture; time of the day and locations were also noted. Of the total sightings, White-Rumped Vultures were recorded on six occasions and during the last sighting a group of Long-billed Vultures were recorded feeding on a cattle carcass. Maximum numbers were recorded in April; however, occurrence of vultures were also noted in December and February, this indicates the trend in seasonality and carcasses availability in the Pulicat Lake area (Table 1). Since the Pulicat Lake is known for its ornithological significance there is a need to maintain a regular monitoring system to record the numbers and its locations for all species including the endangered species like the vultures. This monitoring system would p rovide effective conservation management of the Pulicat Lake area, in due course. References Ali, S. and Ripley, S.D. (1987). Compact handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan. Oxford University Press, New Delhi. Cunningham, A.A., Prakash, V., Pain, D., Ghalsasi, G.R., Wells, G.A.H., Kolte, G.N., Nighot, P., Goudar, M.S., Kshirsagar, S. and Rahmani, A. (2003). Indian vultures: victims of an infectious dis ease epidemic? Animal Conservation 6: 189-197. Gilbert, R., Virani, M.Z., Watson, R.T., Oaks, J.L., Beuson, P.C., Khan, A.A., Ahmed, S., Chaudhry, J., Arshad, M., Mahmood, S. and Shah, Q.A. (2002). Breeding and mortality of oriental w hite backed vulture Gyps bengalensis in Punjab Province, Pakistan. Bird Conservation International 12: 311-326. Gilbert, R., Watson, R.T., Virani, M.Z., Oaks, J.L., Ahmed, S., Chaudhry, J.I., Arshad, M., Mahmood Ali, S. and Khan, A.A. (2006). Rapid population declines and mortality clusters in three oriental w hite-backed vulture Gyps bengalensis colonies in Pakistan due to Diclofenac poisoning. Oryx 40: 388-399. Green, R.E., New ton, I., Shultz, S., Cunningham, A.A., Gilbert, M., Pain, D.J. and Prakash, V. (2004). Diclofenac poisoning as a cause of vulture population declines across the Indian subcontinent. Journal of Applied Ecology 41: 793-800. Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C. and Inskipp, T. (2001). Pocket Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent, Oxford University Press, pp. 10, 12. Islam, M.Z. and Rahmani,A.R. (2004). Important Bird Areas in India: Priority Sites for Conservation, Indian Bird Conservation Netw ork, Bombay Natural History Society and BirdLif e International, pp. 157-158 Kannan, V. and Pandiyan, J. (2010). Pulicat – threatened lake of the year 2010. Current Science 99: 1496-1497. Krishnan, P.T., Ramesh Kumar, M.C., Azeez, A. And Rajkumar, M.R. (2001). Heritage Conservation Plan for Pulicat, Part One:A profile of Pulic at, The Indian national Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, New Delhi. pp. 10-27

Table. Sightings of vultures i n Pulicat Lake from 2000-2001 Date 06/02 /2001

Time 12:00

Species Nos White -Rumped Vu lture 7

Loca tion Sullu rpet-SHAR road (nea r Kudiri tank)

05/04 /2001 19/04 /2001

12:00 09:30

White -Rumped Vu lture White -Rumped Vu lture

11 2

Sullu rpet-SHAR road (nea r Kudiri tank) Flyin g over the tank Pulicat Lake (near Forest check post) SHAR road Sittin g on the g round

07/12 /2001

12:45

White -Rumped Vu lture

3

Sullu rpet-SHAR road (nea r Kudiri tank)

Sittin g on the g round

14/12 /2001

10:30

White -Rumped Vu lture

1

Madras-Calcutta Hig hway (NH5) – nearb y Akkampet village

Soaring

14/12 /2001

12:30

White -Rumped Vu lture

1

Sullu rpet-SHAR road (nea r Kudiri tank)

Sitti ng about 3 0 mts from carcass

21/04 /2001

13:30

Long-billed Vu lture

Madra s-Calcutta Highway (NH5) - nearby Polired dypalem vi llage

Feedi ng on ca ttle carcass

15

Acti vity Resting

Newsletter for Birdwatchers 52 (6), 2012

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Oaks, J.L., Gilbert, M., Virani, M.Z., Watson, R.T., Meleyer, C.U., Rideaurt, B.A., Shivaprasad, H.L., Ahmad, S., Choudhary, M.J.I., Arshad, M., Mohmood Ali, S. and Khan, A.A. (2004). Dic lofenac residues as the cause of vulture population decline in Pakistan. Nature 427: 630-633. Prakash, V. (1999). Status of Vultures in Keoladeo national park, Bharatpur, Rajasthan w ith special reference to population crash in Gyps species. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society 96(3): 365-378. Prakash, V., Pain, D.J., Cunningham, A.A., Donald, P.F., Prakash, N., Verma, A., Gargi, R., Sivakumar, S. and Rahmani, A.R. (2003). Catastrophic collapse of Indian White-backed Gyps bengalensis and Long- billed Gyps indicus v ulture populations. Bi ologic al Conservation 109: 381-390. Rao, K.M. (1992). Vultures endangered in Guntur and Prakasam districts (A.P.) and vulture eating community. Newsletter for Birdwatchers 32 (7-8): 6-7. Sc ott, D.A. ( 1989). A Di rector y of Asi an W etlands, The World Conservation Union, Gland, Sw itzerland, pp. 477-478.

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RED NECKE D PHALA ROPE (Phalaropus lobatus, Li nnaeus, 1758) IN BRE E DING PLUM A GE IN FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEM OF KACHCHH DISTRICT, GUJARAT by HIREN SONIa and JUSTUS JOSHUAb, a P.G. Department of Environmental Science & Technology (EST), Institute of Science & Technology for Advanced Studies & Research (ISTAR), Post Box No. 13, Vallab h Vidyanagar – 388 120, [Dist. Anand, (Gujarat), India], Corresponding Author: drhirenb [email protected] b Green Future Foundation, 45, Modern Complex, Opp. Jaideep Pub lic School, Bhuwana,Udaipur (Rajasthan) – 313 001 (India) E-Mail: [email protected] R e d-n e cke d Ph a la ro pe (Ph a l aro p us l ob a tus ) is a s ma ll m ig ra to ry w ad e r, b re ed s in Arctic reg io ns o f No rth Am eri ca a nd Eurasi a, w inters at se as o n trop ica l ocean s, spend s the non -breeding season in open water, and rarely comes into contact with humans (Wikipedia, 2013). The species being mainly a coastal b ird specie s, and wi nters alon g the coasts of Indian Subcontinent, was seen in one of the freshwater bo di es in Pa chchh am Va lle y fri ngi ng no rthern b orders of Kachchh District, Gujarat State. The bird was firstly located on 16th March 20 02, fe edi ng in a ma n-m ade freshw ate r d am alon gside 1 3 individuals of Black-winged stilt (Himantopus himantopus). The individual was an adult male in its breeding plumage, with white throat and red stripe down side of the grey ne ck. Durin g m os t of th e vis its to diverse la nd sca pe s of Pachchham, the bird was recurrently observed by us. During our initial trips, the bird sighted was in non-breeding plumage (darker grey upper parts with white edges to mantle and scapular feathers having fairly distinct lines), but subsequently we were fortunate to observe the gradual changing pattern in its plumage, which attained the full bright breeding appearance by mid-April. The bird was observed in the same water-body till 20th June 2002, after which it disappeared from the area; probably moved on to its breeding grounds! Red-ne cked Phalarope (Phalaropus lob atus, Linnaeu s, 1758) is sai d to be a pelagic, found in coa stal waters, inland ponds, and jhee ls, mai nly in Pakistan, Guj arat, Tam il Nadu an d Sri Lanka , on passa ge inland (Baluchistan to Biha r), and off the coast of Tamil Nadu (Ali and Ripley, 1996). As per Kazmierczak (20 06 ), the s pe ci es i s fo un d i n sh al lo w co as ta l wa te rs , mudfla ts, saltpa ns, and sh rimp pools . It is al so said to be a

winter visitor, mainly in off-shore waters of Pakistan, NW and SE Ind ia, and Sri Lanka (Grim mett et al., 20 09). Till 1 945, this species wa s not sighted in Kach chh (Ali, 1945). Afterwa rds, it was located in n on-breeding plumage in D evisar Tank i n Kachchh, a n inland we tland habitat during 19 48 and 1949 (Himmatsinh ji, 1958). After that, it had n ot been re ported fro m a n y fres h wa ter e co s ys tem o f Kach ch h . Th e m os t intere sting fact is that du ring our s urvey, the bird was s ighted till m id-June, b y which ti me the oth er individ uals of th e same spe cies would be b usy w ith their nesting a ctivi ties at th eir breed ing grou nds. The pre s en t s i gh ti ng re cord of Re d -n e cke d Ph al a rop e (Phala ropus lob atus) con firms the occurrence of speci es in the inland freshwater body of Ka chchh Province, in i ts breeding plumag e till very late period during its breed ing season . This observa tion could b e rectified b y a suppositi on that most of the migratory birds start leaving their w inter grou nd by the end of March till first or second week of Ap ril. As the y approach their breedi ng grounds after tra velling a l ong distan ce they be gin to acquiring their breeding p lumage. It is also im perative for any bird s pecies to select sui table bree ding or te rritorial ground based on food availability, nest safe ty, and other factors that govern breeding success. The reaso n for such a belated stay of the bird in th e area is s till unclea r. This asp ect could further be stu died and e xtrapolate d in future by initi ating tagg ing or ringin g studies to unearth the secret. Such stu dies are crucial to unde rstand as to whether thes e birds leis urely move to their breeding grounds, or migrate to wards more pertinent off-shore ha bita ts, or foreg o b reed ing duri ng certain peri ods due to various intrinsic factors. Refer ences Ali, S. (1945). The Birds of Kutch. Oxford University Press, Bombay. 209 p. Ali, S. and S.D. Ripley (1996). A Pictorial Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. Oxford University Press, Bombay. 183 p. Grimmett, R., C. Inskipp and T. Inskipp (2009). Pocket Guide to the Birds of Indian Subcontinent. Oxford University Press, New Delhi. 384 p. Himmatsinhji, M. K. (1958): More bird notes from Kutch. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 55 (3): 575-576. Kazmierczak, K. (2006). A Field Guide to The Birds of India. Pica Press, Helm Information Ltd., East Sussex, U.K. 352 p. Wikipedia (2013). http://en.w ikipedia.org/w iki/Red-necked_Phalarope. Accesses on 28th March, 2013.

1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7.

Cover Photogr aphs Front Cover: See Page Russian marked Black Stork (Ciconia nigra) at Baslapur Reservoir, Photo by Ashahar Khan 81 Google map show ing migr ation of the r inged Black Stork 81 Back Cover: Compulsive feeding of Pigeons at London (File photo) 82 Grey headed lapw ing (Vanel lus cinereus) (below ) w ith Red-w attled Lapw ing (Vanel lus indi cus) (above) at the campus of DBSKKV, Dapoli. 88 River Lapw ing Sighting point w ith the map of study area (Ranthambhore Tiger Res erve) 89 River Lapw ing (Vanel lus duvauc eli i) in the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve. Photo by Dipankar Lahkar 89 Gr ey -headed Lapw ing (Vanell us ci ner eus) at Malkhed Tank, Amr avati. Photo by Latish Dekate 90

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Newsletter for Birdwatchers 52 (6), 2012