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Taiga Flycatcher Ficedula Albicilla in the Saurashtra Region of Gujarat: a Range Extension Prasad Ganpule

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Taiga Flycatcher Ficedula Albicilla in the Saurashtra Region of Gujarat: a Range Extension Prasad Ganpule 20 Indian BirDS VOL. 8 NO. 1 (PUBL. 29 JANUARY 2013) Taiga Flycatcher Ficedula albicilla in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat: a range extension Prasad Ganpule Ganpule, P., 2013. Taiga Flycatcher Ficedula albicilla in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat: a range extension. Indian BIRDS 8 (1): 20. 21. Male Taiga Flycatcher F. albicilla. Prasad Ganpule, C/o Parshuram Pottery Works, Opp Nazarbaug Station, Morbi 363642, Gujarat, India. Email: [email protected] Photo: P. Ganpule Manuscript received on 28 November 2011. he two races of the Red-throated Flycatcher Ficedula p. It is possible that the Taiga Flycatcher may have been parva, and F. p. albicilla have been recently elevated to full overlooked earlier due to plumage similarities to the Red- Tspecies level, the nominate Red-breasted- F. parva, and breasted Flycatcher. Breeding males of both species are easier the Red-throated Flycatcher F. albicilla (Rasmussen & Anderton to identify, though females and juveniles, of both, are similar and 2005). Sangster et al. (2004), and Svensson et al. (2005) invariably difficult to separate in the field. However, characteristics had recommended that the two be treated as separate species like bill colour, under parts colouration and the longest upper based on a combination of morphological, vocal, moult, and tail coverts are significant, and it is possible to separate the two mitochondrial DNA differences. The Red-throated Flycatcher is by careful observation. Cederroth et al. (1999) give details of also known as ‘Taiga Flycatcher’ (Cederroth et al. 1999), and differences between the two species. Svensson et al. (2005) also recommend this name since it This sighting is the western-most record for India and extends is indicative of the bird’s favoured breeding habitat, besides the range of F. albicilla westwards up to the Saurashtra region of avoiding confusion between two similar English names. F. albicilla Gujarat. is hereinafter referred to in this note as Taiga Flycatcher. The Red-breasted Flycatcher is a regular winter migrant to References Gujarat where it is quite commonly found in forests, cultivation, Ali, S., 1955. The birds of Gujarat. Part II. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 52 (4): 735–802. scrub, etc. But there are no earlier records of the Taiga Flycatcher Cederroth, C., Johansson, C., & Svensson, L., 1999. Taiga Flycatcher Ficedula albicilla in from Gujarat (Ali 1955; Dharmakumarsinhji 1955; Parasharya Sweden: the first record in Western Europe. Birding World 12: 460–469. Dharmakumarsinhji, R. S., Undated [=1955]. Birds of Saurashtra, India: With additional et al. 2004); Grimmett et al. (1998), and Kazmierczak (2000) notes on the birds of Kutch and Gujerat. 1st ed. Pp. i–liii, 1–561. Bhavnagar, Sau- have not given separate distribution maps for the two species. rashtra: Published by the author. Rasmussen & Anderton (2005), and Grimmett et al. (2011) give Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 1998. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 1st ed. the winter distribution of the Taiga Flycatcher as mainly in north- Pp. 1–888. London: Christopher Helm, A & C Black. eastern, and eastern India, central India, and the Eastern Ghats, Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. Pp. 1-528. London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. reaching up to western Maharashtra, and Goa. Kazmierczak, K., 2000. A field guide to the birds of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, On 6 April 2011, I observed and photographed an adult Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. 1st ed. Pp. 1–352. London: Pica Press / male Taiga Flycatcher in Morbi, Rajkot district, Gujarat (22º49’N, Christopher Helm. 70º50’E). It had a rufous throat bordered below by a gray breast Parasharya, B. M., Borad, C. K., & Rank, D. N., 2004. A checklist of the birds of Gujarat. band, which is its typical breeding plumage, and diagnostic for 1st ed. Pp. 1–27. Gujarat: Bird Conservation Society. Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2005. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2 vols. the species. Other characteristics, like a smaller all-black bill and 1st ed. Pp. 1–378; 1–683. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution black tail, with black upper tail coverts, were also noted. The and Lynx Edicions. photographs I took further confirmed its identity. The bird was Sangster, G., Collinson, J. M., Helbig, A. J., Knox, A. G., & Parkin, D. T., 2004. Taxonomic seen only for two days. The date of sighting is indicative of it recommendations for British birds: second report. Ibis 146: 153–157. being a spring passage migrant. This was also the first time I had Svensson, L., Collinson, M., Knox, A. G., Parkin, D. T., & Sangster, G., 2005. Species limits in the Red-breasted Flycatcher. British Birds 98 (October): 538–541. noted it here. Occurrence of Yellow-throated Bulbul Pycnonotus xantholaemus in Yelagiri Hills, Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu Kalai Mani A. Mani A., K., 2013. Occurrence of Yellow-throated Bulbul Pycnonotus xantholaemus in Yelagiri Hills, Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu. Indian BIRDS 8 (1): 20–21. Manuscript received on 29 October 2011. ellow-throated Bulbul Pycnonotus xantholaemus is an 2011). This species is distributed across southern Andhra endemic and vulnerable species of southern India (Ali & Pradesh, eastern Karnataka, eastern Kerala, and northern Tamil YRipley 1987; Subramanya et al. 2007; BirdLife international Nadu (Subramanya et al. 2007). In Tamil Nadu, this species is KURIAKOSE: Grey-bellied Cuckoo 21 recorded from only a few scattered localities in the hills of Eastern Acknowledgements Ghats and Western Ghats (Narayanan et al. 2007), Recently, I thank my family, Anukul Nath, and Laxmi Narayana who were helpful during my trip it has been recorded from Parvatha Malai hill in Javadi Hills, to the hills. Thiruvannamalai district, Tamil Nadu (Mani 2011). This note will give details on the occurrence of Yellow-throated Bulbul at a new References location in the Eastern Ghats section of Tamil Nadu. Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1987. Compact handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan to- Yelagiri Hills (12°33’20.9’’N, 78°39’53.9’’E) is a famous hill gether with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. 2nd ed. Pp. i–xlii, station of Tamil Nadu with an elevation range of 400–1048 1 l., 1–737, 52 ll. Delhi: Oxford University Press. m above MSL. This hill habitat, comprising huge boulders, is BirdLife International 2011. Species factsheet: Pycnonotus xantholaemus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 29 October 2011. overgrown with grasses and thorn scrub. Mani, K., 2011. New site record of Yellow throated Bulbul (Pycnonotus xantholaemus, On 21 October 2011 this hill was visited with the intention Jerdon 1845) in Parvathamalai Hill, Thiruvannamalai district, Tamilnadu. Newsletter of searching for the species. The species was found to occur for Birdwatchers 50 (6): 91–92 (2010). below 650m, where it was quite common. Six pairs of Yellow- Narayanan, S. P., Boopal, A., Nanjan, S., Kurian, J., Dhanya, R., Gomahty, N., Dastidar, D. throated Bulbuls were recorded in tamarind trees Tamarindus G., Rajamamannan, M. A., Venkitachalam, R., Mukherjee, D., & Eswaran, R., 2007. New site record of the Yellow-throated Bulbul Pycnonotus xantholaemus from the indica, and lantana Lantana camara thickets. The birds were Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu (India). Indian Birds 2 (6): 151–153 (2006). observed foraging in lantana bushes. They were also observed Subramanya, S., Prasad, J. N., & Karthikeyan, S., 2007. Status, habitat, habits and con- chasing Red-whiskered Bulbuls Pycnonotus jocosus and Indian servation of Yellow-throated Bulbul Pycnonotus xantholaemus (Jerdon) in south Robin Saxicoloides fulicatus besides their conspecifics. India. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 103 (2&3): 215–226 (2006). An instance of adult male Grey-bellied Cuckoo Cacomantis passerinus feeding a juvenile Jainy Kuriakose Kuriakose, J., 2013. An instance of an adult male Grey-bellied Cuckoo Cacomantis passerinus feeding a juvenile. Indian BIRDS 8 (1): 21. Jainy Kuriakose, B 207 Habitat Splendour Apts, Gopalan, Kundalahalli, Bangalore 560037, Karnataka, India. Email : [email protected] Manuscript received on 18 October 2012. n 25 July 2012, around 1000 hrs, we happened to see from tree to tree. The photograph below (22) was taken when an interesting feeding behaviour of the Grey-bellied the young bird crash-landed on a tree-stalk, and the adult male OCuckoo Cacomantis passerinus in Sultanpur village fed it with a caterpillar/grub. Interestingly, the hepatic female, just (28º27’41”N, 76º53’27”E), about a kilometre away from the a tree away, took no interest in this feeding episode, which lasted Sultanpur National Park, Gurgaon district, Haryana. There were no longer than five minutes before the birds flew away. three birds in the vicinity: a hepatic female, an adult male, and Most members of the cuckoo family (Cuculidae) are known a juvenile, perched on adjacent trees, bordering the fields in the brood parasites. However, the adult males of certain cuckoos are village. The prominent reddish gape, and the overall behaviour known to occasionally feed fledged young of their own species. of the bird led me to conclude that it was indeed a juvenile, and This behaviour appears to be a misdirected courtship feeding by not another female morph. The juvenile seemed to be clueless the male cuckoo as evident from the following observations: first, and lost, and would wait for the adult male to conduct its journey young ones which are still at nest are not known to be fed by adult cuckoos; second, female cuckoos have not been observed feeding fledged chicks; finally, this behaviour has been observed only in taxa like Crested, Glossy, Bronze and Cacomantis sp., cuckoos, in which courtship feeding of females by males is a common behaviour (del Hoyo et al. 1997) Interestingly, Lowndes (1952) reported a possible case of such behaviour in Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus.
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