Sept-Oct 2009

Vol 49 No 5 September - October 2009

Dr AMK BharosHarish R BhatDr SP BhatnagarDr AK ChakravarthyDr Ranjan Kumar DasDr S DevasahayamBS KulkarniArvind MishraDr Geeta S Padate

Publisher S Sridhar

Editorial Board


Prof S RangaswamiK Mrutumjaya RaoAN Yellappa ReddyDr Rajiv SaxenaDr AB ShanbhagArunayan SharmaS SridharDr Abraham Verghese FRES (London)

CONTENTS Note from the Publisher

Global Warnings about Global Warming

Articles

A preliminary survey of the bird diversity along the lowermiddle reaches of the River Ganga Bihar India by R KSinha KMKhan G Sharma D K Kedia and Samir Kr Sinha

An Annotated Checklist of Birds in Baripada AreasMayurbhanj Orissa India by Satyaranjan Behera

Bill deformities in House Crows Corvus splendens Large-billed Crow C macrorhynchos and Yellow-billed Blue MagpieUrocissa flavirostris in India by Raju Kasambe Aditya Joshiamp Sathyan Meppayur

Correspondence Help the birds-2010 by Kartik Shastri

Foraging behaviour of Cattle Egret in an unusual habitat byAnita Devasahayam and S Devasahayam

Sighting record of White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) in VidarbhaMaharashtra by Raju Kasambe Rohit Chakravarty PadmakarLad and Udayan Dharmadhikari

Note from the Publisher

Dear fellow BirdwatchersGlobal Warnings about Global Warming

W hile many experts are call ing thephenomenon of global warming as an authenticated set offacts several doubting Thomas are reluctant to accept the

phenomenon on its face value Yet there is universal agreementthat the earths overall air and water temperatures are gradually

rising Climatologists are warning that no matter what iscausing this trend if it is not intercepted or halted flora andfauna of this planet will be critically affected

The prevailing counter opinion is that all that is presently

perceived to be global warming is simply the result of a normalclimactic swing in the direction of increased temperature andthat too much should not be read into it Obviously the

proponents of this ideology have definitive social and financialinterests in their claims Hence they are articulating theirhypothesis with questionable mathematical models of climatechange overlooking the key factors

For example a group of skeptics met in the Danish capitalduring the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen tocounterbalance the main event and laid down the gauntlet tothe intergovernmental panel on climate change saying that ifthe world is warming because of manmade factors if theglaciers are melting and the sea level is going to rise then

prove it using the science you have come up with and we willcounter it with our science It was obvious that the purpose of

the said forum was to reach a political agreement to cut global

emissions on greenhouse gas by 2020 The major sticky pointwas the role of the poor countries and how they could purchasethe new technologies needed to cut emissions A professor ofGeology from the University of Western Australia who focusedon ice caps and glaciers came to Copenhagen to have his sayon the connection between glaciers and the rising sea levelHe said The whole mechanism of glacial flow has nothing to

do with the rising temperature or carbon dioxide

Commenting about the deal itself senior politicians andcampaigners either dubbed the deal as the first steps towards

a low-carbon future or as a toothless declaration A couple of

comments made during the conference to frustrate the naturalethos of climate change at Copenhagen are herein quoted

A top climate change envoy from America said We have an

accord that is lumbering down the runway and we need it toget enough speed so it can take off In his view the summit

had already been compromised by a lack of real progress ofnegotiations conducted within the formal UN structure The

reality is that the formal negotiating process simply had notmade significant progress on the key issues including settingemissions targets mobilizing a climate fund technologytransfer and transparency and we came within a hairs breadth

of collapse he added

An expert of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

admitted We need to be clear that it is a letter of intent and is

not precise about what needs to be done in legal terms So thechallenge is now to turn what we have agreed politically inCopenhagen into something real measurable and verifiable

The Chairman of the G77 group of 130 poor countries said[This] is asking Africa to sign a suicide pact an incineration

pact in order to maintain the economic dependence of a fewcountries Its a solution based on values that funnelled six

million people in Europe into furnaces According to a WWF

spokesman Well-meant but half-hearted pledges to protect

our planet from dangerous climate change are simply notsufficient to address a crisis that calls for completely new waysof collaboration across rich and poor countries Millions of liveshundreds of billions of dollars and a wealth of lost opportunitieslie in the difference between rhetoric and reality on climatechange action

An official of the Friends of the Earth criticized the deal as This

toothless declaration that the US is spinning as a success is asham this agreement won t stop a two degree rise in

temperature and as it stands condemns millions of the worldspoorest people to hunger suffering and loss of life as climatechange accelerates We need a profound change of approachfrom the worlds wealthiest countries to secure a genuine

strong and fair agreement No more green washing and nomore empty promises

While ornithologists are mourning the farewell exodus of keyavian species from vital habitats the strenuous task andmechanism of containing the global warming trend is beingdebated endlessly by granite faced political bosses The needof the hour is a superhuman effort but at any rate a coordinatedaction is likely to elude the United Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate Change for years to come

Thanking you

Yours in Bird Conservation

S Sridhar Publisher NLBW

Newsletter for Birdwatchers 49 (5) 2009 65

urbanization population and extensive farming on thefloodplains has critically disturbed the nesting and feedinggrounds of birds Use of chemical pesticides in agriculturefields and river traffic with mechanized boatsvessels aremajor deterrent to the birds population Such anthropogenic

activities have resulted in apparent decrease in the numberand diversity of the migratory birds in the Ganga basinespecially in Bihar The present study was undertaken toprepare a checklist of avian fauna of the River Ganga inBihar during different seasons which is expected to providebaseline information on the avian fauna in this region as nodetailed scientific data are available till date The avifaunais good indicator of ecological health of riverine system(Salim amp Rahul 2002) The River Ganga drained by fourmajor and many minor tributaries in Bihar resulting in highvolume of water in it and formation of the vast floodplainsand a large number of floodplain wetlands Highly braidedriver and their continuously changing geo-morphologicalformations provide varieties of microhabitats to avian faunain form of mid- Channel Islands (MCI) channel betweenislands (CBI) dead channels and associated lentic waterbodies sandbars and mudflats These habitats attractthousands of resident and migratory birds in three well-defined seasons - summer post monsoon and winter alongthe stretch

Material and Methods

Study area

The study was conducted in the mainstream of the lowermiddle reaches of the River Ganga between Buxar (25deg33

33N - 83deg 56 19E) and Manihari Ghat (25deg 19 54N - 87deg 36

47E) 510 km apart in Bihar (Figure 1) The study areawith characteristic seasonal rhythms - winter (December tomid March) summer (mid March to mid June) monsoon(mid June to September) and post-monsoon (October-November) receives about 1200 mm rainfall annually Averagetemperature varies between 85degC (in Dec-Jan) to 365degC

(in May-June) mid - December to mid - January months aregenerally foggy (Source Meteorological center Patna)

The floodplains all along the studied stretch are highly fertileand are under intensive agriculture The riverbanks andfloodplains are dotted with sporadic trees shrubs herbsand grasses mainly dominated by Saccharum bengalensisand Saccharum spontaneum

A preliminary survey of the bird diversity along the lowermiddle reaches of the River Ganga Bihar India

R K Sinha KM Khan G Sharma2 D K Kedia and Samir Kr Sinha1

Environmental Biology Laboratory Department of Zoology Patna University Patna - 800 005 India1Present address Wildlife Trust of India A 220 New Friends Colony New Delhi 110 065

2Present address Zoological Survey of India Gangetic Plains Regional Centre Road No 11D Rajendra Nagar Patna-800 016Author for correspondence E-mailrksinha_54sancharnetin

Abstract 166 species of birds belonging to 45 familieswere identified out of which 512 residents 344 wintervisitors and 144 resident migrants Surveys wereconducted both upstream and downstream using amechanized country boat in the river Ganga in Bihar betweenBuxar in the west and Maniharighat (Katihar) in the eastcovering 500 km between April 2003 and November 2005to assess the current status of the dolphins and biodiversityin and along the river Highly braided river and theircontinuously changing geo-morphological formations providevarieties of microhabitats to avian fauna in form of MCI (mid-channel islands) CBI (channel between islands) deadchannels and associated lentic water bodies sandbarsmudflats crop fields and plantation along the river whichharbour rich avian diversity These habitats attract thousandsof resident and migratory birds during the three well-definedseasons - summer post monsoon and winter in this part ofBihar

In recent past environmental degradation of the river systemdue to rampant loss of vegetation cover uncontrolledurbanization population and extensive farming on thefloodplains has critically damaged the nesting and feedinggrounds of birds Use of chemical pesticides in agriculturalfields and increased river traffic with mechanized boatsvessels are great deterrent to the birds population This

has apparently reduced the number and diversity of themigratory birds in the Ganga basin especially in Bihar inthe last couple of decades Habitats like the MCI CBI andBraided channel Mudflat area etc with low human activitiesare preferred roosting and feeding sites for almost all thewaterfowls and waders of the river Illegal poaching and birdtrappings were identified to be the major threats to the avianfauna along the River Ganga in Bihar

Introduction

The Ganga River basin is the most densely populated areain the world Around 450 million people live in the basin atan average density of over 550 km-2 which in certainlocalities and particularly in the delta rises over 900 km-2

(Payne et al 2004) Heavy population pressure and socioeconomic condition of the riparian population along the riverare posing serious threats to the river system in generaland the birds in particular Besides increasing number ofmechanized boats game hunting and commercialexploitation of the birds are also affecting the avian diversityIn recent years environmental degradation of the river systemdue to rampant loss of vegetation cover uncontrolled

66 Newsletter for Birdwatchers 49 (5) 2009

Survey

Surveys were conducted in winter (February - March)summer (May - June) and post-monsoon (October -November) in the study area during October 2003 to June2005 using a mechanized boat in daylight hours Boatspeeds during the upstream and downstream surveys wereabout 7 and 11 km hr respectively An average 50-60 kmstretch was covered per day and survey took about 15 daysto complete Grimmett et al (1999) Sonobe amp Usui (1993)and Ali and Ripley (1989) were used for species identificationBoat was generally stopped 5 -10 minutes for theidentification of species The checklist follows nomenclatureof birds of the Indian Sub- Continent (Pittie amp Robertson1993) Terrestrial birds were recorded along the riverbanksand sandbars of river A SLR 300 mm Tele lens and 10 times 42

binoculars were used for visual documentation andidentification of the birds

Result amp Discussions

166 species of birds belonging to 45 families were recorded(Table 1) Habitat population status and seasonal statusare shown in Table 2 A total 488 species were resident354 were winter visitors and 158 species were residentmigrants Seven species of storks Asian Openbill Stork(Anastomus oscitans) Painted Stork (Mycterialeucocephala) Black-necked Stork (Ephippiorhynchusasiaticus) Woolly-necked Stork (Ciconia episcopus) andBlack Stork (Ciconia nigra) were found throughout thestretch A flock of 13 Greater Adjutant (Leptoptilos dubius)storks (8 adults and 5 immature) was sighted on 29th May2005 near Kahalgaon On 30th May 2005 five adult GreaterAdjutant storks were again sighted at Sultanganj scavengingupon carcasses Greater Adjutant a passage visitor wetlandbird restricted to the Asia-Pacific region Choudhary et al(2004) reported twenty-four Greater Adjutants in betweenSultanganj and Kahalgaon Besides Greater Adjutant LesserAdjutants (Leptoptilos javanicus) were regularly sightedbetween down stream Sultanganj and Kosi confluenceBlack-necked Storks were reported by (Rahmani 1989) inGogabil Mokama and the Valmiki Tiger Reserve We alsoregularly sighted (10-15) individuals of Black-necked Stork(50-60) individuals of Painted Stork and (30-35) individualsof Wooly necked Stork throughout the stretch while groupsof (25-30) individuals of Black Storks were sighted in 2004during the winter season The Black Stork was recordedthrough out the stretch and significant because this storkis reported to be a winter visitor to Northern India PakistanNepal east to Myanmar (Ali1996) and passage migrant inGilgit and Kashmir (Ripley1982) The population of BlackStork is reportedly declining all over the world while 65 birdswere reported in Gir protected area (Pathak et al 2004)Arrival of common Crane (Grus grus) in the Gangetic plainsstarts from mid October and they stay up to April Groupsof 70 - 80 individuals of the species were observed duringthe surveys A pair of Great White Pelican (Pelecanusonocrotalus) was seen near Sultanganj in February 2004while a single individual was once seen near Barh in March

2005 Falcon sighting was very rare and only three speciesPeregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) Laggar Falcon (Falcojugger) and Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni) have been sofar recorded in the stretch One pair of Lesser Kestrel wassighted at mid channel sandbar at Kahalgaon in 2004

Pallas Fishing Eagle (Haliaeetus leucoryphus) LesserSpotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina) and Brahminy Kite(Haliastur indus) were rarely sighted Many species ofsandpiper were recorded and Eastern Curlew (Numeniusmadagascariensis) was also recorded 50km down streamfrom Buxar in 2005 Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis)Cinnamon Bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus) Black coot(Fulica atra) Pheasant-tailed Jacana (Hydrophasianuschirurgus) Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) are some ofthe common species found in ponds marshy areas andwetlands of Bihar but they were rarely sighted in the RiverGanga However 15 - 20 Indian Skimmers (Rynchopsalbicollis) were regularly sighted during 2003-2005

Two species of Lapwings generally sighted throughout thestudy area but interestingly the Yellow Wattled Lapwing(Vanellus malabaricus) was sighted in June 2005approximately 50 km downstream Buxar Baya Weaver(Ploceus philippinus) was sighted once down steam of Buxarin 2003 Nests of the bird were also found once on Acaciatree along the river bank During winter thousands of migratorywaterfowl congregate in the River Ganga Flood plain of riverGanga is used as a feeding and roosting ground for thousandsof migratory birds They arrive in winter and disperse tonearby floodplains and wetlands of Bihar Bank Myna(Acridotheres ginginianus) Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis)White-breasted Kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) and houseswift (Apus affinis) nests in tunnels of sand bar LittlePratincole (Glareola lactea) were commonly seen on sandymid Channel Islands throughout the stretch Thousands ofAsian Open bill was also seen nesting near Danapur anIBA area that indicate good habitat Threatened species ofmiddle reaches of river Ganga is shown in (Table 3) andseveral common species which are fairly in good numberwere found in the area (Table 4) The river not only serves aswintering ground for thousand of birds During summerGanga serves as life savior for thousands of resident birds

Documenting the status and diversity of birds in the middlereaches of river Ganga provides useful information aboutchanges and status of riverine systems over a period oftime Several important species were recorded during thesesurveys including the two species of adjutant storks andother threatened species Good bird diversity in the middlereaches of river Ganga reflects suitable habitat for birdsHowever present threats to birds are hunting trappingpoisoning and river traffic Poisoning and trapping incidenceswere noticed throughout the stretch which is done by localfishermen community Many species of migratory ducksand sandpipers were trapped Most vulnerable area wasidentified between Mokama Kahalgaon Instances of birds

being sold openly in local birds markets of Arah PatnaMokama and Begusarai are encountered too frequently for


it to pass off as a stray incident Several species wereavailable and several others could be made available if anorder was placed for them This indicates that bird trade is

thriving here and if not stopped may further deplete the wildbird numbers

Table 1

Checklist of the Avifauna with Habitat Populationstatus and Seasonal status along the river Ganga

from Buxar to Manihari Ghat (Katihar) Bihar

Note A = Habitat Type B = PopulationStatus C = Seasonal Status

SlNo Common name Scientific Name A B C

1 Family Podicipedidae

1 Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis 5 RS R

2 Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus 4 M W V

2 Family Pelecanidae

3 Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus 1 RS W V

3 Family Phalacrocoracidae

4 Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo 1234 VC RM

5 Indian Cormorant Phalacrocorax fuscicollis 1234 VC R

6 Little Cormorant Phalacrocorax niger 65 VC R

4 Family Anhingidae

7 Darter Anhinga rufa 35 RS R

5 Family Ardeidae

8 Grey Heron Ardea cinerea 1236 VC R

9 Purple Heron Ardea purpurea 123 RS R

10 Intermediate Egret Mesophoyx intermedia 1236 VC R

11 Great Egret Casmerodius albus 1236 M R

12 Little Egret Egretta garzetta 1236 VC R

13 Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis 1236 VC R

14 Black-crowned Night HeronNycticorax nycticorax 1236 C RM

15 Little Green Heron Ardeola striatus 1236 RS RM

16 Indian Pond Heron Ardeola grayii 1236 VC R

17 Cinnamon Bittern Ixobrychus cinnamomeus 56 RS RM

6 Family Ciconiidae

18 Great Adjutant Leptoptilos dubius 12367 EN RS RM

19 Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus 12367 VU RS RM

20 Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala 1237 NTRS RM

21 Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans 123567VC R

22 Woolly-necked Stork Ciconia episcopus 12357 M RM

23 Black-necked StorkEphippiorhynchus asiaticus 12367 NT RS RM

24 Black Stork Ciconia nigra 127 RS WV

7 Family Threskiornithidae

25 Black-headed IbisThreskiornis melanocephalus 1237 NT RS RM

26 Black Ibis Pseudibis papillosa 123567 C R

27 Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus 127 RS RM

28 Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia 123567M RM

8Dendrocygnidae

29 Large Whistling Teal Dendrocygna bicolor 56 RS R

30 Lesser Whistling Teal Dendrocygna javanica 123567VC R

9 Family Anatidae31 Bar-headed Goose Anser indicus 1237 M WV

32 Grey Lag Goose Anser anser 12 M WV

33 Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea 123467VC WV

34 Common Shelduck Tadorna tadorna 13 RS WV

35 Eurasian Wigeon Anas Penelope 4 M WV

36 Falcated Teal Anas falcata 14 M WV

37 Common Teal Anas crecca 1347 VC WV

38 Garganey Anas querquedula 4 M WV

39 Ferruginous Pochard Aythya nyroca 14 VU RS WV

40 Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhyncha 134 RS RM

41 Northern Pintail Anas acuta 1347 VC WV

42 Gadwall Anas strepera 1347 VC WV

43 Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata 1347 VC WV

44 Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina 14 M WV

45 Common Pochard Aythya ferina 1347 VC WV

46 Cotton Pygmy GooseNettapus coromandelianus 4 RS RM

47 Greater Scaup Duck Aythya marila 4 RS WV

48 Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula 14 VC WV

10 Family Gruidae49 Common Crane Grus grus 127 RS WV

11 Family Rallidae

50 Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus 56 RS RM

51 Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio 56 RS RM

52 Coot Fulica atra 4 RS WV

12 Family Jacanidae

53 Pheasant- tailed JacanaHydrophasianus chirurgus 5 RS RM

54 Bronze-winged Jacana Metopidius indicus 5 RS R

13 Family Glareolidae

55 Small Pratincole Glareola lactea 12 C R

14 Family Charadriidae

56 Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus 1267 RS R

57 Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta 127 RS WV

58 River Lapwing Vanellus duvaucelii 1267 C R

59 Yellow-wattled Lapwing Vanellus malabaricus12 RS RM

60 Redwattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus 1267 C R

61 Long-bill Ringed plover Charadrius placidus 127 RS WV

62 Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius 127 M WV

15 Family Scolopacidae

63 Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa 137 RS WV

64 Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica 137 RS WV

65 Asiatic Dowitcher Limnodromus semipalmatus 137 RS WV

66 Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis137 NT RS WV

67 Eurasian CurlewNumenius arquata 1237 RS WV

68 Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus 134 RS WV

69 Common Redshank Tringa totanus 1237 VC WV

70 Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus 137 RS WV

71 Common Greenshank Tringa nebularia 1237 VC WV

72 Marsh Sandpiper Tringa stagnatilis 137 RS WV


73 Ruff Philomachus pugnax 137 M WV

74 Green Sandpiper Tringa ochropus 1367 VC WV

75 Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola 1367 RS WV

76 Common Sandpiper Tringa hypoleucos 1367 VC WV

77 Temminck Stint Calidris temminckii 137 M WV

78 Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris 137 RS WV

79 Little Stint Calidris minuta 1237 VC WV

80 Broad-billed Sandpiper Limicola falcinellus 1367 RS WV

81 Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago 137 RS WV

16 Family Laridae

82 Gull-billed Tern Sterna nilotica 1 3 RS WV

83 Caspian Tern Sterna caspia 1 3 RS WV

84 Common Tern Sterna hirundo 13 RS WV

85 Black-bellied Tern Sterna acuticauda 1 3 NT RS RM

86 Little Tern Sterna albifrons 1 3 RS WV

87 Whiskered Tern Chlidonias hybridus 1 3 M WV

88 River Tern Sterna aurantia 1 3 C R

89 Indian Skimmer Rynchops albicollis 1 3 VU RS RM

90 Herring Gull Larus argentatus 14 3 RS WV

91 Great Black-headed Gull Larus ichthyaetus 14 3 RS WV

92 Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus 14 3 M WV

93 Brown-headed Gull Larus brunnicephalus 14 3 RS WV

17Family Alcedinidae

94 Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis 56 RS R

18 Family Dacelonidae

95 Whitethroated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis126 3 VC R

19Family Cerylidae96 Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis 126 VC R

20 Family Accipitridae

97 Eastern Marsh Harrier Circus spilonotus 137 RS WV

98 Osprey Pandion haliaetus 1236 M WV

99 Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus 17 NT RS WV

100 Black Kite Milvus migrans 1263 VC R

101 Pallass Fishing Eagle Haliaeetus leucoryphus 12 VU RS R

102 Lesser Spotted Eagle Aquila pomarina 12 RS R

103 Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus 1263 RS R

104 Black-winged Kite Elanus caeruleus 126 RS R

105 Shikra Accipiter badius 126 M R

106 Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus 23 RS R

21 Family Falconidae

107 Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni 26 VU RS R

108 Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus 126 RS R

109 Laggar Falcon Falco jugger 126 RS R

22Family Tytonidae

110 Barn Owl Tyto alba 6 RS R

23 Family Strigidae

111 Spotted Owlet Athene brama 26 RS R

24 Family Corvidae

112 Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos 1263 C R

113 House Crow Corvus splendens 1263 C R

114 Rufous Treepie Dendrocitta vagabunda 26 C R

115 Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus 26 C R

25 Family Bucerotidae

116 Indian Grey Hornbill Ocyceros birostris 6 RS R

26 Family Phasianidae

117 Grey Francolin Francolinus pondicerianus 26 RS R

27 Family Picidae

118 Black-rumped Flameback Dinopium benghalense 6 MR

28 Family Megalaimidae

119 Lineated Barbet Megalaima lineata 6 M R

120 Coppersmith Barbet Megalaima haemacephala6 RS R

29 Family Meropidae

121 Green Bee Eater Merops orientalis 126 C R

30 Family Cuculidae

122 Common Hawk Cuckoo Hierococcyx varius 6 M R

123 Indian Cuckoo Cuculus micropterus 26 C R

124 Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopacea 26 C R

31Family Centropodidae

125 Lesser Coucal Centropus bengalensis 6 M R

126 Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis 26 C R

32 Family Upupidae

127 Eurasian Hoopoe Upupa epops 6 M R

33 Family Coraciidae128 Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis 26 M R

34 Family Psittacidae

129 Plum-headed Parakeet Psittacula cyanocephala 6 C R

130 Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri 26 VC R

35 Family Columbidae

131 Rock Pigeon Columba livia 126 VC R

132 Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis 26 VC R

133 Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto26 C R

134 Yellow-footed Green PigeonTreron phoenicoptera 6 M R

36 Family Oriolidae

135 Eurasian Golden OrioleOriolus oriolus 26 M R

136 Black-hooded Oriole Oriolus xanthornus 26 M R

37 Family Irenidae

137 Common Iora Aegithina tiphia 6 M R

38 Family Muscicapidae

138 Oriental Magpie- Robin Copsychus saularis 26 M R

139 White-rumped Shama Copsychus malabaricus6 M R

140 Indian Robin Saxicoloides fulicata 6 M R

141 Brown-rock Chat Cercomela fusca 26 C R

39 Family Sturnidae142 Brahminy Starling Sturnus pagodarum 26 M R

143 Asian Pied Starling Sturnus contra 26 C R

144 Common Myna Acridotheres tristis 26 VC R

145 Bank Myna Acridotheres ginginianus 26 VC R

40 Family Hirundinidae

146 Plain Martin Riparia paludicola 2 M R

41 Family Apodidae

147 House Swift Apus affinis 2 M R

42 Family Pycnonotidae

148 Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer 6 M R



149 Jungle Babbler Turdoides striatus 26 R R

150 Common Babbler Turdoides caudatus 6 M R

44 Family Nectarinidae

151 Purple Sunbird Nectarinia asiatica 6 M R

45 Family Passeridae

152 White Wagtail Motacilla alba 167 C RM

153 White-browed WagtailMotacilla maderaspatensis 167 M RM

154 Citrine Wagtail Motacilla citreola 167 M R

155 Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava 167 RS WV

156 Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea 167 RS RM

157 Paddyfield Pipit Anthus rufulus 167 C R

158 Tree Pipit Anthus hodgsoni 6 M R

159 Long-billed Pipit Anthus novaeseelandiae 12 RS RM

160 Baya Weaver Ploceus philippinus 6 R R

161 Indian Silverbill Lonchura striata 26 M R

162 Scaly-breasted Munia Lonchura punctulata 26 VC R

163 Black-headed Munia Lonchura malacca 26 VC R

Table 2

Tthreatened birds during the studyin the middle reaches of river Ganga Bihar

No Common name Scientific name IUCN Status

1 Great Adjutant Leptoptilos dubius ENA3cdever 31 (2001)

2 Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus VU A2cde+3cde ver 31 (2001)

3 Black-necked Stork Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus NT ver 31 (2001)

4 Black Stork Ciconia nigra LC ver 31 (2001)

5 Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala NT ver 31 (2001)

6 Black-bellied Tern Sterna acuticauda NT ver 31 (2001)

7 Indian Skimmer Rynchops albicollis VUA2ce+3ce ver 31 (2001)

8 Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus NT ver 31 (2001)

9 Indian Darter Anhinga rufa NT ver 31 (2001)

10 Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis NT ver 31 (2001)

11 Ferruginous Pochard Aythya nyroca NT ver 31 (2001)

12 Pallass Fishing Eagle Haliaeetus leucoryphus VU C1 ver 31 (2001)

13 Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus NT ver 31 (2001)

14 Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni VU ver 31 (2001)

15 Green Avadavat Amandava formosa VU ver 31 (2001)

Note Endangered (EN) Vulnerable (VU) Near Threatened (NT) and Least Concern (LC)

References

Ali S (1996) The book of Indian Birds(12th

Edn) Bombay Natural HistorySocietyBombay168pp

Ali S and D Ripley (1989) A pictorial guide tobirds of the Indian Subcontinent OxfordUniversity Press Bombay 164pp

Choudhary S K S Dey S Dey and A Mitra(2004) Sighting of the greater Adjutant -stork LEPTOPTILOS DUBIUS inVikramshila Gangetic Dolphin SanctuaryBihar INDIA Bombay Natural History SocietyBombay 101(2) 313-314

Grimmett R C Inskipp and T Inskipp (1999) APocket Guide to the Birds of the IndianSubcontinent Oxford University PressBombay 384pp

Pathak B J SVijayan B PPati and M K BelimHanif (2004) Black stork CICONIA NIGRAin and around Gir forest Gujrat BombayNatural History Society Bombay 101(2) 311-312

Payne A I R KSinha H R Singh and S Huq(2004) A review of the Ganges Basin itsfish and fisheries In Proceedings of TheSecond International Symposium on themanagement of Large Rivers for fisheriesVolume I Welcomme R and T Petr EdsFAO Regional Office for Asia and the PacificBangkok Thailand RAP Publication 200416229-251pp

Acknowledgements

We thank the Wildlife Division of Ministry of Environment amp Forest Govt of India for providing financial assistance forGangetic Dolphin Conservation Project We thank our boatmen and field assistants for their help We are alsothankful to the Director Zoological Survey of India Kolkata for his kind support and encouragements

164 Red Avadavat Amandava amandava 26 M R

165 Green Avadavat Amandava formosa 2 VU RS R

166 House Sparrow Passer domesticus 6 VC R

Note EN = Endangered VU = Vulnerable NT = Near Threatened

Population Status - RS = Rarely Sighted VC - Very CommonC Common M - Moderate

Seasonal Status - WV - Winter Visitor

R Resident RM - Resident Migrant

Habitat Type - MI (Mid Channel Island) = 1

CBI (Channel Between Islands= 2

WB (Wide Braided Channel) = 3

Open Water Body = 4 Dead Channel = 5

River Bank = 6

Mud Flat = 7


Table 3

Most common birds sighted during the study inthe middle reaches of the river Ganga Bihar


1 Pied kingfisher Ceryle rudis LC ver 31 (2001)

2 Indian Cormorant Phalacrocorax fuscicollis LC ver 31 (2001)

3 Grey Heron Ardea cinerea LC ver 31 (2001)

4 Intermediate Egret Egretta intermedia LC ver 31 (2001)

5 Little Egret Egretta garzetta LC ver 31 (2001)

6 Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis LC ver 31 (2001)

7 Asian Open bill Anastomus oscitans LC ver 31 (2001)

8 Black Ibis Pseudibis papillosa LC ver 31 (2001)

9 Indian river tern Sterna aurantia LC ver 31 (2001)

10 Common sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos LC ver 31 (2001)

Note Endangered (EN) Vulnerable (VU)Near Threatened (NT) and Least Concern (LC)

Rahmani A R (1989) Bibliography of the Birdsof North India ENVIS Newsletter Avian Ecologyamp Inland Wetlands Vol 11 No1 (2006)

Ripley SD (1982) A synopsis of the Birds of Indiaand Pakistan together with those of NepalBhutan Bangladesh and Sri lanka (2nd Edn)Bombay Natural History SocietyBombay211pp

Javed Salim and Kaul Rahul (2002) FieldMethods for Birds Surveys

Bombay Natural History Society Bombay 59pp

Sonabe K and SUsui (1993) A field guide tothe waterbirds of Asia Wild Bird Society ofJapan Tokyo224pp

Sutherland W J (1996) Ecological CensusTechniques A Handbook of CambridgeUniversity Press Cambridge278pp

The IUCN Red List of Threatened species 2001Categories amp Criteria (V31)

http wwwiucnredlistorg

Methods

The work was carried out for little over two years from August2002 to November 2004 The birds were observed duringthe most active period of time in the day in an early morning(0600 hrs to 1000 hrs) and late afternoons (1600 hrs to1830 hrs) Sightings were carried out for two days a weekduring all seasons of the year to record maximum birds inan area Moreover random sightings were also recordedon other days in morning and evening time Olympus 7x42binocular was used for spotting the birds Birds sightedduring the study period were categorized according to theirstatus as residents R (birds that have been known to breed

in the local area itself and encountered during every visit)and local migrants LM (birds which were encountered many

times during the study period and reported to be breedingin the surrounding areas) Some birds sighted occasionallyduring specific seasons or periods which were not residentin study area are included as migrant species M and

occurrence of species in different types of habitats are alsolisted in Table 1

Birds were identified following Grimmet et al (1998) andtheir distributional status was followed as in Ali amp Ripley(1987) Birds were categorized as Abundant (A) Common(C) Occasional (O) and Rare (R) based on the frequency

An Annotated Checklist of Birds in Baripada AreasMayurbhanj Orissa India

Satyaranjan Behera Wildlife Institute of India Dehradun 248001 Uttarakhanda India Email satyabwiigovin

Introduction

The avifauna in Baripada area is diverse Many larger birdsof Asia such as storks herons egrets and raptors inhabitBaripada is located in the Mayurbhanj District on the NorthEast of Orissa (21ordm 56 N and 86ordm 46 E) Baripada represents

one of the greater diversity of avifauna Along the North-East(20 KM) border of Baripada is Similipal Biosphere Reservewhich was declared by Government of India on the 22nd June1994 to protect the conservation of biodiversity (geneticspecies and ecosystem diversity) and landscape (ForestDept Orissa 2004) The Similipal and adjoining areacomprises of 5569 sq km The climate is tropical monsoontype with a hot wet summer and a cool dry winter Thetemperature varies from 8ordm C in winter to 47ordm C in summer

Annual rainfall ranges from 1500 to 2000 mm It has anaverage elevation of 36 meters (118 feet)

Studies on aquatic birds in Mayurbhanj district wereconducted earlier by Sahu amp Rout (2005) and Sahu amp Dutta(2005) Many avian studies have been carried out relating tobirds in Sikkim Himalayas (Stevens 1923-1925) in Assam(Choudhry 2000) (Das Nath Singh amp Sahu 2007) in India(Sanyal 1995) But there have been very few studies on theurban avifauna The justification for the present study arosefrom the scarcity of such data keeping the urban avifaunaldiversity in mind


of sightings (Status of a particular species of bird wasassigned on the basis of number of sightings) Abundant(A) means birds sighted throughout the study area in a goodnumbers (95-100 encounter) Common (C) means birdssighted throughout the study site during most of the visits(60-95 encounter) Occasional (O) means birdsencountered less frequently (20-60 encounter) Rare (R)means frequency of sighting and numbers were very lowless than 20 encounter

Results and Discussion

The Baripada area covers a lush green environment and itsupports a good number of avifauna as it has a rich andvaried vegetation pattern and possesses many larger waterbodies The study area comprises of different vegetationtypes that include scrubland fragmented sal patches denseshrub vegetation with scattered trees different municipalparks with sparse trees many dams open degradedgrounds and sparse paddy fields In all 121 species of birds(Appendix 1) belonging to 46 families were observed duringthe study period Among the bird species observed inBaripada Area 87 species (719) were residents 27species (223) local migrants and 7 species (57)migrants and their status like 25 (206) were abundant33 (272) rare 33 (272) common and 30 (247)occasional During the study 33 nests of Little Egrets Egrettagarzetta 22 nests of Cattle Egrets Bubulcus ibis 20 nestsof Little Cormorants Phalacrocorax niger and 42 nests ofBlack Kites Milvus migrans were observed in and aroundBaripada area which were permanent residents recordedthroughout the year Birds of Baripada areas are threatenedby habitat degradation resulting from the increasing humanpopulation Unplanned exploitation of natural resources hashad profound impacts on the vegetation rivers natural pondsand climate Moreover uncontrolled shooting and poisoningof birds in the study area are also a threat factor

Acknowledgement

I am grateful to the Department of Wildlife Conservation ampBiology in North Orissa University for providing some valuabledata I would like to thank Dr HK Sahu and Dr SD Routfor providing some suggestion regarding birds in Baripadaareas I am also extremely grateful to my Professor Dr SKDutta for giving some important inputs on birds of the region

References

ALI S amp SD RIPLEY (1987) Compact Handbook of the Birds of Indiaand Pakistan together with those of Bangladesh Nepal Bhutan andSri Lanka 2nd Ed Oxford University Press Delhi PP 737 + 104plates

Choudhury AU (2000) The birds of Assam Guwahati India GibbonBooks and WWF-India

DasJ NKNath HSingha and HKSahu (2007) Winter birds of Kakoijana(Proposed) Wildlife Sanctuary Assam India Indian Birds 3 (1)16-23

Grimmett R Inskipp C and Inskipp T (1998) Birds of the Indiansubcontinent Delhi Oxford University Press

SahuHK and SDRout (2005) Checklist of waterbirds in Mayurbhanj

District Orissa Zoos Print Journal 20 (9) 1992-1993SahuHK and SKDutta (2005) Status of aquatic birds in Mayurbhanj

district Orissa India Indian J Environ amp Ecoplan 10 (3) 883-888Sanyal P (1995) Rare crane of India J Bombay Nat Hist Soc 91453Stevens H (1923-1925) Notes on the birds of the Sikkim Himalayas J

Bombay Nat Hist Soc 29 503-518 723-740 1007-1030 30 54-71 352-379 664-685 872-893

Wild Orissa (2004) Wildlife Organization Forest Department Govt ofOrissa Bhubaneswar

Table 1

Note 1= Status 2 = Frequency of Sighting 3 = Habitat

Common Name Scientific Name 1 2 3

Little Cormorant Phalacrocorax niger R A A

Indian Cormorant Phalacrocorax fuscicollis M R A

Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo R C A

Darter Anhinga melanogaster M O A

Little Egret Egretta garzetta R C A

Grey Heron Ardea cinerea LM O A

Great Egret Casmerodius albus R O A

Intermediate Egret Mesophoyx intermedia R C A

Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis R A GLOF

Indian Pond Heron Ardeola grayii R C A

Black-Crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax R O PL MP

Cinnamon Bittern Ixobrychus cinnamomeus LM R DG

Black Ibis Pseudibis papillosa LM R GL OF

Asian Openbill-Stork Anastomus oscitans LM O OF

Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala M R OF

Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis R A A

Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus M C A

Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus R A SLGL

Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus R O DA

Osprey Pandion haliaetus LM R EWOF

Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhynchus R C PL

Black-shouldered KiteElanus caeruleus R O OF

Brahminy Kite Haliastur indus R C DA

Black Kite Milvus migrans LM A DA

Shikra Accipiter badius R C PL

White-eyed Buzzard Butastur teesa R O GL

Black Eagle Ictinaetus malayensis R C DA

Changeable-Hawk EagleSpizaetus cirrhatus R O MF

Crested Serpent Eagle Spilornis cheela R R MF

Little Ringed Plover Charadrius dubius LM O DG

Yellow-wattled Lapwing Vanellus malabaricus R C GLOF

Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus R A OF

Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus LM C A

Bronze-winged Jacana Metopidius indicus R C A

White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus R A A SL

Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus R C A


Rock Pigeon Columba livia R A DSpotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis R A D

Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto R C EWOF

Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica R R SL

Yellow-footed Green Pigeon Treron phoenicoptera R O PL

Spotted Owlet Athene brama R R MF PL

Eurasian Eagle Owl Bubo bubo R R MF

Asian Palm Swift Cypsiurus balasiensis R O OF OS

House Swift Apus affinis R A D OS

Alexandrine Parakeet Psittacula eupatria R C PL MP

Rosering Parakeet Psittacula krameri R C PL MP

Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis R C L MF

Indian Cuckoo Cuculus micropterus LM O PL MP

Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopacea R O PL MP

Green Bee-eater Merops orientalis R A OFGS

Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis LM C DG

White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis R A DGDA

Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis R A DG

Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis R O EW

Common Hoopoe Upupa epops R O GSSL

Brown-headed Barbet Megalaima zeylanica R O PL

Copper-smith Barbet Megalaima haemacephala R C MPPL

Lesser whistling-Duck Dendrocygna javanica LM C A

Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker Dendrocopos auriceps R R MPPL

Black-rumped Flameback Dinopium benghalense R C MPPL

Yellow-crowned Woodpecker Dendrocopos mahrattensis R R MPPL

Brown-capped pygmy Woodpecker Dendrocopos nanus LM R MPMFEurasian Wryneck Jynx torquilla LM R MFCommon Iora Aegithina tiphia R C M P

Blue-winged Leafbird Chloropsis cochinchinensisR O M P

Black-hooded Oriole Oriolus xanthornus R C PLMP

Eurasian Golden Oriole Oriolus oriolus R C PLMP

Indian Bushlark Mirafra erythroptera R O SLGSJerdons Bushlark Mirafra affinis R R SLGSAshy-crowned Sparrow Lark Eremopterix grissa LM R SLGS

Greater short-toed Lark Calandrella branchydactyla R R SLGS

Wire-tailed Swallow Hirundo smithii R A GSDM

Red-rumped Swallow Hirundo daurica R O GSDMBlack Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus R A DAMF

Bay-backed Shrike Lanius vittatus R C OFSLLong-tailed Shrike Lanius schach LM C OFSLCommon Myna Acridotheres tristis R A DA

Jungle Myna Acridotheres fuscus R A MPPLAsian Pied Starling Sturnus contra R A OFBrahminy Starling Sturnus pagodarum R C DA

Rufous Treepie Dendrocitta vagabunda R C PLMF

House Crow Corvus splendens R A DALarge-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos R A DAMFScarlet Minivet Pericrocotus flammeus LM R MPPL

Small Minivet Pericrocotus cinnamomeus R O MPPLRed-whiskered Bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus R A SLMPRed-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer R A SLMP

Yellow-eyed Babbler Chrysomma sinense R R MPJungle Babbler Turdoides striatus R A DAPL

Asian Brown FlycatcherMuscicapa dauurica LM O MPSL

Red-throated FlycatcherFicedula parva LM R MPSL

Verditer Flycatcher Eumyias thalassina M R MF

Tickells Blue Flycatcher Cyornis tickelliae LM R MF

Asian Paradise Flycatcher Terpsiphone paradisi LM R MF

White-browed Fantail Rhipidura aureola R O SLBlyths Reed Warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum LM R SLArctic Warbler Phylloscopus borealis M R SL

Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros R C SL

Oriental Magpie Robin Copsychus saularis R A MPPL

Indian Robin Saxicoloides fulicata R O MPPL

Blue Rock Thrush Monticola solitarius LM R SL

Orange Headed Thrush Zoothera citrina R O SL

Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius R A SLMF

Great Tit Parus major R O SLMFPaddy-field Pipit Anthus rufulus R C OF

Olive-backed Pipit Anthus hodgsoni LM R OFWhite Wagtail Motacilla alba LM O DM

White-browed Wagtail Motacilla maderaspatensis M O DM

Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava R C DMGrey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea R C DMDAOriental White-eye Zosterops palpebrosus R R SLPL

Purple Sunbird Nectarinia asiatica R O PLMP

Purple-rumped Sunbird Nectarinia zeylonica R O PLMP

Pale-billed FlowerpeckerDicaeum erythrorhynchos R C PLMP

Black-naped MonarchHypothymis azurea LM R PLMPBlack-headed Munia Lonchura malacca LM R MFScaly Breasted Munia Lonchura punctulata LM R MF

House Sparrow Passer domesticus R A DAChestnut- shouldered Petronia Petronia xanthocollis R R MPBaya Weaver Ploceus philippinus R R OFEW

1 Status - R- Resident M - Migrant LM- Local migrant2 Frequency of sighting - A - Abundant C - CommonR - Rare O - Ocassional3 Habitat - GS - Grassland OF - Open paddy fieldMP -Municipal Park DG - Dry bed of ponds with grassy bedsSL- Scrubland DA- Disturbed Area EW - Electric wirePL - Plantation MF - Mixed Forest DM - Dry bed of damsA- Aquatic


In this paper we report recent records of bill deformitiesrecorded in some Indian corvids They are the Common CrowCorvus splendens the Large-billed or Jungle Crow Corvusmacrorhynchos and the Yellow-billed Blue Magpie Urocissaflavirostris The authors posted the information aboutsightings of the bill deformities on the various bird groupson the internet eliciting response and information aboutsimilar records of bill deformities from all over the countryThese reports are included in the present paper

Bill deformity in House Crows Corvus splendens

Gandhi Sagar Tank Nagpur

On 17th June 2009 when the authors (RK AJ) were watchingbirds at a small city tank namely Gandhi Sagar tank atNagpur (21008N and 79005E altitude 332m) Maharashtra

they noticed a House Crow with an abnormally long anddown-curved maxilla The second author successfullyphotographed the House Crow It was found that the maxillawas very much elongated than the mandible (Photographno1) This particular House Crow behaved normally andother con-specifics behaved normally with this particularcrow After some time the authors located a nest of thiscrow on a nearby Ashoka (Polyalthya longifolia) tree

When the second author (AJ) was trying to photograph thisparticular crow he located and photographed another crowwith a deformed bill Bill of the second crow was longerthan the normal crow and the maxilla was hooked Also thisparticular crow had back side of the head slightly bald andlooked sick It had white feathers on the right flank

After some time the authors observed that the crows werefeeding on dead fish floating in the tank The fish might havebeen dying because of the pollutants the tank receivedthrough the gutter water which was directly flowing into it

It is worth mentioning that the water of this city tank waspolluted and it even emitted a filthy odour In the year 2008thousands of fish in the tank had died presumably becauseof the high level of pollutants in the water When countedthe total number of House Crows staying at this tank wereapproximately 50

On 21st June 2009 the authors again visited the locationand found that both the crows with deformed bills were thereIt was also observed that these and all other House Crows

here were hawking the dead fish floating in the tank waterand then consuming these fishes

On this day the authors located atleast three House Crowswith brownish feathers without the shining jet black colourof the primaries

On 15th October 2009 the first author visited the GandhiSagar tank again He sighted two House Crows with hookedbills on this day The two crows were photographed in asingle frame (photograph no2) while feeding on pieces ofroti (wheat bread)

Khamla Mutton Market Nagpur

On 22nd June 2009 the first author (RK) found another HouseCrow with a similar bill deformity near the Khamla MuttonMarket (21006N and 79003E altitude 335m) in Nagpur

city Maharashtra This particular crow also had anabnormally elongated and downcurved bill and also it had awhite chest patch and whitish rump It had somewhat anungainly look and looked to be sick or malnourished

This crow was seen with another crow (presumably its mate)nearby the authors house They were actively chasing away

Asian Koels (Eudynamys scolopaceus) which are knownto lay their eggs parasitically in the nests of House Crows(Ali and Ripley 1987) The next day this particular HouseCrow was photographed near the authors (RK) house by a

birder friend Mr Anuj Kale These two crows were seencollecting nesting material and building a nest on a treebehind one of the meat shops in the market

On 23rd June 2009 we (RK AJ) again visited the KhamlaMutton Market and found another House Crow with a slightlyelongated and hooked bill This crow with a hooked bill wasseen visiting a nest on a Nilgiri tree in the same market

On 24th June 2009 the authors again sighted both the HouseCrows with the bill deformities in the same market

On 10th July 2009 Mr Gopal Thosar Honorary WildlifeWarden Nagpur district noted that the House Crow withthe elongated and downcurved bill had a normal bill nowThe reason could be that the bill was broken by its attemptsat pulling at nesting material which included iron wires Thecrow could be identified because of the nest on a tree justbehind a meat shop and also because it had a white chest

Bill deformities in House Crows Corvus splendensLarge-billed Crow C macrorhynchos and

Yellow-billed Blue Magpie Urocissa flavirostris in IndiaRaju Kasambe Aditya Joshi amp Sathyan Meppayur Corresponding author Raju Kasambe

64 Vidya Vihar Colony Pratap Nagar Nagpur-440022 (Maharashtra) E-mail rajukasamberediffmailcom103 Samwadi Apartments Congress Nagar Nagpur-440012 (Maharashtra) E-mail addyforwildlifegmailcom

Malabar Natural History Society Meppayur PIN- 673 524 Kozhikode Kerala E-mail satyanmprgmailcom


patch This bird stayed near a nest in which another crowwas seen sitting for quite sometime

Nests of both the crows were observed intermittently Butno eggs or nestlings were seen in the nests and after somedays both the pairs abandoned the nests Presumablynesting of both pairs had failed

On 5th October 2009 the author (RK) found only the crowwith the hooked bill near the meat shops feeding on thecarrion It was perched with another crow and was leaningits head in front of another crow and probably begging forallo-preening of the nape feathers

To add to the information around 40-50 House Crows are regularlysighted at this market along with few Large-billed Crows

Sakkardara Tank Nagpur

On 1st July 2009 the authors (RK AJ) saw another HouseCrow with one normal leg and the second leg up to the kneenear Sakkardara Tank in Nagpur city However the bill ofthis crow was normal Around 25-30 crows were countedhere

Pardi area Nagpur

On 21st July 2009 the author (RK) saw yet another HouseCrow with a short and blunt bill near Mutton Market at Pardiarea of east Nagpur Both the bills of this crow were onlyapproximately half its length and obtuse and not pointed Itwas seen feeding on the tit bits of meat near the meat shopsThis crow looked slimmer and weaker than other crowsAlso the flight of this crow was clumsier compared to othercrows It had lot of white feathers on its chest and rumpAround 15-20 crows were counted here

Bill deformity in Large-billed Crow Corvusmacrorhynchos

The third author (SM) sighted a Large-billed Crow with anabnormally elongated and down-curved bill while he wasstudying birds in the Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary inKerala (10028N and 76050E altitude 2616 feet) He

photographed this particular crow with a deformed bill(Photograph no 3) It was on 9th November 2008 It wasnoted that this particular crow was foraging only in foresthabitat There was no human habitation nearby Once itwas seen sipping the nectar from a Bombax tree in thesame forest habitat

Bill deformity in a Yellow-billed Blue Magpie Urocissaflavirostris

On 11th May 2009 a Yellow-billed Blue Magpie Urocissaflavirostris was sighted and photographed by Mr KshitijSahani at Manali (32014N and 77011E altitude 6187 feet)

in Himachal Pradesh At 1330hrs they sighted this colourfulcorvid in human habitation near a trout fish culture farm whichalso sold fish The bird was feeding on tit bits of fish meatlying around the fish culture farm This particular bird had aseverely crossed bill The maxilla was turned to its rightand the mandible was turned to its left (Photograph no4)

More reports of bill deformities from other parts ofIndia

Kolkata West Bengal

The first author (RK) visited Kolkata (22032N and 88020E

altitude 35 feet) on 21st and 27th October 2009 On 21st

October 2009 he sighted a House Crow with a hooked billfeeding on the garbage bin near the famous Kali Matatemple where hundreds of goats are sacrificed every yearOn these two days he observed a total of 150 House Crowsat various tourist places

New Jalpaiguri West Bengal

On 26th October 2009 the first author (RK) visited New Jalpaiguri(26040N and 88026E altitude 368 feet) railway station on his

way back to Howrah from Gangtok (Sikkim) His son MasterVedant Kasambe drove his attention towards a House Crowwith prominently hooked bill This Crow was pulling softenedroti pieces from the polluted sewage water flowing between

the railway platforms Another House Crow had a slightlyhooked bill He observed total five House Crows here

Kolhapur Maharashtra

Mr Gopal Thosar informed the first author (RK) that he hadseen a Large-billed Crow with an abnormally elongated anddowncurved upper bill near Panhala Fort District KolhapurMaharashtra on 26th April 1991 The crow was sighted neara village and it might have been feeding on the carrion in thevillage The location of Panhala Fort is 16048N and 74007Eand the altitude is 2671 feet

Sangli Maharashtra

Ms Suvarna More informed the author (RK) about sightingof a House Crow with a elongated and downcurved bill on19th and 20th March 2008 and again on 11th April 2008 atKawthe Mahakal town (17002N and 74051E altitude

2179feet) in Sangli district of Maharashtra This crow wasregularly seen feeding on the carrion near the collegecanteen of Vasant Dada College in the town where MsSuvarna worked as a lecturer Surprisingly the (same) crowwith the bill deformity was again seen by her on 8th March2nd April and 3rd April in 2009 at the same place

Noida Uttar Pradesh

Mr Jose Louies working for Wildlife Trust of India informedthe author (RK) on 25th June 2007 that he had seen acrow with a elongated and down curved bill near his guest

house at Noida in Uttar Pradesh (28034N and 77019E

altitude 669 feet) This was about a week before and the

elongated down curved bill was very much visibleUnfortunately Jose was not able to photograph as the crowhad vanished by the time he returned with his camera

Kottayam Kerala

Mr Prasanth Narayanan informed the author (RK) on 26th

June 2009 that he had seen a House Crow with elongatedand down curved bill at Kottayam in Kerala In 2003-2004 he


used to watch a House Crow near Medical College Hospital

Kottayam in Kerala (09035N and 76031E altitude 78 feet)

with extra-ordinarily elongated and down curved bill

Palakkad Kerala

Mr R V Balasubramanian informed the author (SM) thathe sighted and photographed a House Crow with anelongated and downcurved bill at Alathur Taluk PalakkadDistrict Kannambra Panchayat in Kerala on 16th April2009 The geographical location of Palakkad is 10046N and

76038E and the altitude is 308 feet

Kozhikode Kerala

An adult crow with a crooked upper bill was recently spottedat Mankavu near Kozhikode in Kerala (11015N and 75046E

altitude 50 feet) (Internet Ref1) The bird was photographedby Dr TV Sajeev an entomologist of the Kerala ForestResearch Institute

Bengaluru Karnataka

Prof Ulhas Rane (Moderator Maharashtra pakshimitra webgroup) informed the author (RK) on 22nd July 2009 that hesaw a House Crow with a broken leg hopping on pavementnear a shop in Indira Nagar in Bengaluru Karnataka (12058Nand 77035E altitude 2993 feet) It was perhaps looking forsome food On closer observation it was noticed that thecrow had a deformed and hooked bill as described earlier

Dehra Dun Uttarakhand

Mr Prateek Panwar informed that he saw a Jungle Crowon 23rd July 2009 with a hooked bill drinking water from thebird bath at his house in Dehra Dun Uttarakhand (30020Nand 78002E altitude 2261 feet) at about 730 am and when

he returned with a camera it had fled In June 2009 also hesighted a House Crow with a hooked bill at his friendshouse in Dehra Dun in Uttarakhand This particular HouseCrow was seen for quite some days in the same campus

Mr Jafar Palot senior scientific assistant of the ZoologicalSurvey of India Western Ghats Field Research StationKozhikode has also spotted such crows (Internet Ref1)

Ms Kiran Poonacha informed the author (RK) on 25th June2009 that she had sighted a Greater Coucal (Centropussinensis) with a similar elongated and downcurved bill

Discussion

There are many published references of bill deformities inthe corvids as well as other bird species belonging to varioustaxa The important one include Allard 1930 Arendt ampArendt 1986 Barlow 1967 Brown 1976 Carothers ampBalda 1970 Craves 1994 Easterla amp Todd 1971 Easterlaamp Wauer 1972 Flanigan 1976 Fox 1952 Gochfeld 1972Goertz amp Mowbray 1969 Hicks 1934 Hodges 1952Johnson 1929 Morton 1963 Mutchler 1976 Parkes 1969Pomeroy 1962 Prescott 1968 Riggins amp Riggins 1976Sharp amp Neill 1979 Steffee 1968 Taylor amp Anderson 1972and Thompson amp Terkanian 1991

The majority of deformities included elongated anddowncurved maxilla and crossed bills Notably most of thereferences are from the North American countries and Europe

Large numbers of wild birds are developing gross billdeformities and the cause is still a mystery More than 2500birds of 102 species exhibiting maxillary and mandibularovergrowth of the keratin layer with varying degrees ofabnormal curvature and crossing have been documentedParrids corvids and raptors are the most frequently reportedbirds with such deformities but a wide variety of other taxaare also afflicted The reports have been concentrated inAlaska and the Pacific Northwest although birds withsimilarly deformed bills have been reported from across NorthAmerica and Europe

Bill deformities cause difficulties in feeding and preeningresulting in increased rates of mortality Deformities affectboth males and females but prevalence appears higheramong adults Testing of Black-capped Chickadees thespecies with the highest reported rate has revealed noevidence yet of disease parasites or contaminants (InternetRef 1)

According to Craves (1994) possible reasons for bill

deformities include genetic or developmental causes injuryor disease Several researchers (Fox 1952 Pomeroy 1962Sharp amp Neill 1979) could not produce conclusive evidenceto support any of these causes In fact some evidenceseems contradictory For example if bill deformity weregenetic in nature some abnormality in bony structure mightbe expected Yet typically the abnormality was due to theexcessive growth of the dermotheca and rhamphotheca theunderlying bony structure was normal (Thompson andTerkanian 1991 Fox 1952 Taylor and Anderson 1972Easterla amp Todd 1971) Bill deformities due to injuries mightbe expected to produce scars on the underlying bonystructure but again bone has appeared normal Additionallyif injury was the cause then uniform correlated growth toeach mandible would not be expected (Fox 1952)

The idea that bill deformities may be due to chemicalpollutants such as pesticides is worth exploring Birds suchas gulls cormorants and some raptors with malformitiesstemming from chemicals are well-documented The dietaryhabits of these birds high on food chains make themrecipients of concentrating environmental mutagens apossible cause for deformities Since passerines tend to belower in the food chain the possible connection betweenenvironmental causes and bill deformities is not as strong

Still some researchers have offered chemical pollutants asa potential explanation for bill deformities in the birds theystudied Sharp and Neill (1979) felt that the deformities theyfound among blackbirds may have resulted from avicidalchemicals Brown (1976) also mentioned this possibility asthe cause of the numerous deformed BrownThrashers (Toxostoma rufum) in central Florida a prime

agricultural area The high incidence of specimens of Brown


Thrashers from the late 1960s to the early 1970s the era ofwidespread DDT use also lends credence to this theory

Gochfeld (1972) urged monitoring of bill deformities to detectif the incidence of and distribution of defects was changedespecially considering the potential mutagenic teratogenicand carcinogenic effects of chemical pollutants Yet fewerreports of birds with deformed bills are appearing in theliterature whether this is due to a real decline in occurrenceor a lack of interest in reporting is not known

Gochfeld (1972) feels that bill deformity rates may vary Birdbanders keeping appropriate records can provide basic dataon frequency of deformities Changes in the frequency ordegree of morphological deformities suggest concerns forcloser looks for possible causes It may be worthwhile tosecure blood and tissue samples from badly deformed birdsfor analysis since it is likely that these birds would notsurvive in the wild

Alaska Science Centre is working on bill deformities in birdsin Alaska The organisation has maintained a website onthe subject (Internet Reference-3) It mentions although

we do not yet know what is responsible for the bill deformitiesobserved in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest there areseveral possible causes to consider In general bill

deformities may be influenced by contaminants nutritional

deficiencies disease parasites blunt trauma or genetic

abnormalities We tested for contaminants disease and

parasites We also examined genetic components to

determine if deformities are heritable or result from geneticabnormalities We have some evidence for environmental

contaminants as a possible causative factor but moreresearch is needed Possible nutritional deficiencies also

deserve further study

As far as the observations in India are concerned it seemsthat the long beak syndrome or the bill deformities are

reported from places wide apart (as much as HimachalPradesh and Sikkim to Kerala) throughout India Billdeformities probably have not been reported previously inIndian birds (Burg et al 1994) All the corvids mentioned inthe present paper did not share similar habitat or feed onsimilar diet But most of them were feeding on the carrionHence the probability of all the corvids mentioned in the papereating contaminated food seems remote Considering thefact that bill deformities reported and studied around the worlddid not yield any conclusive evidence or the cause the authorsfeel that further study only can determine the causes of thebill deformities in the corvids being reported here

Conclusions

At present we do not know the exact cause of bill deformitiesin the corvids being reported here However it seems thatthe bill deformities are more common and needs to beobserved by more birdwatchers The authors feel and requestthe birders in India to look at all the common birds likeHouse Crows for deformities Further studies are requiredto understand the causes and significance of the billdeformities in the corvids

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Mr Amol Khante of the CAC All-Rounder Nagpurand Kshitij Sahani for providing the photographs of the Yellow-billed Blue Magpie Thanks to Mr Pravin J (Kerala) forproviding valuable information Thanks to the following birdersMr Gopal Thosar Mr Anuj Kale Mr R V BalasubramanianMr Prasanth Narayanan Dr TV Sajeev Ms KiranPoonacha Mr Jose Louies Prof Ulhas Rane and MrPrateek Panwar for sharing their observations with theauthors

Internet References

1httpwwwpdxbirds08orgviewabstract2aspAbstractID=4944 asaccessed on 16th June 2009

2httpwwwthehinducom20090827stories2009082761650400htmas accessed on 6th September 2009

3httpalaskausgsgovsciencebiologylandbirdsbeak_deformitywhats_nexthtml

ReferencesAli S amp Ripley S D (1987) Compact Handbook of the Birds of Indian

and Pakistan Second Edition Oxford University Press Vol4 pp94-95

Allard HA (1930) Beak deformity in a catbird Auk 4793

Arendt WJ and AI Arendt (1986) Beak deformity in a Pearly-eyedThrasher from Montserrat West Indies N Am Bird Bander 1151-

52

Barlow JC (1967) A beak deformity in a European Tree Sparrow CanJ Zool 45889-891

Brown L N (1976) Prevalence of beak abnormalities in Florida BrownThrashers Florida Field Natur 411-13

Burg CG Beehler BM and Ripley S D (1994) Ornithology of theIndian Subcontinent 1872-1992 An annotated Bibliography NationalMuseum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution Washington DC

Carothers SW and RP Balda (1970) Abnormal beak of AwesternMeadowlark Sturnella n neglecta Auk 87173-174

Craves JA (1994) Passerines with deformed beaks North AmericanBird Bander 19(1)14-18

Easterla DA and JM Todd (1971) Beak deformity in a Yellow-headedBlackbird Auk 88677-678

Easterla DA and RH Wauer (1972) Bronzed Cowbird in west Texasand two beak abnormalities Southwestern Natur 17293-295

Flanigan A B (1976) A mutant Common Yellowthroat and other specieswith abnormalities banded at an Ohio banding station in 1975 inlandBird Banding News 4845-48

Fox W (1952) Behavioral and evolutionary significance of the abnormal

growth of beaks of birds Condor 54160-162

Gochfeld M (1972) Avian abnormalities and the scientificliterature Amer Birds 26705

Goertz J W amp E E Mowbray (1969) Brown Thrasher with a beakdeformity Southwestern Natur 14254-255

Hicks LE (1934) Individual and sexual variations in the EuropeanStarling Bird-Banding 5103-118

Hodges J (1952) Two nestling robins with abnormal

beaks Condor 54359

JohnsonCE (1929) Beak deformity in a Blue Jay Auk 46241-242

Morton E S (1963) A partial albino Red-winged Blackbird with adeformed beak Wilson Bull 75 281


Mutchler T M (1976) Common Grackle with malformed beak N AmBird Bander 1145

ParkesK C (1969) On abnormally crossed mandibles in birds WilsonBull 81342

Pomeroy DE (1962) Birds with abnormal beaks Brit Birds 5549-72

Prescott KW (1968) Beak deformity in a Brown Thrasher Bird-Banding 39134

Riggins J N and H Riggins (1976) Common Yellowthroat with beakdeformity Inland Bird-Banding News 4822

Sharp M S and R L Neill (1979) Physical deformities in a population ofwintering black birds Condor 81427-430

Steffee ND (1968) Numbers of deformed BrownThrashers (Toxostoma rufum) reported from scattered

locations Florida Natur 41126-127Taylor W K and B H Anderson (1972) Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma

rufum) with a beak abnormality in Seminole County FloridaNatur 45129

Thompson C W and B A Terkanian (1991) Abnormally long beak in ayoung Curve-beaked Thrasher J Field Omithol 62157-161

1 House Crow with elongated and down curved billPhoto by Aditya Joshi

2 Two House Crows with hooked billsPhoto by Raju Kasambe

3 Large-billed Crow with elongated and down curved billPhoto by Sathyan Meppayur

4 Yellow-billed Blue Magpie with a crossed billPhoto by Kshitij Sahani

Enroll a FriendIf every Newsletter Member could enrol

just one new member our reachand linkage would be doubled immediately

Will you Help Please give the membership form

to a friend and urge himher to join

Front Cover A Portfolio of Wetland Birds- 1 AsianOpenbill Stork (Anastomus oscitans) 2 Black Ibis(Pseudibis papillosa) 3 Painted Stork (Mycterialeucocephala) 4 Oriental White Ibis (Threskiornismelanocephalus) 5 Great Stone Plover (Esacusrecurvirostris) All photographs by Ashish Parmer


HELP THE BIRDS-2010 by KARTIK SHASTRIBirdConservation Society Gujarat-Vulture Cell AssistantCoordinator Ahmedabad Gujarat India Mo 098240-

2 5 0 4 5 E m a i l k a r t i k g y p s g m a i l c o m

kartikshastrihotmailcom

During Kite-flying festival (14th-15th January) thousands of birds

fall victim to the sharp glass powder coated maanja withinjuries on their wings or just about anywhere bleeding themto death This festival is one of the most unfortunate manmade disasters for the avian community of our city Morethan 850 birds get cut every year in Ahmedabad (India) alone

The kite strings are so sharp that it sometimes chop off thewhole wing The festival is round the corner and we need toprepare ourselves to save as many lives as we can

HTB 2010 is coming up HTB (Help the Birds) campaign isorganized every year in Ahmedabad by many NGOs with

forest department Wildlife Rescue Center during the Kite-flying festival (Uttarayan) as an effort to save the injuredbirds from certain death and giving them a survival chanceOur primary focus will be birds of endangered speciesespecially White-rumped Vultures Who will want to savethese precious birds YOU can be one of them We needyour involvement to make this campaign a success Thereare several ways in which you can help even if you are notcomfortable with working hands on with injured birds Apartfrom rescue we will need volunteers for attending rescuephone calls documentation educationawarenessprograms helping vets in the operation theater transfer ofbirds transportation of injured birds data collection donationand much more All of this work is extremely important for

the campaign This is your chance to help the urban birdlife Every one of us can make a big difference in savinglives of the innocent feathered friends Let us all join handsand try to help them in whichever way we can We wantveterinary doctors Birds helpline no80000015008000001600 8000002345 9924112200 9624123124

e e e e e

FORAGING BEHAVIOUR OF CATTLE EGRET IN ANUNUSUAL HABITAT by ANITA DEVASAHAYAM and SDEVASAHAYAM Akshaya Maloorkunnu Cross RoadMarikunnu P O Calicut-673 012 Kerala

While waiting to board a train at Calicut (Kerala) railwaystation on 12 May 2009 at about 630 pm we witnessed anunusual foraging behaviour of the cattle egret (Bubulcusibis) A single individual was observed stalking insectsbeneath the railway lines and sleepers close to the busyplatform No 1 for about 15 minutes un-mindful of the dinand bustle before it flew away due to the arrival of an in-coming train Cattle egrets are typically found in grassyhabitats more often accompanying cattle while foragingreflecting its dietary preference for terrestrial insects But

CORRESPONDENCEthis unusual site of foraging made us wonder whether itwas the shrinking natural habitat or non-availability of grazingcattle which made this individual to forage for insects inthis unusual habitat

SIGHTING RECORD OF WHITE STORK (Ciconiaciconia) IN VIDARBHA MAHARASHTRA by RAJUKASAMBE ROHIT CHAKRAVARTY PADMAKAR LADand UDAYAN DHARMADHIKARI G-1 Laxmi Apartments64 Vidya Vihar Colony Pratap Nagar Nagpur-440022

During a birdwatching trip to Malkhed reservoir near SawangaVithoba village in Amravati district of Maharashtra on 27th

April 2008 Padmakar Lad Dr Vijay Ingole and Mr P SHirurkar saw a large stork bigger than an Asian Openbill(Anastomus oscitans) It was standing silently in the marshyarea of the backwaters It was white and had black flightfeathers red bill and red legs The tail was white It wasphotographed and then identified as White Stork (Ciconiaciconia) The Malkhed reservoir is located at 20050N and

77054 E and the elevation is 1109 feet above sea level

According to Ali and Ripley (1987) it is a winter visitor toIndia It is found in smaller numbers east and south in theGangetic Plain (Uttar Pradesh Bihar Orissa West Bengal)Assam East Pakistan (Bangladesh) Madhya PradeshGujarat Rajasthan Maharashtra (It is found) decreasinglysouth through Deccan (Andhra Madras Mysore)

Grimmett et al (2000) has shown only few sightings ofWhite Stork in Maharashtra and south of Maharashtra inthe peninsular India in the Pocket Guide

Recently one White Stork was sighted at Dhebewadi inSatara district of Maharashtra on 2nd March 2005 (Pandeet al 2007) and one stork was sighted on all the threevisits at Dive in Pune district of Maharshtra on 1st and 15th

January and 13th March 2006

The White Stork also did not feature in the checklist of thebirds Vidarbha and Madhya Pradesh prepared by DAbreu

(1923) It was neither sighted during the studies conductedby Raju Kasambe and Jayant Wadatkar in the PoharaMalkhed reserve forest (Kasambe amp Wadatkar 2003 amp2007)Thus it is evident that this is the first sighting andhence important sighting report of White Stork in Vidarbhapart of Maharashtra

Printed and Published bi-monthly byS Sridhar at Navbharath Enterprises

Seshadripuram Bangalore - 560 020 Indiafor Private Circulation only

Address for Correspondence Newsletter for Birdwatchers

No 10 Sirur Park B Street SeshadripuramBangalore 560 020 India

Tel 080 2356 1142 2346 4682E-mail ltnavbaratgmailcomgt

Dr AMK BharosHarish R BhatDr SP BhatnagarDr AK ChakravarthyDr Ranjan Kumar DasDr S DevasahayamBS KulkarniArvind MishraDr Geeta S Padate

Publisher S Sridhar

Editorial Board


Prof S RangaswamiK Mrutumjaya RaoAN Yellappa ReddyDr Rajiv SaxenaDr AB ShanbhagArunayan SharmaS SridharDr Abraham Verghese FRES (London)

CONTENTS Note from the Publisher

Global Warnings about Global Warming

Articles

A preliminary survey of the bird diversity along the lowermiddle reaches of the River Ganga Bihar India by R KSinha KMKhan G Sharma D K Kedia and Samir Kr Sinha

An Annotated Checklist of Birds in Baripada AreasMayurbhanj Orissa India by Satyaranjan Behera

Bill deformities in House Crows Corvus splendens Large-billed Crow C macrorhynchos and Yellow-billed Blue MagpieUrocissa flavirostris in India by Raju Kasambe Aditya Joshiamp Sathyan Meppayur

Correspondence Help the birds-2010 by Kartik Shastri

Foraging behaviour of Cattle Egret in an unusual habitat byAnita Devasahayam and S Devasahayam

Sighting record of White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) in VidarbhaMaharashtra by Raju Kasambe Rohit Chakravarty PadmakarLad and Udayan Dharmadhikari

Note from the Publisher

Dear fellow BirdwatchersGlobal Warnings about Global Warming

W hile many experts are call ing thephenomenon of global warming as an authenticated set offacts several doubting Thomas are reluctant to accept the

phenomenon on its face value Yet there is universal agreementthat the earths overall air and water temperatures are gradually

rising Climatologists are warning that no matter what iscausing this trend if it is not intercepted or halted flora andfauna of this planet will be critically affected

The prevailing counter opinion is that all that is presently

perceived to be global warming is simply the result of a normalclimactic swing in the direction of increased temperature andthat too much should not be read into it Obviously the

proponents of this ideology have definitive social and financialinterests in their claims Hence they are articulating theirhypothesis with questionable mathematical models of climatechange overlooking the key factors

For example a group of skeptics met in the Danish capitalduring the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen tocounterbalance the main event and laid down the gauntlet tothe intergovernmental panel on climate change saying that ifthe world is warming because of manmade factors if theglaciers are melting and the sea level is going to rise then

prove it using the science you have come up with and we willcounter it with our science It was obvious that the purpose of

the said forum was to reach a political agreement to cut global

emissions on greenhouse gas by 2020 The major sticky pointwas the role of the poor countries and how they could purchasethe new technologies needed to cut emissions A professor ofGeology from the University of Western Australia who focusedon ice caps and glaciers came to Copenhagen to have his sayon the connection between glaciers and the rising sea levelHe said The whole mechanism of glacial flow has nothing to

do with the rising temperature or carbon dioxide

Commenting about the deal itself senior politicians andcampaigners either dubbed the deal as the first steps towards

a low-carbon future or as a toothless declaration A couple of

comments made during the conference to frustrate the naturalethos of climate change at Copenhagen are herein quoted

A top climate change envoy from America said We have an

accord that is lumbering down the runway and we need it toget enough speed so it can take off In his view the summit

had already been compromised by a lack of real progress ofnegotiations conducted within the formal UN structure The

reality is that the formal negotiating process simply had notmade significant progress on the key issues including settingemissions targets mobilizing a climate fund technologytransfer and transparency and we came within a hairs breadth

of collapse he added

An expert of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

admitted We need to be clear that it is a letter of intent and is

not precise about what needs to be done in legal terms So thechallenge is now to turn what we have agreed politically inCopenhagen into something real measurable and verifiable

The Chairman of the G77 group of 130 poor countries said[This] is asking Africa to sign a suicide pact an incineration

pact in order to maintain the economic dependence of a fewcountries Its a solution based on values that funnelled six

million people in Europe into furnaces According to a WWF

spokesman Well-meant but half-hearted pledges to protect

our planet from dangerous climate change are simply notsufficient to address a crisis that calls for completely new waysof collaboration across rich and poor countries Millions of liveshundreds of billions of dollars and a wealth of lost opportunitieslie in the difference between rhetoric and reality on climatechange action

An official of the Friends of the Earth criticized the deal as This

toothless declaration that the US is spinning as a success is asham this agreement won t stop a two degree rise in

temperature and as it stands condemns millions of the worldspoorest people to hunger suffering and loss of life as climatechange accelerates We need a profound change of approachfrom the worlds wealthiest countries to secure a genuine

strong and fair agreement No more green washing and nomore empty promises

While ornithologists are mourning the farewell exodus of keyavian species from vital habitats the strenuous task andmechanism of containing the global warming trend is beingdebated endlessly by granite faced political bosses The needof the hour is a superhuman effort but at any rate a coordinatedaction is likely to elude the United Nations FrameworkConvention on Climate Change for years to come

Thanking you

Yours in Bird Conservation

S Sridhar Publisher NLBW





Study area













Introduction




Survey













Table 1














4 Family Anhingidae


5 Family Ardeidae











6 Family Ciconiidae













8Dendrocygnidae






















11 Family Rallidae




12 Family Jacanidae


































16 Family Laridae

































22Family Tytonidae


23 Family Strigidae


24 Family Corvidae









27 Family Picidae





29 Family Meropidae


30 Family Cuculidae







32 Family Upupidae











36 Family Oriolidae



37 Family Irenidae













41 Family Apodidae























Table 2



















References








Acknowledgements













River Bank = 6

Mud Flat = 7


Table 3






















Methods








Introduction









Acknowledgement


References










Table 1






































































































































Pardi area Nagpur









Kolkata West Bengal










Sangli Maharashtra



Noida Uttar Pradesh





Kottayam Kerala







Palakkad Kerala



Kozhikode Kerala



Bengaluru Karnataka







Discussion

























Conclusions


Acknowledgements


Internet References








52















beaks Condor 54359

































e e e e e























Study area













Introduction




Survey













Table 1














4 Family Anhingidae


5 Family Ardeidae











6 Family Ciconiidae













8Dendrocygnidae






















11 Family Rallidae




12 Family Jacanidae


































16 Family Laridae

































22Family Tytonidae


23 Family Strigidae


24 Family Corvidae









27 Family Picidae





29 Family Meropidae


30 Family Cuculidae







32 Family Upupidae











36 Family Oriolidae



37 Family Irenidae













41 Family Apodidae























Table 2



















References








Acknowledgements













River Bank = 6

Mud Flat = 7


Table 3






















Methods








Introduction









Acknowledgement


References










Table 1






































































































































Pardi area Nagpur









Kolkata West Bengal










Sangli Maharashtra



Noida Uttar Pradesh





Kottayam Kerala







Palakkad Kerala



Kozhikode Kerala



Bengaluru Karnataka







Discussion

























Conclusions


Acknowledgements


Internet References








52















beaks Condor 54359

































e e e e e




















Survey













Table 1














4 Family Anhingidae


5 Family Ardeidae











6 Family Ciconiidae













8Dendrocygnidae






















11 Family Rallidae




12 Family Jacanidae


































16 Family Laridae

































22Family Tytonidae


23 Family Strigidae


24 Family Corvidae









27 Family Picidae





29 Family Meropidae


30 Family Cuculidae







32 Family Upupidae











36 Family Oriolidae



37 Family Irenidae













41 Family Apodidae























Table 2



















References








Acknowledgements













River Bank = 6

Mud Flat = 7


Table 3






















Methods








Introduction









Acknowledgement


References










Table 1






































































































































Pardi area Nagpur









Kolkata West Bengal










Sangli Maharashtra



Noida Uttar Pradesh





Kottayam Kerala







Palakkad Kerala



Kozhikode Kerala



Bengaluru Karnataka







Discussion

























Conclusions


Acknowledgements


Internet References








52















beaks Condor 54359

































e e e e e






















Table 1














4 Family Anhingidae


5 Family Ardeidae











6 Family Ciconiidae













8Dendrocygnidae






















11 Family Rallidae




12 Family Jacanidae


































16 Family Laridae

































22Family Tytonidae


23 Family Strigidae


24 Family Corvidae









27 Family Picidae





29 Family Meropidae


30 Family Cuculidae







32 Family Upupidae











36 Family Oriolidae



37 Family Irenidae













41 Family Apodidae























Table 2



















References








Acknowledgements













River Bank = 6

Mud Flat = 7


Table 3






















Methods








Introduction









Acknowledgement


References










Table 1






































































































































Pardi area Nagpur









Kolkata West Bengal










Sangli Maharashtra



Noida Uttar Pradesh





Kottayam Kerala







Palakkad Kerala



Kozhikode Kerala



Bengaluru Karnataka







Discussion

























Conclusions


Acknowledgements


Internet References








52















beaks Condor 54359

































e e e e e





























16 Family Laridae

































22Family Tytonidae


23 Family Strigidae


24 Family Corvidae









27 Family Picidae





29 Family Meropidae


30 Family Cuculidae







32 Family Upupidae











36 Family Oriolidae



37 Family Irenidae













41 Family Apodidae























Table 2



















References








Acknowledgements













River Bank = 6

Mud Flat = 7


Table 3






















Methods








Introduction









Acknowledgement


References










Table 1






































































































































Pardi area Nagpur









Kolkata West Bengal










Sangli Maharashtra



Noida Uttar Pradesh





Kottayam Kerala







Palakkad Kerala



Kozhikode Kerala



Bengaluru Karnataka







Discussion

























Conclusions


Acknowledgements


Internet References








52















beaks Condor 54359

































e e e e e






































Table 2



















References








Acknowledgements













River Bank = 6

Mud Flat = 7


Table 3






















Methods








Introduction









Acknowledgement


References










Table 1






































































































































Pardi area Nagpur









Kolkata West Bengal










Sangli Maharashtra



Noida Uttar Pradesh





Kottayam Kerala







Palakkad Kerala



Kozhikode Kerala



Bengaluru Karnataka







Discussion

























Conclusions


Acknowledgements


Internet References








52















beaks Condor 54359

































e e e e e




















Table 3






















Methods








Introduction









Acknowledgement


References










Table 1






































































































































Pardi area Nagpur









Kolkata West Bengal










Sangli Maharashtra



Noida Uttar Pradesh





Kottayam Kerala







Palakkad Kerala



Kozhikode Kerala



Bengaluru Karnataka







Discussion

























Conclusions


Acknowledgements


Internet References








52















beaks Condor 54359

































e e e e e























Acknowledgement


References










Table 1






































































































































Pardi area Nagpur









Kolkata West Bengal










Sangli Maharashtra



Noida Uttar Pradesh





Kottayam Kerala







Palakkad Kerala



Kozhikode Kerala



Bengaluru Karnataka







Discussion

























Conclusions


Acknowledgements


Internet References








52















beaks Condor 54359

































e e e e e


















































































































Pardi area Nagpur









Kolkata West Bengal










Sangli Maharashtra



Noida Uttar Pradesh





Kottayam Kerala







Palakkad Kerala



Kozhikode Kerala



Bengaluru Karnataka







Discussion

























Conclusions


Acknowledgements


Internet References








52















beaks Condor 54359

































e e e e e




















































Pardi area Nagpur









Kolkata West Bengal










Sangli Maharashtra



Noida Uttar Pradesh





Kottayam Kerala







Palakkad Kerala



Kozhikode Kerala



Bengaluru Karnataka







Discussion

























Conclusions


Acknowledgements


Internet References








52















beaks Condor 54359

































e e e e e


























Pardi area Nagpur









Kolkata West Bengal










Sangli Maharashtra



Noida Uttar Pradesh





Kottayam Kerala







Palakkad Kerala



Kozhikode Kerala



Bengaluru Karnataka







Discussion

























Conclusions


Acknowledgements


Internet References








52















beaks Condor 54359

































e e e e e























Palakkad Kerala



Kozhikode Kerala



Bengaluru Karnataka







Discussion

























Conclusions


Acknowledgements


Internet References








52















beaks Condor 54359

































e e e e e


































Conclusions


Acknowledgements


Internet References








52















beaks Condor 54359

































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Documents

Sept-Oct 2009