Correspondence 95

On 17 April 2021, during a visit to the forest, I saw a small Per Undeland’s report of a male from Harike Bird Sanctuary in bird sitting on one of the lower branches of a Kikar tree Vachellia September 1998 (Robson 1999) is the only earlier report from nilotica, quite far from me. Initially, I identified it as a Small Punjab, however, no further details are presently available with Minivet Pericrocotus cinnamomeus based upon the grey, black, him (Per Undeland, per. comm., 23, 27 April 2021) and hence and orange colours I noticed. The bird was still very far from me this cannot be assessed. and before I could take any more photographs, it turned, and The Kashmir Flycatcher breeds almost exclusively in Jammu I could just see its silhouette. I noticed that it was bulkier and and Kashmir and winters in the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka (Ali smaller than a Small Minivet and it also had a short tail. I noticed & Ripley 1996). It migrates through peninsular India, and hence, that the bird would often fan its tail in addition to cocking it. I it can be expected on passage, as might have been the bird that didn’t know at that time that this is characteristic behaviour of a I spotted. Kashmir Flycatcher Ficedula subrubra. After some time, the bird I wish to acknowledge Gurpartap Singh, for his help in flew and came closer. When I finally got a good look at the bird, researching for and preparing the manuscript of this article. I I literally jumped with delight. It was an extremely rare Kashmir retrieved relevant literature from Pittie (2021). Flycatcher [122] I was looking at! I approached it cautiously and the bird turned out to be confiding as it allowed a close approach. References The bird often flew down to the ground to pick up insects and Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1996. Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan together with went into dense parts of the Kikar trees to eat them, returning those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Laughing thrushes to the only after finishing. It was easily separated from the Red-breasted Mangrove Whistler. 2nd (Hardback) ed. Delhi: (Sponsored by Bombay Natural History Society.) Oxford University Press. Vol. 7 of 10 vols. pp. i–xiv, 1–236+2, 8 ll. Flycatcher Ficedula parva by having more orange on its throat, its Kazmierczak, K., 2000. A Field Guide to the Birds of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, breast being bordered black, and grey on its face (Kazmierczak Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives.1st ed. New Delhi: Om Book Service. pp. 2000). 1–352. Pittie, A., 2021. Bibliography of South Asian Ornithology. Website URL: http://www. southasiaornith.in/. [Accessed on 20 April 2021.] Robson, C., 1999. India. Oriental Bird Club Bulletin 29: 51–52. – Arjun Basandrai Basandrai Residence, Phillaur 144410, District Jalandhar, Punjab, India. E-mail: [email protected]

Jerdon’s Nightjar Caprimulgus atripennis in West Bengal, India: A range extension Jerdon’s Nightjar Caprimulgus atripennis is a medium-sized nightjar with an overall strongly patterned and warmly coloured body, with a rufous band across nape, rufous ear coverts, completely white throat, a white spot on outer tail feathers, and an unbarred brown breast. It is very similar to the Large-tailed Nightjar C. macrurus but its tail is shorter. Its song is a unique series of liquid, tremulous ‘ch-wo-wo-wo’ calls uttered at the rate of 13–20 per minute (Grimmett et al. 2011). The known distribution of this species is on the forest edges of central and southern Peninsular India and Sri Lanka (Grimmett et al. 2016). Rasmussen & Anderton (2012) stated it occurs with Large- tailed in the northern Eastern Ghats, though not a resident. It is documented roughly southwards of latitude 18°N (Ali & Ripley 1983), while Cleere (2020) adds Odisha to its distribution. We have been visiting the Sal Shorea robusta dominated Bhadutola Reserve Forest (22.49°N, 87.29°E) of Paschim Medinipur District, West Bengal, India since 2017 with our friends.

Arjun Basandrai However, we have been hearing the unique call of Jerdon’s 122. Kashmir Flycatcher. Nightjar together with that of the Indian Nightjar C. asiaticus,

Fig. 1. Sonogram of call of Jerdon’s Nightjar, recorded by Asim Giri (courtesy: xeno-canto.org, XC620018) 96 Indian Birds Vol. 17 No. 3 (Publ. 8 July 2021)

but being unfamiliar with it, thought it was another call of the checklist?subID=S73813408. [Accessed on 20 February 2021]. asiaticus from the forest edges, and so we didn’t record it. On 11 Chakraborty, R., 2020. Website URL: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/ December 2019, we visited the same area and heard the same checklist?subID=S73492284. [Accessed on 20 February 2021]. Chattopadhyay, P., 2019. Website URL: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/ call after dusk; fortunately, SM drew our attention to record and checklist?subID=S59109972. [Accessed on 20 February 2021]. verify that call (Fig. 1). After about an hour of tracking, we finally Cleere, N., 2020. Jerdon’s Nightjar (Caprimulgus atripennis), version 1.0. In Birds got the perched individual calling from a tree branch and then of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, we successfully captured a few photos [123]. All our records are Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. Website URL: https://doi. uploaded to eBird (Giri 2021; Maity 2019, 2020). org/10.2173/bow.jernig1.01. Das, A., 2019a. Website URL: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S60212618. [Accessed on 20 February 2021]. Das, A., 2019b. Website URL: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S60212489. [Accessed on 20 February 2021]. Gauntlett, F. M., 1995. What is the range of Jerdon’s Nightjar? Oriental Bird Club Bulletin 22: 55. Giri, A., 2021. Website URL: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S81946046. [Accessed on 20 February 2021]. Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. New Delhi: Bloomsberry Publishing India Pvt. Ltd. Pp. 1–229. Maity, S., 2019. Website URL: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S71508639. [Accessed on 20 February 2021]. Maity, S., 2020. Website URL: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S75167886. [Accessed on 20 February 2021]. Manna, J., 2018. Website URL: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S43739279. [Accessed on 20 February 2021]. Misra, S., 2020a. Website URL: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S73123206. [Accessed on 20 February 2021]. Misra, S., 2020b. Website URL: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S73123322. [Accessed on 20 February 2021]. Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide: attributes and status. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. Vol. 2 of 2 vols. Pp. 1–683. Asim Giri 123. Jerdon’s Nightjar in Bhadutola Reserve Forest. Raychoudhury, A., 2021. Website URL: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/ checklist?subID=S80633957. [Accessed on 20 February 2021]. – Asim Giri & Sayandeep Maity An earlier isolated record of this species from West Bengal Asim Giri, Rukminipur, Balighai, Purba Medinipur 721422, West Bengal, India. E-mail: [email protected] exists from Durgapur (Gauntlett 1995). In March 2018, Manna Sayandeep Maity, Boxi Bazar, Midnapore, Paschim Medinipur 721101, West Bengal, India. (2018) reported it from the Baranti Reservoir area in Purulia E-mail: [email protected] (23.58°N, 86.84°E). After our record, Chakraborty (2020) reported it on September 2020 from Bishnupur (23.07°N, A case of successful initiative for heronry conservation 87.31°E), and Banerjee (2020) reported it from Joypur Forest in a privately managed wetland (23.05°N, 87.42°E) in Bankura District. Several observers have We first visited the Melmaruvathur heronry (12.431°N, reported it from Biharinath Hill, Purulia (23.57°N, 86.95°E), from 79.827°E) in Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu on 14 February August 2019 onwards, but without supporting photographs (Das 2019 and subsequently on several occasions during 2020 and 2019a, b; Misra 2020a, b). Its call has been recorded in the 2021. The religious institution, Adhiparasakthi Siddharpeedam, Biharinath Hills (Chattopadhyay 2019), and in February 2021 Melmaruvathur, situated south of Chennai manages this 16 Ha in Garpanchkot, Purulia (23.60°N, 86.77°E) (Raychoudhury waterbody. The administration planted saplings of Barringtonia 2021). We also regularly heard calls during winter, after dusk, in acutangula on the mounds in the lake in 2000. By 2014, colonial our location and in Joypur Forest, Bankura (West Bengal), which nesting waterbirds started utilizing the lake extensively and began is the northern most point from where this species has been nesting on the Barringtonia trees. Colonial nesting waterbirds recorded till date. such as Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia (nests (n)=42), Hence, the distribution of this species extends up to the Little Cormorant Microcarbo niger (n=140), Indian Cormorant western part of West Bengal. Though the Indian Nightjar is the Phalacrocorax fuscicollis (n=31), Little Egret Egretta garzetta dominant species here, Jerdon’s is also found in lower numbers, (n=19), Intermediate Egret Ardea intermedia (n=12), Black- and is quite common. crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax (n=21), Indian Pond- We want to thank Ayan Khanra, Amit Sankar Jana, Swajan Heron Ardeola grayii (n=13), Grey Heron A. cinerea (n=31), Rath for accompanying us on those visits and thanks to Sandeep Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala (n=164), Black-headed Ibis Biswas and Kanad Baidya for helping us write this report. Threskiornis melanocephalus (n=28), Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster (n=15), and Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus References philippensis (n=149) were found to be nesting in the lake during Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1983. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with November 2018–May 2019. The nesting here extends into the those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Frogmouths to pittas. 2nd dry months (April–May) and serves as an important feeding (Hardback) ed. Delhi: (Sponsored by Bombay Natural History Society.) Oxford ground, especially for ducks, and as a stopover for waterbirds University Press. Vol. 4 of 10 vols. Pp. i–xvi, 1–267. when the nearby wetlands are dried up. Tree species such as Banerjee, S., 2020. Website URL: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/