First Record of Phalaropus Lobatus (Linnaeus, 1758) Red Necked Phalarope (Charadriiformes: Scolopacidae) from Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat

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Rec. zool. Surv. India: Vol. 121(2)/211–214, 2021 ISSN (Online) : 2581-8686 DOI: 10.26515/rzsi/v121/i2/2021/152136 ISSN (Print) : 0375-1511 First Record of Phalaropus lobatus (Linnaeus, 1758) Red Necked Phalarope (Charadriiformes: Scolopacidae) from Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat

Sanjeev Kumar1*, Harinder Singh Banyal2 and Indu Sharma1 1Desert Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Jodhpur - 342005, Rajasthan, India; Email: [email protected] 2High Altitude Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Solan - 173211, Himachal Pradesh, India

Abstract The Red Necked Phalarope (Charadriiformes: Scolopacidae)

is recorded for the first time from the Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary during September, 2018. The species was sighted in pair in the adult non-breeding stage in a large wetland in the sanctuary for almost three days. Keywords:

Gujarat, Narayan Sarovar, Red-Necked Phalarope, Sanctuary, Wildlife Introduction (1945a, 1945b, 1946, 1954-55, 1959, 1960a, 1960b) and Dharmakumarsinghji (1948). Ali (1945-60) has Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary is in the Lakhpat described 423 species of birds in his book Birds of taluka of Kachchh district, Gujarat, between 23º27′- 23º42′ Gujarat. Dharmakumarsinghji (1948) also published an N latitude and 68º30′- 68º57′ E longitudes. Kori creek elegant account on the birds of Saurashtra, in which he forms the northwest boundary, and mangrove forests are described 444 species. Abudali (1962, 1963) studied the present on the west. Northwest and western parts exhibit coastal birds of the Gulf of Kutch. Shivrajkumar et al. a flat topography towards the sea coast. Undulating hills (1960), and Shivrajkumar (1961,1962) have contributed are present on the northeastern range. The two important to the knowledge of the avifauna of Gujarat by publishing rivers Kapurasi and Kali of the Wildlife Sanctuary, are reports on flamingoes, Great Indian Bustard etc. The birds small and ephemeral. Several reservoirs/dams are present of Gujarat are also well documented in the state fauna of in the sanctuary. Water is mainly saline. Normally the Gujarat published by ZSI (Dutta, 2000). The fauna of Nal rain sets in by the end to June till September. Acacia Sarovar and Khijadiya Lake and Bird Sanctuary have been nilotica, Acacia Senegal are the dominant vegetation worked out by Kumar (2009, 2012). The avian diversity of with Salvadora oleoides, Capparis deciduas and Grewia Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary is represented by 183 tenax. Prosopis juliflora / P. chilensis has spread all over. species belonging to 119 genera and 46 families, including Chinkara is the flagship species of the sanctuary, including 73 species of aquatic birds represented by 44 genera and 20 various other rare and endangered animals (Anonymous, families (Anonymous, 2001). The aquatic winter migrant, 2001). Phalaropus lobatus (Linnaeus, 1758), was recorded Pioneering works on Avifauna of Gujarat state were for the first time by the authors in September 2018 done by Baker (1822-30), Stoliczka (1872), Simmons from a wetland in Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary (1948) and Soman (1960). The ornithological knowledge (Figure 1). of Gujarat state is mainly based on the studies of Ali

* Author for correspondence

Article Received on: 29.04.2020 Accepted on: 28.01.2021 First Record of Phalaropus lobatus (Linnaeus, 1758) Red Necked Phalarope...

Material and Methods Two species under one genus are found in India viz. Phalaropus fulicaria (Linnaeus, 1758) and Phalaropus The present study was carried out during September, lobatus (Linnaeus, 1758). Only one species, Phalaropus 2018. The identification of species was mainly based on lobatus is reported from the coastal waters of Gujarat so the morphometric observations after Avibase(Lepage far by Singh (2001) and Rasmussen and Anderton (2012). & Warnier, 2014), Manakadan & Pittie (2001) and Kumar and Banyal (2018) have reported the species from Rasmussen & Anderton (2012). Photographs in digital Kachchh Biosphere Reserve Gujarat. The classification format, including video recordings, were made in HD followed is that of Rasmussen and Anderton (2012). digital format using Nikon Coolpix –P90 & Nikon D-90 camera. Taxonomic Account

Results and Discussion Order CHARADRIIFORMES During the survey of Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary Family SCOLOPACIDAE in the month of September, 2018 a small bird was observed Phalaropus lobatus (Linnaeus, 1758) Red-necked in pair floating on a water body inside the sanctuary. On Phalarope close examination with 50 × 10 binoculars (Nikon), the species was identified as Red-necked Phalarope. The (Figure 2) aquatic winter migrant, Phalaropus lobatus is an addition 1758. Tringatobata [sic] Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1: 148. Type-locality: Europa=Sweden. to the avian fauna from the Narayan Sarovar Wildlife 1987. Phalaropuslobatus (Linnaeus), Ali & Ripley Compact Hand Book Sanctuary, Gujarat. No. 428 (2): 323-325. Phalaropes belongs to the family Scolopacidae of 2001. Phalaropuslobatus (Linnaeus, 1758), Manakadan & Pittie. Buceros, migratory shorebirds characterized by lobate toes and 6 (1): 7. females known for polyandry and care of the young Field identification characters: A pair of adult in non- (Gilbert,1990). Earlier, Phalaropes were classified in the breeding stage was recorded from a large wetland in the family Scolopacidae of order Charadriiformes Coomber sanctuary for almost three consecutive days. Size of the (1991) and Singh (2001). Manakadan & Pittie (2001) pair was about 19 cm. It is a delicately build sandpiper placed it in the family Phalaropodidae. Later Rasmussen like small wader with fine black pointed bill. The and Anderton (2012) again placed it in the family morphological variations are there in breeding and non- Scolopacidae.

Source: Google Earth Figure 1. Satellite image depicting point location from where Red-necked Phalarope was recorded.

212 Vol 121(2) | 2021 | www.recordsofzsi.com Zoological Survey of India Sanjeev Kumar, Harinder Singh Banyal and Indu Sharma

Figure 2. Red-Necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus, photographed from the Sanctuary area. breeding adults. The non-breeding adults and juveniles windy. Later on, 11/09/2018 two birds were sighted in the are duller in comparison to the breeding adults’ females same water body. The day was hot and humid. comparatively brighter than males. Adult breeding has Conservation Status: IUCN-Least Concern (Figure 2). white throat and reddish golden stripe down side of grey neck. Adult non-breeding has pale grey upper parts, black The study area is characterized by thorny and scrub eye stripe, head white with black hind crown and white vegetation mainly dominated by Prosopis juliflora but, underparts, white edges to mantle and scapular feathers, due to the poor monsoon season in 2018, most of the forming fairly distinct lines present. Juvenile has dark sanctuary was almost dry, and nearly all the water resources grey upperparts with orange-buff mantle and scapular had minimal water level. The overall moisture level was lines. Iris dark brown. Bill dark horny brown-orange at significantly less during September 2018. The Red Necked base. Legs and feet dull brown or fleshy brown. Sexes Phalarope was sighted from a pond in Chakrai Rakhal area alike, males comparatively smaller. of the sanctuary near Baranda village (Figure 1). This part of the sanctuary is under tremendous Distribution: Common offshore along the coastline of anthropogenic pressure in terms of the demand of water NW India and in small numbers and patchily more or less for agriculture, livestock and other household purposes. of the entire coastline of peninsular India to East India, This situation is a critical one for most of the wetland Delhi, Rajasthan (Sambhar Lake), Bihar, Karnataka and birds, including the Red-Necked Phalarope. Hence, it is Gujarat. Elsewhere: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, recommended to strictly regulate the minimum water level in Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Baluchistan. Breeds in Iceland, the wetlands of the sanctuary to safeguard the perpetuation Spitzbergen, Faroes, Scandinavia, N. Russia and across of wetland fauna in order to conserve the ecological integrity the northwestern Indian Ocean, off the coasts of Peru of these crucial water bodies of the sanctuary. and West Africa, between New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago and in the Banda Sea. Acknowledgements Habit: Found in shallow water bodies and lakes but mainly The authors are greatly thankful to the Director, on coastal waters swimming buoyantly. These birds are Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, for providing the halophilic. Their food consists of plankton, insects and opportunity and facilities to undertake the present work. especially larvae, crustaceans, molluscs and worms. Thanks are also due to the Forest Department of Gujarat Remarks: Migratory. Only a single species was reported for the necessary permission to conduct the survey of on 09/09/2018 at 13.05 hrs. The day was cloudy and Narayan Sarovar Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat.

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References

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