Newsletter forBirdwatchers

Vol. 43 No. 5 Sept. � Oct. 2003

Vol. 43 No. 5 Sept. � Oct. 2003

Note : All subscriptions & related correspondence should be sent only to the Publisher and not to the Editor.

As a foretaste of the future I have requested Aasheesh Pittieand V Santharam to edit the Jan/Feb 2004 issue and S Sridharthe March/April issue. These two issues have often posed aproblem as I have been away from Bangalore. The purpose ofthis note is to assure subscribers that they should have no fearthat after the demise of the present Editor the Newsletter willbecome headless.

Sridhar, Aasheesh and Santharam are all in their forties, andwith this arrangement the Newsletter can plan its Diamond Jubileeand who knows, may be its Centenary as well!

Hints by JBS Haldane : Last year Madhav Gadgil gave aninteresting talk to us birdwatchers on how to graduate from being�mere� birdwatchers and become serious ornithologists.

Birdwatching gives us the ability to identify the various specieswhether by appearance, behaviour or song. Ornithology musttake us a step further. We must learn to see birds not asindividuals but to see the species as a whole, and to see changingpatterns in its population density, its movement , its connectionand interaction with other species, and indeed with the wholeenvironment.

I remember reading an article in the JBNHS circa 1959 (aboutthe time when our Newsletter was started) by JBS Haldane, inwhich the great scientist suggested what part amateur birderscould play in furthering ornithological knowledge. Fortunately (andsurprisingly) I found the article and I would like to quote someportions from it. Haldane wrote: �It is important to find the

distribution of species and sub-species in India at different timesof the year and also their local habitats, names and so on.Ultimately we should look forward to a time when there will be anornithologist for every hundred or so square miles of India capableof enumerating the local species and a central organisation suchas the BNHS to make maps showing the distribution of eachspecies in India. As however, this would require ten thusand orso ornithologists it is not immediately possible. But a start canbe made

The next question to be asked is perhaps how many birds of oneor more species there are in a given area. At first sight this is avery difficult question, as birds are so mobile. But as eggs theyare extremely immobile. I hope that we may make the attempt toenumerate all the nests of some conspicuous species such asvultures, night herons and cattle egrets in an area of ten squaremiles or so. When this has been done for thirty or sorepresentative areas in India we shall be in a position to estimate,no doubt very roughly the total population of these species in India.�

Another useful project to which Prof. Haldane refers is to studythe proportion of time birds spend on their nests. �It is clear that

in several species the time spent on the nest per day (rises) duringincubation, and then (falls) again as the young (demand) moreand more food but less and less warmth. This can be interpretedas meaning that the parent bird has a strong urge to leave thenest after a standard time. It would be most valuable to collectsuch data in such a way that they could be given adequatestatistical treatment. This would mean observation throughoutthe hours of daylight during a nesting period which would requirethe cooperation of at least two men�. Readers may remember

that Salim Ali once wrote about a nesting warbler which left thenest at his approach, but when it started to drizzle it just had toreturn to the nest to protect its progeny from wetness and death.Let us hope that some of our readers will pick up a clue fromHaldane and set about collecting the data to which he refers.

EditorialHeadless Organisations : It is well known that several PublicSector Companies which are crucial for the progress of ourcountry are left without a Chief Executive for months at a time.The resulting inefficiency can be imagined. Apparently there arewell established procedures for the selection of the successorafter the retirement of either the Chairman or the ManagingDirector. But personal jealousies, and of course politicalconsiderations, make it easier to leave a vacuum.

Our humble Newsletter sets a better example. Though I am ingood health today who knows what happens tomorrow. At 83 itmay not be long before I am unable to Edit the Newsletter aswell as I would like to. A couple of years ago I had sought anundertaking from S. Sridhar, Aasheesh Pittie and V Santharamthat after my death they would take charge of the Newsletter andshape its future course.

Vol. 43 No. 5 Sept. � Oct. 2003

Editorial Headless Organisations

Hints by JBS Haldane Annual Gathering

Articles Relocation of Bonelli�s Eagle Chick, by Dr. Satish A.

Pande and Amit P. Pawashe

A Short Trip in the Biligirirangans, by L. Shyamal Bird Sightings in the District Collectorate of Pudukkottai,

by R.Vijayakumar Thondaman, B. Senthilmurugan andG. Vijaya

Twenty six species of Birds in fifty minutes from onespot, by Lt. Gen. Baljit Singh

Interactions between Bird-flowers and flower-birds,by A.J. Solomon Raju, S. Purnachandra Rao andK. Rangaiah

Bird Visitors to flowers of Indian Coral Tree,by S. Devasahayam and J. Rema

Method for Population Estimation of Common Barn Owl,by P. Neelanarayanan and R. Kanakasabai

Abstracts Myna Feeding on a trinket snake, by Atul Dhamankar

Large Pied Wagtails in a bus, by Atul Dhamankar Woodpecker tapping a cement concrete pole, by

K. Ratnam

Whitebreasted Kingfisher feeds on a young wire-tailedswallow, by Ashok Mashru

Correspondence Magpie Robin Nesting among office files, by Ashok

Mashru

Nesting and Breeding of the Grey Hornbill, byLt. Gen. Baljit Singh

Blue-footed booby in Gujarat, by Jaidev Dhadhal

Bird-watching at Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary (Muttathi),by P. Manjunath

Spoon-billed Sandpiper, the first record for Sunderbansdelta, by Arunayan Sharma

Newsletter for Birdwatchers, 43 (5), 2003 63

with fresh chicken flesh pieces which it ate on its own. Our earlierobservations showed that Bonelli�s Eagle chicks start feeding on

their own from the age of about 42 days. Having already obtainedpermission from authorities in the Bombay Natural History Society,Mumbai and the Forest Department, Pune, we ringed the chickand then put it in the empty nest, under which the chick was firstfound. A pair of eagles was seen soaring in the vicinity of nesttree the same evening.

The nest was constructed at a height of about 12 m. in anEucalyptus tree. The nest was pyramidal with the apexdownwards and it was constructed in the forked branches of thetree. It was 2 m. in height and had a diameter of about 1.8 m. Itwas noticed that the nest was quite old being active for at least5 to 6 years. At this time it was noticed that there were no freshgreen sprays in the nest. The eagles always add green sprays toan active nest. We therefore became suspicious and asked thevillagers about the exact date on which the eaglet was found,but did not get any answers. On inquiry we however learnt that 6years ago the eagles were nesting on an Erythrina monospermatree which eventually fell. The eagles then shifted to the presenttall Eucalyptus tree in the vicinity.

15th March 2003: The chick was found on the ground below thenest tree, the very next day of placing it in the nest. It was againinspected for injuries and there were none. It was fed and chickaccepted the flesh. Thereafter the chick was again replaced inthe same nest.

16th March 2003: Once again the chick was found under thenest on the ground in the morning. It was uninjured. Eagles weresoaring and circling above the nest tree and hence the chickwas replaced in the nest again after feeding. This time we wantedto see what was actually happening and decided to stay. Wehad kept the still and video cameras ready for documenting theevents. The eagles were seen to attack their own chick bylaunching aerial sallies at it. The chick defended its position inthe nest bravely for a long period. Both the eagles attacked thechick for at least half an hour and succeeded in pushing it out ofthe nest again. Then the chick was kept in captivity and fed.

After making further inquiries with local people, we came to knowthat the chick had first fallen from the nest after some kids hadpelted stones at it from the adjacent hill slope, from where theview of the inside of the nest could be obtained. A villager firstfound the chick below the nest on 4th March 2003. He had kept it

Annual Gathering of Subscribers to the Newsletter forBirdwatchers

Our Annual Gathering will be held on Sunday, the 4th January2004 at the former residence of the Editor at Doddagubbi (courtesyPrestige Estates). We hope that the North-East Monsoon will bebetter than the South-West so that a visit to the lake in theneighbourhood will be a pleasure for birdwatchers.

We are glad to announce that Ms Dominique Homberger, theSecretary General of the International Ornithological Congresswill be the Chief Guest. I hope several of our readers, even fromfar away, will give us the privilege of meeting them.

The programme will be as usual :

Coffee and snacks at 8 a.m.

Birding in the surroundings, Socialise at will, Assemble at 11 a.m.

Introductory talk by Editor, Speech by the Chief Guest, Discussionon bird related topics.

Lunch at 1.00 p.m. and Tea at 3.30 p.m.

Departure as per individual convenience

It would be a help if those intending to come would informMs Vimala or Shoba at telephone No. 080-3364142, 080-3364682or confirm by E-mail <navbarat@blr.vsnl.net.in> !

Relocation of Bonelli�s Eagle�s ChickDR. SATISH A. PANDE and AMIT P. PAWASHE, ELA Foundation, C-9, Bhosale Park,

Sahakarnagar -2, Pune 411 009. Email : satishpande@hotmail.com

Introduction : Sometimes apparently insignificant events assumegreat importance. The present episode is a story arising fromour critical evaluation of a news report in the rural edition of alocal newspaper. The trivial report said that a rescued eaglet wasbeing cared for by a local organization in the village. It wasreported that the eaglet had fallen from the nest on its own � a

strange occurrence to my mind. Hence we decided to investigate.Our inquiry revealed that some mischievous kids had removedthe Bonelli�s eaglet from the nest. It found its way to the local

orphanage. The more serious part that we found was that somemembers who were looking after the eaglet, were publiclyexhibiting such birds, reptiles, mammals in cages, in utter violationof Indian Wildlife Protection Act. It fetched them publicity forlooking after injured animals! They were unaware that this actwas indirectly promoting trapping of birds and animals by others.We spent several days with the concerned persons to make themunderstand the dignity of wildlife and the importance of wildlifeconservation. They voluntarily released all the captive creaturesin the presence of the Forest Department officials and promisedto protect the nest of the Bonelli�s eagle in the future. To our joy,

these very people helped us in rehabilitating the eaglet, whichwas evicted from the nest. This experience stresses theimportance of active nature education. It also highlights thatpersons lost in the darkness of anti-environmental activities canbe made to see the light and their help can be taken for the causeof conservation. In fact, because these people are potentiallyinvolved in nature and wildlife, all they require to know is theright perspective. For others who refuse to change, the stringentprovisions of law exist. This narration is in the first person of thefirst author.

Diary of events

14th March 2003: Information from a friend came to me in themorning that an NGO group located in Jejuri (Pune district,Maharashtra) had found an eagle chick that had apparently fallenfrom its nest. I rushed to Jejuri in the afternoon, which is about45 km. from Pune. Some local villagers attended to the chick.After inspection it was found that the chick was uninjured. It wasa Bonelli�s Eagle. Prior to its ringing, the measurements were

taken which were as follows: Wing length-380 mm; Bill-38 mm;Tarsus 110 mm; Tail 200 mm; Weight 1845 g. It had brown upperparts, whitish eyebrows, rufous belly, white throat, and a broadband on its tail, blue-black bill, black talons and yellow iris. Weconcluded that it was about 40-42 days old. The chick was fed

64 Newsletter for Birdwatchers, 43 (5), 2003

in his house in captivity for 10 days. He was feeding fresh fleshto the chick. It became clear that the chick was actually 28-30days old when it was first evicted from the nest. 10 days hadlapsed after which we had replaced the chick in the nest.

Now, because of this constant pushing out of the chick from itsnest by its own parents, we were left with two options, viz.:

1) To keep the chick in an orphanage or

2) To keep the chick in any other active and suitable nest of thesame species using the �Add-On� technique and rear the chick

through foster parents.

I was aware of such a nest in the area of Pawangad in Kolhapurdistrict, Maharashtra. Last year in February 2002, our group hadsuccessfully kept the Bonelli�s Eagle chick that had fallen from

the nest, within 24 hours of its fall. The parents had then acceptedthe replaced chick and the chick flew to freedom (Ref. 3-Pande,2003).

I therefore decided to shift this chick from Jejuri, to about 250km. away in the nest at Pawangad. The permission of the Forestdepartment, Pune, was again obtained. They even arranged forour transport and gave us their staff.

18th March 2003: The ringed Bonelli�s Eagle chick was taken to

Kolhapur. It was fed twice on this journey. On reaching Kolhapurthe eaglet was examined and we found that a small twig hadpierced the skin on the chick�s chest anterior to the keel. This

had happened during the last episode of pushing out the chickby its parents. This twig was removed. Fortunately, it was notdeep and the eaglet was treated with antibiotic, local asepsisand steroids. The chick looked normal and ate well.

On reaching Pawangad, we were surprised to find that this nestwas empty. We had seen the nest 2 weeks back, when chickswere present in the nest. The young ones had fledged 9 daysago. We were frustrated, since we were deprived of theopportunity to try the �Add-On� technique of rehabilitation. We

opted to stay there for a while to see if the family of the Bonelli�sEagles which were using this nest would visit the nest. To ourpleasant surprise, the entire family of parents and two eagletswas seen soaring over the nest tree. The boys who stayed in thevicinity of the nest confirmed that the chicks, which had fledgedrecently, still came to the nest during the night. We thereforewere convinced that the parenting of the fledged chicks was stillin process, and therefore decided to keep the ringed chick in theempty nest with the hope that the foster parents would accept it.

The ringed chick was finally relocated to the new nest, about 15m. up in a Jamun (Syzygium cumini) tree, at Pawangad in theafternoon. After about two hours of waiting with tense minds,towards late evening, the foster parents came to their nest.Surprisingly and thankfully there was no aggression, and unlikein Jejuri, the adult eagle sat on an adjacent branch. The plumageof the foster ringed chick and the original eaglets of the Pawangadnest were similar, since they were more or less of the same age.The ringed chick was not fed on this day. The call of a GreatHorned Owl (Bubo bubo) was heard close to the nest that night.This owl predating the falcon chicks in natural hack nests isdescribed (Ref. 4) But since the foster parents of this rather grownup eaglet were close by we were less fearful.

19th March 2003: The next day, we delivered pieces of flesh inthe nest. The ringed chick readily ate the offered food by itself. Inthe evening the chicks of the foster parents came to their nest

with a freshly killed sub-adult poultry with intact feathers. The killwas undressed. It was brought to the nest by the original fledgedchick, dropped in the nest as if for the ringed foster chick and theoriginal chick flew away. The ringed chick simply sat next to thekill, holding it firmly in the talons but unable to eat it. The ringedchick did not know what to do with the kill. It could not eat it. It hadbeen fed only dressed flesh till this time and did not know thatfood comes as birds, lizards, mice, poultry etc; covered withfeathers, hair or scales, and not as ready to eat flesh. After atleast 35 minutes, the foster chick came back to the nest anddemonstrated to the ringed chick how to dress the kill and theneat it. The foster chick ate a portion of the kill and left some forthe ringed eaglet. During the act of eating, the ringed eagle wasseen to carefully observe the act, and it performed mock actionsof holding the kill firmly and tearing the flesh. It was learning!

The foster parents also noticed this, hence, for the next few days,they brought dressed flesh for the ringed chick to eat. The fosterparents and their chicks reared the ringed chick for 8 days andthe ringed chick flew to freedom on 26th March 2003.

26th March 2003 & later: The ringed chick had started practisingflight for the past few days and successfully fledged on this day.It was seen with the foster parents and their chicks for at least aweek in the same area. They were visiting the nest during theday and occasionally at night. The ringed eaglet was also seento search for prey on the ground but always flew on sensing humanpresence.

Conclusions:1) The ringed Bonelli�s Eagle chick had imprinted with eagles,

its own parents at Jejuri, before it was evicted from the nest.It was in its nest for the first 28 days. There was no humaninterference during this time. It was not imprinted withhumans, hence, rehabilitation with foster eagle parents ofthe same species was possible in principle. (Ref. 5) Crossfostering is not recommended due to the subsequent pairingproblems that are faced by such chicks. (Ref.6, 7)

2) After the chick fell down from the nest, the parent eagles didnot have a chance of seeing it for the next 10 days, when thechick was reared in captivity, away from the nest site. Duringthis long absence of the chick from the nest, the parentsslowly lost their parental instinct, probably due to the decreasein the gonadal activity, due to absence of stimulus from thechick. They had stopped adding green sprays to the nestduring this period, which they always do if chick rearing is inprocess.

3) After the chick was replaced in the nest after an absence of10 days, the parents had refused to rear and accept theirown chick. This may be because the plumage of the chickhad considerably changed during the period of absence. Theymay not have recognized their own chick and in fact it wasperceived as an intruder and therefore continually pushedout of the nest. However, one noteworthy point is that theparents pushed out the chick by wing flaps and threat displayand not by actually attacking it fatally with their sharp talons.Chick rejection for unknown reasons by foster Bald Eaglesis recorded (Ref. 8). As per our previous observations,Bonelli�s Eagles meticulously keep their own offspring of the

previous year, away from the nest, in the subsequent breedingseason, if they come near the active nest. Eagles instinctivelyguard their nests. Parents do not launch fatal attacks ontrespassing past year offspring, but discourage them withthreats.

Newsletter for Birdwatchers, 43 (5), 2003 65

4) On the other hand, the foster Bonelli�s Eagles of Pawangad

were still in their breeding and parenting instincts. They werestill attending and teaching their fledged chicks.

5) We burdened the foster parents with one more chick, theringed eaglet from Jejuri, at this stage. They accepted thisfoster to their empty nest. They also taught the foster chickhow to dress the food, how to fly, art of catching prey and thetactics of surviving and being an eagle!

6) Bonelli�s Eagles cannot recognize their own chicks. It is also

true that they cannot count their own fledglings. Hence, theyhad accepted the third ringed chick. This behaviour is alsoseen in Bald Eagles, where �add on� technique is being

successfully used for several years. (Ref. 1, 9)

7) There was no Cain and Abel behaviour - cannibalism of thechicks, in the case of Bonelli�s Eagles, which has been

observed and documented in Golden Eagles (Aquilachrysaetus) and also the Shaheen Falcons (Falco peregrinus)(As noted by author, unpublished data). Therefore, this typeof �add on� technique is possible in the case of Bonelli�s

Eagles.

8) Bonelli�s Eagle chicks feed by themselves after the age of

42-43 days. Thereafter we can provide food supplementsduring the brief period required for foster parents to acceptthe relocated chick. The �Hack Method�, as used in relocating

Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), Ospreys (Pandionhaliaetus) ( Ref. 10, 11 ) can be utilised for Bonelli�s Eagle

chicks. This was demonstrated in our case also, as therelocated chick immediately ate the offered food placed inthe nest on 19th March.

9) Even after the breeding period is over, the adult Bonelli�sEagles do visit their nest frequently. They guard the nest fromintruders in the non-breeding period. The same nest is usedfor several years for breeding. Hence, these nests areimportant traditional nest sites. We have not observedadditional nests of the same pair.

10) Since the eagles in the same province breed simultaneously,their chicks in different nests are mostly of the same averageage, and plumage. The importance of maintaining the registryof current status of nest sites of birds of prey in every localityis obvious. Because we were aware of other nests of Bonelli�sEagle, we could carry out this novel method of rehabilitationof an orphaned eaglet.

11) Till date, the replacement / relocation / rehabilitation of thechicks has been done within a short period of 24 hours of thecreation of a contingency, in India and elsewhere. In India,this has been done with Changeable Hawk-Eagle andBonelli�s Eagle (Ref. 12-Naoroji, 1985, Ref.-3-Pande, 2003,

respectively) After finding an orphaned Bonelli�s eagle chick,

foster nests of the same species occupied by chicks maynot always be found, and �Add-on� technique may not be

possible. However, in our present method, one has a muchgreater latitude at one�s disposal for such relocation /

rehabilitation. The increased minimum time latitude to usethe empty foster nest now seems to be of at least 9 daysafter the fledging of the rightful chicks. Till now onlyunsuccessful empty nests have been used for adding eggsor chicks. An orphaned chick of Bonelli�s Eagle can be

relocated in an empty nest, which has already beensuccessfully used by another pair, within this long period.

Therefore, as against keeping the orphaned chick in anorphanage, an extremely expensive and not alwayssuccessful method of rehabilitation and naturalization ( Ref.13 ), this new natural method of rehabilitation (a combinationof natural hacking till fostering is accepted followed byfostering in a used empty nest), will keep the natural instinctof the rehabilitated chick and its knowledge of thesurroundings intact, at hardly any cost. The chick shall notface pairing problems in the future and can breedsuccessfully. In short, wildlife will remain wild.

Acknowledgements:I am grateful to Mr. Prakash Thosare, CF and the ForestDepartment, Pune for their permission and assistance. I thankMr. J. C. Daniel, Hon. Sec. BNHS for giving us permission forringing the Bonelli�s eaglet. I also thank Banda Pednekar and

Abhijit Patil of the NGO Prakruti Prayog Pariwar of Kolhapur; Imranand his friends for all their assistance in relocating the eaglet inthe nest at Pawangad & the conservation group headed by Mr.Unmesh Barbhai of Jejuri. I express my gratitude to ChandrahasKolhatkar, Prashant Deshpande, Mohan Panse, Dr. MukundDeshpande and Anand Abhyankar of ELA Foundation.

References:1) American Bald Eagle Information, National News Release. U.

S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 1996-2001 Baldeagleinfo.com

2) Barclay, J. H. 1987. Augmenting wild populations. Pages 239-247 in B. A. Giron Pandleton, B. A. Millsap, K. W. Cline & D.M. Bird, eds. Raptor management techniques manual Natl. Wildl.Fed., Washington D. C.

3) Pande, Satish (2003) The mystery of the disappearing eagles,Newsletter for Birdwatchers Vol.43 No.3 May-June 2003, Pages31-33.

4) Barclay, J. H. 1980. Release of captive-produced PeregrineFalcons in the eastern United States 1975-1979. M. S. Thesis.Michigan Tech. Univ,. Houghton 118 pp.

5) Supporting Bird Rehabilitation (Matrika�s Story)

www.hydro.mb.ca/environment/heritageaa.pdf

6) Bird D. M.., 1985. Cross-fostering in birds of prey: a review (Page1) Raptor Res. Found. Symp. Manage. Of Birds of Prey. Int.Meet Session 8. Int. Symp. On Raptor Reintroduction.

7) Bird D. M., W. Burnham, R. W. Fyfe. 1985 A review of cross-fostering in birds of prey. ICBP Tech. Publ. No. 5. 433-438.

8) Allen, M. 1980. Proc. 1980 Bald Eagle Days. Eagle ValleyEnvironmentalists, Inc. Apple River, IL. Implanting an eaglet intoan unsuccessful Bald Eagle�s nest. Pages 177-179 in T. N.

Ingram, ed.

9) Bald Eagles of the Umbagog Area, Lake Umbagog NationalWildlife Refuge, U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Kate Maguire,2001. Bald Eagles of New Hampshire. Rev. by Jenifer Pruim,Ed. by Chris Martin, 2002. Eagle Foster Nests \ Bald Eagles 2htm.

10) The Osprey Restoration Effort. www.state.ia.us/government/dnr/organiza/fwb/wildlife/pages/sspreyrestr.htm

11) Allen, M. 1982. The second record of a hacked Bald Eaglenesting in the wild. Pages 5-19, in T. N. Ingram, ed. Proc. Of theBald Eagle Conf. On Bald Eagle Restor. Rochester, N. Y. August1982.

12) Naoroji, Rishad (1985) Notes on some common breeding raptorsof the Rajpipla forest, J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 82(2) : 278-308.

13) Replacement cost of Eagles. Gardner and Brown, Univ.Washington, 1991. www.oilspill.state/ak.us/pdf/encon4.pdf

66 Newsletter for Birdwatchers, 43 (5), 2003

A Short Trip in the BiligirirangansL. SHYAMAL, No. 1, 12th Main, Muthyalanagar, Bangalore 560 054

E-mail:muscicapa@mailandnews.com

We decided to make a trip up into the estates of Attikan andHonnametti, the home of R.C.Morris who wrote all those notesthat had made me interested in the BR Hills. As we climbedhigher, we had excellent views of Rufous-bellied (Hawk-)eagle(Hieraaetus kienerii), arguably the most colourful of forest eagles,including a good view from above. A close relative, the Bonelli�s(Hawk-)eagle(Hieraaetus fasciatus) was also spotted at a coupleof locations while looking down the forested valleys. Large forestraptors are best seen from an elevation and the Crested SerpentEagle with its hard-to-miss haunting three-note call was alsothere. Also of interest was a Kestrel, possibly of the resident raceunless it was an early winter arrival, which gave us somespectacular aerobatic displays, hovering effortlessly againststrong southwesters winds rising up a cliff face.

Prof R. Sukumar writes in his book �Elephant Days and Nights� -

�Beginning in 1888 these forests were cleared by British coffee

planters. The oldest of these estates, Attikan estate, was openedby Randolph Hayton Morris. In 1895 R.H.Morris was gored byan injured gaur bull while he was out hunting, but he surviveddespite losing one lung in the encounter. The Morris familycontinued clearing the area for coffee, eventually covering abouta thousand hectares of the hill slopes and the valleys. R.H.Morris�second son, Ralph Camroux Morris, was a well-known sportsman-cum-naturalist who recorded many interesting observations ofthe flora and fauna of the Biligirirangans in the Journal of theBombay Natural History Society. R.C.Morris left the country in1955 after selling the estate to Indian planters.

Only remnants of the rain forest survive. In one of these patchesa huge Michelia champaca tree, locally known as the DoddaSampige is considered sacred by the local Sholiga people...�

We were delighted by our climb into this estate started byR.H.Morris and it was easy to see how he fell in love with thisland. The view is simply spectacular and one can only just imaginehow it must have been before the coffee and silver oak replacedthe forest. Dodda Sampige is a major landmark in the area;unfortunately we were unable to visit it, but I am sure the sight ofa tree whose circumference is said to be enough for eleven peopleto hold hands around it would be a most humbling experience.The Morris estate today belongs to a major industrial house andthe manager of the estate, kindly showed us around the old trophystudded bungalow and shared some of the history of the placeincluding a visit by Dr Salim Ali. The estate had recently beenvisited by a tiger and had lost one of their cows to it. Some weeksafter this visit, our editor told me of his close connections to theMorris family and lent me a fascinating book by Monica Jackson,daughter of R.C.Morris (�Going Back�, Banyan Books, 1994).

Among the many colourful reflections in the book, there is amention of Dr Salim Ali�s visit to the estate, where he is said to

have been looking out for specimens of the StreakedGrasshopper Warbler, although it is more probable that it wasthe Grasshopper Warbler Locustella naevia he was after. Thebook does not say if he was successful, but does mention that arogue elephant that sought Ralph Morris and Salim Ali wasn�tsuccessful. Birdwatchers in the grass-topped hills should lookout for this little known bird (while keeping an eye out for rogueelephants).

During my college days, browsing through ancientJournals of the Bombay Natural History Society

had led me to many fascinating notes on the wildlife of theBiligirirangan Hills written by R.C.Morris. The B.R.Hills had eversince been enticing me.

I finally got to make my first visit, thanks to Mysore birdwatcherfriends D. Rajkumar and his wife Usha, and spent the weekendaround the 15 of August 2003. It is a very birdwatching-worthyplace with a variety of forest types, however it is not so easy tovisit many areas without prior planning and permission, especiallydue to the STF operations in search of Veerappan.

Morning in the Biligirirangans as elsewhere in the southern forestsis heralded by the strident calls of the grey Junglefowl, the guitar-tuning twangs of the greater racket-tailed drongo and later by thewhistles of the Hill Mynas and the shrieks and squeaks of Blue-winged parakeets and lorikeets (now called the Indian hanging-parrot, with the hyphen becoming a life saver !). Inside, on theforest trails, we got to see quite a number of possibly breedingBlackbirds of the resident black-capped race and many orange-headed thrushes (of the resident white-throated race). As wewatched, emerald doves took off from the forest floor, rufousbabblers and rufous-bellied babblers made their way in theundergrowth, Velvet-fronted Nuthatches, rufous and golden-backed woodpecker foraged about on the tree-trunks, greaterracket-tailed drongos patrolled the spaces between the trees andthe Lorikeets called and flew swiftly above the canopy to formthe cast of this daily forest theatre performance. Large cuckoo-shrikes called from the treetops, characteristically alighting onbranches and shrugging their shoulders alternately like a man inan ill-fitting shirt. Their smaller cousins with more contrastingmarkings, the black-headed cuckoo-shrikes and pied flycatcher-shrikes were also there along with the brilliantly colourful scarletminivets and adding variety to the tree-top chorus was a gold-fronted chloropsis. With so much to see and hear in so little time,it is almost certain that we missed many species.

Getting back home and looking up some old material got me acase of how our knowledge of bird distributions grows over time� T.C. Jerdon, the 19th century Madras Army Surgeon and�amateur� ornithologist emphatically states that Rufous-bellied

Babblers, the skulking �pig-bird� or �Pandi Jitta� ( the Telugu name

given by the �Yanadees of Nellore�), �is entirely absent in the forest

districts of Malabar.� Although an independent hill range, we had

a strong feeling that we were in a Western Ghats forest (Jerdon�sMalabar forest) which was strengthened by the presence ofseveral characteristic species. The flowerpeckers in the tree-topsturned out to be Plain Flowerpeckers (Dicaeum concolor) andfrom the forest came the song of the Malabar Whistling-thrushas well as the liquid two- note call of the Fairy Bluebird.

A forest clearing with a small pond brought into view several AshyWoodswallows, Indian Edible-nest Swiftlet (Collocalia unicolor),White-rumped Needletail-Swifts (Zoonavena sylvatica) andCrested Tree-Swifts (Hemiprocne coronata); and the waterbodyitself had a Little Cormorant, Pied and Small-blue Kingfisherswhile at the water�s edge were Large-pied Wagtails and a White-

breasted Waterhen.

Newsletter for Birdwatchers, 43 (5), 2003 67

!

Bird sightings in the District Collectorateof Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu

VIJAYAKUMAR THONDAMAN, R., SENTHILMURUGAN, B. and VIJAYA, G.A.V.C. College, Mannampandal, Mayiladuthurai

Another interesting bird for this time of the year was a BrownFlycatcher that we saw lower down in the hills which could havebeen of the breeding resident race. In the lower reaches we alsogot to see Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch and Yellow-fronted PiedWoodpecker along with numerous Crimson-breasted Barbets ona fruiting fig tree.

Looking down the hilltops we got to see Gaur on several occasionsas well as much closer appearances on the roadside. Elephants,Sambhar, Muntjac, Pig, traces of Leopard and Sloth bears wereall the wildlife that we got to see on the very short but memorabletrip. There are several interesting spots on the route from Mysoreto BR Hills, both for birds and the surrounding scenery.

One shouldn�t also miss an interesting ancient stone temple

adorned with chains carved from rocks in the town of Yelandurwhich has been spared from use and left in a comparativelyuntouched state and in need of protection.

In all we saw about 60 species of birds in the two days that wespent. It will certainly be very nice to hear more reports from thisbeautiful region, an area that will almost certainly throw upinteresting surprises for the patient and careful observer.

Appended is the full list of the birds we saw, the numbers inbrackets being the Salim Ali-Ripley Synopsis numbers. Thecommon names follow the conventions in the �Standardized

Common and Scientific names of the Birds of the IndianSubcontinent� published in Buceros, 2001 Volume 6(1) by Ranjit

Manakadan and Aasheesh Pittie.

Little Cormorant (28) Phalacrocorax niger

Crested Serpent-Eagle (196-200) Spilornis cheela

Bonelli�s Eagle (163) Hieraaetus fasciatus

Rufous-bellied Eagle (165) Hieraaetus kienerii

Common Kestrel (222-224) Falco tinnunculus

Grey Junglefowl (301) Gallus sonneratii

White-breasted Waterhen (343-345) Amaurornis phoenicurus

Blue Rock Pigeon (516-517) Columba livia

Little Brown Dove (541) Streptopelia senegalensis

Spotted Dove (537-540) Streptopelia chinensis

Emerald Dove (542-544a) Chalcophaps indica

Indian Hanging-Parrot (566-567) Loriculus vernalis

Blue-winged Parakeet (564) Psittacula columboides

Indian Edible-nest Swiftlet (685) Collocalia unicolor

White-rumped Needletail-Swift (692) Zoonavena sylvatica

Crested Tree-Swift (709) Hemiprocne coronata

Small Blue Kingfisher (722-724) Alcedo atthis

Lesser Pied Kingfisher (719-720) Ceryle rudis

White-cheeked Barbet (785) Megalaima viridis

Coppersmith Barbet (792) Megalaima haemacephala

Yellow-fronted Pied Woodpecker (847) Dendrocopos mahrattensis

Rufous Woodpecker (802-804) Celeus brachyurus

Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker (818-823) Dinopium benghalense

Ashy-crowned Sparrow-Lark (878) Eremopterix grisea

Large Pied Wagtail (1891) Motacilla maderaspatensis

Large Cuckoo-Shrike (1072-1075) Coracina macei

Black-headed Cuckoo-Shrike (1078-1079) Coracina melanoptera

Scarlet Minivet (1080-1083) Pericrocotus flammeus

Pied Flycatcher-Shrike (1064-1066) Hemipus picatus

Red-whiskered Bulbul (1118-1122) Pycnonotus jocosus

Red-vented Bulbul (1126-1132) Pycnonotus cafer

Black Bulbul (1148-1151) Hypsipetes leucocephalus

Common Iora (1097-1101) Aegithina tiphia

Gold-fronted Chloropsis (1103-1105) Chloropsis aurifrons

Asian Fairy-Bluebird (1109-1110) Irena puella

Bay-backed Shrike (939-940) Lanius vittatus

Malabar Whistling-Thrush (1728) Myiophonus horsfieldii

Orange-headed Thrush (1734) Zoothera citrina cyanotus

Eurasian Blackbird (1751-1757) Turdus merula

Spotted Babbler (1152-1159) Pellorneum ruficeps

Indian Scimitar-Babbler (1172-1177) Pomatorhinus horsfieldii

Rufous-bellied Babbler (1219-1223) Dumetia hyperythra

Indian Rufous Babbler (1259-1260) Turdoides subrufus

Jungle Babbler (1261-1265) Turdoides striatus

Common Tailorbird (1535-1539) Orthotomus sutorius

Asian Brown Flycatcher (1407) Muscicapa dauurica

Great Tit (1790-1797) Parus major

Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch (1827-1831) Sitta castanea

Velvet-fronted Nuthatch (1838) Sitta frontalis

Plain Flowerpecker (1901-1903) Dicaeum concolor

Oriental White-eye (1933-1936) Zosterops palpebrosus

House Sparrow (1938-1939a) Passer domesticus

Common Myna (1006-1007) Acridotheres tristis

Jungle Myna (1009-1011) Acridotheres fuscus

Southern Hill-Myna (1016) Gracula indica

Black-headed Oriole (958-960a) Oriolus xanthornus

Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (976-981) Dicrurus paradiseus

Ashy Woodswallow (982) Artamus fuscus

Indian Treepie (1030a-1034) Dendrocitta vagabunda

Jungle Crow (1054-1057) Corvus macrorhynchos

wildlife. We had an opportunity to survey the bird fauna of theDistrict Collector�s Campus. This survey reveals the presence of

various bird fauna and their habitat in the Campus. Surprisinglythe 100-acre provides serendipity to nature lovers in a concretejungle and deserves to be preserved as such.

History of the area

The District Collectorate is situated in the western portion ofPudukkottai town. It was formerly known, as �New Palace�.

Wildlife survives even in the midst of the urbanizedhabitats, if they have sufficient protection. Pudukkottai

district in Tamil Nadu state is famous for its temples andarchitecture. The District Collectorate of Pudukkottai is of historicalimportance. It is situated in a 100 acre campus which was thepalace of the erstwhile rulers of this former princely state. The100 acres mainly consist of dry scrub and is thickly wooded withtrees typical to that region. Mr. Chandrakant B. Kamble who wasthe District Collector in the year 2000 had a special interest in

68 Newsletter for Birdwatchers, 43 (5), 2003

Sri Brahadhambal Das H.H. The Raja Marthanda BairavaThondaman was the eighth ruler of the only Independent Tamilstate of Pudukkottai. The original palace is situated in the heartof the town of Pudukkottai. The palace was very old anddilapidated and hence H.H. the Raja ordered the construction ofa New Palace on modern lines. Hence the building of New Palacewas commenced in 1913 and completed in the year 1928. Dueto the death of the ruler in 1928 it was occupied by the next rulerH.H. the Raja Sri Brahadhambal Das Rajagopala Thondamanthe ninth and last ruler who occupied it in the year 1928. Inmemory of this ruler, former Chief Minister, Thiru, M. Karunanithihas named it the Mannar Rajagopala Thondaman Maligai.

The appurtenant area of the New Palace is about 100 acres.The major portion of the land comprised of natural flora and fauna.Tall trees of different, rare varieties were found with different birdsnesting therein. At that time, yellow-footed green pigeons (Treronphonicoptera) were sighted occasionally and found consumingfruits of Banyan trees (Ficus benghalensis). Water birds alsovisited to get aquatic food from the various tanks and pondslocated therein. Reptiles such as snakes of several varieties,varanus, garden lizards, etc, were plenty. There were also avariety of butterflies within the complex. Pittas (Pitta brachyura)visited in large numbers every year during the monsoon months.

In 1974 the New Palace was handed over to the Tamil NaduGovernment for housing the District Collector�s Office. All the four

entrance gates (N, S, E&W) were guarded by Armed ReservePolice, till 1971 and the natural beauty of the New Palaceincluding the trees, gardens, mango groves and avenue trees,along with birds, butterflies, reptiles were intact and safe fromdestructive hands. After the Collector�s Office started humming

with unrestricted visitors and unwanted entrants, the number ofbirds, butterflies and reptiles and even trees and groves graduallyreduced.

The ponds and tanks within the complex have not been caredfor, they are overgrown with weeds and thorn scrubs, hence bothwater birds as well as terrestrial ones, which were usually seenvisiting these ponds, have almost disappeared. Due tohyperactivity within the complex, only a few varieties of birds nowvisit this area.

The study area is now fully covered by Prosopis juliflora,Tamarindus indicus, Polyalthia longiflolia, Acacia arabica,Tectona grandis, Vilvam trees, Rudraksh, etc. Of these prosopisis the major tree species found here. The type of forest here isdry deciduous, scrub jungle. The water tanks, pools and pondswere the major food source, which were preferred by the waterbirds. In winter, the water sources are filled with rainwater. Thestored water consists of microbes like Phytoplanktons,Zooplanktons and invertebrates. Moreover the Samuthrakulam(which lies nearer the eastern entrance gate) is the fish-rearingpond, which consists of fish like Murral, Rohu, Cattla, etc. Thevisiting water birds used to mainly frequent this pond. Water birdslike little cormorants (Phalacrocorax niger), darter (Anhinga rufa),Indian moorhen (Gallinula chloropus), common coot (Fulica atra),white-breasted waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus) etc., mostlyused this tank and nearby shrubs as breeding places. Becausedense prosopis covered the surrounding area of this pond, thesebirds preferred it for their feeding and breeding. The nests ofvarious bird species have been recorded in this minimal areaduring our study period. Thus we are inclined to believe that thedense vegetation offers them a protected area for breeding,roosting and feeding.

Bird SurveyIn May 2000, we started a Survey of birds and completed inJuly 2000. The census went on in the morning between 6.00 to9.30 a.m. and evening between 4.00 to 6.30 pm. Based on oursurvey result, we recorded 76 bird species (Table No.1). Besidesthis, we have also concentrated on butterflies in the same studyarea. Along with the bird survey, we have recorded 28 species ofbutterflies (Table No.2).

The bird species which we recorded, belong to 14 different orders.Names of the birds are given in the following table.

Table No.1: List of bird species recorded in the District Collectorateof Pudukkottai in Tamilnadu.

Sl. Common Name Scientific Name

No.

1 Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis

2 Little Cormorant Phalacrocorax niger3 Darter Anhinga melanogaster

4 Little Egret Egretta garzetta

5 Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis

6 Indian Pond-Heron Ardeola grayii

7 Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax

8 Chestnut Bittern Ixobrychus cinnamomeus9 Black Kite Milvus migrans

10 Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus

11 Western Marsh-Harrier Circus aeruginosus

12 Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus

13 Pied Harrier Circus melanoleucos

14 Shikra Accipiter badius15 Besra Sparrowhawk Accipiter virgatus

16 Eurasian Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus

17 Grey Francolin Francolinus pondiceraianus

18 Indian Peafowl Pavo cristatus

19 White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus

20 Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus21 Common Coot Fulica atra

22 Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus

23 Blue Rock Pigeon Columba livia

24 Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis

25 Rose- ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri

26 Pied Crested Cuckoo Clamator jacobinus27 Brainfever Bird Hierococcyx varius

28 Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus

29 Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopacea

30 Small Green-billed Malkoha Phaenicophaeus viridirostris

31 Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis

32 Jungle Owlet Glaucidium radiatum33 Spotted Owlet Athene brama

34 Asian Palm-Swift Cypsiurus balasiensis

35 House Swift Apus affinis

36 Small Blue Kingfisher Alcedo atthis

37 White-breasted Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis

38 Lesser Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis39 Small Bee-eater Merops orientalis

40 Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis

41 Common Hoopoe Upupa epops

42 Coppersmith Barbet Megalaima haemacephala

43 Lesser Golden-backed Woodpecker Dinopium benghalense

44 Bengal Bush-Lark Mirafra assamica45 Eastern Skylark Alauda gulgula

46 Common Swallow Hirundo rustica

47 Large Pied Wagtail Motacilla maderaspatensis

48 Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava

49 Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea

50 Paddy field Pipit Anthus rufulus51 Small Minivet Pericrocotus cinnamomeus

Newsletter for Birdwatchers, 43 (5), 2003 69

52 Common Woodshrike Tephrodornis pondicerianus

53 Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer54 Common Iora Aegithina tiphia

55 Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus

56 Oriental Magpie Robin Copsychus saularis

57 Indian Robin Saxicoloides fulicata

58 Common Babbler Turdoides caudatus

59 Franklin�s Prinia Prinia hodgsonii60 Blyth�s Reed Warbler Acrocephalus dumetroum

61 Booted Warbler Hippolais caligata

62 Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius

63 Greenish Leaf-Warbler Phylloscopus trochiloides

64 Purple-rumped Sunbird Nectarinia zeylonica

65 Purple Sunbird Nectarinia asiatica66 Loten�s Sunbird Nectarinia lotenia

67 White-throated Munia Lonchura malabarica

68 Spotted Munia Lonchura punctulata

69 Black-headed Munia Lonchura malacca

70 Brahminy Starling Sturnus pagodarum

71 Common Myna Acridotheres tristis72 Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus

73 Ashy Woodswallow Artamus fuscus

74 Indian Treepie Dendrocitta vagabunda

75 House Crow Corvus splendens

76 Jungle Crow Corvus macrorhynchos

Table No.2: List of butterfly species recorded in the districtcollectorate of Pudukkottai in the Tamilnadu State

Sl. Common Name Scientific NameNo.

1 Common Rose Pachliopta aristolochiae

2. Crimson Rose Pachliopta hector

3 Tailed Jay Graphium agamemnon

4 Common Mine Chilasa clytia

5 Lime Butterfly Papilio demoleus

6 Common Jay Graphium doson

7 Common Mormon Papilio polytes

8 Common Indian Crow Euploea core

9 Lemon Emigrant Catopsilia pomona

10. Mottled Emigrant Catopsilia pyranthe

11 Common Grass Yellow Eurema hecabe

12 Common Jezbel Delias eucharis

13 Common Gull Cepora nerissa

14 Small Salmon Arab Colotis amata

15 Small Orange Tip Colotis etrida

16 Plain Orange Tip Colotis eucharis

17 Crimson Tip Colotis danae

18 White Orange Tip Ixias marianne

19 Yellow Orange Tip Ixias pyrene

20 Common Evening Brown Melanitis leda

21 Tawny Rajah Charaxes bernardus

22 Tawny Coster Acraea violae

23 Common Leopard Butterfly Phalantha phalantha

24 Joker Byblia ilithyia

25 Plain Tiger Danais chrysippus

26 Striped Tiger Danais plexippus

27 Blue Pansy Precis orithyia

28 Lemon Pansy Precis lemonias

There were 15 water bird species inhabiting the water holes ofthe campus. In spite of abundant tree growth there is only a limitednumber of bird species found here. It could be due to theinsufficient number of fruiting and flowering trees and also due tothe intensive disturbance caused by unwanted or illegal entriesinside the complex.

Another important deterrent to the aquatic bird population isreduction of water source to water- holes, ponds, pools and wells.

Formerly channels interconnected the water sources. There isone rainwater inlet, which is situated, in the northwest corner ofthe complex, which feeds the Atchayakulam a main water sourcewithin the complex. The overflow from the tank goes through asurplus weir to the Konakulam and thence to the Samuthrakulam,which are situated near the eastern gate. Now all these channelsdue to erosion and clogging have become non-existent. However,the Samuthrakulam always seems to have sufficient water dueto its considerable depth.

In conclusion, to improve the wildlife in the Campus thefollowing suggestions are made.

1) Planting of fruit bearing trees, flowering plants and shadetrees, which are absolutely essential for attracting birds,butterflies and bees.

2) Deepening of existing tanks and ponds and wells and desiltingthem will provide enough habitats for these fauna.

3) The compound wall at certain places is easily accessible totrespassers and anti- social elements. The holes in the wallhave to be blocked and barred securely. Security staff toprevent tree cutting, bird trapping, lopping foliage and fishingmust be appointed.

4) Nest boxes could be provided on the trees to attract nestingbirds.

5) If natural water sources (rain) fail the wells can be used topartly fill the tanks and ponds.

6) Dispersing grains, seeds and nuts along the available spacescommonly preferred by birds.

7) Cleaning surplus weirs to enhance rain water collection inthe ponds.

Acknowledgements

We express our deep sense of gratitude to our guide ProfessorDr. M.C. Sathyanarayana, Reader in Zoology, Dept. of Zoology,A.V.C. College, Mannampandal, Mayiladuthurai for his valuableadvice and guidance and we express our indebtedness andthanks to Srimathi Rajamatha Rani Ramadevi, M.A. for hermagnanimous help and valuable advice throughout our studyperiod and we thank Mr. Chandrakant B. Kamble IAS., forproviding necessary facilities. We also thank Mr. VaratharajanIFS., DFO, Mr. Jeganmohan B.Com., Range Officer and Mr.Karuppaiya for their kind cooperation throughout our study period.

ReferencesAli,S. (1996). The Book of Indian Birds, Bombay Natural History

Society, Oxford University Press, Mumbai.

Grimmet, R., Inskipp, C. and Inskipp, T (1999). Pocket Guide to theBirds of the Indian Subcontinent; Oxford University Press, NewDelhi.

Senthilmurugan, B. (2000), Preliminary Survey of Butterflies on theIslands of Gulf of Mannar. M.Sc., Dissertation, A.V.C. College(Autonomous), Mannampandal, Mayiladuthurai.

Vijay,G.(2000). A comparative study of the Avifauna of the VeeranamLake and Vakkaramari water works, Cuddalore District, Tamilnadu,South India. M.Sc., Dissertation, A.V.C. College (Autonomous),Mannampandal, Mayiladuthurai

Manakadan, R. and Pittie, A. 2001. Standardised Common andScientific Names of the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. Envisnewsletter: Avian Ecology and Inland Wetlands. Vol. 6(1). BombayNatural History Society, Mumbai.

70 Newsletter for Birdwatchers, 43 (5), 2003

It is a perfect pastoral idyll and an enchanting mini bird-Eden.Standing at one spot, resting my posterior on the crook of mywalking stick, I got to see twenty six species of birds over a periodof just about fifty minutes on the morning of 31 Oct., 2002. Whatmade this morning�s experience especially memorable was my

lifetime�s first ever visuals of the black-headed munia. And also

that way back in 1994, it was in this very area,* that I had seenmy first red avadavats and an Indian bush lark.

The core of this bird-Eden is roughly a five hectare, half moonshaped depression. The straight edge of the half moon is a railwayembankment which in its middle has a rail bridge stradling a mudgorge about forty five feet high. Most of the area is a natural rainwater drainage basin. Closer to the embankment are some deepand extensive earth excavations which fill up into three separatewater pools. One of these, the largest, has a permanent densegrowth of bull-rush reeds, plus a variety of other aquaticvegetation. All the water bodies have some aquatic life formstoo. For most, the half moon has agricultural fields in terraces,descending towards the embankment. Fortunately the crops hereare grown and nourished organically and so the fields and theirsurrounds are a safe and favourite feeding space with birds. Thecrescent edge of the half moon is dotted with clumps of Saaltrees, mostly young but some gnarled and very old. Assortedshrubs, Lantana clusters, a variety of grasses and few scatteredSemal trees add to the attraction of this habitat. Barring a fewupland fields, all the terraced fields at this time are laden with arich rice crop, coming up for harvest shortly. On one end wherethe half moon meets the embankment there stretches a vast,stony, arid wasteland and on the other is a cluster of four Adivasihuts; these few fields are their sole subsistence in life. When Iarrived here about 0730 A.M., looking down from the elevation ofthe embankment there were placid pools of blue water, a vaststretch of pale green stalks of the paddy topped by the slightlyburnished gold of the ripening rice-ears, a mass of bottle-greenfoliage of the Saal trees, muffled sounds of humans, cows, goatsand poultry, a plume of wood smoke rising from a hearth whichhung like a wisp of cirrus cloud against a clear light blue sky andS-I-L-E-N-C-E all around so profound and pervasive that you couldhear your pulse beat. So much for this pastoral idyll.

And what of the mini bird-Eden? Well, from the direction of theonly fallow field came persistent calls of a shrike. I spotted himatop a Saal stump. Too far to be sure of its identity, so I walked towhere the field meets the reed bed. And I was to remain at thisone spot for the next about thirty minutes. The bird on the stumpwas the brown shrike that is uncommon here. One face of thestump was encrusted white with droppings, so obviously afavourite morning sunning spot with birds. There was anothershrike calling from the shrubs. Spotting them in the mornings iseasy as they usually perch on the pinnacle. This round whitecotton ball on careful viewing turned out to be the long-tailedshrike, the tricolor race. Although the distribution maps show allthree races of this shrike as winter visitors to Jharkhand, but overthe last eleven years, I have not come across the other two inthis area. The designation tricolor is truly apt. The common wood

shrike is seen here all through the year but the bay-backed onlyin winters and rarely.

My attention again reverted to the fallow field where an orientalsky lark sat on the rib of a furrow. He was in a horrid combativemood against all interlopers on his ground. For, he put to flight alaughing dove first then two olive-backed pipits and lastly a mostpeaceable pied bush chat from atop a dry twig. At last the larkseemed satisfied with the security of his feeding territory. Whenfour more pipits landed on the field, the Lark now pretended hehad not quite noticed them!

From the distant Saal stand, came intermittent calls of a kingfisher(none other than the white-breasted have been seen here) andof a shikra. Not far from my post, on a grassy sunny patch werefive spotted doves. Of all the doves, the spotted seem to feel thewinter more acutely. They remain in the sun inert for nearly anhour in the mornings. This is probably the reason that I oftencome across piles of feathered remains of the spotted taken by acommon kestrel or a shikra (the only Accipiters and Falconets Ihave noticed here) and rarely the feathered remains of the collaredbut never of the laughing possibly because they certainly are themore agile and alert of the three. As I strained through mybinoculars to pick up the coucal (greater) who was �HOOP-HOOP�

-ing from a Lantana clump, a lone copper-smith flew past my lineof sight.

I removed the binoculars from my eyes to once again look at thetotal landscape. The silence and the solitude were most soothingwhich sensation can seldom be enjoyed in group outings. A fewbirds came cheeping softly from under the bridge and crossingover my right shoulder they vanished into the reeds. My instinctivereaction was that they were the scaly-bellied munias which aremost common around here in winters but less so in summers.Following the movement of bull-rushes, what I saw were threeblack-headed munias. As the birds faced me and into the sun, Ifound the sparkling white bold band in the middle separating thepitch black of the upper and lower body in three distinct parts astriking visual impact. I could feel the adrenaline pumping in mybody with the excitement of my first live encounter with this muniain the wild. Though again lost to sight but the munias were stillvery much there. I kept up the vigil and was rewarded with oneashy prinia and two warblers, which I was unable to identify.

In the middle of the ripe paddies was a tall bamboo staff withcoloured cloth streamers tied below its top to scare the birds.One inimitable black drongo was not a bit intimidated. Perchedatop nonchalantly, he kept up his monologue with so much tonalvariations that it sounded like a dialogue. Most mud ridges of theterraces were now taken up by the little and Intermediate egrets,both in breeding and non-breeding states. They look so solemnwhen hunting food.

From a Semal tree behind me a rufous tree pie jingled the soothingsyllables of her call in sharp contrast to a raucous jungle crow.As I turned to look at them, perched on the same tree were tworose-ringed parakeets and five plum-headeds totally indifferentto the two garrulous neighbours. Just then, three wagtails flew

Twenty Six Species of Birds inFifty Minutes from One Spot

LT. GENERAL BALJIT SINGH, House No. 219, Sector 16 A, Chandigarh 160 015

Newsletter for Birdwatchers, 43 (5), 2003 71

past, chatty and playful and settled on the edge of a pond. As Iscreened to establish their identity, a solitary little stint shot upfrom the pond jinking and screaming all the while as though hewas tailed by a predator. The wagtails were white-browed. Theflight signature of all wagtails always reminds me of thediagramatic illustration of the AC current.

On the way home, I walked through the scrub and stony waste.Indian robins were just about everywhere, a lone Hoopoe and apair of black redstarts were also seen. I certainly would havemissed the Indian roller, perched on the pinnacle of a young Saalhad he not �CRACCK�-ed. And then, it was the season�s first red-

winged bush lark putting up that exciting display of near verticaltake off, a momentary hover at the zenith, the parachute-descentand a merry song all this while. What fascinates me the most isthis bush lark�s ingenuity for precision parachute-touch-down,

when he wants to. On reaching the zenith of ascent, he lifts hiswings above his mantle, holds them there like two inverted saucersin close likeness of the parachute canopy, and dangling his bodydescends almost to the point of take-off on most occasions. Thelaughing, the spotted and the collared doves are also seen insomewhat similar aeronautical displays but with a difference.Firstly, their take-off and ascent are accompanied by noisy wingbeats. For the descent these birds hold their wings rigidly out,parallel to the ground thus getting into a smooth glide. At timesusing their taut tail as a rudder they glide in tight spirals. Thelaughing dove is frequently in this act especially in the morningsbut the collared and spotted only occasionally so and theydescend in wider spirals. I wonder if this act is common with allspecies of the dove!

I revisited the Eden on 03 Nov basically to ascertain the status ofthe munia. At 0815, a flock of seven arrived, again from underthe rail bridge and settled on the bull-rush stalks. After abouttwenty minutes in the reed bed they flew into the grassy wildernessbeyond the paddies. This visit also led to four additions to the 31

Oct. list of sightings, namely one little cormorant, a few whitewagtails (Alboides and Personata) and two greys. And joy of joy,another first visual, one male Eurasian marsh harrier of thenominate race. Even though the distribution maps of Kazmierczakand Grimmett-Inskipps do show its presence in Jharkhand inwinter, in reality it is probably very rare here,

The urge to see the munias yet again got the better of me on 07Nov. I was lucky once more to be looking at a bird, another newsub-species for me in the field. There was considerable movementin the reed bed and in between I could catch flashes of glossydeep brown. When at last five birds showed up, they were allblack-headed munias of the Atricapilla race! There was no doubtanymore that this general area is a regular winter home of thismunia.

On the homeward stretch, my thoughts were of the happinesswhich comes with the sighting of species for the first time. Nearerhome, the footpath entered an Arhar-lentil field where I put upthree grey partridge. Watching and listening to their flight I longedfor the days of 1950s and 1960s; clear, sunny winter days, walkingthrough fields of short-stappled cotton in the Punjab, a pair ofspringer spaniels working in frenzy on a scent trail, the dogs andI freeze in mid-stride as several black partridges explode upwardsand I watch the grace, the power and the trajectory of their flightwith undiminished delight. Not to forget the dogs looking up atme with those big moist eyes, imploring �why didn�t you shoot?�

Poor darlings; it is in their genes, they cannot change but wehumans can and we must if India�s vanishing wilderness and

animals are to survive.

This is only one of the several bird-Edens on my morning walk circuitsaround Mcluskie Ganj (Lat 23° 48�, Long 84° 56�, ASL 300M, 60 KM

NNW of Ranchi, Jharkhand) which remain accessible to me. All othershave unequivocally been placed out-of-bounds at the point of gun by theMaoist Communist Centre and Peoples War, both �out-lawed� by Delhi in

the wake of 9/11 but they carry on business as usual. So much for ourresolve to rid our country of terrorists.

!

Interactions between Bird-flowersand Flower-birds

A.J. SOLOMON RAJU, S. PURNACHANDRA RAO and K. RANGAIAH,Department of Environmental Sciences, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam 530 003, E-Mail : ajsraju@yahoo.com

W. floribunda and L. longiflorus produce scarlet to dark red flowerswith a copious amount of nectar. B. variegata produces pinkishwhite flowers and one of the petals is bright purple on the innerside and acts as a sign-board for bird visitors. In C. arboreya theflowers are creamy white with pinkish-white silky staminalfilaments and in A. salvifolium, the flowers are creamy-white withsome greenish shade. The flowers of all nine plant species arelarge and well organized on the flowering branches, providing alanding place for the visiting birds to approach the flowers withgreat ease.

B. malabaricum flowers were found to be frequently visited bypasserine birds such as Indian myna, jungle myna, jungle crow,house crow, tree pie, black drongo, redvented bulbul,redwhiskered bulbul, common babbler, thick-billed flowerpeckerand yellowcheeked tit for nectar. The flowers were also utilizedby non-passerine birds such as roseringed parakeet, coppersmithand goldenbacked woodpecker as a great source of nectar.

Field studies were made in the Eastern Ghats of Visakhapatnamand East Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh during February-April 2002 and 2003 to record the interactions between differentflower species and passerine bird species. Our observationsindicate that nine plant species, namely, Bombax malabaricum(Bombacaceae), Sterculia colorata (Sterculiaceae), Buteasuperba, Erythrina suberosa (Fabaceae), Bauhinia variegata(Caesalpiniaceae), Careya arborea (Lecythidaceae), Alangiumsalvifolium (Alangiaceae), Woodfordia floribunda (Lythraceae)and Loranthus longiflorus (Loranthaceae) have been found to beregularly visited by passerine birds for floral nectar. Of these, thelast two are woody shrubs and all others are deciduous treespecies. L. longiflorus is a tree parasite and occurs quitecommonly on different trees. The tree species are leafless duringthe flowering phase while the shrub species flower along withfoliage. All the nine plant species flower during the dry season.B. malabaricum, S. colorata, B. superba, E. suberosa,

72 Newsletter for Birdwatchers, 43 (5), 2003

S. colorata flowers were visited by passerine birds consisting ofgreen bulbul, redvented bulbul, yellowcheeked tit, Tickell�sflowerpecker, thickbilled flowerpecker, purplerumped sunbird,purple sunbird, white-eye and rosefinch. Green bulbul fed onthe larvae present in flowers and buds; rosefinch on buds and allother birds on nectar.

B. superba flowers attracted passerine and non-passerine birds.The passerines included Indian myna, green bulbul, Indian pipit,purplerumped sunbird and purple sunbird. The non-passerinesincluded roseringed parakeet, blossomheaded parakeet, lorikeet,small green bee-eater and pigmy woodpecker. Both categoriesof birds visited the flowers for nectar only.

E. suberosa flowers attracted only passerine birds. They includedblack drongo, brahminy myna, bank myna, Indian myna, junglemyna, blackheaded yellow bulbul, redvented bulbul, redwhiskeredbulbul, jungle babbler, magpie-robin, white-eye and rosefinch.All these collected nectar regularly throughout the day and duringthe entire flowering period.

B. variegata flowers attracted four species of passerine birds,namely, Tickell�s flowerpecker, purplerumped sunbird, purple

sunbird and white-eye. These birds were found to collect nectarthroughout the flowering period. Carpenter bees and honey beeswere also observed collecting nectar and/or pollen from theflowers along with passerine birds.

C. arborea flowers were visited by bats during night time and bypasserine birds during daytime. The birds included jungle crow,house crow, small minivet, redvented bulbul, redwhiskered bulbul,yellowcheeked tit, chestnutbellied nuthatch, Tickell�s flowerpecker,

thickbilled flowerpecker, purplerumped sunbird, purple sunbirdand white-eye. The birds collected nectar with great ease.

A. salvifolium flowers provide easy access to the visiting birdswhich come for collecting nectar. The flowers were found to beattractive to the birds such as Tickell�s flowerpecker, purplerumped

sunbird and purple sunbird. These birds were very regular at theflowers and busy in collecting nectar.

W. floribunda grows in patches and produces mats of flowers.The flowers are attractive to bank myna, brahminy myna,blackheaded yellow bulbul, redvented bulbul, pied bushchat,Indian pipit, Tickell�s flowerpecker, purplerumped sunbird and

purple sunbird. Different species of birds collected nectar at thesame time on the same bush, indicating that the floral reward issufficient and does not lead to competition for the nectar.

L. longiflorus produces tubular flowers which are quite attractiveby their red colour to the birds such as Tickell�s Flowerpecker,

purplerumped sunbird, purple sunbird and white-eye. Matureflower buds require tripping by birds, and the untripped flowersremain intact and subsequently fall off without ever-opening. Thevisiting birds by touching the mature buds with their beak causeunfolding of the flower-bud in an explosive manner. In this event,the flower achieves pollination and the bird gets nectar from suchflowers.

All the nine plant species are dry season bloomers and providesufficient amount of nectar to different passerine and non-passerine bird species. S. colorata, B. superba, E. suberosa,W. floribunda and L. longiflorus are bird-flowers adapted forvisitation by flower-birds, especially passerines. The flowers ofremaining plant species are not bird-flowers but flower-birds usethem as they provide easy access to nectar. As all the plantspecies in the present study bloom during the dry season, theirflowers are of immense value as sources of water, sugars, aminoacids, proteins etc. to flower-birds. Further, the flowers of someplant species like S. colorata provide larval or insect diet to flower-birds. While obtaining nectar, the flower birds, particularlypasserine birds effect pollination which subsequently results infruit set in all nine plant species. Therefore, the interactionsbetween bird-flowers and flower-birds are mutualistic in character.Nevertheless, these dry season bloomers provide a uniqueopportunity to bird watchers to see a variety of birds busy indrinking nectar to quench their appetite.

AcknowledgementWe thank the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Governmentof India for financial assistance through a major research project.

!

Bird Visitors to Flowers of Indian Coral Tree (ErythrinaIndica Lam.) at Kozhikode District, Kerala

S. DEVASAHAYAM and J. REMAIndian Institute of Spices Research, Marikunnu, P.O., Calicut 673012, Kerala

Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu. However, no information appears tobe available on this aspect in Kerala. We report here the resultsof our observations on bird visitors of E. indica at Peruvannarnuzhi(Kozhikode District, Kerala) carried out at the Experimental Farmof the Indian Institute of Spices Research, during February toApril for the past 10 years (1993 to 2003). Peruvannamuzhi liesat the foot hills of the Wynad Range of Western Ghats and issurrounded by moist deciduous forests. The region is known forits diversity of bird life as indicated in our earlier studies(Devasahayam et al, 1992).

Twenty-two species of birds belonging to 11 families visited theflowers of E. indica for nectar during the period of our study (Table1). Among them, grey drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus), lorikeet(Loriculus vernalis) and goldfronted chloropsis (Chloropsis

Little information is available on the role of birds inthe pollination of flowers in various regions of India (Subramanyaand Radhamani, 1993). This is especially true in Kerala, a regionwell known for its floral and avifaunal diversity. The bird visitorsof a few common plants/trees at Kozhikode District in Kerala havebeen documented by Devasahayam and Rema (1993 a and b).The Indian coral tree Erythrina indica Lam. (Fabaceae) is amedium sized deciduous tree widely distributed in the West Coastof India. The tree profusely flowers during summer (February toApril) putting forth brilliant scarlet flowers arranged in racemes atthe tips of branches. In Kerala, the tree is mainly used as supportsfor trailing black pepper vines (Piper nigrum L.), a major spicecrop of India. Ali (1932) observed about 40 species of birds visitingthe coral tree for nectar in the Bombay region of Western India.Wesley (1987) recorded 12 species of birds visiting the tree of

Newsletter for Birdwatchers, 43 (5), 2003 73

aurifrons) were common visitors. The grey drongo was invariablyfound on most of the trees throughout the day. However, birdactivity was generally less during the mid afternoon hours. Theleaf warbler (Phylloscopus sp.) was also frequently seen on thetree but was probably foraging for insects among the flowers. Ali(1932) mentions that the jungle babbler (Turdoides striatus) wasthe most common visitor in the Bombay region. At Tiruchirapalli,the black headed myna (Sturnus pagodarum) was the mostcommon visitor (Wesley, 1987). The grey drongo, lorikeet andgoldfronted chloropsis are typical inhabitants of forest andadjoining areas in North Kerala. The flowering of E. indica providesan important source of food for many of the birds in this regionespecially during early summer periods.

Table1. List of birds visiting flowers of coral tree atPeruvannamuzhi (Kozhikode District, Kerala)

Family/Species Common name

PsittacidaeLoriculus vernalis LorikeetCapitonidaeMegalaima viridis Small green barbetPicidaeDinopoium benghalense Goldenbacked woodpeckerDendrocopos nanus Pigmy woodpeckerOriolidaeOriolus oriolus Golden orioleO. xanthornus Blackheaded orioleDicruridaeDicrurus leucophaeus Grey drongoD. paradiseus Racket-tailed drongoSturnidaeAcridotheres tristis Common mynaA.fuscus Jungle mynaSturnus malabaricus Grey headed myna

CorvidaeCorvus splendens House crowC. macrorhynchos Jungle crowIrenidaeChloroposis aurifrons Goldfronted chloropsisC. cochinchinensis Jerdons chloropsisPycnonotidaePycnonotus jocosus Redwhiskered bulbulP. cafer Redvented bulbulMuscicapidaeTurdoides subrufus Rufous babblerT.striatus Jungle babblerOrthotomus sutorius Tailor birdNectariniidaeNectarinia asiatica Purple sunbirdArachnothera longirostris Spiderhunter

ReferencesAli, S. A. (1932). Flower birds and bird flowers in India. Journal of

Bombay Natural History Society 35, 430-455.

Devasahayam, S. & Rema, J. (1993a). Flower-birds of KozhikodeDistrict, Kerala. Newsletter for Birdwatchers 33, 103-105.

Devasahayam, S. & Rema, J. (1993b). Birds visiting flowers of Indiansilk cotton tree (Bombax maIabaricum) at Calicut, Kerala. In: BirdConservation Strategies for the Nineties and Beyond(Edited byA. Verghese, S. Sridhar & A. K. Chakravarthy). OmithologicalSociety of lndia, Bangalore, pp.184-185.

Devasahayam, S., Rema, J. & Anandaraj, M. (1993). Bird life at NRCSFarm, Peruvannamuzhi (Kozhikode District, Kerala). Newsletterfor Birdwatchers 32 (118 12), 3 � 6.

Subramanya, S. & Radhamani, T.R. (1993). Pollination by birds andbats. Current Science 65, 201-209.

Wesley, H.D. 1987. Bird activity and seed productivity in the coraltree, Erythrina indica, Indian Forester 113, 640-647.

Owls, in general, are soft plumaged, short tailed, big-headedraptors with large eyes directed forwards and surrounded by afacial disc. Of these, the barn owl can easily be recognized by itsheart shaped facial disc, dark brown eyes and absence of eartufts. The common barn owl is a resident nocturnal raptor anduses diverse nest sites including man-made structures (Ali andRipley, 1983). It lives in open country, in the vicinity of man andagricultural lands (Marti et al., 1979; Kahila et al., 1994). Barnowl is cosmopolitan chiefly hunt over agricultural lands, humanhabitations and groves for rodents and shrews.

Earlier, Taylor (1994) reported that the major diet of barn owlsfrom six continents of the world was rodents. Out of 52 key studiesanalysed on the barn owl�s diet by Taylor (1994), rodents

constituted more than 75% (in terms of prey frequency) of allprey items in 33 studies, suggesting that barn owls are excellentrodent hunters in nature. In India, the beneficial role of thecommon barn owl in checking the rodents was reported by

!

Method for Population Estimationof Common Barn Owl

P. NEELANARAYANAN and R. KANAKASABAI*Department of Zoology, Nehru Memorial College, Puthanampatti 621 007, Tamil Nadu

*Meenakshi Chandrasekaran College of Arts and Science, Karambayam 614 626, Tamil Nadu

Santhanakrishnan (1987, 1995), Neelanarayanan et al. (1994,1999)and Neelanarayanan (1997). The intake of rodents ofeconomic importance (Bandicota bengalensis, Millardia meltada,Mus spp., Tatera indica and Rattus rattus) by the barn owl was78% in terms of prey frequency and 94% in terms of prey biomass(Neelanarayanan et al., 1999). The study made byNeelanarayanan (1997) points out that the barn owls are efficientrodent eaters since one non-breeding adult barn owl and onesub-adult barn owl consumed 47 rodents, individually, undercaptive conditions. In terms of biomass, one non-breeding adultbarn owl ingested 1,939 g (@65g/day) and one sub-adultconsumed 2,040 g (@68g/day), in one month in captivity(Neelanarayanan, 1997).

As soon as the value of the barn owls� role in checking the rodent

pests of agricultural and medical importance is recognized itbecomes indispensable for the rodent pest managers to estimatethe population of this nocturnal raptor in order to understand itspredatory pressure in a given area.

74 Newsletter for Birdwatchers, 43 (5), 2003

The population survey of barn owls can be carried out in the daytime as suggested by Anon. (1993), i.e., when they are in theirroosting / nesting sites. In the Cauvery delta, the barn owlsprimarily inhabit man-made structures viz., the inner side of templetowers, gaps or crevices behind statues around temple towers,unused rooms and barns in temples, dilapidated buildings andbig tree holes. Besides, the information given by the local residentscan also be useful in locating the roosting/nesting sites of barnowl. In all these places, the indirect signs of barn owls viz., theregurgitated pellets, milky white droppings and prey remains canbe used for the identification of barn owl roosts/nests as suggestedby Nagarajan et al. (1993), Taylor (1994) and Santhanakrishnan(1995). If any one of these are found then that place is to beintensively searched (with a search light wherever required) forthe estimation of the population of barn owls.

As far as the population estimation of barn owls in temple towersis concerned a minimum of three persons is required. One personmust climb the temple tower while the other two persons shouldnote the flushing of this owl from the inner side of the templetowers by standing on either side (front and back) of the templetowers. The observed number of adult barn owls, sub-adults,nestling and eggs can be recorded from the located nesting/roosting sites. Then using the values given above the predatorypressure on rodent pests of non-breeding adult and sub-adultbarn owls can be extrapolated. As the quantity of intake ofbreeding adult barn owls and chicks under captive conditionsare not available, the extrapolation of predatory pressure onrodents, for these stages of barn owls is not possible.

ReferenceAli, S. and Ripley, S.D. 1983. Hand book of Birds of India and Pakistan.

Oxford University Press, London.Anon. 1993. A Local Barn owl survey. An information leaflet (No.8) of

the Barn owl trust, Waterleaf, Ashburton, Devon, TQ13, 7HU U.K.Kahila, G. Aviel, S. and Tchernov, E.1994. Reproductive cycle of the

Barn owls (Tyto alba) in nesting boxes, Inv. J. Zoology 40: 100.Marti, C.D., Wagner, P.W. and Denne, K.W. 1979. Nest boxes for the

management of Barn owl. Wildl Soc, Bull. 7: 145-148.

Nagarajan, R., Neelanarayanan, P. and Kanakasabai, R. 1993. Tipsfor the identification of common barn owl nests. Newsletter forBirdwatchers 33(5) : 93.

Neelanarayanan, P. 1997. Predatory pressure of Barn owl (Tyto albastertens Hartert, 1929) on Rodent Pests - A Field Evaluation.Ph.D. dissertation, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli.

Neelanarayanan, P., Nagarajan, R. and Kanakasabai, R. 1994.Vertebrate pests as prey and their composition in the diet ofCommon Barn Owl. Tyto alba. Rodent Newsletter 18(3) : 5-6.

Neelanarayanan, P., Nagarajan, R. and Kanakasabai, R. 1999. TheCommon Barn Owl, Tyto alba stertens Hartert 1929 : An EffectiveBio-Control Agent of Rodent Pests. Advances in Fish and WildlifeEcology and Biology Vol.II. (Ed. B.L. Kaul), Daya PublishingHouse, Delhi, India, pp:153- 163.

Santhanakrishnan, R. 1987. Studies on population, food habits andnesting of Barn owl, Tyto alba (Scopoli) in a portion of Cauverybasin. M.Phil. dissertation, A.V.C.College, Mayiladuthurai 42 p.

(Unpublished).Santhanakrishnan, R. 1995. Ecology of Barn owl, Tyto alba (Scopoli)

with special reference to its population, Feeding and Breeding inMayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu, South India. Ph.D. dissertation,Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, South India.

Taylor, I.R. 1994. Barn owls : Predator prey relationships andconservation. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K. 303p.

ABSTRACTS

MYNA FEEDING ON A TRINKET SNAKE. ATUL DHAMANKAR,Green Pigeon Nature Society, Shivaji Square, Chandrapur442402, Maharashtra

On 21st June 2002 as I was walking through Junona forest, I sawa pair of Brahminy mynas feeding on a trinket snake about 7�long which was still alive and struggling. I discovered that thebirds had a nest in a nearby teak tree. It took half an hour for thebirds to kill the snake.

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LARGE PIED WAGTAIL IN A BUS. ATUL DHAMANKAR, GreenPigeon Nature Society, Shivaji Square, Chandrapur 442402,Maharashtra

A pair of large pied wagtails got into the habit of entering a standingbus at the bus stand at Rajuna and pecking at the torn seat coversto collect coir stuffing for their nest. They did this regularly for tendays. This was particularly surprising as the bus stand was along way from any source of water. Also the fact that the bus wasnot always in station, but used to come and go.

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WOODPECKER TAPPING A CEMENT CONCRETE POLE.K. RATNAM, 10-B, Trichy Road, Sulur 641402

In Chennai on 2nd March this year. I saw a golden-backedwoodpecker clinging to a concrete electric pole and tapping itvigorously with its beak. It moved round and round the pole withoutgoing either higher or lower. It flew away when it saw me. I foundon referring to the Handbook that it is a habit of the scaly belliedwoodpecker (Picus squamatus) to occasionally cling to rocks andcliffs in the manner using its tail pressed against the surface asthe third leg of the tripod.

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WHITEBREASTED KINGFISHER FEEDS ON A YOUNG WIRE-TAILED SWALLOW. ASHOK MASHRU, 15, Bhaktinagar Society,Rajkot 360 002 .

The author found the nest of wire-tailed swallow under the slabof the filter house of the Sardar Patel Swimming Pool in Rajkot.This was in Sept/Oct 98. On 13 Oct 99 on a visit to the pool hefound that the young chicks of the swallows were keeping thenest clean by backing over the edge of the nest while defecating.But the real surprise was a few days later when he found that awhite-breasted kingfisher had killed a young swallow and wasbashing it against a stone before eating it. The white-breastedkingfisher is indeed an omnivore.

CORRESPONDENCE

MAGPIE ROBIN NESTING AMONG OFFICE FILES. ASHOKMASHRU, 15, Bhaktinagar Society, Rajkot 360 002

During cloudy days the melodious whistling of the magpie robinis often heard from my office on Race Course Road. A smallopen plot with babul trees, bushes and some undergrowth adjoinsthe office complex.

In May 1999 I saw a magpie robin going into a PVC pipe withnesting material in its bill, near my office. The 5� dia pipe is located

Newsletter for Birdwatchers, 43 (5), 2003 75

about 20 feet above ground in a wall facing the open plot. Thenext morning I went into the room on the first floor from where thepipe emerges. The open end of the pipe rested on a bunch ofrecords on a wooden shelf. The presence of some nesting materialon the shelf surprised me. It was only after a few days that Irealized that the nest was inside the pipe from where I heard thesweet murmuring of the chicks. The nesting was successful aslater I heard the young birds calling from the open plot to which Ihave referred.

Another rather unusual nesting site of this bird was at Sardarnagarin Rajkot in a hole in a wall which was 60 feet above ground.Usually these birds do not build so high.

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NESTING AND BREEDING OF THE GREY HORNBILL.LT. GENERAL BALJIT SINGH, House No. 219, Sector 16 A,Chandigarh 160 015.

This is in response to RM Chennappa�s observations that he saw

one female great pied hornbill remain in the cavity-nest even afterthe chicks had fledged, as narrated by Mr. Harish R. Bhat (NLBWVol. 43, No. 3, May - June 2003). I have kept under fairly closewatch two cavity nests of the common grey hornbill. Both are onSilver oak tree about a km apart in the heart of one of Chandigarhcity�s largest open spaces. In both cases, each year:

a) the cavities were occupied and walled up by mid April.

b) chicks fledged by mid July.

c) The females exited the cavities in 10 to 15 days after thepresence of chicks was noticed. In actual fact this periodmay be much longer as chicks would be noticeable from theoutside several days after the eggs hatched.

d) Thereafter the female and the male both fed the chicks; and.

e) Once the chicks fledged, the family group remained as anentity for fairly long.

Now as regards the degree of moult of the female during herincubation (leading to a total confinement within the limited spaceof the cavity) there does not seem to be any definite conclusion.Hume who quotes extensively from Col Tickell, Maj Bingham andone Rev Mason is silent on this issue and that is understandableas he is interested mainly in eggs and the nest. However, myobservations at each cavity over the three years may be of interestwhere moult is concerned:

a) the females are in fresh down around the neck and upperbreast when they exit the cavity. At times the outline of thebreast bone looks pronounced,

b) the flight feathers appear badly ruffled and odd feathers evenaskew but no signs of having undergone moult.

c) the tail feathers show partial to fairly heavy moult. Of theexcess baggage evicted from the cavity by the female(particularly once the chicks grow up and space becomesrestrictive) are tail feathers which I have found among thedroppings at the base of the trunk below the cavity, and

d) on the first day out of the cavity, the female is altogetherclumsy, ill-balanced and ungainly. Takes very short flights.

Even if the female were to moult completely, there is no reasonto believe that her new feathers will take longer to re-grow than

those of her brood. The intake of food of chicks and the female isidentical and body metabolism leading to growth of feathers aughtto be the same too. If anything the re-growth in the female oughtto be faster being an adult.

Could it be that Mr. Chennappa saw a different pair who occupiedthe vacated cavity to nest?

Mr. Bhat quotes breeding and nesting details from �The Pictorial

Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent�. I have a privileged

copy of the Ist edition autographed by Mr. Salim Ali but it doesnot have the text quoted by Mr. Bhat.

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BLUE-FOOTED BOOBY IN GUJARAT. JAIDEV DHADHAL,�Krushna Krupa�, Plot No. 62, Jawahar Soc. College Rd, Mahuva

364 290, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat.

The article by Mr. Bhavbhuti Parasharya regarding the EurasianCurlew (Numenius arquata) in the last issue was very interesting.So far there is no record about the bird found in large groups. Inthis aspect 2000+ birds recorded at one place is amazing. Gulfof Khambhat is a favourite feeding ground for winter visitor waders.Eurasian Curlews (8 to 10 solitary birds), wimbrels (Numeniusphaeopus), grey plovers (Pluvialis squatarola) and ruddyturnstones (Arenaria interpres) are found till the end of July onbeaches and rocks around Mahuva, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat.

Members of the Flamingo Nature Club, Mahuva found (on 3rdJuly 2003) a sick bird on the rocks of Pigaleshwar beach nearMahuva (021.05 North, 071.45 East), which died the next day. Toour great surprise it has been identified as a Blue-footed Booby(Sula nebouxii) which has never been recorded before on theIndian Subcontinent. We have sent the body of the bird to thespecimens department, BNHS, Mumbai, where also itsidentification has been confirmed.

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BIRD-WATCHING AT CAUVERY WILDLIFE SANCTUARY(MUTTATHI). MANJUNATH P., Green Cross, #105, SwissComplex, #33, Race Course Road, Bangalore 560 001.

The decision to visit Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary (Muttathi) forbird watching was an unanticipated, but a welcome break from atiring week earlier and a looming busy weekend ahead. Four keenbird watchers on two motorbikes reached the place at 1.00 pm.Being, an odd time for bird activities, I was curious to see thebirds during the early afternoon. The cloudy noon sky threatenedus with an initial light drizzle, without hampering our activity.Actually, the weather invited more birds and butterflies.

A Chameleon, exclaimed Harish, pointing to a green bodied,yellow blotched creature strutting slowly on the road. The groupwas delighted to watch, the camouflage displayed. The chameleonwould adjust the pigments to suit its surrounding, when Harish�literally� moved it to different surroundings, each being different

from the earlier one. During one such �movement� it was hard to

identify the chameleon, despite being just a few feet away.

Trudging further, the monotonous frantic call of the brain feverbird silenced other birds until the note was completed. The Shikra�sshrill call followed within the woods as an answer, perhapsdesperate to pounce upon a prey. Slicing the sound of our slowrevving engine, the call a Grey Jungle Fowl alerted the flock thatrushed towards the woods. Grey Partridges moving in small flocks

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For Private Circulation Only.

Cover: Rufous-bellied Babbler (Dumetia hyperythra) is arestless and secretive bird that lives in loose-membered flocksand stays out of sight most of the time. Occasionally one willventure out of the bush, clamber around for a few moments, andthen run back into hiding. A feeble cheep-cheep-cheep twitter isuttered to keep in touch with other members of the group. Duringthe monsoon season this babbler builds a nest; a ball of drybamboo leaves and blades of grass, close to the ground.

Photo S. Shreyas.

flew to safer distances alarmed by our presence. Blue Jay inflight showed us the double shades of borders on the wings, itshabitual style.

Parking the bikes at the woods dominated by Arjuna trees, theboisterousness of eco-unfriendly tourists was ruling the roost.The camp had transformed into a makeshift cricket stadium, witha kitchen attached. The clusters of the tourists were busy amongstthemselves sleeping, playing, chatting and celebrating theweekend. Hardly anyone would turn round to see these wingedflocks. The audacious among the lot tried swimming in the watersfrequented by elephants. No, there weren�t any pachyderms, for

they had scared them out from the vicinity.

Many little cormorants were perching nonchalantly on dead logswhile a few basked on the rock spreading their wings. A largecormorant flew across the river cawing frantically, probably insearch of more food. A few grey herons were preening at thefringe of the river, while a large pied wagtail was busy calling theother partners and looking for food. The shrill call of grey hornbillsfeasting on banyan tree cut through the silence of the woods.Krishna and Sudarshan got a closer glimpse of those large birdswith binoculars.

The riverbank and the fading evening light were inviting us torelax. When relaxing we gazed at a troop of bonnet macaquesthat were dashing hungrily to snatch the left over food from thetourists. Female monkeys and the young ones would carefullyclean the food with their palms before eating, while the adult maleswere devouring the food along with soil, not bothering to cleanthe food as the adult females did. Many birds that were returningto their homes offered us a nice sight, and subtly reminding us toreturn to our homes before it got too late.

Check List of Birds that were listed during the survey:

Large Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), Little CormorantPhalacrocorax niger, Darter (Anhinga rufa), Grey Heron (Ardeacinerea), Pond Heron (Ardeola grayii), Little Egret (Egrettagarzetta), Common Pariah Kite (Milvus migrans), Brahminy Kite(Haliastur Indus), Shikra (Accipiter badius), Grey Partridge(Francolinus pondicerianus), Grey Jungle Fowl (Gallus sonneratii),Blue Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), Spotted Dove (Streptopeliachinensis), Little Brown Dove (Streptopelia senegalensis),Roseringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri), Common HawkCuckoo (Cuculus varius), Crow Pheasant (Centropus sinensis),Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis), Whitebreasted Kingfisher (Halcyonsmyrnensis), Small Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis), IndianSmall Skylark (Alauda gulgula), Roller (Blue Jay) (Coraciasbenghalensis), Common Grey Hornbill (Tockus birostris), SmallGreen Barbet (Megalaima viridis), Redrumped Swallow (Hirundodaurica), Black Drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis), Whitebellied Drongo(Dicrurus caerulescens), Indian Myna (Acridotheres tristis), TreePie (Dendrocitta vagabunda), Jungle Crow (Corvus

macrorhynchos), Redvented Bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer),Redwhiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus), WhiteheadedBabbler (Turdoides affinis), Tailor Bird (Orthotomus sutorius),Indian Robin (Saxicoloides fulicata), Tickell�s Flowerpecker

(Dicaeum erythrorhynchos), Large Pied Wagtail(Motacillamaderaspatensis), House Sparrow (Passer domesticus),Whitethroated Munia (Lonchura malabarica).

i i iSPOON-BILLED SANDPIPER, (CALIDRIS PYGMAEUS) THEFIRST RECORD FOR SUNDERBANS DELTA. ARUNAYANSHARMA, Netaji Subhash Road, In front of T.O.P., Malda 732101,West Bengal

In November 2001, I visited the Sagar Island, (0-2m asl), situatedwestern part of the Sunderbans Biosphere Reserve, West Bengalon the east coast of India. On 22nd November during abirdwatching session along the coastline, near Kapil Muni�sAshram, near the mouth of Bay of Bengal at around 0615h asingle spoon-billed sandpiper Calidris pygmaeus wasunmistakably identified foraging there along the mud flat. Thebird was observed for more than 15 minutes. Later, a secondbird was observed c.500m from the first. The maximum approachdistances were recorded c. 15m in both the cases. They wereeasily recognised by their unique flat bill and their wadingbehaviour moving their bill side by side, running quickly acrossthe mud flat, stopping to feed by sweeping submerged bill-tipfrom side to side. Upperparts were paler grey and had whitesupercilium, foreheads and cheeks and underparts were whiter.The call had been noted as shrill whoo-it, whoo-it. Anotherindividual (probably the same bird) was also sighted on 23rdNovember near the Kapil Muni Ashram�s coastline at around

06h30 and observed for more than 30 minutes with 10x50binocular c.25 metre from the observer.

The spoon-billed sandpiper has a very small population which isdeclining as a result of habitat loss in its breeding, passage andwintering grounds, compounded by disturbance and hunting, thusestimated as a globally threatened species, vulnerable (BirdlifeInternational - 2001), an Indian Red Data bird species(Jhunjhunwala et al - 2001). It breeds on the Chukotsk peninsulaand southwards down the Isthmus of the Kamchatka peninsula,in northeastern Russia. It migrates down the Western Pacificcoast through Eastern Russia, Japan, North and South Korea,Mainland China. Hong Kong and Taiwan to its main winteringground in south and South East Asia, where it has been recordedfrom India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam,the Philippines, Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, withunconfirmed reports from the Maldives. It is also a rare wintervisitor to the USA and Canada, recorded in North-WesternAlaska, the Aleutian Islands, British Columbia, the Pribolof islandsand Alberta (Birdlife International - 2001, Ali and Ripley-1989,Collar et al - 1994).