. 5 o . 10 N . 10 ol V

Wedge-tailed Shearwater Lord Derby’s Parakeet | Vol. 10 No. 5 10 | Vol. Brambling Indian B i rds Contents 113 First record, and recovery of Wedge-tailed Shearwater Ardenna pacifica from the Andaman Islands, India S. Rajeshkumar, C. Raghunathan & N. P. Abdul Aziz

115 A compilation of frigatebird sightings from 2014, including Christmas Indian BIRDS Island Frigatebird Fregata andrewsi www.indianbirds.in Vol. 10 No. 5 Dipu Karuthedathu, David James, Aneesh Sasidevan, Mymoon Moghul, Prasanna Parab, S. S. Davidson, Sakthi Manickam, Vijayalakshmi Rao & Date of Publication: 2 November 2015 Vineeth M. ISSN 0973-1407 118 Notes on breeding of Ashy Prinia Prinia socialis in Gujarat, India Editor: Aasheesh Pittie Raju Vyas & Kartik Upadhyay [email protected] 121 White-winged Duck Asarcornis scutulata in Hollongapar Gibbon Associate Editors: V. Santharam, Praveen J. Sanctuary, Assam, India Narayan Sharma, Samrat Sengupta, Dilip Boruah, Noren Bhuyan, Editorial Board Deben Borah, Lalit Saikia & Gunin Saikia Maan Barua, Anwaruddin Choudhury Bill Harvey, Farah Ishtiaq, Rajah Jayapal Active bait-fishing in Indian Pond HeronArdeola grayii Ragupathy Kannan, Madhusudan Katti 124 R. Suresh Kumar, Taej Mundkur, Rishad Naoroji Michel Antoine Réglade, Mohammed E. Dilawar & Ulhas Anand Prasad Ganpule, Suhel Quader Sighting of Western Reef Egret Egretta gularis in Sirohi District, Rajasthan Harkirat Singh Sangha, C. Sashikumar 125 Manoj Sharma, S. Subramanya, K. S. Gopi Sundar Vivek Sharma, Rakesh Kumar Kumawat, Dinesh Meena, Divaker Yadav, Abdhesh Kumar, Naresh Kumar Kumawat & K. K. Sharma

Contributing Photographers 126 Painted Storks Mycteria leucocephala breeding in Kumarakom Bird Clement Francis, Ramki Sreenivasan Sanctuary, Kerala Layout & Cover Design: K. Jayaram Shibi Moses Office: P. Rambabu 128 Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus with unusual symmetrically pale claws Nirav Bhatt & Prasad Ganpule

New Ornis Foundation 129 Migrating flock of Oriental Honey BuzzardPernis ptilorhynchus at the Registration No. 314/2004 Indo-Bhutan border Sachin P. Ranade & Vibhu Prakash Founder Trustees Zafar Futehally (1920–2013) 130 Lord Derby’s Parakeet Psittacula derbiana nesting at Meshai, Aasheesh Pittie, V. Santharam Anjaw District, Arunachal Pradesh Praveen J., Atanu Mondal, Dipu Karuthedathu, Sachin Shurpali & Trustees Vinay Das Aasheesh Pittie, V. Santharam, Rishad Naoroji, Taej Mundkur, S. Subramanya, Oriental Pied Hornbill Anthracocerus albirostris, and Indian Pitta Pitta Suhel Quader, Praveen J. 132 brachyura in Delhi, India Yasser Arafat, M. Shah Hussain & Aisha Sultana Aims & Objectives • To publish a newsletter that will provide a platform to birdwatchers for publishing notes and observations 133 A futile nesting attempt by endemic Wynaad Laughing-thrush primarily on birds of South Asia. Garrulax delesserti in Silent Valley National Park, Kerala, with a comment on its altitudinal distribution • To promote awareness of birdwatching amongst the M. Divin Murukesh & Peroth Balakrishnan general public. • To establish and maintain links/liaison with other 134 First record of European Roller Coracias garrulus from Tamil Nadu associations or organized bodies in India or abroad Sarayu R. whose objectives are in keeping with the objectives of the Trust (i.e. to support amateur birdwatchers with 135 Rosy Starling Pastor roseus: A first record from Uttarakhand, India cash / kind for projects in ornithology). Raman Kumar 136 A report of Brambling Fringilla montifringilla from Mandala Road, ubscription nformation Arunachal Pradesh S I Qupeleio De Souza Type Annual 3-year Individual Rs. 300 Rs. 900 138 Sind Woodpecker Dendrocopos assimilis from Jaisalmer District, Student (up to 10th) Rs. 200 Rs. 600 Rajasthan, India Institution Rs. 800 Rs. 2,400 Anant Pande, Anirudhkumar G. Vasava, Ridhima Solanki & C. M. Bipin Foreign Individual $30 $90 Foreign Institution $85 $225 139 Letters to the Editor Snapshot sightings Please make payments favouring 140A New Ornis Foundation For online payment: Front Cover: Hooded Pitta Pitta sordida at Parmadan Bongaon http://www.indianbirds.in/subscription-india/ Photographer: Dhritiman Mukherjee Send subscriptions to: New Ornis Foundation, 2nd Flr, BBR Forum, Rd. No. 2, Back Cover: Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica at Diara wetland, West Bengal Banjara Hills, Hyderabad 500034, India. Photographer: Kallol Mukherjee Rajeshkumar et al.: Wedge-tailed Shearwater 113

First record, and recovery of Wedge-tailed Shearwater Ardenna pacifica from the Andaman Islands, India S. Rajeshkumar, C. Raghunathan & N. P. Abdul Aziz

Rajeshkumar, S., Raghunathan, C., & Aziz, N. P. A., 2015. First record, and recovery of Wedge-tailed Shearwater Ardenna pacifica from the Andaman Islands, India. Indian BIRDS. 10 (5): 113–114. S. Rajeshkumar, Zoological Survey of India, Andaman and Nicobar Regional Centre, Port Blair 744102, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. E-mail: [email protected] [Corresponding author.] C. Raghunathan, Zoological Survey of India, Andaman and Nicobar Regional Centre, Port Blair 744102, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. E-mail: [email protected] N. P. Abdul Aziz, Department of Environment and Forests, Andaman and Nicobar Administration, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. E-mail: [email protected] Manuscript received on 25 May 2015.

edge-tailed Shearwaters Ardenna pacifica are widely Indonesia (Poole et al. 2011). distributed, and breed throughout the tropical Pacific-, We report here the recovery of a live Wedge-tailed Shearwater Wand Indian Oceans (BirdLife International 2015). Two [93] on the Andaman Islands, in May 2015; that it later died in races are recognised: A. p. pacifica breeds in the south-eastern captivity. This is the first specimen recorded for India. Remarkably, part of the northern Pacific Ocean, andA. p. chlororhyncha breeds all the previously documented records from India were also from in the tropical, and sub-tropical Indian-, and Pacific- Oceans (del May. It could be assumed that this species is a spring passage Hoyo et al. 2014). Large breeding colonies of the species exist migrant across the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and in the on oceanic islands between latitudes 35°N and 35°S, such as Indian Ocean. the Chagos Archipelago, Mauritius, Seychelles (Kappes et al. On 19 May 2015, at 0630 hrs, M. Dhanamjaya of the 2013), islets off Morombe in Madagascar (Cooper et al. 1984), Department of Environment and Forest, collected a single live West Island off the Kimberley coast (Clarke et al. 2011), Cocos bird near a wetland at Buniyadabad (11.67ºN, 92.70ºE) near the (Keeling) Island of Australia (Bull 2006), the western coast Indian Naval Warf at Haddo, South Andaman Island. The bird was of Mexico, Hawaiian Islands (Munro 1971; Whittow & Causey alive, but unable to fly, and inactive. It was kept in captivity, under 1997) and, California (Stallcup et al. 1988). It has been a regular care and observation at the Mini Zoo, Haddo, on the first day. It non-breeding migrant, usually in spring, to Sri Lanka (De Silva was fed minced fish. Next day it was sent to Veterinary Hospital, 2011), and the Maldives (Anderson 2007), and is also reported Junglighat to rule out any infection of Avian Influenza. On 21 May from Lakshadweep (Betts 1938), but the last was probably a 2015 at 0600 hrs the bird was found dead (Forest staff, verbally), Flesh-footed Shearwater Ardenna carneipes (Praveen et al. and was deposited in the repository of the Zoological Survey of 2013). However, in India, a Wedge-tailed Shearwater was first India, Port Blair (Reg. No. 3583). photographed off Kannur, Kerala (Praveen et al. 2011). A second The bird was identified using field guides (Grimmettet al. photographic record was made recently in the Arabian Sea, off the 2011; Rasmussen & Anderton 2012). Photographs [93, 94], Kerala coast, by Praveen et al. (2015). Apart from these, there and biometric measurements (Table 1) of the bird were taken have been a few sight records of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters from and compared with the other species based on Rasmussen & Indian Territory (Praveen et al. 2013). According to Ryan et al. Anderton (2012); these are given in Table 2. This is also the (2013), Jouanin’s Petrel Bulweria fallax was common during first instance that a shearwater (Procellariidae) has been reported the south-western monsoon, and also Wedge-tailed Shearwater from the Andaman Islands. is photographed in May 2012 during a research cruise in the Wedge-tailed Shearwater is noticeably large, and occurs in Bay of Bengal. This vagrant species was also reported from near two morphs—dark, and pale. The identity of the specimen was further confirmed by the following characters and measurements. The bird had a small head with long neck, dark eyes. The crown, chin, throat, breast, belly, and flanks were grayish-brown, which colour extended over its entire body. The beak was hooked and ended in a pointed tip, dark in colour, and ‘tube-nosed’ nostrils were located at the base of the beak. The latericorn (a part of the upper mandible) is long and pointed, the mandibular unguis (the nail at the tip of the lower mandible) is thick at the tip, the base is also tapered; the maxillary unguis (the nail at the tip of the upper mandible) is a large protrusion over the beak. Its legs were a pale pinkish, and had three webbed toes, with pale claws; a fourth claw was present at the end of the tarsus. There were no hind toes. Wing coverts contrasted strongly with the dark

Photo: S. Rajeshkumar flight feathers; ten primaries that reached the tip of the tail. When 93. Recovered Wedge-tailed Shearwater from the South Andaman on 19 May 2015. fanned, tail is wedge-shaped with 12 primary upper tail coverts 114 Indian Birds Vol. 10 No. 5 (Publ. 2 November 2015)

does not show the typical Sooty Shearwater’s A. grisea obvious white feathering on the underwing coverts. The length of its tail (Table 2) eliminates the much smaller Short-tailed Shearwater A. tenuirostris. Hence, the plumage details, and biometrics described above clearly matched with the dark morph of Wedge- tailed Shearwater. Seabirds were poorly studied in Andaman and Nicobar Islands; hence it is possible that Wedge-tailed Shearwater could occur in Andaman and Nicobar Islands during spring migration.

Acknowledgements We are grateful to the Director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkatta for support and encouragement. The help rendered by Dhanamjaya, T. Rajesh Kumar, Abdul Razak, and Lakshmanan, Mini Zoo, Haddo, is sincerely acknowledged for studying this specimen. We thank Praveen J., for a critical review, comments, and suggestions to improving an earlier draft of this manuscript.

References Anderson, R. C., 2007. New records of birds from the Maldives. Forktail 23 (August): 135–144. Betts, F. N., 1938. The birds of the Laccadive Islands. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 40 (3): 382–387. BirdLife International. 2014. BirdLife International Species factsheet: Ardenna pacifica. Website: http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/home. [Accessed on 20 May 2015.] Bull, L. S., 2006. Influence of migratory behaviour on the morphology and breeding biology of Puffinus shearwaters. Marine Ornithology 34: 25–31. Clarke, R. H., Carter, M., Swann, G., & Thomson, J., 2011. The status of breeding seabirds and herons at Ashmore Reef, off the Kimberley coast, Australia, Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 94: 365–376. Cooper, J., Williams A. J., & Britton, P. L., 1984. Distribution, population sizes and conservation of breeding seabirds in the afrotropical region. Pp. 403–419. In: Croxall, J. P., Evans, P. G. H., & Schreiber, R. W., (ed.). Status and conservation of Photos: S. Rajeshkumar the World’s seabirds. ICBP Tech. Publ. No. 2. Cambridge, England. 94. Wedge-tailed Shearwater: Showing bill, tail, dorsal and ventral views. De Silva, R. I., 2011. Observing oceanic birds in Sri Lanka. Indian BIRDS 7 (3): 58–62. Del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E., 2014. Handbook of the and 11 under tail coverts. Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. We compared its biometrics (Table 2), total length, tail length, Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. and head length with all relevant species; they matched with London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528. those of a Wedge-tailed Shearwater rather than any other regional Kappes, M. A., Coustaut, K., & Le Corre, M., 2013. Census of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters shearwater or petrels. Compared to a Flesh-footed Shearwater, Puffinus pacificus breeding at D’Arros Island and St Joseph Atoll, Seychelles. Marine Ornithology 41: 29–34. the long thin dark bill (vs. heavy pale bill), and a noticeably longer Munro, G. C., 1971. Birds of Hawaii. Revised ed. Charles, E. Tuttle Co. Inc.: Tokyo. wedge-shaped tail with the folded wing tip reaching its tip (vs. tail Poole, C., Brickle, N., & Bakewell, D., 2011. South-East Asia’s final frontier? BirdingASIA falling short of wing tips when 16: 26–31. Table 1. Morphometrics of Wedge- folded), and long protruding Praveen E. S., Das, S., & Dilip K. G., 2015. Sighting of Short-tailed Shearwater Ardenna tailed Shearwater (ZSI/ANRC/3583) neck (vs. thick short neck) tenuirostris, and Wedge-tailed Shearwater Ardenna pacifica from the Arabian Length 360 mm eliminate that species. At sea, Sea, off Ponnani, Kerala. Indian BIRDS 10 (1): 26–27. Head 88 mm Jouanin’s Petrels resemble Praveen J., Karuthedathu, D., Palot, M. J., Prince, M., & Meppayur, S., 2011. Significant Iris 10 mm Wedge-tailed Shearwaters pelagic bird sightings from off-shore waters of the Malabar coast, southern India. Wingspan 840 mm Indian BIRDS 7 (3): 66–69. Wing 272 mm however that species has a Praveen J., Jayapal, R., & Pittie, A., 2013. Notes on Indian rarities—1: Seabirds. Indian Culmen 38 mm dark, bulky, and stubby beak BIRDS 8 (5): 113–125. Bill depth 18 mm (vs. long thin beak). Bulwer’s Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2nd Tail 138 mm Petrel Bulweria bulwerii, ed. Washington, D. C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. 2 Tarsus 55 mm another all-dark tube-nose vols. Pp. 1–378; 1–683. Outer toe 54 mm Ryan, P. G., Rose, B., Carter, M., & Clarke, R. H., 2013. A review of Jouanin’s Petrel records Middle toe 52 mm possible in our regional waters, is much smaller than in the eastern Indian Ocean, Ostrich 84 (2): 161–164. Inner toe 45 mm Stallcup, R., Morlan, J., & Roberson, D., 1988. First Record of the Wedge-tailed Shearwater Body mass 180 g our bird and can be easily in California, Western Birds 19: 61–68. eliminated on size. Our bird Whittow, G., & Causey., 1997. Wedge-tailed Table 2. Morphometric comparison of Wedge-tailed Shearwater with other Procellariidae of South Asia Shearwater (Puffinus pacificus), The Birds of (Rasmussen & Anderton 2012) North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Biometrics Andaman Jouanin’s Bulwer’s Sooty Flesh-footed Short-tailed Wedge-tailed Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from (mm) specimen Petrel Petrel Shearwater Shearwater Shearwater Shearwater the Birds of North America Online: http:// Length 360 270–280 250 360–370 395–415 305–325 360–390 bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/305 Head 88 62–70 51 99 98–100 76–79 86–89 doi:10.2173/bna.305. [Accessed on 20 May Tail 138 118–125 107 84–100 110–120 80–90 125–135 2015.] Karuthedathu et al.: Frigatebirds 115

A compilation of frigatebird sightings from 2014, including Christmas Island Frigatebird Fregata andrewsi Dipu Karuthedathu, David James, Aneesh Sasidevan, Mymoon Moghul, Prasanna Parab, S. S. Davidson, Sakthi Manickam, Vijayalakshmi Rao & Vineeth M.

Karuthedathu, D., James, D., Sasidevan, A., Moghul, M., Parab, P., Davidson, S. S., Manickam, S., Rao, V., & Vineeth M. 2015. A compilation of frigatebird sightings from 2014, including Christmas Island Frigatebird Fregata andrewsi. Indian BIRDS 10 (5): 115–118. Dipu Karuthedathu, #301, Jaya Emerald, Maruthinagar, Bengaluru 560075, Karnataka, India. Email: [email protected] [DK] David James, 73 Pozieres Ave Milperra, NSW 2214, Australia. Email: [email protected] [DJ] Aneesh Sasidevan, Karthika (H), Pamala, Kunnamthanam PO, Mallappally 689581, Kerala, India. Email: [email protected] [AS] Mymoon Moghul, New No. 10, 4th Street, Sevanagar, Velachery, Chennai, 600042, Tamil Nadu, India. Email: [email protected] [MM] Prasanna Parab, E692, Gogol, Housing Board, Margao, Salcete 403601, Goa, India. Email: [email protected] [PP] S. S. Davidson, 23, Cave Street, Duthie School Road, Nagercoil, Kanyakumari 629001, Tamil Nadu, India. Email: [email protected] [SSD] Sakthi Manickam, 25 A, South Raja Street, Tuticorin 628001, Tamil Nadu, India. Email: [email protected] [SM] Vijalayalkshmi Rao, Muddahalli, Navilur Post, Nanjangd Taluk, Mysore 571118, Karnataka, India. Email: [email protected] [VR] Vineeth M., 13/4, SBM Colony, Srirampura 2nd Stage, Mysore 570023, Karnataka, India. Email: [email protected] [VM] Manuscript received on 11 July 2015.

mall numbers of frigatebirds have been regularly reported Identification from Indian coasts every year during the south-west • The buffy head with black breast band indicate it is a first- Smonsoon. Most of these reports are of birds that have been year bird. blown towards the land by strong monsoon winds (Sashikumar • The belly patch is broadly rounded to squared at the et al. 2011; Rasmussen & Anderton 2012). Many of these birds posterior end. have been identified either as Lesser FrigatebirdFregata ariel, or • The belly patch has a pointed anterior resulting in breast Great Frigatebird F. minor. Though there have been a few reports band forming two convex arcs on either side. of Christmas Island Frigatebird F. andrewsi, all of these are not • Prominent square-ended axillary spurs originating from the sufficiently substantiated to be considered definite (Praveen sides and pointing forwards. et al. 2013). The only record, according to Praveen et al. (2013), • The inner wings look relatively broad, flaring at the tertials. was a specimen in the collections of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Kolkata that has been subsequently identified as a Great Frigatebird (Maheswaran & Alam 2014). While Great-, and Lesser Frigatebirds are more widespread, and treated by IUCN as of ‘Least Concern’, Christmas Island Frigatebird has a breeding range confined to Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, and is a ‘Critically Endangered’ species. This note describes seven frigatebird sightings from the Indian coast during the 2014 south-west monsoon season, summarised in the table below:

Details of sightings 1. Christmas Island Frigatebird from Ankola,

Karnataka on 27 July 2014. M. Vineeth Photo: This bird was spotted by VM at the fishing village of Belambar, Ankola (14.64ºN, 74.29ºE), Karnataka. The bird was sighted around 0630 hrs just after heavy winds and rains. It was observed chasing Brahminy Kites Haliastur indus. The bird was seen in the area for around three–four minutes. 95. Juvenile Christmas Island Frigatebird.

Table 1. Frigatebird sightings from the Indian coast during the 2014 south-west monsoon Date Place Species Reporter 27 July 2014 Ankola, Karnataka Christmas Island Frigatebird Vineeth M 28 July 2014 Chennai, Tamilnadu (Presumed) Lesser Frigatebird Mymoon Moghul, A Rajaram 03 August 2014 Canaguinim, Goa Lesser Frigatebird Prasanna Parab 06 August 2014 Udupi, Karnataka Christmas Island Frigatebird Vijayalakshmi Rao 17 August 2014 Alappuzha, Kerala Christmas Island Frigatebird Aneesh Sasidevan 27 August 2014 Rameswaram, Tamilnadu Christmas Island Frigatebird Sakthi Manickam 04 September 2014 Kanyakumari, Tamilnadu Christmas Island Frigatebird S. S. Davidson 116 Indian Birds Vol. 10 No. 5 (Publ. 2 November 2015)

• Relatively large in size (compare the wing length with the length of the kite in [95] The last five points together suggest this bird to be a Christmas Island Frigatebird.

2. (Presumed) Lesser Frigatebird from Chennai on 28 July 2014. This lone bird was spotted by A. Rajaram, and MM at Chennai, Tamilnadu (13.04ºN, 80.28ºE). It was seen flying in the morning

from north to south along Marina beach [96]. The sighting was Parab Prasanna Photo: for just about a minute.

Identification • Structure, including the long wings, beak, and tail confirms as frigatebird. 97. Juvenile Lesser Frigatebird. • The all black body with prominent axillary spurs point to a possible adult male Lesser Frigatebird. Identification • Complete black hood, white collar, breast and belly, and a pink bill. This indicated that the bird is a female and a “near” adult. • Extensive white belly patch and breast with a few black spots. • Black breast tab. • Prominent axillary spurs pointing slightly forward and ending with a squarish tip. • Relatively longer and strong pink bill. • Relatively large in size (compared to the Brahminy Kites around), with broad inner wings. • The small black spots on the breast/belly are quite typical

Photo: A. Rajaram of Christmas Island Frigatebird, probably indicating some 96. (Presumed) Adult Lesser Frigatebird showing the white axillary spur. lingering immaturity (i.e., might be a fifth- year bird).

3. Lesser Frigatebird from Goa on 03 August 2014. The last six points suggest this bird to be a Christmas Island This bird was spotted by PP at Canaguinim (15.13ºN, 73.94ºE), Frigatebird. Goa [97]. The bird was seen at 1000 hrs; it came from a westerly direction, in from the sea, near a cape, above a cliff. At the same time, five White-bellied Sea EaglesHaliaeetus leucogaster were seen in the same area. It was cloudy and raining, but not windy. The bird was observed soaring for about 20 minutes before it disappeared, moving along the coastline.

Identification • The buffy head with black breast band indicate that it is a first-year bird.

• The black of the flanks compresses the belly patch toward the Rao Vijayalakshmi Photo: posterior, giving the patch concave sides, and a somewhat triangular shape. • Prominent axillary spurs originate from the front of the belly patch, and are long and square ended. • The bill is relatively small.

The last three points suggest this bird to be Lesser Frigatebird. 98. Female Christmas Island Frigatebird.

4. Christmas Island Frigatebird from Udupi on 5. Christmas Island Frigatebird from Alappuzha on 08 August 2014 17 August 2014 VR spotted this bird at Malpe Beach (13.36ºN, 74.69ºE), Udupi AS spotted this bird at Purakkad (9.35ºN, 76.36ºE), Alappuzha, District, Karnataka, India [98]. VR saw the bird at 0356 hrs flying Kerala [99]. When initially seen, crows Corvus species were from east towards west, i.e., from land towards the sea. At around chasing the bird. To escape, it quickly gained height, and then 0410 hrs, it was seen again, soaring with Brahminy Kites. The bird later disappeared towards the land (away from the sea). The bird disappeared towards the sea at 0413hrs. was seen in the area for about five minutes. Karuthedathu et al.: Frigatebirds 117

Identification • The buffy head with dark breast band indicate that it is a first-year bird. • The belly patch is broadly rounded at the posterior end. • The belly patch has a pointed anterior end resulting in breast band forming two convex arcs on either side. • The axillary spurs originate from flanks and are long and prominent, and angled forward.

The last three points together suggest this bird to be Christmas Manickam Sakthi Photo: Island Frigatebird.

100. Juvenile Christmas Island Frigatebird.

Grubh who followed up the sighting and identified the bird as an adult Christmas Island Frigatebird. The bird was given fish, but it refused to eat, and finally succumbed on the fourth day; it was not preserved.

Identification • The complete black head with orange-red gular pouch indicates that the bird is an adult male. • The belly appears to be white with the rest of the underbody black. Photo: Aneesh Sasidevan 99. Juvenile Christmas Island Frigatebird. These points suggest this bird to be an adult male Christmas Island Frigatebird. 6. Christmas Island Frigatebird from Rameswaram on 27 August 2014 This bird was spotted by SM at Rameswaram (9.28º N, 79.31º E), Tamilnadu [100].

Identification • The buffy head with black breast band indicates a first-year bird • The axillary spurs originate from the flanks and are long and prominent.

• The belly patch is broadly rounded to squared at the S Davidson Photo: posterior end. • The belly patch has a pointed anterior resulting in the breast- band forming two convex arcs on either side. • The bill is relatively strong. • Relatively large in size, with broader inner wings, and bulging tertials. 101. Juvenile Christmas Island Frigatebird.

The last five points together suggest this bird to be a Christmas Summary Island Frigatebird. The status of Christmas Island Frigatebird in India was unclear for a long time until Praveen et al. (2013) analysed all past records 7. Christmas Island Frigatebird from Kanyakumari on and suggested that most sight records from India were untenable in the absence of satisfactory documentation, and some of them 4 September 2014 were cases of misidentification of Great-, or Lesser Frigatebirds. A local resident found this bird in an exhausted condition at The sight record of a juvenile from the Andamans (Saxena 1994) Manavalakurichi (8.14ºN, 77.30ºE), Kanyakumari [101]. It was probably was this, but confirmation is desirable (Praveenet al. handed over to Tamil Nadu Forest Department, who’s standing 2013), as the reported photograph could not be traced. Though team in charge of rescue operations took the bird into care Praveen et al. (2013) considered the specimen of the individual for the next few days. The officials contacted SSD and Robert collected from West Bengal on 31 May 2006 as this species, 118 Indian Birds Vol. 10 No. 5 (Publ. 2 November 2015)

a subsequent analysis of the same in ZSI Kolkata museum re- Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1983. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with identified it as Great Frigatebird (Maheswaran & Alam 2014). those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Compact ed. Delhi: Oxford This note describes sight records of five different Christmas University Press. Pp. i–xlii, 1 l., pp. 1–737, 56 ll. Island Frigatebirds from locations spanning Ankola on the western Ali, S., 1964. Frigate Birds. Newsletter for Birdwatchers 4 (8): 10. Anonymous. 1981. The Christmas Island Frigate Bird. Newsletter for Birdwatchers 21 (8): coast, to Rameswaram on the eastern coast. It is interesting to 2–3. note that out of the collected sightings, the ‘Critically Endangered’ Dwarakanath, A., 1981. Christmas Island Frigate Bird seen in Karnataka. Newsletter for Christmas Island Frigatebirds are more numerous than the other Birdwatchers 21 (7): 16. two species, which is in contrast with the historical trend. The high Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. number of sightings in the same season indicates that this species London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528. may not be as rare as previously considered. The increase in the James, D. J., 2004. Identification of Christmas Island, Great and Lesser Frigatebirds. number of sightings and confirmation of species level identity in BirdingASIA 1: 22–38. recent years can be attributed to higher number of observers in Kumar P, M., & Kumar P, M., 1997. Occurrence of Christmas Frigate Bird. Newsletter for Birdwatchers 36 (6): 113–114. the field, increased accessibility to literature detailing Frigatebird Maheswaran, G., & Alam, I., 2014. What is the specific identity of the frigatebird Fregata identification, improvements in digital imaging, and ease of wide sp., in the collection of the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India? Indian BIRDS networking using e-mail, and social media. 9 (4): 97–99. Pillai, N. G., 1964. Occurrence of the Christmas Island Frigate Bird Fregata andrewsi Mathews at Ernakulam. Newsletter for Birdwatchers 4 (7): 4. Acknowledgements Prater, S. H., 1929. Occurrence of the Xmas Island Frigate-Bird Fregata andrewsi on the We would like to acknowledge Praveen J, for reviewing the draft and for overall west coast of India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 33 (2): 445–446. support and encouragement. DK also wishes to thank Neil Cheshire for helping with Praveen J., Jayapal, R., & Pittie, A., 2013. Notes on Indian rarities—1: Seabirds. Indian identification of one bird. VR would like to acknowledge the support and advice from BIRDS 8 (5): 113–125. Shivashankar M, which prompted him to look out for wind-blown pelagic birds, resulting Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2nd ed. in his sighting. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. 2 vols. Pp. 1–378; 1–683. Santharam, V., 1982. Some rare encounters. Newsletter for Birdwatchers 22 (5-6): 5–8. References Sashikumar, C., Praveen J., Palot, M. J., & Nameer, P. O., 2011. Birds of Kerala: status and Abdulali, H., 1961. The Christmas Island Frigate-Bird, Fregata andrewsi Mathews, in distribution. 1st ed. Kottayam, Kerala: DC Books. Pp. 1–835. Indian waters - a correction. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 57 Saxena, A., 1994. Sighting of Christmas Island Frigate Bird (Fregata andrewsi Mathews) (3): 667–668. in the Andamans. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 91 (1): 138.

Notes on breeding of Ashy Prinia Prinia socialis in Gujarat, India Raju Vyas & Kartik Upadhyay

Vyas, R., & Upadhyay, K., 2015. Notes on breeding of Ashy Prinia Prinia socialis in Gujarat, India. Indian BIRDS 10 (5): 118–121. Raju Vyas, 505, Krishnadeep Tower, Mission Road, Fatehgunj, Vadodara 390003, Gujarat, India. E-mail: [email protected] [Corresponding author.] Kartik Upadhyay, B-104 Premsagar Apartment, Near Rameshwar Temple, Ellora Park, Vadodara 390023, Gujarat, India. Manuscript received on 06 October 2012.

shy Prinia Prinia socialis is an insectivorous, sparrow-sized During the monsoon of 2012, we witnessed some interesting member of the Passeriformes. It is widely distributed breeding, and nesting, behaviour of the species. We did not find Athroughout the Indian Subcontinent, including areas in any record of such behaviour of Ashy Prinia in available literature. Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and western Our casual, but relevant, observations are presented here. Myanmar (Grimmett et al. 1998). Its altitudinal range is from the On 26 June 2012, we found a bird’s nest in the lush foliage mean sea level up to 1500 m in the Himalayas, and up to 2000 of RV’s office garden, which is situated in the middle of Vadodara m in southern India (Ali 2002). It is a commonly occurring species city, on the banks of Vishwamitri River, while some of the over- along forest edges, and in dry open-grasslands, open-woodlands, grown trees were being trimmed scrub, urban gardens, and agricultural landscapes. Its small size, This nest, presumably of a small-sized passerine bird, was distinctive colours, and upright tail make it easily identifiable. The unattended, and seemed to have been abandoned by it. It was northern populations of the bird have a rufous rump and back, at a height of about two metres from the ground, in a thick bush and a distinct breeding and non-breeding plumage while other of wild figs Ficus( sp.). The nest consisted of three large leaves populations lack such a variation. Its nesting season ranges from stitched together with fibers and webs, and lined with fine thin March to September, but more commonly starts immediately fibers, and twigs. Its entrance faced east, was exactly opposite after the onset of the monsoon. RV’s office window [102, 103], and therefore, easy to observe. Vyas & Upadhyay: Ashy Prinia 119

Ali and Ripley (1997) state that the Ashy Prinia also constructs a continued observing the chicks being fed, and alerted of threats similar nest of large leaves stitched together. But we presumed with alarm calls, by the parent birds. that Common Tailorbirds Orthotomus sutorius had constructed this nest, on the basis of nests we had seen earlier, and also based on its design, shape, and the construction materials used. Moreover, it was built in the same corner of the garden that a pair of Common Tailorbirds frequented.

104. The abandoned nest occupied by an Ashy Prinia in the second week of July 2012.

102. The Ashy Prinia Prinia socialis is a common bird of urban gardens.

105. An Ashy Prinia parent brings food for the chicks.

103. Ashy Prinia nest as seen from the office.

In the first week of July 2012, we observed an adult pair of Ashy Prinias [104] continuously visiting the bushes that held that nest, taking interest in it, and even adding new fibers to it. We

Photos: Raju Vyas were alert on the activities of this Ashy Prinia pair. We found three small, crimson-red, eggs in the nest, which were presumably laid between 12 and 15 July 2012. The parents constantly attended to the eggs, except for a few minutes in the morning, at noon, and occasionally in evening. On 24 July, three chicks hatched out from the eggs after 10–12 days of incubation. Both the 106. An adult Ashy Prinia with a spider in its beak. parents fed all three chicks constantly. We scheduled hour-long observations, in the morning, afternoon, and evening, for five days, to understand the feeding activities, and their frequency. The feeding activities were low at dusk. A higher number of visits were noted between 0800 and 0900 hrs, with an average of 30 visits in that hour (range: 30–32). This gradually declined towards the evening, and between 1700 and 1800 hrs they averaged ten visits (range: 10–13). Both adults fed the chicks continuously Upadhayay Kartik Photos: with various types of small insects, caterpillars, and spiders [105, 106]. They not only fed the chicks, but also cleaned the nest, by removing the fecal sacs of the chicks. After a week we noticed that one chick was missing from the nest; only two were left. We were unable to ascertain why the chick disappeared. Both the surviving chicks grew well, and were fed, and attended to constantly by the parents. On 03 August 2012, both the chicks left the nest in early morning [107], and hid within the thicket. We 107. A full grown chick about to leave the nest on 03 August 2012. 120 Indian Birds Vol. 10 No. 5 (Publ. 2 November 2015)

After the two chicks successfully fledged, we assumed that the pair of Ashy Prinia had finished with breeding. But in the second week of August 2012, we again observed a pair of Ashy Prinias showing some interest in the same nest (we couldn’t ascertain whether it was the same pair). On 17 August, after carefully inspecting it, the pair repaired the nest with fibers and other nest materials. We noticed that one bird often sat in the nest briefly. We began observing this nest regularly. On 23 August 2012 there were three small crimson-red eggs in the nest. On 04 September 2012, a chick hatched out after 12 days of incubation. The next day, the remaining two chicks also hatched [108, 109]. Vyas Raju Photo:

109. Three twelve-days old chicks in the nest. Upadhayay Kartik Photo:

108. Three eight-days old chicks of the second brood.

All parental activities, of feeding the chicks, and nest sanitation were similar to those of the earlier brood [110]. But this time, both birds checked the condition of the nest often, and made minor repairs on its entrance, and to the base of the nest (See 110. Adult Ashy Prinia removing a fecal sac. condition of the nest: [111]. In the morning of 15 September 2012, all three chicks left the nest. Both parents looked after, and fed, the chicks for three days in the office garden, and then the entire family disappeared from the vicinity. Our observations of egg laying, incubation period, and feeding behavior of this species match with the earlier observations of Dharmakumarsinhji (1955), George (1961), Ajmeri et al. (1962), Bhambral (1966), Jairamdas (1977), Karthikeyan (1993), Ramanan (1995), and Ali & Ripley (1997). There is even a record of nest material from an old nest being used in constructing a new one (George 1961). But we did not come Photos: Raju Vyas across any literature that recorded an abandoned nest being

repaired, and used twice by the species. Vyas Raju Photo: Some questions do remain unanswered. Which species did the nest belong to originally? Was it the same pair of Ashy Prinias that nested both times? However, if it was the same pair, it means that Ashy Prinia bred twice within a short period, but this fact 111. On 15 September 2012: The last chick leaves a bedraggled nest. requires further investigation. There is a paucity of literature on the phenomenon of one species of bird using a nest made by another. This is, however, (Corvus sp.), and the Pariah Kite Milvus migrans, but the nests known for certain species: Indian Silverbill Lonchura malabarica were constructed by the same species of birds themselves (R. using the abandoned nest of Baya Weaver Ploceus philippinus; Vyas, personal observations). Indian Robin Saxicoloides fulicata using the nest of Laughing In controlled conditions, a number of bird species are known Dove Streptopelia senegalensis (Saxena 1995). There are also to lay eggs twice or thrice or multiple times (Verhulst 1998), but examples of species using the same nest from season to season, in nature it depends on the environmental conditions or when after repairing it at the beginning of the season, e.g., crows the first breeding attempt fails (either by loss of eggs or loss Sharma et al.: White-winged Duck 121

of fledglings). Best examples are noted in Sarus CranesGrus Birdwatchers 6 (8): 7. antigone (Kathju 2007), Blue Rock Pigeon Columba livia, Purple Dharmakumarsinhji, R. S., Undated. Birds of Saurashtra, India: With additional notes on Sunbird Nectarinia asiatica, (R. Vyas, personal observations) Red- the birds of Kutch and Gujerat. 1st ed. Bhavnagar, Saurashtra: Published by the vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer (Prabhakarachari et al. 1990). author. Pp. i–liii, 1–561 (1955). George, J. C., 1961. Nest-shifting behaviour of the Ashy Wren-Warbler. Auk 78: 435–436. Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 1998. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 1st ed. Acknowledgments London: Christopher Helm, A & C Black. Pp. 1–888. Jairamdas, A., 1977. Three nests of Ashy Wren Warbler - diary of one season. Newsletter We are thankful to Diren Talpada, Executive Engineer, Vishwamitri River Project, for Birdwatchers 17 (2): 4–6. Vadodara, and Santhosh Kandam, office Guard for the work. Without their support it Karthikeyan, S., 1993. Monogamy in Ashywren Warbler Prinia socialis: How much do would not have been possible to conduct this study. Thanks to K. R. Vyas for improving sexes share domestic duties. In: Bird Conservation: Strategies for the Nineties the manuscript, and special thanks to Pranav Trivedi of Nature Conservation Foundation, and Beyond. Verghese, A., Sridhar, S., & Chakravarthy, A. K., (eds.). Bangalore: Mysore, for a critical review, comments and suggestions on the earlier draft manuscript. Ornithological Society of India: Pp. 200–201. Kathju, K., 2007. Observations of unusual clutch size, renesting and egg concealment References by Sarus Cranes Grus antigone in Gujarat, India. Forktail 23 (August): 165–167. Prabhakarachari, N., Ravikumar, R., Ramamurthi, R., 1990. Ecobiolog of Redvented Ajmeri, R. M., Das, A. R. K., & Sasikumar, M., 1961. An unusual nest of the Ashy Wren- Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer cafer in a scrub jungle at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. warbler (Prinia socialis). Newsletter for Birdwatchers 1 (4): 1. Journal of Ecobiology 2 (1): 45–50. Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1997. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with Ramanan, R. V., 1995. The nest of Ashy Wren Warbler Prinia socialis. Newsletter for those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Warblers to redstarts. 2nd Birdwatchers 35 (1): 17. (Hardback) ed. Delhi: (Sponsored by Bombay Natural History Society.) Oxford Saxena, R., 1995. Alternate use of nest by Little Brown Dove and Indian Robin. Newsletter University Press. Vol. 8 of 10 vols. Pp. i–xiv, 1–281, 8 ll. for Birdwatchers 35 (1): 16. Ali, S., 2002. The book of Indian birds. 13th (Revised) ed. Mumbai: Bombay Natural Verhulst, S., 1998. Multiple breeding in the Great Tit: The costs of rearing a second History Society & Oxford University Press. Pp. i–lvii, 1–326+7. clutch. Functional Ecology 12 (1): 132–140. Bhambral, R., 1966. Dog’s hair used for nest by Ashy Wren Warblers. Newsletter for

White-winged Duck Asarcornis scutulata in Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, Assam, India Narayan Sharma, Samrat Sengupta, Dilip Boruah, Noren Bhuyan, Deben Borah, Lalit Saikia & Gunin Saikia

Sharma, N., Sengupta, S., Boruah, D., Bhuyan, N., Borah, D., Saikia, L., & Saikia, G., 2015. White-winged Duck Asarcornis scutulata in Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, Assam, India. Indian BIRDS 10 (5): 121–123. Narayan Sharma, National Institute of Advanced Studies, IIS Campus, Bengaluru 560012, Karnataka, India. E-mail: [email protected] [Corresponding author.] [NS] Samrat Sengupta, Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University, Silchar 788011, Assam, India. E-mail: [email protected] [SS] Dilip Boruah, Meleng Lakhipur Village, Meleng, Jorhat 785634, Assam, India. [DB] Noren Bhuyan, Meleng Lakhipur Village, Meleng, Jorhat 785634, Assam, India. [NB] Deben Borah, Meleng Lakhipur Village, Meleng, Jorhat 785634, Assam, India. [db] Lalit Saikia, Meleng Lakhipur Village, Meleng, Jorhat 785634, Assam, India. [LS] Gunin Saikia, Divisional Forest Office, Near SS College, Hailakandi 788151, Assam, India. [GS] Manuscript received on 01 September 2014.

he White-winged Duck Asarcornis scutulata has a wide, Schedule I of the Indian Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. but highly fragmented, distribution across Bhutan, India, With an estimated population of over 400 individuals TBangladesh, and Southeast Asia (Green 1993; Choudhury (Choudhury 2002), or more than a third of the global population, 2007; BirdLife International 2014). The species has declined India is one of the last strongholds of this charismatic duck. In India, precipitously over much of its historical distribution range from the species is mostly distributed in the lowland tropical rainforests north-eastern India and Bangladesh through Southeast Asia to of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (Talukdar 1992; Choudhury Sumatra and Java in Indonesia primarily due to loss of riverine 2000; Rahmani & Islam 2008), and in Meghalaya (Hume 1890; forests (BirdLife International 2014). Less than c. 1000 individuals, Choudhury 2002). Although, in the past, it was reported from or 5% of the original wild population, of this duck now survive Nagaland (Hutchinson 1946), and Manipur (Higgins 1913), in the wild (Green 1993; Birdlife International 2014). Owing to there are no recent reports of its occurrence from these states. In its precarious demographic status, the species is categorised Assam, the White-winged Duck is reported from both, the north as Endangered (BirdLife International 2013), and listed under (Gee 1959; Choudhury 2007; Das & Deori 2012), and the south 122 Indian Birds Vol. 10 No. 5 (Publ. 2 November 2015)

Fig. 1. Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary showing the different administrative compartments and locations of White-winged Duck sighting (in red); 1: Sighted by NS, NB and D Baruah and 2: Sighted by SS, LS and D Borah

(Mackenzie & Kear 1976) of the River Brahmaputra. Several in flight. The second sighting was by SS, LS, and db on 21 July fragmented Reserved Forests, and contiguous forests located 2014 at 1140 hrs inside Compartment 2, near Kothalguri camp on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra in Upper Assam have (26.678ºN 94.346ºE; 121 m asl) in a slightly degraded part of been extensively surveyed and the occurrence of this species the sanctuary (Fig. 1). The bird was perched on a branch of a documented at several locations (Mackenzie & Kear 1976; ‘Kenglu’ tree Mimusops sp (?) (tree height: 24 m; perch height: Talukdar 1992; Choudhury 1998), including the Hollongapar 21 m); upon seeing them, the bird immediately flew towards Gibbon Sanctuary (Choudhury 2000). Compartment 1. In this note, we report two recent sightings of the White- Choudhury (2000) mentioned the occurrence of the species winged Duck from the sanctuary with photographic record. This from the sanctuary but did not provide any sighting details. The sanctuary (2098 ha) is an isolated tropical rainforest fragment, other nearest known record site of the species’ occurrence is dominated by Dipterocarpus-Mesua-Vatica forest, located close from Nambor (North Block) RF in Golaghat District of Upper to the foothills of Nagaland in Jorhat District, Assam (Fig. 1). Assam, approximately 58 km south-west of the sanctuary where NS, NB, DB sighted a single White-winged Duck on 10 Choudhury (2000) estimated a population of c. 20 individuals January 2009 at 0800 hrs during a field study on primates in during 1992–1994. The nearest possible habitats of the duck, the sanctuary. The duck was seen in a small stagnant pool of located along the foothills of Nagaland around 5 km south, and water (26.690ºN, 94.337ºE; 106 m asl) adjacent to the forest south-east of the sanctuary, are highly degraded (Nath 2012). road between Compartment 2 and 3 of the sanctuary (Fig. 1). The sanctuary is known to support a high density of This pool was artificially created by the state forest department to endangered primates, including the western hoolock gibbon ensure availability of water for wild animals. From the pool, the Hoolock hoolock, and the rare stump-tailed macaque Macaca bird flew to perch on a branch of a ‘Kutahi jamuk’ tree Syzygium arctoides (Sharma et al. 2012). The continued occurrence of the fruticosum (tree height: 22 m, perch height: 15 m) [112, 113]. White-winged Duck further strengthens the conservation value of It then flew into the forest, making its characteristic honking call this isolated and fragmented forest patch. Sharma et al.: White-winged Duck 123

References BirdLife International 2013. Asarcornis scutulata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. www.iucnredlist.org. [Downloaded on 27 August 2014.] BirdLife International 2014. Species factsheet: Asarcornis scutulata. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 22/08/2014. Choudhury, A., 1998. Status and conservation of the White-winged Duck in Eastern Assam, India. Oriental Bird Club Bulletin 28: 14–17. Choudhury, A., 2000. The birds of Assam. 1st ed. Guwahati: Gibbon Books & World Wide Fund for Nature-India. Pp. 1–240. Choudhury, A., 2002. Conservation of the Whitewinged Wood Duck Cairina scutulata in India. In: Birds of Wetlands and Grasslands. Proceedings of the Sálim Ali Centenary Seminar on Conservation of Avifauna of Wetlands and Grasslands (February 12-15, 1996) Mumbai, India. Rahmani, A. R., & Ugra, G., (eds.). Mumbai: Bombay Natural History Society: Pp. 52–64. Choudhury, A., 2007. White-winged Duck Cairina (=Asarcornis) scutulata and Blue- tailed Bee-eater Merops philippinus: two new country records for Bhutan. Forktail 23 (August): 153–155. Das, N., & Deori, S., 2012. Occurrence of White-winged Wood-duck (Cairina scutulata) 112. The White-winged Duck from Hollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, Assam. in Nameri National Park, Assam, India. Bird Populations 11: 7–13. Gee, E. P., 1959. The present status of the Whitewinged Wood Duck Cairina scutulata (S. Müller). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 55 (3): 569–575. Green, A. J., 1993. Status and habitat of the White-winged Duck Cairina scutulata. Bird Conservation International 3: 119–143. Higgins, J. C., 1913. Wood-duck (Asarcornis scutulata) in Manipur. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 22 (3): 632. Hume, A. O., 1890. The Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds. 2nd ed. London: R.H. Porter. Vol. III of 3 vols. Pp. i–ix, 1–461. Hutchinson, T. C., 1946. The White-winged Wood-Duck Asacornis scutulatus (Müller). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 46 (2): 402–403. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.2. www.iucnredlist.org. [Downloaded on 24 August 2014.] Mackenzie, M. J. S., & Kear, J., 1976. The White-winged Wood Duck. Wildfowl 27: 5–17. Nath, M., 2012. Land cover dynamics in the foothills of Assam–Nagaland border and its geo-environmental impact on the plains of Assam. PhD thesis. Department of Geography, Gauhati University: Guwahati. Rahmani, A. R., & Islam, M. Z.-u., 2008. Ducks, geese and swans of India: their status and distribution. 1st ed. Bombay: Indian Bird Conservation Network; Bombay Natural History Society; Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; BirdLife International; Photos: Narayan Sharma 113. Close up of the same individual. Oxford University Press. Pp. i–x, 1–364. Sharma, N., Madhusudan, M. D., Sarkar, P., Bawri, M., & Sinha, A., 2012. Trends in However, many threats to this bird remain. First, it is likely that extinction and persistence of diurnal primates in the fragmented lowland rainforests the ducks occur at very low abundances in the sanctuary and that of the Upper Brahmaputra Valley, north-eastern India. Oryx 46: 308–311. the population may be more prone to local extinction. Second, Talukdar, B. K., 1992. The status of the White Winged Wood Duck in North-east India. chronic extraction of forest resources, such as firewood, and Newsletter for Birdwatchers 32 (7–8): 4–6. other non-timber forest products, by locals, may have negative influences on the White-winged Duck population as the species is highly sensitive to habitat disturbance and human presence (Mackenzie & Kear 1976). Third, the sanctuary is surrounded on three sides by large industrial tea plantations whose regular use of pesticides is known to contaminate upstream waters and subsequently water bodies down the valley through agro- chemical drift. The ducks, therefore, could be exposed to potentially hazardous chemical pesticides. We recommend better regulation of extraction of forest resources from the sanctuary and the implementation of strong preventive measures to check the contamination of the water bodies. For example, retaining, or regenerating, a 10–30 m wide vegetated buffer on either side of the areas upstream could prevent agro-chemical drift from the tea plantations to the water bodies and also enhance water quality.

Acknowledgements Hemant We thank T. R. Shankar Raman, Umesh Srinivasan, Manish Chandi, and Subhankar Chakraborty for reviewing an earlier draft of this note. Narayan Sharma, and Samrat

Sengupta thank the Assam Forest Department for granting permission to work in the Kumar sanctuary. Narayan Sharma was supported by a Rufford Small Grant during the study. 124 Indian Birds Vol. 10 No. 5 (Publ. 2 November 2015)

Active bait-fishing in Indian Pond Heron Ardeola grayii Michel Antoine Réglade, Mohammed E. Dilawar & Ulhas Anand

Réglade, M. A., Dilawar, E. M., & Anand, U., 2015. Active bait-fishing in Indian Pond Heron. Ardeola grayii. Indian BIRDS. 10 (5): 124–125. Michel Antoine Réglade, 18 rue de Garin, 31500 Toulouse, France. E-mail : [email protected] [MAR] Mohammed E. Dilawar, Nature Forever Society, Row House No-17, Gayatri Nagar, Nashik Pune Road, Nashik 422011, Maharashtra, India. E-mail: [email protected] [MED] Ulhas Anand, 11/3, UM Road, Shankarapuram, Bengaluru 560004, India. E-mail: [email protected] [UA] Manuscript received on 14 May 2014.

Introduction crouched posture. But the bait drifted due to a weak winter wind An active bait-fishing bird places and manipulates an edible and ripples on the surface. The bird retrieved it, cast it, and waited (bait), or an inedible (lure) item, within striking range to attract or again. It repeated this process several times for a few minutes, distract fish (Ruxton & Hansell 2011). It has been suggested that without success. many heron species (Ardeidae) are capable of using this method In summary, these birds manipulated either food discarded to hunt for food, if necessary (Voisin 1991). Several observations by humans (bread, biscuit), or an artificial item (polystyrene) of Indian Pond Herons Ardeola grayii manipulating pieces of as bait or lure; they retrieved and replaced these items either bread, or an artificial lure, corroborate this prediction. when nothing happened, or when the item drifted away. This is a known behaviour that is already described for different heron species, e.g., for the Little Egret (Post et al. 2009), and of which, Observations the two sibling species of the genus Butorides are most famous In the mid-1990s, between April and June, early on a summer (Lovell 1958; Higuchi 1986). morning while jogging around the Lalbagh Lake in Bengaluru [then Bangalore], UA noticed, without binoculars, an adult Indian Discussion Pond Heron in non-breeding plumage (Anand 2013). There were pieces of bread on the ground, and in the water, because Since the first observation in 1957 of an active bait-fishing walkers, especially from the Jain community, regularly feed ants, Green Heron Butorides virescens (Lovell 1958), and with these fish, and birds around the lake. He observed that the heron evidence for Indian Pond Heron, this unusual behaviour has picked up a floating piece of bread, walked a few steps to the now been reported for 17 bird species of which 11 are herons edge, cast it as bait on the water and waited intently. As nothing (Réglade et al. 2015). Green-, and Striated Heron B. striata, are happened, the bird picked up the same piece, went a couple of the most studied of these species. They use a great variety of steps away, and put it in the water again. Several Jungle Crows bait (bread, popcorn, biscuits, fish pellets, insects, earthworms), Corvus macrorhynchos, which were feeding on the bread pieces, and lures (feathers, plant materials, plastic foam) (Higuchi 1986, eventually mobbed and chased away the heron, after it spent a 1988). Some of these items are man made while others are not. few unsuccessful minutes trying to catch fish in this manner. The reported observations occurred in man-made environments In 2004, during multiple outings of the Bangalore bird- as well as in preserved wild areas. watching group to Lalbagh botanical gardens, Little Egret Egretta Reports of such observations are important because they garzetta, and more often, Indian Pond Heron actively bait constitute the raw material for scientific research in animal fishing both, during low, or high, water levels (both species on cognition, which compares the rate of innovation and brain size one occasion) were observed. As in the previous observation, among taxonomic groups in a larger perspective of studies on these behaviours were possibly noticed, because of the morning innovation mechanisms in vertebrates (Overington et al. 2009). walkers. When competition for food pieces increases, a frenzy of Moreover, future observations of bait-fishing Indian Pond Heron activity ensues amongst the fish, and birds in trying to get their will be welcome and help complete a larger picture of this share. On several instances, the Little Egret was seen picking up a behaviour, hopefully with instances of use of human-independent piece of bread and flying away to a distance to use it as bait. On bait (e.g. insects, earthworms, etc.), and of involvement of other occasions, both species would sometimes pull the pieces immature birds in this behaviour. of bread closer, within striking distance, to themselves. Finally, More generally, regardless of the species already known for Pond Herons were successful many a times in catching small using, or not using bait, we felt all observations of active bait- fish (J. N. Prasad,verbally ). Several participants photographed fishing birds should be published to better estimate the frequency this behaviour, and even shot some video footage (J. N. Prasad, of this behaviour. Its apparent rarity, both within, and across verbally). Despite requests, we were unable to procure any of bird species, may be due to possible cognitive or ecological these. constraints. Perhaps this behaviour is rarely more profitable than Most recently, on 08 January 2013 at 1720 hrs, MED other fishing techniques (Ruxton & Hansell 2011). Furthermore observed for two to three minutes, an adult Pond Heron baiting simply low reporting rates of observations may also be creating with a small piece of polystyrene foam from the edge of a little gaps in our knowledge on this behaviour. For instance in India pond filled withTypha sp. in Bina, Madhya Pradesh. The bird only one observation of a bait-fishing Striated Heron has been picked up the bait, threw it on the water, and watched keenly in a published to date (Bhat 1990). Sharma et al.: Western Reef Egret 125

References innovations drive the relationship between innovativeness and residual brain size in birds. Animal Behaviour 78: 1001–1010. Anand, U., 2013. A heron uses a piece of bread as bait to catch fish. URL: https://groups. Post, R. J., Post, C. P. K., & Walsh, J. F., 2009. Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) and Grey yahoo.com/neo/groups/bngbirds/conversations/messages/24393. [Accessed on Heron (Ardea cinerea) using bait for fishing in Kenya. Waterbirds 32: 450–452. 13 May 2014.] Réglade, M. A., Carlos dos Santos, A., & Mitchell, K., 2015. First records of active bait Bhat, H., 1990. Baiting habit of the Little Green Heron. Newsletter for Birdwatchers 30 fishing for Great (White) Egrets (Ardea alba). Journal of Heron Biology and (9&10): 9. Conservation, Article 12. Website URL: www.heronconservation.org. Higuchi, H., 1986. Bait fishing by the Green-backed Heron Ardeola striata in Japan. Ibis Ruxton, G. D., & Hansell, M. H., 2011. Fishing with a bait or lure: A brief review of the 128: 285–290. cognitive issues. Ethology 117: 1–9. Higuchi, H., 1988. Bait-fishing by Green-backed Herons in south Florida. Florida Field Voisin, C., 1991. The herons of Europe. London. Naturalist 16: 8–9. Lovell, H. B., 1958. Baiting of fish by a Green Heron. The Wilson Bulletin 70 (3): 280–281. Overington, S. E., Morand-Ferron, J., Boogert, N. J., & Lefebvre, L., 2009. Technical

Sighting of Western Reef Egret Egretta gularis in Sirohi District, Rajasthan Vivek Sharma, Rakesh Kumar Kumawat, Dinesh Meena, Divaker Yadav, Abdhesh Kumar, Naresh Kumar Kumawat & K. K. Sharma

Sharma, V., Kumawat, R. K., Meena, D., Yadav, D., Kumar, A., Kumawat, N. K., & Sharma, K. K., 2015. Sighting of Western Reef Egret Egretta gularis in Sirohi District, Rajasthan. Indian BIRDS 10 (5): 125. Vivek Sharma, Biodiversity Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. Email: [email protected] [Corresponding author]. Rakesh Kumar Kumawat, Biodiversity Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. Dinesh Meena, Biodiversity Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. 114. Western Reef Egret Egretta Divaker Yadav, Biodiversity Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. gularis at wetlands of Sheoganj, Sirohi, Abdhesh Kumar, Biodiversity Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. Rajasthan. Photo: Dinesh Meena Naresh Kumar Kumawat, Biodiversity Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. K. K. Sharma, Biodiversity Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. Manuscript received on 05 July 2013.

his note describes the sighting of a Western Reef Egret on 28 July 2010; the bird was at that location for about ten days Egretta gularis from the wetlands of Sheoganj, Sirohoi District (H. S. Sangha, verbally). Hence this is a second photographic T(Rajasthan, India) on 12 February 2013, and on 18 March record of Western Reef Egret from Rajasthan. 2013. Sheoganj is located on the banks of Jawai River. During winter we were surveying birds of select wetlands of Sheoganj Acknowledgement near the temple of Kambeshwar Mahadev (25º15’N, 73º07’E; c. 260 m asl). These were small pockets of freshwater with slight We acknowledge the contributions of Umesh Dutt (Lecturer, Department of Zoology, SMPPG Govt. College, Sheoganj, Sirohi) and Ranjeet Singh (Arya Bal Ucch Madhymik vegetation cover that are used by several bird species. While Vidhyalya, Sheoganj), during our stay at the Sheoganj, Sirohi and near by areas. listing and photographing the avian diversity of these wetlands we noticed a grey-coloured egret, which resembled a juvenile Grey Heron Ardea cinerea. It stood on a small rock on the margin of References the wetland. It was smaller than a Grey Heron, but darker than it. Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1968. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with We noticed that it had a white patch on its throat and upper fore- those of Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Ceylon. Divers to hawks. 1st ed. Bombay: neck, and had yellow feet. We photographed it [114] and, with (Sponsored by the Bombay Natural History Society) Oxford University Press. Vol. 1 the help of Grimmett et al. (1999), and Kazmierczak (2000), of 10 vols. Pp. 2 ll., i–lviii, 1–380, 1 l. Kazmierczak, K., 2000. A field guide to the birds of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, identified it as a Western Reef Egret. According to Grimmettet Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. 1st ed. New Delhi: Om Book Service. Pp. al. (1999), the intermediate morph of the Western Reef Egret 1–352. is easily distinguishable from intermediate morphs of the Pacific Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 1999. Pocket guide to the birds of the Indian Reef Egret E. sacra due to the presence of the distinct white Subcontinent. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Pp. 1–384. patch on the former’s throat and upper fore-neck. Grimmett, R., Inskipp, T., & Mehra, S. P., 2004. Uttar Bharat ke pakshi [Birds of northern The Western Reef Egret is a resident of mainly the western- India]. 1st ed. London: Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–308. [In Hindi.] and south-eastern coastal areas, and prefers saline coastal waters (Ali & Ripley 1968; Grimmett et al. 1999; Kazmierczak 2000). There is an earlier record of the Western Reef Egret from Dungolav Talab, Tal Chhapar, Churu, Rajasthan, when it was photographed 126 Indian Birds Vol. 10 No. 5 (Publ. 2 November 2015)

Painted Storks Mycteria leucocephala breeding in Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, Kerala Shibi Moses

Moses, S., 2015. Painted Storks Mycteria leucocephala breeding in Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, Kerala. Indian BIRDS 10 (5): 126–127. Shibi Moses, Chackalayil, Kumaranparambil House, Puthuppally PO, Kottayam 686011, Kerala, India. E-mail: [email protected] Manuscript received on 26 August 2014.

he Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary (9.62ºN, 76.42ºE) is located and bushy shrubs. The trees were inaccessible either by land or on the banks of the Vembanad Lake, in Kerala. It is 14 km by boat. A watchtower, about 120 m away and 8 m high, was Twest of Kottayam town, the headquarters of the eponymous the only vantage point that could be used for these observations. district. It has Vembanad Lake on its west, the Kumarakom– The branches chosen for the nest sites were bare, despite new Vechoor road on its east, the Kavanar River on the north, and leafy offshoots, and this provided some visibility even from this the KTDC Waterscapes Hotel on the south as its borders. It is distance. Since this opportunity was unique, I decide to monitor a regular nesting and roosting site for eleven species of water the nests on an irregular basis without being stationed at the nest birds like the Great Egret Casmerodius albus, Intermediate site throughout the day. Kumarakom being a mixed heronry, the Egret Mesophoyx intermedia, Little Egret Egretta garzetta, Great birds were tolerant to minor disturbances by visitors and did not Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo, Indian Cormorant P. fuscicollis, flush easily. In any case, sufficient care was taken not to be overly Little Cormorant P. niger, Purple Heron Ardea purpurea, Black- intrusive, while documenting this nesting behavior. The lack of a crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax, Indian Pond Heron direct access, and the distance from the vantage point, proved to Ardeola grayii, Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster, and be a handicap to obtain direct evidence of various nesting stages Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus (Narayanan like egg-laying, chick-hatching, etc., and hence observations are et al. 2006a, 2006b). The last two species are listed as Near- tagged ‘probable’ as these are dependent on circumstantial threatened by IUCN (BirdLife International 2014). Painted Storks evidence rather than actual facts (Table 1). Torrential downpours Mycteria leucocephala are considered local migrants to Kerala prevented a proper photo-documentation of the behavior; some that visit sparingly during winter (Sashikumar et al. 2011). They of the attempts to photograph different stages of breeding were have been regular winter visitors to Vembanad wetlands during foiled. 2011–2014 as per data collected during the Asian Wetland The first nearly complete nest was observed on 24 March. Count organised by the Kottayam Nature Society (Anonymous On the next day I could see around six nests in various stages 2012; B. Sreekumar verbally, August 2014). Prior to this report, of completion. It is likely that I could not see more nests that there was a single instance of an attempted breeding in Kerala were hidden from me by the branches and leaves. Visibility of all from Thrissur District in October 2008 (Sashikumar et al. 2011). nests was not uniform and hence the exact date of completion This report describes the second instance of breeding of this of all the nests is not available. All the visible nests were on top Near-threatened species from Kerala, in the Kumarakom Bird of three almond / badam trees. While nest building, the storks Sanctuary; apparently the broods were a success. regularly flew low over the sanctuary, and in the mornings could be seen sunning with out-stretched wings. The trees that housed the nests also had those of other species like Oriental Darters, Observations Indian Shags, and Little- and Great- Cormorants. I saw a few Painted Storks flying around the wetlands near After a short gap in my observations, when I visited the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary on 11 February 2014. On 19 heronry on 30 March, each nest had a bird sitting in it all the February the number of Painted Storks sighted had increased to time. This, I assumed, meant that incubation has started. 28–30 birds. The clattering sound made by the mandibles could Most of the time, one bird always stood guard beside, or be heard from the treetops that had the Painted Storks. This right on the nest. At times the birds were seen moving items was not entirely surprising, as I had observed similar activity in in the nest (eggs?) with their beaks. Till the chicks hatched out, 2013. On 07 March, T. K. Mohan, a bird guide, informed me that parents were seen incubating; they also seemed to augment the Painted Storks were flying with twigs in their beaks, presumably nest with fresh twigs or leaves—probably for thermal regulation. for building nesting. I visited the heronry with him and found that No such activity was seen on rainy days. During hot days, the they had chosen as a breeding site, a set of almond / badam trees birds were seen stretching their wings over the nests, probably Terminalia catappa that were standing in a marsh with tall grass providing shade for the eggs / chicks in the nests.

Table 1. Nests of Painted Storks Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary S. Tree Probable start of Probable day Nest Sighting of chicks Sighting Juveniles Other bird nesting No. height Incubation of Hatching 1 35 m 2 March 28-30 NA Great cormorant, Indian Cormorant, Oriental Darter 2 35 m 2 March 28-30 April 30 2 chicks on June 15 2 Juveniles on July 15 Great cormorant, Indian Cormorant, Oriental Darter 3 25 m 2 March 28-30 April 30 2 Juveniles on July 20 Little Cormorant Moses: Painted Stork 127

Based on the frequency of visits to the heronry, activity of resilience of these species. the birds in the nest, and probable incubation period of storks Conservation of mixed heronries in a thickly populated state (~30 days), it appeared that the first chicks hatched around 30 like Kerala has been a great challenge due to public apathy April. After a week, both the parent birds stayed away from the (Sashikumar et al. 2011). However, this instance is further chicks for a short while (~20 min), presumably collecting feed. proof that large colonial water birds are attracted to safe and On 15 June, through the leaves and branches around the nest, I large heronries, like Kumarakom, for breeding. This is a win-win was able to see two fairly well developed white chicks with black situation impacting positively peoples’ perception towards these wings and beak. The size of the nestlings provided additional birds, bolstering tourism, and alleviating situations where people confirmation that they might have hatched about six weeks earlier. wish to cut down nesting trees. The tender shoots of the bare branches had grown considerably The fate of the remaining three juvenile birds is unclear making views difficult and hence the status of other nests was but it is quite likely that they have dispersed to the neighboring not exactly known. On 14 July, I was able to see four juvenile wetlands for feeding. We hope these birds shall return to the birds perching on some branches near the nests. They were now sanctuary next season in more numbers. greyer, and their heads were greyish black. Their legs were white. During this period even the parent bird’s legs had become white Acknowledgements coloured due to the smearing of their own excrement on their legs. Juveniles were seen often with outstretched wing, trying to I express my sincere gratitude to Gopu Chandran, General Manager, Waterscapes, KTDC, Kumarakom, who encouraged me to report the observation. I thank B. Sreekumar, and move while the parent birds were around. In case the parents N. Unnikrishnan from Kottayam Nature Society for advising me on how to conduct the were not near the nests, the juveniles stayed down. The last observations at the nesting site. I thank Praveen J. for helping me edit an earlier draft sighting of the juvenile birds was made on 13 August when three of this note. I would like to acknowledge the help rendered by T. K. Mohan, guide, birds were present in the heronry. Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, who first informed me about the arrival of Painted Storks for breeding. Discussion Though Painted Storks were widespread elsewhere in peninsular References India, Sálim Ali, who listed more than 400 birds from the state, Ali, S., 1969. Birds of Kerala. 2nd ed. Bombay: Oxford University Press. Pp. i–xxiii, did not find any in Kerala (Ali 1969). It was recorded as a rare 1–444. vagrant in the late 1980’s (Neelakantan et al. 1993) but has BirdLife International. 2014. Species factsheet: Mycteria leucocephala. Downloaded been becoming increasingly common through the 1990s, and from http://www.birdlife.org on 18/08/2014. Narayanan, S. P., Raju, D. V., Unnikrishnan, N., Vasan, S., & Sreekumar, B., 2006. Do early 2000s (Sashikumar et al. 2011). This is a trend that is seen Great Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo displace other colonial nesting waterbirds in other colonial nesting water birds, including Great Cormorant, at Kumarakom heronry (Kerala)? Indian Birds 2 (5): 138. Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans, Black-headed Ibis, and Narayanan, S. P., Sreekumar, B., & Vijayan, L., 2007. Breeding of the Oriental White Ibis Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis; all of which were Threskiornis melanocephalus at Kumarakom heronry (Kerala, India). Indian Birds exceedingly rare during Ali’s times, but are now widespread 2 (6): 150–151 (2006). and have started breeding in the state. The trend is also visible Neelakantan, K. K., Sashikumar, C., & Venugopalan, R., 1993. A book of Kerala birds. in Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus and Eurasian Spoonbill Part 1. Trivandrum: World Wide Fund for Nature-India. Kerala State Committee. Platalea leucorodia; the large flocks reported during the 2014 Pp. i–xxxii, 1–146. Sashikumar, C., Praveen J., Palot, M. J., & Nameer, P. O., 2011. Birds of Kerala: status and monsoon season in eBird (www.ebird.org), from Vembanad distribution. 1st ed. Kottayam, Kerala: DC Books. Pp. 1–835. wetlands, gives hope that they will also breed in the near future. Sreekumar, B., 2012. A decade of Vembanad Bird Counts. Dept. of Forests & Wildlife, Despite challenging conditions in Kerala where massive wetland Govt. of Kerala, Kottayam. conversions are ongoing, this expansion / explosion of large water birds from peninsular India is probably an indication of the Kumar

Hemant 128 Indian Birds Vol. 10 No. 5 (Publ. 2 November 2015)

Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus with unusual symmetrically pale claws Nirav Bhatt & Prasad Ganpule

Bhatt, N., & Ganpule, P., 2015. Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus with unusual symmetrically pale claws. Indian BIRDS 10 (5): 128–129. Nirav Bhatt, H-52-GIDC Residential Plots, Wadhwan 363035, Gujarat, India. E-mail: [email protected] [NB] Prasad Ganpule, C/o Parshuram Pottery Works, Nazarbaug, Morbi 363642, Gujarat, India. E-mail: [email protected] [PG] Manuscript received on 14 April 2014.

ield Identification, and separation of Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus from Lesser Kestrel F. naumanni are challenging. FHowever, detailed notes to do so are given in Forsman Godbole Mihir Photo: (2006), Naoroji (2006), Grimmett et al. (2011), and Rasmussen & Anderton (2012). A combination of different characters is usually required to separate the two, especially juveniles, and females. Adult males of both species are relatively easier to identify. If seen closely, claw colour is diagnostic in separating the two, as the Common Kestrel is known to have black claws, while the Lesser Kestrel has pale yellow claws, in all plumages. We report here two instances of a Common Kestrel showing unusually symmetrical pale yellowish claws on each leg. 1. On 08 December 2008 at Nalsarovar, Gujarat, NB observed, and photographed [115] a Common Kestrel with pale inner claws on both feet. The inner claws were pale yellowish in colour, similar to those of a Lesser Kestrel, while the other claws were deep black, and ‘normal’ for a Common Kestrel. The bird was identified as a male Common Kestrel based 116. Common Kestrel that had pale yellowish claws on the hind toe.

on plumage characters like greyish head with diffused dark moustachial stripe, rufous upperparts, heavily marked with black, uniform and streaked underparts, and structure of head and bill. 2. On 13 January 2014, on the outskirts of Pune city, Maharashtra, Siddhesh Brahmankar and Mihir Godbole photographed [116], a male Common Kestrel that had pale yellowish claws on the hind toe (hallux) on both feet. The other claws were dark (blackish) in colour, and ‘normal’ for a Common Kestrel. The bird was identified as a male Common Kestrel based on a combination of plumage characters as described above, and by the fact that the primaries did not extend up to the tip of its tail.

Photo: Nirav Bhatt Common Kestrels with pale claws have been reported from The Netherlands, where a juvenile with white central claws on both feet, and a first-winter female with a yellowish-white claw on the right leg, were noted by de Schipper (2001). Interestingly, Corso (2001) reported that five Lesser Kestrels (three males, and two females), which was 2 % of all individuals of the species studied in Italy, had brownish or blackish grey claws (but not as black as Common Kestrel). In Lesser Kestrels, it is also possible that the claws appear dark in the field if they are mud-stained or dirty. We (NB and PG) have scrutinised more than 200 Common Kestrels seen by us in Little Rann of Kachchh, Gujarat, over the last ten years, and have never observed individuals with 115. Common Kestrel with pale inner claws on both feet. pale claws. We have also looked at more than 300 images of Ranade & Prakash: Oriental Honey Buzzard 129

Common Kestrels on the Internet (www.orientalbirdimages.org; reference from Dutch Birding. www.indianaturewatch.net; www.ibc.lynxeds.com) and have not seen this type of claw colour in any individuals. References It is interesting to note that both the individuals mentioned Corso, A., 2001. Notes on the moult and plumages of Lesser Kestrel. British Birds 94 here, and the one individual photograph that is given in the (9): 409–418. reference had symmetrical pale claws in both the feet. Hence, de Schipper, N., 2001. Common Kestrel with white central claws. Dutch Birding 23: this condition could either be rare, or this could be an aberration, 85–86. but since it has now been documented four times, it would be Forsman, D., 2006. The raptors of Europe and the Middle East. Pp. i-xviii, 1–589. advisable to check claw colour in Common Kestrels. Christopher Helm: London. This also proves that it is always prudent to confirm the Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. identity of any bird based on a combination of identification London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528. characters, rather than relying on any one character as diagnostic. Naoroji, R., 2006. Birds of prey of the Indian Subcontinent. 1st ed. London: Christopher Helm. Pp. 704. Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2nd ed. Acknowledgements Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. 2 vols. We thank Siddhesh Brahmankar and Mihir Godbole for sharing pictures, and details Pp. 1–378; 1–683. about the sighting. We would also like to thank Andre van Loon for helping us with the

Migrating flock of Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhynchus at the Indo-Bhutan border Sachin P. Ranade & Vibhu Prakash

Ranade, S. P., & Prakash, V., 2015. Migrating flock of Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhynchus at the Indo-Bhutan border. IndianBIRDS. 10 (5): 129–130. Sachin P. Ranade, Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre, Raja bhat khawa, (BTR), Alipurduar, 735227, District Alipurduar, West Bengal, India. E-mail: [email protected] Vibhu Prakash, F-23, HMT Colony, Pinjore 134101, Panchkula District, Haryana, India. E-mail: [email protected] Manuscript received on 05 October 2014.

n 05 May 2014, at Santrabari (26.74ºN, 89.56ºE; c. 283 m asl) in Buxa Tiger Reserve, West Bengal, India, Owe observed a flock of Oriental Honey BuzzardPernis ptilorhynchus soaring on the horizon at 0915 hrs [117]. The number went on climbing and we noted a flock of about 20 raptors overhead [118]. The flock soared eastward with the air currents. In succession, a second flock of an equal number of birds was seen heading in the same direction. In all, we estimated about 50 individuals passing overhead in roughly 45 min. The birds were probably on their spring migration. It is possible that

118. Soon the flock of Oriental Honey Buzzard increased to nearly 20 birds.

the flock roosted on trees in the ravines the previous night. On the following couple of days, no more migrating birds were observed. The Oriental Honey Buzzard is one of the commonest raptors in protected areas in India (Samant et al. 1995). Two races are recorded from the Indian Subcontinent: P. p. orientalis is migratory and winters in India, while P. p. ruficollis is a resident (Ali & Ripley 1983; Naoroji 2007).

Photos: Sachin Ranade P. The species is well recorded during its migration in autumn 117. A flock of Oriental Honey Buzzard soaring in Buxa Tiger Reserve. and spring in East Asia. In China, the migration of the species, in 130 Indian Birds Vol. 10 No. 5 (Publ. 2 November 2015)

huge numbers, has been recorded in late April–May 2009 (Wen DeCandido, R., 2012. Khao Dinsor-Thailand Raptor Migration summary 2011, Year II. & Han 2013). A mass migration of the species has been recorded Thailand. URL: http://www.birdingbob.com/2011.finalreport.khaodinsor.pdf in Thailand, and Nepal in October (DeCandido et al. 2008; DeCandido, R., & Nualsri, C., 2009. Timing and abundance of Grey-faced Buzzards DeCandido 2012; Subedi & DeCandido 2014), and in March in Butastur indicus and other raptors on northbound migration in southern Thailand, spring 2007–2008 Forktail 25: 90–95. Malaysia (DeCandido et al. 2004, 2006, 2013; DeCandido & DeCandido, R., Allen, D., Yosef, R., & Bildstein, K. L., 2004. A comparison of spring migration Nualsri 2009). A few hundred birds were recorded in October in phenology of bee-eaters and Oriental Honey-buzzards Pernis ptilorhyncus at Tanjung Taiwan (Lin & Severinghaus 1998), and a few individuals were Tuan, Malaysia, 2000–01. Ardea 92:169–173. recorded in Himachal Pradesh, India during February and March DeCandido, R., Gurung, S., Subedi, T., & Allen, D., 2013. The east–west migration of Steppe (Besten 2004). The migration of the species was tracked by Eagle Aquila nipalensis and other raptors in Nepal and India. BirdingASIA 19: 18–25. satellite from Japan to Java and back, and its detoured migration DeCandido, R., Kasorndorkbua, C., Nulsri, C., Chinuparawat, C., & Allen, D., 2008. Raptor route is well documented (Higuchi et al. 2005; Agostoni & migration in Thailand. Birding ASIA 10:16–22. Mellone 2007; Yamaguchi et al. 2008). DeCandido,R., Allen, D., & Bildstein, K. L., 2006. Spring migration of Oriental Honey- buzzards Pernis ptilorhyncus and other raptors at Tanjung Tuan, Malaysia, 2000– There has been no record of migration of the Oriental Honey 2001. Forktail 22: 156–160. Buzzard from the afore-mentioned part of India, and most of the den Besten, J. W., 2004. Migration of Steppe Eagles Aquila nipalensis and other raptors Indian Subcontinent as far as we understand. We think it is an along the Himalayas past Dharamsala, India, in autumn 2001 and spring 2002. interesting observation and worth recording. Regular monitoring Forktail 20: 9–13. of the species, and satellite tracking it, would provide greater Higuchi, H., Shiu, H-J., Nakamura, H., Uematsu, A., Kuno,K., Saeki, M., Hotta, M., Tokita, insights in its migration route as well as status. K-I., Moria, E., Morishita, E., & Tamura, M., 2005. Migration of Honey-buzzards Pernis apivorus based on satellite tracking. Ornithological Science 4: 109–115. Lin, W. H., & Severinghaus, L. L., 1998. Raptor migration and conservation in Taiwan. Pp. Acknowledgements 631–639. In: Chancellor, R. D., Meyburg, B. U., & Ferreo, J. J., (eds.). Holartic birds of The authors would like to thank the Field Director of Buxa Tiger Reserve, field staff prey. World Working Group on Birds of Prey: Berlin. and Forest Department of West Bengal for their kind co-operation. We also thank the Naoroji, R., 2007. Birds of prey of the Indian Subcontinent. 1st ed. New Delhi: Om Books Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai for constant support and encouragements. International. Pp. 1–692. We also appreciate the assistance provided by Kalu Chhetri, driver, Vulture Conservation Samant, J. S., Prakash, V., & Naoroji, R., 1995. Ecology and Behaviour of Resident Raptors Breeding Centre during fieldwork. with Special Reference to Endangered Species. Bombay: Bombay Natural History Society. Final Technical Report 1990–1993. Pp. 94+19. Subedi, T., & DeCandido, R., 2014. Raptor migration summary, Nepal–2013. Nepal. References Wen, C., & Han, D., 2013. Raptor migration monitoring in the spring of 2009 at Baiwangshan, Agostini, N., & Mellone, U., 2007. Migration strategies of Oriental Honey-buzzards Pernis Beijing. Chinese Birds 4 (4): 319–327. ptilorhynchus breeding in Japan. Forktail 23: 182–183. Yamaguchi, N., Tokita , K-I., Uematsu, A., Kuno, K., Saeki, M., Hiraoka, E., Uchida, K., Hotta, Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1983. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with M., Nakayama, F., Takahashi, M., Nakamura, H., & Higuchi, H., 2008. The large scale those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Compact ed. Delhi: Oxford detoured migration route and the shifting pattern of migration in Oriental honey- University Press. Pp. i–xlii, 1 l., pp. 1–737, 56 ll. buzzards breeding in Japan. Journal of Zoology 276: 54–62. Lord Derby’s Parakeet Psittacula derbiana nesting at Meshai, Anjaw District, Arunachal Pradesh Praveen J., Atanu Mondal, Dipu Karuthedathu, Sachin Shurpali & Vinay Das

Praveen J., Mondal, A., Karuthedathu, D., Shurpali, S., & Das, V., 2015. Lord Derby’s Parakeet Psittacula derbiana nesting at Meshai, Anjaw District, Arunacal Pradesh. Indian BIRDS 10 (5): 130–131. Praveen J., B303, Shriram Spurthi, ITPL Main Road, Brookefields, Bengaluru 560037, Karnataka, India. E-mail: [email protected] [PJ] Atanu Mondal, B614, Aristocrat Apartments, 1st Main Kasturinagar, Bengaluru 560043, India. E-mail: [email protected] [AM] Dipu Karuthedathu, #301, Jaya Emerald, Maruthinagar, Bengaluru 560075, Karnataka, India. E-mail: [email protected] [DK] Sachin Shurpali, 203, Prakruthi Paradise, Kempamma Devi Road, New Thippasandra, Bengaluru 560075, Karnataka, India. E-mail: [email protected] [SS] Vinay Das, B-8, Kudremukh Colony, Koramangala 2nd Block, Bengaluru 560034, Karnataka, India. [VD] Manuscript received on 14 July 2015.

ord Derby’s Parakeet or Derbyan Parakeet Psittacula derbiana However, these doubts were alleviated when Singh (2013), and is primarily a Tibetan species that occurs in a narrow strip of later Sharma et al. (2014) reported it from between Walong and Lnorth-eastern Arunachal Pradesh in the upper Lohit Valley, Kibithu, with photographs, from the same general area where possibly as a summer visitor from April to September (Ali & Ripley earlier workers had reported decades back. Here, we report an 1987). Though Grimmett et al. (1998), and Kazmierczak (2000) instance of nesting of this species from Meshai, between Walong considered it a breeding visitor/resident in Arunachal Pradesh, and Kibithu, on 27 April 2015. possibly based on Stonor (1952), and Singh (1991), later While returning from Meshai (28.25°N, 97.03°E) after a works (Rasmussen & Anderton 2005 & 2012; Grimmett et al. birding trip, at 1400 hrs, a parakeet flew in front of the vehicle 2011) expressed doubts about its occurrence in the absence and perched on the top of a dead pine. After disembarking of specimens, photographs, or well-documented observations. the vehicle with utmost care, so as not to disturb the bird, we Praveen J et al.: Lord Derby’s Parakeet 131

leads us to believe that the pair is nesting there. Subsequently, AM showed the pictures of the male bird to some local boys and they recognised the bird and even suggested that these birds would now be breeding in the holes of pine trees near Meshai! The boys were downright curious, and pestered us, unsuccessfully, to know the location of the birds; it is suspected that they routinely raid nesting holes to poach up young birds. Subsequently, another pair was found nesting closer to Walong, in Yakung, in late May 2015, and the female stayed in the nesting hole the entire day (Shashank Dalvi, verbally 01 June 2015). It must be mentioned that Singh (1995) also suspected breeding, as parakeets were entering a hole in September 1991. Our observations reassert Ludlow’s statement (Ali & Ripley 1987) that they are breeding visitors to parts of Arunachal Pradesh between the first week of May to end of September. It must be stated that several birding groups (though not all) who visited 119. Lord Derby’s Parakeet male. this area have encountered this parakeet in the Walong–Kibithu stretch, in 2014 and 2015, and the earliest observations were in March (Table 1). Except for the observations of Singh (1995) at Hotspring (c. 3400 m asl), all other observations, including the first record by Stonor, were between 1200 and 1400 m. With the number of records that are turning up from this region, Lord Derby’s Parakeet may be considered a regular species that breeds in the upper Lohit Valley, past Walong.

Acknowledgements We would like to thank Jainy Kuriakose and Shashank Dalvi for sharing their unpublished observations with us to make this note complete.

References Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1987. Compact handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. 2nd ed. Delhi: Oxford University Press. Pp. i–xlii, 1 l., 1–737, 52 ll.

Photos: Atanu Mondal Baruah, P., 2015. URL: http://www.cloudbirders.com/tripreport/repository/BARUAH_ 120. Lord Derby’s Parakeet female at nest. IndiaLohitValley_0405_2015.pdf. [Downloaded on 28 September 2015.] Chatterjee, S., 2014. URL: http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?p=4&Bird_ ID=516&Bird_Family_ID=&pagesize=1&Location=. [Downloaded on 28 September Table 1. Reports of Lord Derby’s Parakeet from upper Lohit Valley 2015.] No Date Observer Reference 1 28 May 2015 Shashank Dalvi verbally June 2015 Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 1998. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 1st ed. 2 1 May 2015 Pritam Baruah Baruah (2015) London: Christopher Helm, A & C Black. Pp. 1–888. 3 27–28 April 2015 Authors This paper Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. 4 27 March 2015 Soma Jha & Sushmita Jha Jha (2015) London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528. 5 22–23 April 2014 Arka Sarkar & Sujan Chatterjee (2014); Jha, S. 2015. URL: http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?p=2&Bird_ID=516&Bird_ Chatterjee Sarkar (2014) Family_ID=&pagesize=1&Location=. [Downloaded on 28 September 2015.] 6 13 March 2014 Jainy Kuriakose verbally May 2015 Kazmierczak, K., 2000. A field guide to the birds of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Manoj Sharma, Harkirat Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. 1st ed. London: Pica Press / Christopher 7 6 May 2013 Singh Sangha, & Atul Jain Sharma et al. (2014) 8 2–3 May 2012 Arun P Singh Singh (2013) Helm. Pp. 1–352. 9 25–29 September 1991 Pratap Singh Singh (1995) Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2005. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 1st ed. 10 February–March 1945 C. R. Stonor Stoner (1952) Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. 2 vols. Pp. 1–378; 1–683. watched it through a telescope and identified it as a male Lord Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2nd ed. Derby’s Parakeet [119]. Soon we realised that a female of the Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. 2 vols. species was sitting on a possible nest on the same tree, with Pp. 1–378; 1–683. its head jutting out of the hole [120]. While we were observing Sarkar, A. 2014. URL: http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?p=3&Bird_ this pair, another two pairs of Parakeets approached the tree ID=516&Bird_Family_ID=&pagesize=1&Location=. [Downloaded on 28 September but were chased away promptly by the male. During the entire 2015.] Sharma, M., Sangha, H. S., Jain, A., 2014. Some noteworthy records from the Lohit Valley, period of observation (~30 minutes), the female did not venture eastern Arunachal Pradesh, India. Indian BIRDS. 9: (4) 88–92. out but remained at the opening of the nesting hole. The male Singh, A. P., 2013. Lord Derby’s Parakeet Psittacula derbiana, and Black-headed Greenfinch made brief sorties to alternate vantage points, but hung out in Carduelis ambigua in Arunachal Pradesh, India. Indian BIRDS. 8: (5) 133. the vicinity, spending most of its time on the same pine. Strong Singh, P., 1995. Recent bird records from Arunachal Pradesh, India. Forktail 10: 65–104 territorial behaviour together with the observation of the female (1994). that kept itself inside the hole during the peak time of the day Stonor, C. R., 1952. Distribution of Lord Derby’s Parrakeet (sic). Ibis 94: (1) 162. 132 Indian Birds Vol. 10 No. 5 (Publ. 2 November 2015)

Oriental Pied Hornbill Anthracocerus albirostris, and Indian Pitta Pitta brachyura in Delhi, India 122. Indian Pitta. Yasser Arafat, M. Shah Hussain & Aisha Sultana

Arafat, Y., Hussain, S. M., & Sultana, A., 2015. Oriental Pied Hornbill Anthracocerus albirostris, and Indian Pitta Pitta brachyura in Delhi, India. Indian BIRDS. 10 (5): 132–133. Yasser Arafat, Biodiversity Parks Programme, Center for Environmental Management and Degraded Ecosystems, School of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India. M. Shah Hussain, Biodiversity Parks Programme, Center for Environmental Management and Degraded Ecosystems, School of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India. Aisha Sultana, Biodiversity Parks Programme, Center for Environmental Management and Degraded Ecosystems, School of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India. E-mail: [email protected] [Corresponding author.] Manuscript received on 24 May 2014.

his note describes sightings of the Oriental Pied Hornbill of the park while following a flock of Red AvadavatAmandava Anthracoceros albirostris, and the Indian Pitta Pitta amandava. Tall grass made it difficult to see much, but after Tbrachyura at Aravalli Biodiversity Park [ABP], New Delhi entering the grass, he suddenly sighted a pitta sitting motionless (28.54–28.57ºN, 77.13–77.18ºE), India after a gap of many on a Syzygium cumini branch, but could not identify the species. years. He photographed it before the bird slipped into the undergrowth. At 0720 hrs on 04 May 2013 Yasser Arafat [YA] spotted a He searched but could not find it again. Later it was confirmed solitary male Oriental Pied Hornbill, which was being mobbed as an Indian Pitta. The area is well-wooded with a water-body by a flock of House CrowsCorvus splendens at the institutional nearby. Upon subsequent searches over the next two days, the area gate of the park. After flying a little distance, it perched bird was not found. After roughly a year, on 14 November 2014, on an neem tree Azadirachta indica, but took off again, when YA briefly spotted a pitta in a ditch at the park at 0845 hrs. It was persistently disturbed by the crows. The bird was observed for at sitting near the water, and as YA approached it, it flew away. least 15 minutes, and was photographed [121] from a distance. Indian Pitta is endemic to the Indian Subcontinent (Grimmett The Oriental Pied Hornbill is a medium-sized hornbill with et al. 1998) and is a breeding summer visitor to the lower a large and strikingly patterned casque and bill (Grimmett et al. foothills of the Himalayas and well-forested parts of the northern 1998). The Oriental Pied Hornbill’s main habitat is open forest peninsula, and winters further south in the peninsula, and in Sri in a moist deciduous and evergreen biotope (Ali & Ripley 1983); Lanka (Harvey et al. 2006). Ganguli (1975) mentioned a few and it can also be found in groves of mango, Ficus sp., and tall winter records from the 1950s from Delhi’s gardens but after trees near habitation. that there has been no record from the Union Territory. Some It is distributed from Haryana, east through the Himalayan birdwatchers of Delhi Bird Club sighted this species at Noida, foothills, to Arunachal Pradesh, north-eastern- and eastern India. Uttar Pradesh along the River Yamuna in June 2011 and in In Delhi it was recorded between 1931 and 1945 (Frome 1948) Bhindawas Sanctuary, Haryana in August 2012, but not in Delhi in New Delhi gardens between November and February. Gaston itself. It seems that the Delhi area is sometimes a stopover point (1978) reported it as occasional, reiterating Frome’s record, while for Indian Pitta in winter, before it moves into the peninsula. It is Kalpavriksh (1991) mentioned this bird as vagrant and rare for found mainly in scrub forest and patches of light deciduous and Delhi. evergreen forest (Ali & Ripley 1983). The second sighting from On another occasion, an Indian Pitta was sighted and 2014 leads us to propose that the Indian Pitta may have regained photographed [122] in ABP. On the sunny morning of 10 October a pit stop habitat in Delhi. 2013, at 0945 hrs, while on a regular photographic session, BirdLife International (2014) considers these species as of YA encountered the bird in one of the restored mining areas Least Concern, but the Indian Pitta’s population is suspected to be in decline; as a result of ongoing forest clearance to make way for agriculture and urban development. Large numbers are trapped during migration for human consumption, whereas Oriental Pied Hornbill has traditionally been captured for the local pet trade in Myanmar (BirdLife International 2014). The casques of Oriental Pied Hornbills are common souvenirs in the markets of north- eastern India, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. However, this species is considered the most adaptable of hornbills to landscape modification. Both species have been sighted after nearly 63 and 70 years respectively in the Union Territory of Delhi. ABP, which is spread over c. 280.45 ha, was once over-mined, and is completely infested with Prosopis juliflora (an invasive Mexican species) thus losing indigenous biodiversity. Restoration work started in 2004 and it has paid off as several rare birds

Photos: Yasser Arafat have been sighted in the area. Both species have different habitat 121. A flock of House Crows mobbed the Oriental Pied Hornbill. requirements, and feeding habits, but the varying topography of Murukesh & Balakrishnan: Wynaad Laughing-thrush 133

ABP and regeneration of lost biotic communities provide habitats from http://www.birdlife.org on 26/09/2015. for diverse bird species. It is anticipated that in future many other BirdLife International, 2015. Species factsheet: Pitta brachyura. Downloaded from http:// bird species, which were sighted in Delhi in the past, will once www.birdlife.org on 26/09/2015. again be found in ABP. Frome, N. F., 1948. The birds of Delhi and district. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 47 (2): 277–300. Ganguli, U., 1975. A guide to the birds of the Delhi area. New Delhi: Indian Council of Acknowledgements Agricultural Research. Pp. i–xv, 1–301. Gaston, A. J., 1978. The seasonal occurrence of birds on the New Delhi Ridge. Journal of We thank Bikram Grewal for his inputs to an earlier draft of the manuscript. the Bombay Natural History Society 75 (1): 115–128. Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 1998. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 1st References ed. London: Christopher Helm, A & C Black. Pp. 1–888. Harvey, B., Devasar, N., & Grewal, B., 2006. Atlas of the birds of Delhi and Haryana. 1st Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1983. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with ed. New Delhi: Rupa & Co. Pp. 1–352. those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Compact ed. Delhi: Oxford Kalpavriksh. 1991. The Delhi ridge forest: Decline and conservation. New Delhi: University Press. Pp. i–xlii, 1 l., pp. 1–737, 56 ll. Kalpavriksh. Pp. 1–49. BirdLife International, 2015. Species factsheet: Anthracoceros albirostris. Downloaded

A futile nesting attempt by endemic Wynaad Laughing- thrush Garrulax delesserti in Silent Valley National Park, Kerala, with a comment on its altitudinal distribution M. Divin Murukesh & Peroth Balakrishnan

Murukesh, M. D., & Balakrishnan, P., 2015. A futile nesting attempt by endemic Wynaad Laughing-thrush Garrulax delesserti in Silent Valley National Park, Kerala, with a comment on its altitudinal distribution. Indian BIRDS 10 (5): 133–134. M. Divin Murukesh, Division of Conservation Biology, Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Palode, Thiruvananthapuram 695562, Kerala, India; and Wildlife Research and Conservation Trust, c/o Anupallavi, Chungathara P.O., Nilambur 679334, Kerala, India, Peroth Balakrishnan, Division of Conservation Biology, Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Palode, Thiruvananthapuram 695562, Kerala, India; and Wildlife Research and Conservation Trust, c/o Anupallavi, Chungathara P.O., Nilambur 679334, Kerala, India. E-mail: [email protected] [Corresponding author] Manuscript received on 22 August 2014.

he Wynaad Laughing-thrush Garrulax delesserti is a Western Ghats endemic, found up to Goa in the north (Ali & Ripley T1987), between an altitudinal range that varies from 155 to 1220 m asl (Collar & Robson 2007; Rasmussen & Anderton 2012), but most commonly between 300–900 m—with a single record from 1800 m (Sashikumar et al. 2011a). Its habitat is mainly confined to humid rainforest with thick understory (Ali & Ripley 1987). The global population of this species has not been estimated, but it has been described as uncommon to common throughout its range (Collar & Robson 2007; BirdLife

124. A Wynaad Laughing-thrush carrying fine fibre-like nest material.

International 2014). The birds are noisy but difficult to locate in the undergrowth. They are gregarious, and form groups of up to 30 individuals (Rasmussen & Anderton 2012). They nest mainly during the monsoon (April–September). The nest is a semi- domed cup made up of rootlets or creeper stems, on a bush or saplings. The clutch size comprises three–four, unmarked white eggs (Ali & Ripley 1987). The species has been reported from many protected areas of Kerala (Islam & Rahmani 2004). However, despite its wide distribution, ‘surprisingly there are no Photos: M. Divin Murukesh 123. Breeding pair of Wynaad Laughing-thrush observed at Silent Valley National Park. recent breeding records from Kerala’ (Sashikumar et al. 2011a), 134 Indian Birds Vol. 10 No. 5 (Publ. 2 November 2015)

except that of a juvenile at Vellarimala on 07 March 2011, being 2014, no other breeding activity of the species was observed. Of fed by adults (Sashikumar et al. 2011b). these, nine observations were from the elevation range already We observed the nesting behaviour of the Wynaad Laughing- stated, while two were from 2004 m at Sispara, close to the thrush on 08 March 2014, at Sairandhri (11.83°N, 76.43°E; 1017 Mukurthi National Park. This may probably the highest altitudinal m asl), Silent Valley National Park, Kerala [123]. Two birds were record for this species. seen carrying fine fibre-like nest material from the undergrowth The lack of observations on the breeding activities suggests [124], a Strobilanthes patch, to the nesting tree, Mesua ferrea the need of a systematic study on the breeding status and with a height of 9.5 m. The pair was observed at this activity for productivity of this endemic species. more than an hour; 1100–1230 hrs, making 11 trips altogether to the nest, at intervals of three to fifteen minutes. After this, Acknowledgements the pair disappeared into same undergrowth. There were no activities at the nest site in the afternoon. The observations presented were made during a study funded by the SERB, Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India. We thank the Kerala Forest and Wildlife On the next day, nest construction lasted for about 20 min., Department for the permissions. with the birds bringing nest material to the nest site only three times. On the third day we did not see the birds at the site. References On the fourth day, one bird was sitting on a top branch of the Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1987. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together ‘nest’ tree, for about ten minutes before it disappeared. with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Compact ed. New Delhi: We continued our observations for the next five days, but did Oxford University Press. not spot the birds there, which indicates that they deserted the BirdLife International., 2014. Species factsheet: Garrulax delesserti. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 19/08/2014. nest for unknown reason. Collar, N. & Robson, C., 2007. Wynaad Laughingthrush (Dryonastes delesserti). In: del Ali & Ripley (1987) reported the breeding season of the Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.) (2014). Handbook Wynaad Laughing-thrush as April to August in Kerala, and found of the Birds of the World Alive. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. their nests in bushes, saplings, and Strobilanthes, within a couple Islam, M. Z., & Rahmani, A. R., 2004. Important Bird Areas in India: Priority sites for of meters from the ground. However, our observation of the conservation. Mumbai: Indian Bird Conservation Network: Bombay Natural nesting activity, and the sighting of the juvenile bird by Sashikumar History Society and BirdLife International. et al. (2011b), was in early March. Zacharias (1997) reported a Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. possible communal nesting behaviour of the species from Periyar Barcelona: Lynx Edcions. Sashikumar, C., Praveen, J., Palot, M. J., & Nameer, P.O., 2011a. Birds of Kerala, Status Tiger Reserve where the birds built the nest at a height of three and Distribution. Kottayam: DC Books. meters on an Actinodaphne hirsuta tree. However, during our Sashikumar, C., Vishnudas, C.K, Raju S, Vinayan, P.A. & Shebin, V.A., 2011b. Malabar observations, the nest platform—an irregularly arranged clump of Ornithological Survey Report 2010-2011. Report submitted to Kerala Forests & fibres—that the birds constructed was placed nine meters above Wildlife Department. the ground. Zacharias, V. J., 1997. Possible communal nesting in the Wynaad Laughing Thrush Although 11 sightings, of 39 Wynaad Laughing-thrushes were Garrulax delesserti (Jerdon). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 94: made in the Silent Valley National Park, from March 2013 to May 414.

First record of European Roller Coracias garrulus from Tamil Nadu Sarayu R.

Sarayu R., 2015. First record of European Roller Coracias garrulus from Tamil Nadu. Indian BIRDS 10 (5): 134–135. Sarayu Ramakrishnan, D-308, Sreevatsa Residency, 10, Mettupalayam Road, G. N. Mills, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail: [email protected] Manuscript received on 29 October 2014.

Introduction Indian states like Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat. The peninsular The European Roller Coracias garrulus is a fall migrant through Indian region, not being in the direct flight path to the wintering much of north-western-, and central- India, occasionally reaching grounds in Africa, only attracts a few stragglers; mostly young the eastern parts of southern peninsular India (Rasmussen & birds. Narayanan et al. (2008) summarise the records for the Anderton 2012). Its nearest breeding population is in Central southern states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, and the undivided Asia; its entire global population winters in Africa. Two subspecies erstwhile Andhra Pradesh from where this species has been are recognised: C. g. semenowi breeds from Iraq eastwards, recorded, till 2008, on 18 instances from 15 locations. Kerala through Kashmir, to north-western China, and is believed to pass records are from: the Irupathinalayiram Kayal area, Alappuzha through the Indian Subcontinent during autumn. District on 29 October 2002 (Narayanan et al. 2008), and from Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary on 28 November 2002 by Eldhouse (Sashikumar et al. 2011). Subsequently, there are several records Migration records for southern India for the European Roller from northern Kerala (Keralabirder). The During the autumn/fall migration, this species occurs widely as most recent sighting from southern India was from the Union a passage migrant throughout Pakistan, and the north-western Territory of Puducherry on 10 January 2014 by Lekshmi (2014). Kumar: Rosy Starling 135

additional confirmation that it was indeed a European Roller. It is worth noting that the area around this part of Tirupur District mostly comprises dry fallow land, with sparsely vegetated thorn scrub. From these reports, it transpires that the species may be a regular passage migrant through southern peninsular India as well, and was probably overlooked in the past, or misidentified as the commoner Indian Roller.

Acknowledgements I am deeply indebted to Rajah Jayapal, SACON, and G. Parameswaran for their valuable assistance with the preparation of the note. My thanks are also owed to Praveen J., and V. Santharam for their immense help in locating past records of this species from Photo: Sarayu R XX1&2. European Roller. 125. European Roller. southern peninsular India.

First sighting of a European Roller from Tamil Nadu References During a recent visit to our family farm located in Kathakottai del Hoyo, J., & Collar, N. J., 2014. HBW and BirdLife International illustrated checklist of (10.81ºN, 77.76ºE), 20 km east of Dharapuram, in Tirupur the birds of the world. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. Vol. District (Tamil Nadu), I photographed a European Roller [125], 1 of 2 vols. Pp. 1–903. Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. and confirmed its ID with the help of Grimmettet al. (2011). On London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528. 12 October 2014 around 1200 hrs, while we were working in the Keralabirder. 2015. [European Roller.] URL: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/ farm-field, I noticed eight Paddyfield PipitsAnthus rufulus perched keralabirder. on the power lines nearby. Around 1230 hrs a roller arrived Lekshmi, R., 2014. [European Roller from Puducherry.] URL: https://in.groups.yahoo. and perched on a nearby tree Acacia leucophloea. It looked a com/neo/groups/Tamilbirds/conversations/messages/6880. little different from the much more common Indian Roller C. Narayanan, S. P., Sajith, K. M., Pillai, A. P., Narendran, M. M., & Sreekumar, B., 2008. benghalensis, which is usually seen in these parts. I immediately Records of European Roller Coracias garrulus from southern Peninsular India, rushed inside, got my camera, and took a few photographs of including the first sighting from Kerala. Indian Birds 4 (1): 2–5. Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide: attributes the bird; later confirmed it as a European Roller—a possible first and status. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and for the state of Tamil Nadu. During these events, the European Lynx Edicions. Vol. 2 of 2 vols. Pp. 1–683. Roller flew from plant to plant. Even though its flight pattern was Sashikumar, C., Praveen J., Palot, M. J., & Nameer, P. O., 2011. Birds of Kerala: status and similar to that of an Indian Roller, its dark flight feathers provided distribution. 1st ed. Kottayam, Kerala: DC Books. Pp. 1–835.

Rosy Starling Pastor roseus: A first record from Uttarakhand, India Raman Kumar

Kumar, R., 2015. Rosy Starling Pastor roseus: A first record from Uttarakhand, India. Indian BIRDS 10 (5): 135–136. Raman Kumar, Nature Science Initiative, 36 Curzon Road, Dehradun 248001, Uttarakhand, India. Email: [email protected]. Manuscript received on 14 May 2013.

uring a field survey for birds in the Doon Valley (Dehradun The area where I saw the starling is an open strip of land lying District of Uttarakhand) I encountered a Rosy Starling between the River Suswa (a tertiary tributary of River Ganga), DPastor roseus in Khatta Pani village (30.22°N, 78.04°E) and Nagsidh Reserved Forest in Dehradun Forest Division. The on 07 May 2013 at 0830 hrs. A single individual of this species forest is dominated by fairly dense sal Shorea robusta, with was observed and photographed on a rohini tree Mallotus small numbers of trees such as sain Terminalia alata, rohini, philippensis [126]. The Rosy Starling was foraging on its open fruit and haldu Adina cordifolia, occurring as associates (Champion and was accompanied by two Jungle Mynas Acridotheres fuscus, & Seth 1968). However, the vegetation between the forest and one Asian Pied Starling Gracupica contra, and two Red-vented the river is open, and consists of a mix of riverine trees (shisham Bulbuls Pycnonotus cafer. After a feeding bout that lasted about Dalbergia sissoo, and semal Bombax ceiba) and crop fields five minutes the Rosy Starling flew to Litseaa monopetala tree where wheat had recently been harvested. (that was c. 15 m high, and about 5 m away from the rohini tree) The Rosy Starling is a winter visitor to peninsular India and where it perched near the top for about 15 min. While perching, it Sri Lanka (Ali & Ripley 1986; Rasmussen & Anderton 2005). In periodically sang, before returning again to the rohini tree to feed. northern, and western India, including the Indo-Gangetic plains, For nearly an hour the bird alternated between feeding on the this bird is seen during early summer when it makes a passage to rohini, and perching (and singing) on the Litsea tree. its breeding grounds in south-eastern Europe, south-western Asia, 136 Indian Birds Vol. 10 No. 5 (Publ. 2 November 2015)

and the Middle East (Ali & Ripley 1986). However, observations of the Rosy Starling in the sub-Himalayan or Himalayan areas are very rare (please see distribution map in Grimmett et al. 2011: 404). Published bird checklists, relevant to the Doon Valley in particular (Pandey et al. 1994; Mohan 1996; Singh 2000), and for similar landscapes in the region (Sharma et al. 2003) have no record of the Rosy Starling. The bird is also not listed in the official checklist of birds published by the Uttarakhand Forest Department (Mohan & Sinha 2003). Hence, according to the best of my knowledge, this species has never been observed in Uttarakhand and this sighting is a new record for the state. Since only a single individual was seen of this otherwise highly gregarious bird, it is likely that the Rosy Starling I observed was a vagrant.

Acknowledgements I am grateful to Mohammed Bashir for assistance in field, and Soumya Prasad for support. Kumar Raman Photo:

References Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1986. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Cuckoo-shrikes to babaxes. 2nd (Hardback) ed. Delhi: (Sponsored by Bombay Natural History Society.) Oxford University Press. Vol. 5 of 10 vols. Pp. i–xvi, 1–278+2+8 ll. 126. Rosy Starling feeding on Mallotus sp. tree, Doon Valley. Champion, H. G., & Seth, S. K., 1968. A revised survey of the forest types of India. Government of India, Delhi. Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. D. V. S., & Johnsingh, A. J. T., 1995. Birds of Rajaji National Park, India. Forktail 10: London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528. 105–114 (1994). Mohan, D., 1997. Birds of New Forest, Dehra Dun, India. Forktail 12 (August): 19–30. Sharma, M., Harvey, B., Devasar, N., & Grewal, B., 2003. A checklist of the birds of Mohan, D., & Sinha, S., 2003. Birds of Uttaranchal (A checklist). Uttaranchal Forest Corbett Tiger Reserve, Ramnnagar, India. Corbett Tiger Reserve: Ramnagar. Department: Dehradun. Singh, A. P., 2000. Birds of lower Garhwal Himalayas: Dehra Dun valley and neighbouring Pandey, S., Joshua, J., Rai, N. D., Mohan, D., Rawat, G. S., Sankar, K., Katti, M. V., Khati, hills. Forktail 16: 101–123.

A report of Brambling Fringilla montifringilla from Mandala Road, Arunachal Pradesh Qupeleio De Souza

De Souza, Q., 2015. A report of Brambling Fringilla montifringilla from Mandala Road, Arunachal Pradesh. Indian BIRDS 10 (5): 136–137. Qupeleio De Souza, India Nature Tourism, A-203 Chowgule Meadows, Paithona, Goa 403101, India. Email: [email protected] Manuscript received on 07 October 2015.

he Brambling Fringilla montifringilla is a medium-sized and from Dharamshala (Robson 2000; den Besten 2004; migratory finch that is widespread throughout northern Sharma et al 2013). TEurope and Asia. It breeds in a broad band spanning Reported sightings becoming increasingly sparse further east the boreal zone of Eurasia, from northern Europe to eastern across Nepal, from where only sporadic records exist (Inskipp & Russia, wintering further south in a narrow belt from western Inskipp 1985; Robson 2006), and through the eastern Himalaya and southern Europe through North Africa, the Middle East, of Bhutan and north-eastern India where there is a noticeable Afghanistan, Pakistan, and across the western Himalaya to China gap in documented distribution (Clement & Arkhipov 2010; and Japan (Spierenburg 2005; Clement & Arkhipov 2010). Grimmett et al. 2011; Rasmussen & Anderton 2012). In Bhutan Within the Indian Subcontinent the Brambling is a regular the Brambling is considered a vagrant, recorded once on 06 winter visitor to Balochistan, and to the northern districts of May 1990 when a single bird was observed in the Tang Valley, Pakistan during spring migration (Roberts 1992; Spierenburg Bumthang District (Clements 1992; Spierenburg 2005). 2005). In India, records exist from Kashmir (Ward 1906), and On 07 March 2013 a group of six Brambling was observed Ladakh (Pfister 2004), as well as a scattered records from along the Mandala Road (27.55°N 92.43°E), near the town Himachal Pradesh; from Manali (Robson 1997; Prasad 2006), of Dirang, West Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh. Of these, De Souza: Brambling 137 Photos: Qupeleio De Souza

127. Brambling male coming into breeding plumage. 128. Male Brambling.

one individual male, in the early stages of assuming breeding References plumage, was photographed [127]. This being a distinctively Choudhury, A., 2006. A pocket guide to the birds of Arunachal Pradesh. 1st ed. marked species, the flock was immediately set apart by the bold Guwahati: Gibbon Books & The Rhino Foundation for Nature in NE India. Pp. orange and black colouration, particularly, the male bird, which 1–109. displayed bright orange throat, breast, and dark-spotted flanks Clement, P., & Arkhipov, V., 2010. Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) [Online]. In: del contrasting with white belly, mottled black head, scalloped black/ Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.) (2013). Handbook brown mantle, and black-tipped yellow bill; identification was of the birds of the world Alive. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. URL: http://www.hbw. straightforward [128]. com/node/61288. [Accessed 7 October 2014.] Clements, F. A., 1992. Recent records of birds from Bhutan. Forktail 7 (June): 57–73. Brambling is not listed in the checklist of the birds of den Besten, J. W., 2004. Eurasian Linnet (Carduelis cannabina), Chaffinch (Fringilla Arunachal Pradesh compiled by Choudhury (2006), concurrent coelebs), Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. Journal with Rasmussen & Anderton (2012), who describe the reports of of the Bombay Natural History Society 101 (2): 325–326. its sporadic winter occurrence within the Himalaya not extending Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. beyond Bhutan. This sighting from the Mandala Road is almost London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528. certainly the first documented record of Brambling for the state. Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 1985. A Guide to the Birds of Nepal. 1st ed. London / New It is possible that further sightings exist, but remain unpublished, Delhi: Croom Helm / UBS Publishers’ Distributors Ltd. Pp. 1–392. including that of a flock of 8+ at Anini, Dibang Valley (28.79°N Lawton, N., 2013. A Norfolk birder in Thailand [Online]. URL: http:// norfolkbirderinthailand.blogspot.in/2013_01_01_archive.html. [Accessed 7 95.90°E), observed by M. F. Ahmed in February 2002 (M. Firoz October 2014.] Ahmed verbally, 11 March 2013). That Brambling is present in Pfister, O., 2004. Birds and mammals of Ladakh. 1st ed. New Delhi: Oxford University this region should perhaps not come as a surprise given the Press. Pp. i–xxvii, 1–361. wider distribution of the species, particularly in south-western Prasad, A., 2006. Some interesting bird records from Manali, Himachal Pradesh. Indian China. It is probable that this species has been overlooked here Birds 2 (1): 8–9. due to its presence during harsh winter conditions in remote Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2nd ed. and relatively less visited mountainous regions. It remains to be Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. 2 vols. seen whether Brambling will be confirmed as a regular winter Pp. 1–378; 1–683. Roberts, T. J., 1992. The Birds of Pakistan. Passeriformes: Pittas to Buntings. 1st ed. visitor to north-eastern India, and Bhutan, which would represent Karachi: Oxford University Press. Vol. 2 of 2 vols. Pp. i–xxxv, 1–617. a considerable eastward extension to its known wintering range Robson, C., 1997. India. Oriental Bird Club Bulletin 25: 63–64. within the Himalaya (Clements 1992), or whether these sparse Robson, C., 2000. From the field: India. Oriental Bird Club Bulletin 32: 68–69. records refer to vagrancy. Robson, C., 2006. From the field: Nepal. BirdingASIA 6: 94. Elsewhere in the Oriental region, J. Hornskov reports that Sharma, M., Abhinav, C., & Dhadwal, D. S., 2013. Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs, Brambling 2013 appeared to have been a better-than-average year for F. montifringilla, and Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella in Himachal Pradesh, the species in parts of China (Jesper Hornskov, verbally, 10 India. Indian BIRDS 8 (6): 156–157. March 2013), while there were further extralimital reports of two Spierenburg, P., 2005. Birds in Bhutan. Status and distribution. 1st ed. Bedford, U.K.: Oriental Bird Club. Pp. 1–383. Brambling, male and female, during the same winter period at Ward, A. E., 1906. Birds of the provinces of Kashmir and Jammu and adjacent districts. Doi Inthanon, Thailand, on 17 and 18 January 2013, adding to Part II. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 17 (2): 479–485. just a handful of records for that country (Lawton 2013; Andrew Pierce verbally, 13 March 2013). With the compliments of Acknowledgements G.B.K. Charitable Trust Thanks to Jesper Hornskov, Kulojyotu Lahkar, M. Firoz Ahmed, and Andrew Pierce for their valuable comments on the extralimital distribution of Brambling in India, and more B-1/504, Marathon Innova, Ganapatrao Kadam Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai 400013. widely in Asia, and Praveen J. for commenting on an earlier version of the manuscript. 138 Indian Birds Vol. 10 No. 5 (Publ. 2 November 2015)

Sind Woodpecker Dendrocopos assimilis from Jaisalmer District, Rajasthan, India Anant Pande, Anirudhkumar G. Vasava, Ridhima Solanki & C. M. Bipin

Pande, A., Vasava, A. G., Solanki, R., & Bipin, C. M., 2015. Sind Woodpecker Dendrocopos assimilis from Jaisalmer District, Rajasthan, India. Indian BIRDS 10 (5): 138–139. Anant Pande, Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun 248001, India. E-mail: [email protected] [Corresponding author.] Anirudhkumar G. Vasava, Voluntary Nature Conservancy, Vallabh Vidyanagar 388120, Gujarat, India. Ridhima Solanki, Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun 248001, India. C. M. Bipin, Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun 248001, India. Manuscript received on 04 July 2015.

he Sind Woodpecker Dendrocopos assimilis is described Rajasthan. The birds were photographed [129, 130], and both as resident in the north-western parts of the Indian were immediately identified as Sind Woodpecker using the TSubcontinent, being widespread only in Pakistan (Ali & Ripley available field guide (Grimmettet al. 2011). 1983; Grimmett et al. 2011), while near-endemic to South Asia The species was identified by the black malar stripe extending (Rasmussen & Anderton 2012). Its range within India has been to meet the black area on the neck-sides, and the large white patch depicted as: along the western border of India, making a small on shoulder and head. The photographed individual was identified incursion in Punjab up to Ludhiana (BirdLife International 2014). as a male, as it had a red crown (Rasmussen & Anderton 2012), Specimens from Firozpur, in the western parts of the Punjab but we could not identify the gender of the other bird. Realising the (India), and Sirsa (western Haryana), have been mentioned importance of the sighting, we watched the two birds foraging on by Rasmussen & Anderton (2012). We describe here the first the tree trunk for some time until they flew away. photographic record of a Sind Woodpecker from India. One bird was seen again at c. 1600 hrs, three days later On the evening of 09 August 2011, at c. 1730 hrs, we on 12 August 2011, c. 100 m away from the place of the first noticed two woodpeckers on a Prosopis cineraria tree near sighting. Another was sighted at the first location on 22 August Murar (26.62°N, 70.02°E), Shahgarh tehsil, Jaisalmer District, 2011 [131], feeding on the trunk of an Acacia sp. tree.

129. Sind Woodpecker at Murar, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, seen on 09 August 2011. 131. Sind woopecker seen on 22 August 2011.

Murar has an undulating landscape, with sand dunes and patches of vegetation. The area is part of the Shahgarh grasslands in the Desert-Thar biogeographic Zone (zone 3A) of India (Rodgers et al. 2002). Vegetation of the area is classified as northern tropical thorn forest (6b)—subdivision desert thorn forest-type C1 (Champion & Seth 1968). The dominant vegetation comprises— trees: Capparis decidua, Prosopis cineraria, and Salvadora persica; scrub: Leptadenia pyrotechnica; and grasses: Lasiurus scindicus and Cenchrus catharticus. The birds were seen very close to the international border of India and Pakistan, which is sparsely populated due to harsh climatic conditions, and security restrictions imposed by the government (Pande et al. 2013). An earlier record of this species was from Sind, Pakistan, 130. Sind woodpecker feeding on Prosopis cineraria tree bark on 9th Aug 2011. and comprised part of John Henry Gould’s museum collections Letters to the Editor 139

deposited at the Natural History Museum, England, registered as Change funded project Reintroduction of Cheetah in India. BMNH 60.4.16.114 (Jansen 2013). While the specimen from Firozpur mentioned in Rasmussen & Anderton (2012) remains References untraced, their Sirsa record must refer to the one collected by A. Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1983. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with O. Hume from “Urnecwalla, Sirsa” (or Urneewalla) [=Arniwala, those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Compact ed. Delhi: Oxford Sirsa, Haryana 30.07°N, 74.47°E], on 04 February 1870 and now University Press. Pp. i–xlii, 1 l., pp. 1–737, 56 ll. in BMNH (Hargitt 1890). It is a common bird in almost all parts BirdLife International. 2015. Species factsheet: Dendrocopos assimilis. Downloaded of Pakistan except in the Baluchistan region up to the Afghanistan from http://www.birdlife.org on 17/06/2015. border in the north, and eastern Iran (BirdLife International 2015). BirdLife International, & NatureServe, 2014. Bird species distribution maps of the World. Hence, this sighting is not unexpected, given the proximity 2012. Dendrocopos assimilis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version of its location to the described range of the species (just across 2014.3. the Indo-Pak border in Jaisalmer). However, this is its first Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528. photographic record from India, and thus is noteworthy. Since Hargitt, E., 1890. Catalogue of the Passeriformes, or Perching Birds, in the collection it inhabits riverine tracts among sand dunes and tree plantations of the British Museum. Scansores, containing the family Picidæ. London: British in canal-irrigated desert areas (Ali & Ripley 1983), it is possible Museum of Natural History. Vol. XVIII of 27 vols. Pp. i–xv, 1–579. that it might be moving further east towards the area irrigated by Jansen, J. J. F. J., 2013. John Henry Gould’s (1830–1855) ornithological collections from Indira Gandhi canal in Rajasthan. the Indian Subcontinent. Indian BIRDS 8 (1): 18–19. Pande, A., Vasava, A., Solanki, R., & Bipin, C. M., 2013. Photographic records of the Asiatic Wildcat from two states of India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 5 (17): 5283–5287. Acknowledgement Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2nd ed. The authors would like to thank Bikram Grewal, Rajah Jayapal and Praveen J for species Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. 2 vols. identification. We are grateful to Rajasthan Forest Department and Border Security Force Pp. 1–378; 1–683. for granting permission to work in Shahgarh area. We express our gratitude to Y. V. Jhala Rodgers, W. A., Panwar, H. S., & Mathur, V. B., 2002. Wildlife protected area network for his constant encouragement and support during the project. These records were in India: a review (executive summary). Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. made while surveying the area for the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate

Letters to the Editor

Pigeons adopt a pebble after failure to lay eggs of a sixth floor apartment in Gurgaon. The pigeons never laid any Many species of birds readily accept and incubate eggs of other egg in the rudimentary nest they built with few twigs. Eventually, nest parasitic species. Scientists often use devices disguised to on 13 May 2010, they adopted and started incubating a pebble resemble normal eggs to study the incubation conditions. There [132A], which was already present in the pot, about five cm are published (Conover 1985), and anecdotal (BBC News 2004) from the location where it was finally moved and incubated. The reports of birds incubating foreign objects along with their normal pebble was much bigger than a pigeon’s egg in all its dimensions clutch, even moving [132C]. Both the male and the female took turns in incubating them back to the nest the pebble, as per the reported normal daily schedule for the if displaced. However, pigeons (Cornell Lab of Ornithology 2010). During the entire in all the reported incubation period the nest was continuously tended, nesting cases foreign objects material being brought and placed around the stone. Although are accepted in lieu of, the nest was rudimentary during the first two weeks[132B] , a or perhaps in addition large amount of the nesting material was brought on the 15th, to the eggs already laid and 16th days, close to the expected hatching time. The pebble in the nest by the birds. was finally abandoned on the 27th day (09 June 2010), which For example, gulls are is much later than the normal average incubation period of 18 more likely to abandon days for rock pigeons. the nest if all the three I thank Mridula Jain, formerly of the Department of Zoology, eggs of a clutch were Panjab University, Chandigarh, for her suggestions on an earlier replaced with pebbles draft of this note. (Conover 1985). I report here an – Neeraj Jain National Brain Research Centre, NH 8, Nainwal Road, observation of a pair of Manesar (Haryana) 122051, India. E-mail: [email protected] Rock Pigeons Columba livia that adopted 132. (A) The female pigeon incubating the pebble. A a pebble following References part of the pebble was always exposed, presumably their failure to lay a BBC News. 2004. Sad flamingo tries to hatch stone. URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/ due to its large size. (B) The nest on the second day uk_news/england/gloucestershire/3700000.stm [Accessed on 28 July 2010.] of incubation. For the first two weeks the nest was clutch. This pair tried, Conover, M. R., 1985. Foreign objects in bird nests. The Auk 102: 696–700. rudimentary with only few twigs placed around it. (C) unsuccessfully, to build th The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 2010. All about birds—Rock Pigeon. URL: http://www. The nest on the 17 day of the incubation with large a nest in a flower pot amount of the nesting material. The inset shows a allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rock_Pigeon/lifehistory [Accessed on 28 July 2010.] pigeon egg scaled to the same size for comparison. placed in the balcony 140 Indian Birds Vol. 10 No. 5 (Publ. 2 November 2015)

Discourage voice playbacks in the breeding season in Birding Australia ([email protected]), Paul McDonald was Vyas et al. (2013) made heavy use of call playbacks to assess apt, “Birders are effectively simulating the resident bird ‘losing’ to the status of the Brown Fish Owl Ketupa zeylonensis during its the mp3 player that it fails to evict from its territory”. breeding season, in the vicinity of an actively nesting pair. In light Usage of playbacks is an invaluable tool for field ornithologists, of published evidence on the detrimental effects of call playbacks and we are certainly not discouraging all such studies. Vyas et al. (some reviewed below), we believe that this methodology, in (2013) could have attempted their call playback surveys in the the otherwise good article, was unethical. Ornithological journals non-breeding season. Owls are generally known to respond to should exercise greater caution and discretion while considering playbacks at any time of the year (Palmer & Rawinski 1986; papers that have indiscriminately used call playbacks, especially Redpath 1994) since calling behaviour in owls may be as during the critical breeding season. important for intra-pair communication as territory defence It is well known that birds are most sensitive to disturbance (Ganey 1990). during breeding (GÖtmark 1992; Knight & Cole 1995; Ṣekercioḡlu 2002). Birders and researchers must exercise proper References restraint during this critical time of avian lifecycle. Owls may American Birding Association. 2015. Principles of birding ethics. URL: http://www.aba. alter their territorial boundaries when confronted with repeated org/about/ethics.html. [Accessed 20 January 2015.] playbacks (Smith 1987), and such super-stimuli may lead to Ganey, J. L., 1990. Calling behaviour of Spotted Owls in northern Arizona. The Condor habituation (Harris & Haskell 2013) that may make them ignore 92 (2): 485–490. legitimate threats. The American Birding Association’s (2015) GÖtmark, F., 1992. The effects of investigator disturbance on nesting birds. In: Current Code of Birding Ethics specifically prohibits the use of playbacks Ornithology 9. (Power, D. M., ed.). pp. 63–104. Harris, J. B. C., & Haskell, D. G., 2013. Simulated birdwatchers’ playback affects the for any rare bird, and large owls, by their very nature of being top behaviour of two tropical birds. PLoS ONE 8: 1–8. predators, are locally rare everywhere. Knight, R. L., & Cole, D. N., 1995. Factors that affect wildlife responses to recreationists. Song playbacks can significantly increase stress in birds and In: Wildlife and recreationists: Coexistence through management and research. take time away from critical activities. Red-winged Blackbirds Knight, R. L., & Gutzwiller, K. J., eds., pp 71–79. Island Press, Washington, D. C., responded to playbacks by increased song rate and intensity U.S.A. of displays (Yasukawa et al. 1982). Rufous Antpittas Grallaria Mennill, D. J., Ratcliffe, L. M., & Boag, P. T., 2002. Female eavesdropping on male song rufula and Plain-tailed Wrens Pheugopedius euophrys produced contests in songbirds. Science 296: 873. more vocalisations following the use of call playbacks (Harris & Palmer, D. A., & Rawinski, J. J., 1986. A technique for locating boreal owls in the fall in the Rocky Mountains. Colorado Field Ornithology 20: 38–41. Haskell 2013). Similarly, Zebra finchesTaeniopygia guttata that Redpath, S. M., 1994. Censusing tawny owls Strix aluco by the use of imitation calls. Bird were subjected to song supplements from their own colony sang Study 41: 192–198. more than control males (Waas et al. 2005). The increase in Ṣekercioḡlu, C. H., 2002. Impacts of birdwatching on human and avian communities. vocalisations and displays could indicate high stress levels and Environmental Conservation 29: 282–289. could entail expenditure of more time and energy in responding Smith, D. G., 1987. Owl census techniques. In: Nero, R.W., Clark, R. J., Knapton, R. J., to the playback. This can negatively impact breeding success by Hamre, R. H., eds. Biology and conservation of Northern Forest Owls: Symposium taking time away from foraging and other maintenance activities. proceedings; February 3–7; Winnipeg, MB. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-142. Fort Collins, Moreover, luring a male bird away from its nest or territory makes CO. Vyas, R., Upadhayay, K., Patel, M. R., Bhatt, R. D., & Patel, P., 2013. Notes on the breeding the nest vulnerable for predation or desertion ( ekercio lu Ṣ ḡ of the Brown Fish Owl Ketupa zeylonensis. Indian BIRDS 8 (6): 147–153. 2002), or the territory likely to be usurped by other males. Waas, J. R., Colgan, P. W., & Boag, P. T., 2005. Playback of colony sound alters the Playbacks can cause more than mere stress and loss of breeding schedule and clutch size in zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) colonies. time or territory. Mennill et al. (2002) showed that high-ranking Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 272: 383–388. male Black-capped Chickadees Poecile atricapilla that lost song Wikelski, M., Hau, M., & Wingfield, J. C., 1999. Social instability increases plasma contests with simulated aggressive males lost paternity in their testosterone in a year-round territorial Neotropical bird. Proceedings of the Royal nests because their females sought extra-pair copulations with Society B. 266: 551–556. adjacent males. This artificially induced decrease in nesting Yasukawa, K., Bick, E. I., Wagman, D. W., & Marler, P., 1982. Playback and speaker- replacement experiments on song-based neighbour, stranger, and self success of dominant, presumably more robust, males could discrimination in male Red-winged Blackbirds. Behavioral Ecology and result in negative fitness consequences for the population. Sociobiology 10 (3): 211–215. Playbacks can also induce aggressive behaviour in tropical non- migratory species when it is unwarranted. Male Spotted Antbirds – Ragupathy Kannan Hylophylax naevioides showed spikes in testosterone levels Department of Biology, when subjected to playbacks from potential enemies, even in University of Arkansas, Fort Smith, the non-breeding season when their gonads are fully regressed Arkansas 72913, (Wikelski et al. 1999). U.S.A. The first author of this letter leads birding tours regularly to the E-mail: [email protected] tropics, to areas highly frequented by birders. He has anecdotal evidence of the effects of playbacks by birders seeking a glimpse – Brihadeesh Santharam 68 Santhome High Road, of rare or elusive species. In the Northern Range of Trinidad (West Ist floor, Indies), local, highly experienced bird guides lament that the Chennai 600028, Scaled Antpitta G. guatimalensis is not seen in areas it used to India. E-mail: [email protected] frequent before the digital revolution (which made broadcasting equipment more portable and ubiquitous), ostensibly because it has been driven away by song playbacks by overzealous birders (Mahese Ramlal, verbally). In a general discussion on the subject Snapshot sightings 140A

Snapshot sightings

Orange-breasted Green Pigeon from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Nelson George & Able Lawrence A pair of Orange-breasted Green Pigeons Treron bicinctus was seen and photographed on 25 and 27 September 2015 at the same 135 spot inside the campus of History Society (CNHS) at a location (9.97°N, 76.19°E), c. 10 Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate km west of Kochi, in the Arabian Sea. There are less than ten Institute of Medical Sciences confirmed records of this species from India, and only two prior (SGPGIMS) (26.75°N, confirmed records off the coast of Kerala—from the coasts of 80.93°E), Lucknow, Uttar 133 Alappuzha and off-shore waters of Kannur. (Praveen et al. 2013). Pradesh. Though the species is found in the Himalayan Terai, central- and eastern- India till Premchand Reghuvaran, Niradeepam, Ample Nallukettu villa, Elookara ferry Junction, West Bengal, Odisha, and Jharkhand (Grimmett et al. 2011; Muppathadam P.O., Aluva 683110, Kerala, India. Email: [email protected] Rasmussen & Anderton 2012), this is the first photographic Dhanesh Ayyappan, Amritagiri, NKRRA-18, NSS Karayogam Road, Poonithura PO, Kochi, Kerala, record from the Gangetic plains. India. Email: [email protected]

Nelson George, Senior Research Fellow, Dept of Endocrine Surgery, SGPGIMS, Lucknow 226014, Uttar Pradesh, India. E-mail: [email protected] Indian Blue Robin from Amaravati, Maharashtra Able Lawrence MD, DM, Additional Professor, Clinical Immunology, SGPGIMS, Lucknow 226014, Uttar Pradesh, India. E-mail: [email protected] Prajakta Hushangabadkar

Crested Goshawk from Nigadi, Maharashtra Satish Ranadive

136

On 03 October 2010, a male Indian Blue Robin Luscinia brunnea was photographed gleaning in a backyard garden on the outskirts of Amravati city (20.95°N, 77.75°E). It was also observed the 134 next day. This is probably the first photograph from the Vidarbha A solitary sub-adult Crested Goshawk Accipiter trivirgatus was region though it is believed to be a passage migrant across most photographed twice, possibly the same bird, at Nigadi (19.75°N, of central India (Rasmussen & Anderton 2012), and three sight 75.70°E), Pune, Maharashtra on 17 and 27 August 2015. records exist from Nagpur in www.ebird.org. Subsequently, another adult bird was photographed in the same location on 07 October 2015. It is a rare resident in the Western Junior Research Fellow, Pench Tiger Project, Zero Mile, Civil Lines, Nagpur 440001, Ghats of Maharashtra with about five confirmed records (Prasad Maharashtra, India. E-mail: [email protected] 2006; Naoroji 2007); this is perhaps the first photograph of the species from the state. References Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. Flat no. 3, Neha Apartment, Plot no. 243, Yamunanagar, Nigdi, Pune 411044, Maharashtra, India. Email: [email protected] London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528. Naoroji, R., 2007. Birds of prey of the Indian Subcontinent. 1st ed. New Delhi: Om Books International. Pp. 1–692. Jouanin’s Petrel off Kochi, Kerala Prasad, A., 2006. Birds of western Maharashtra. A reference guide. 1st ed. Mapusa, Goa: Other India Press. Pp. 1–315. Premchand Reghuvaran & Dhanesh Ayyappan Praveen J., Jayapal, R., & Pittie, A., 2013. Notes on Indian rarities—1: Seabirds. Indian BIRDS 8 (5): 113–125. On 20 September 2015, a single Jouanin’s Petrel Bulweria fallax Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2nd ed. was photographed on a pelagic trip conducted by Cochin Natural Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. 2 vols. Pp. 1–378; 1–683. For private circulation only.

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