Correspondence 195

appearance and size, and its double-pointed casque with black false&gp=false&ev=Z&mr=1-12&bmo=1&emo=12&yr=all&byr=1900&eyr=2020. rim in front. It was feeding on a Ficus tree. Soon a female Great [Accessed on 05 August 2020.] Hornbill was also seen on the same tree [206]. They stayed there eBird. 2020b: Siberian Rubythroat Calliope calliope. Website URL: https://ebird.org/ map/sibrub?neg=true&env.minX=&env.minY=&env.maxX=&env.maxY=&zh=fa for few minutes and then flew away. The species was not seen lse&gp=false&ev=Z&mr=1-12&bmo=1&emo=12&yr=all&byr=1900&eyr=2020. on the subsequent visits to the national park. [Accessed on 05 August 2020.] eBird. 2020c. Rufous Woodpecker Micropternus brachyurus. Website URL: https://ebird.org/map/rufwoo2?neg=true&env.minX=&env. minY=&env.maxX=&env.maxY=&zh=false&gp=false&ev=Z&mr=1- 12&bmo=1&emo=12&yr=all&byr=1900&eyr=2020. [Accessed on 05 August 2020.] eBird. 2020d. Great Hornbill Buceros bicornis. Website URL: https://ebird.org/map/ grehor1?neg=true&env.minX=&env.minY=&env.maxX=&env.maxY=&zh=false&gp =false&ev=Z&mr=1-12&bmo=1&emo=12&yr=all&byr=1900&eyr=2020 [Accessed on 05 August 2020.] Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 1998. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 1st ed. London: Christopher Helm, A & C Black. Pp. 1–888. Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528. Mohan, D., & Sondhi, S., 2017. An updated checklist and bibliography of the birds of Uttarakhand. Dehradun, India: Uttarakhand Forest Department. Pp. i–vi, 1–98. Navarro, A. S. J., & Dubash, A., 1967. Birdwatching at Narkanda (Simla). Newsletter for Birdwatchers 7 (4): 1–4. Pfister, O., 2004. Birds and mammals of Ladakh. 1st ed. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Pp. i–xxvii, 1–361. Pittie, A., 2020. Bibliography of South Asian Ornithology. Website URL: http://www.

Himanshu C.Himanshu southasiaornith.in. [Accessed on 05 August 2020.] 206. Great Hornbill at Colonel Sher Jung National Park on 24 June 2020. Praveen J., Jayapal, R., & Pittie, A., 2020. Checklist of the birds of India (v4.0). Website: http://www.indianbirds.in/india/ [Date of publication: 07 July, 2020]. Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2nd The Great Hornbill is resident in the Himalaya from Uttarakhand ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. 2 to Arunachal Pradesh, the lower parts of the South Assam Hills, vols. Pp. 1–378; 1–683. and disjunctly, in the Western Ghats, southwards of Mumbai Sharma, A., 2019. eBird. Website URL: https://ebird.org/checklist/S59047623. [Accessed (Rasmussen & Anderton 2012). There has been no record of on 05 August 2020.] this species from the state (den Besten 2004; Grimmett et al. Sharma, C., 2017. eBird. Website URL: https://ebird.org/checklist/S37032681. [Accessed on 05 August 2020.] 2011; Dhadwal 2020) and it is another first record for Himachal Sharma, D. K., Paliwal, R., & Saikia, U., 2008. Aves. In: Mehta, H. S., (ed.). Faunal Pradesh. It has been reported earlier from the adjacent Kalesar diversity of Simbalbara Wildlife Sanctuary (Himachal Pradesh). Conservation National Park, Haryana (Grimmett et al. 2011; Sharma 2017; Area Series, 41. Kolkata, India: Director: Zoological Survey of India. Pp. 81–101. Sharma 2019). Thus the present record was not unexpected. Singh, A. P., 2000. Birds of lower Garhwal Himalayas: Dehra Dun valley and There has been no record of this species from the Union Territory neighbouring hills. Forktail 16: 101–123. of Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Territory of Ladakh, and Punjab – C. Abhinav, Virender Sharma & Himanshu C C. Abhinav, Village & P.O. Ghurkari, Kangra 176001, Himachal Pradesh, India. (Grimmett et al. 2011; eBird 2020d). E-mail: [email protected] [CA] Corresponding author CA thanks Manoj Sharma for his comments on the manuscript, Virender Sharma, Mini Zoo, Renuka Ji, District Sirmaur 173029, Himachal Pradesh, India. and Tim Inskipp for helping with a few references. We retrieved E-mail: [email protected] [VS] Himanshu C., Village Bainkuan, P.O. Jamniwala, Teshil Paonta Sahib, District Sirmour, 173025, relevant literature from the online ‘Bibliography of South Asian Himachal Pradesh, India. E-mail: [email protected] [HC] Ornithology’ (Pittie 2020). The Common Swift Apus apus—a new bird for Sri References Lanka, and the need for a re-evaluation of the species Abhinav, C., Dhadwal, D. S., & Dhiman, M., 2018. Notes on six rare avian visitors to in the Maldives Pong Lake, Himachal Pradesh. Indian BIRDS 14 (5): 134–138. Abhinav, C., Vikrant, A., & Dogra, P., 2019. Crested Treeswift Hemiprocne coronata, The Common Swift Apus apus is uncommon in much of South Crow-billed Drongo Dicrurus annectens, and Black-naped Monarch Hypothymis Asia. It has a widespread breeding range, extending from Europe, azurea in Col. Sher Jung National Park, Simbalbara: Additions to the birds of through the Middle East, to eastern China. It winters in southern Himachal Pradesh. Indian BIRDS 14 (6): 183–185. Africa (Chantler & Driessens 1995; Pierce et al. 2015; Chantler Bhargav, V. K., Uniyal, V. P., Kittur, S., & Sivakumar, K., 2007. Bird records from Simbalbara et al. 2020). Rasmussen & Anderton (2012) report it as a Wildlife Sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh. Indian Forester 133 (10): 1411–1418. widespread two-way migrant through the Maldives, but there are Chaudhary, H., 2019. eBird. Website URL: https://ebird.org/checklist/S61462316. [Accessed on 05 August 2020.] no records from neighbouring Sri Lanka (Henry 1979; Harrison & den Besten, J. W., 2004. Birds of Kangra. 1st ed. Dharamsala & New Delhi: Moonpeak Worfolk 1999; Warakagoda et al. 2012). Publishers & Mosaic Books. Pp. 1–176. Here we report the first record of a Common Swift in Sri Dhadwal, D. S., 2011. Wild wings: Pong & its birds. Kangra, India: Published by the Lanka. On 25 August 2020, RK saw a large black swift with a author. Pp. I–VIII, 1–149. deeply forked tail flying along with Indian House SwiftsA . affinis Dhadwal, D. S., 2019. Birds of Himachal Pradesh (Passerine). India: Published by the from his elevated (c.35 m high) balcony in Browns Hill, Matara author. Vol. 2 of 2 vols. Pp. 1–340. Dhadwal, D. S., & Kanwar, B., 2018. Birds of Himachal Pradesh (Non-Passerine). (Southern Province), Sri Lanka (5.94º N; 80.56ºE). The bird Himachal Pradesh, India: Published by the author. Vol. 1 of 2 vols. Pp. 1–301. was directly overhead. Due to bad lighting and angle of sighting, eBird. 2020a. Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus. Website URL: https://ebird. he was unable to ascertain the absence of a white rump. But he org/map/grefla3?neg=true&env.minX=&env.minY=&env.maxX=&env.maxY=&zh= alerted local birders, including BG. When RK saw it again, more 196 Indian Birds Vol. 16 No. 6 (Publ. 28 December 2020)

than a month later, on the evening of 30 September 2020, and it had a deeply forked tail [207B, C, E, F]. The upper parts the bird, presumably the same seen over a month earlier, appeared uniformly dark with no white on the rump [207D] as banked enough times for him to see the upper parts and in Indian House Swift and Blyth’s Swift A. leuconyx (Chantler & rule out a white rump. When he saw it yet again the next Driessens 1995). We ruled out the Asian Palm Swift based on morning (01 October 2020) flying with Indian House Swifts the larger size, much darker overall colour, and the more robust and Asian Palm Swifts Cypsiurus balasiensis, he called BG to (versus slim) appearance; and also by the angular, more broad- come and take photographs [207A-E]. Since then, the species based and less bow-shaped wings. The flight was also more has been seen and photographed [207F] by three other strong, swift, and direct, and less fluttery than in Palm Swifts. birdwatchers. As of 05 October 2020, the bird was still around In fact, the shape and flight of the Common Swift was more in the same area. swallow-like than the swifts it often accompanied, reminding RK The bird was larger than the Indian House Swift [207A]. vaguely of the North American Purple Martin Progne subis. We It appeared dark black with whitish chin, forehead, and lores; also ruled out Pallid Swift A. pallidus based on the very dark

A B All: B. G. P. G. B. T. Saranga All:

C D Moditha Kodikara Arachchi KodikaraModitha Arachchi

E F

207A–E. Common Swift, 01 October 2020. 207F. Common Swift, 05 October 2020. Correspondence 197

colour, and lack of any scaly or barred feather pattern (Ahmed In light of our above review of the published literature, we & Adriaens 2010). More specifically, the median coverts were feel that the migratory route of the Common Swift, plus its very dark with sharply defined pale edges [207F]. Also, the status in the Maldives, is nebulous. It seems unlikely that the undertail coverts seem to have some pale fringes [207F], which birds, especially those from eastern China, would do a tortuous, is typical of Common Swift (Vivek Govind Kumar, pers. comm., roughly S-shaped, fall migratory route by heading westwards, 12 October 2020). Besides, the predominantly Mediterranean avoiding much of mainland South Asia, to Afghanistan, and then and Middle-eastern distribution of the Pallid Swift makes it far pivot southward to the Maldives (avoiding Sri Lanka) before less likely to occur in Sri Lanka relative to the Common Swift. RK heading southwest to southern Africa. We found only one eBird is familiar with the Common Swift based on his birding travels report, dated 17 March 2019, from the Maldives (Steibl 2019). in Europe and Africa. It included notes on a ‘completely brown swift’ that were not Based on our photographs, we are unable to establish convincing regarding species identification. If indeed the species with certainty if the bird(s) we saw belonged to the nominate is a ‘widespread migrant’ or ‘regular winter visitor’ to Maldives, as subspecies A. a. apus or A. a. pekinensis. However, the fact that claimed by some aforementioned authors, then it is reasonable to the whitish throat extends to forehead across lores [207D, 207F], expect a few more records than just the one reported by Phillips suggests A. a. pekinensis. Moreover, the area around the eye (1964) during his year-long stay there. It is also conceivable that appears darker than rest of the head, giving the bird a “masked” there would be more reliable records in eBird from the heavily appearance [207C, 207F]. The undertail coverts appear to have visited Maldives. We urge future researchers to review the true some pale fringes [207F]. Additionally, the mantle and scapulars status of the species in the Maldives and its migratory trajectory are clearly darker than the adjacent primary- and secondary over the Indian subcontinent. coverts, creating a saddle-backed appearance [207D]. This RK thanks Professors Suneetha Gunawickrama and K. L. combination of features is also strongly suggestive of the eastern Wasantha Kumara for hosting him at the University of Ruhuna, V. pekinensis subspecies (Vivek Govind Kumar, pers. comm.). Santharam for help with obtaining literature, and Moditha Kodikara There is some evidence that Common Swifts in the eastern Arachchi, Charles Anderson, J. Praveen, V. M. Nagarajan, Kumaran extremity of their breeding range (eastern China) migrate Sadasivam, and K. Dipu for useful discussions on identification westwards to the Middle East before heading southward to and distribution. Moditha permitted us to use his photograph. Africa (Pierce et al. 2015; The Beijing Swift Project 2020). This Vivek Govind Kumar, Charles Anderson, and an anonymous arc-shaped autumn migratory route may explain the dearth of reviewer polished the manuscript with their suggestions. records in India, south of the Himalaya (only 14 in eBird, all from southern India—see review in Aju & Sreenath 2020), and References the absence of records in Sri Lanka, making our record unusual Ahmed, R., & Adriaens, P., 2010. Common, Asian Common and Pallid Swift: colour and noteworthy. nomenclature, moult, and identification. Dutch Birding 32: 97–105. Rasmussen & Anderton’s (2012) assertion that the species Aju K. R., & Sreenath K. R., 2020. ‘Eastern’ Common Swift Apus apus pekinensis in is a ‘widespread migrant through … Maldives’ was apparently the Lakshadweep Archipelago, with identification notes on juvenile birds.Indian based on Ash & Shafeeg (1995) who reported that it is “a BIRDS 15 (5): 143–144. regular winter visitor, ix-xi and iv-v…”. Ash & Shafeeg cited Phillips 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: (1964), Ali & Ripley (1987), and Strickland & Jenner (1978). Oxford University Press. Pp. i–xlii, 1 l., 1–737, 52 ll. However, Ali & Ripley (1987) called it a ‘straggler’ in Maldives, Anderson, R. C., 2009. Do dragonflies migrate across the western Indian Ocean? citing Phillips (1964), who, from a 12-month stay in Addu Atoll, Journal of Tropical Ecology 25: 347–358. May 1958–April 1959, reported just one bird, on 01 November Ash, J. S., & Shafeeg, A., 1995. Birds of the Maldives Islands, Indian Ocean. Forktail 10: 1958; Strickland & Jenner (1978), compiling observations of 3–31 (1994). several people made between 1962 and 1976, indicated that The Beijing Swift Project. 2020. Website URL: https://birdingbeijing.com/the-beijing- swift-project/. [Accessed 07 October 2020.] the species is ‘a regular winter visitor, with records between Chantler, P., & Driessens, G., 1995. Swifts: a guide to the swifts and treeswifts of the September and November’. The provenance of the April–May world. 1st ed. Mountfield: Pica Press. Pp. i–viii, 1–237 (194–197). records from the Maldives, mentioned by Ash & Shafeeg (1995) Chantler, P., Boesman, P. F. D., & Kirwan, G. M., 2020. Common Swift (Apus apus), is unclear, therefore throwing in doubt the two-way migration version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, through the Maldives reported by Rasmussen & Anderton and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. Website (2012). Charles Anderson (pers. comm.) says those spring URL: https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.comswi.01. reports were either errors or unconfirmed verbal reports, and Harrison, J., 1999. A field guide to the birds of Sri Lanka. 1st ed. Oxford, U.K: Oxford University Press. Pp. i–xiii, 1–219. reported to RK (in litt., e-mail dated 07 October 2020) that Henry, G. M., 1979. A guide to the birds of Ceylon. Re-issued 2nd ed. London: Oxford based on his records, the Common Swift is ‘an uncommon but University Press. Pp. i–xl, 1–457. regular autumn migrant and possible winter visitor, mostly during Phillips, W. W. A., 1964. The birds of the Maldive Islands, Indian Ocean. Journal of the September to December’. Considering that all 14 eBird records Bombay Natural History Society 60 (3): 546–584 (1963). from India, south of the Himalaya, were from the peninsula, eight Pierce, A. J., Hansasuta, C., & Sutasha, K., 2015. The first record of Common Swift Apus in winter and the rest in autumn, it is probable that at least some apus for Thailand and South-East Asia. BirdingASIA 24: 139–140. Common Swifts migrate in autumn through the southern portion Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. 2 of the Indian Subcontinent, and the Indian Ocean, as do Amur vols. Pp. 1–378; 1–683. Falcons Falco amurensis (see Anderson 2009). It is also likely Steibl, S. 2019. Website URL: https://ebird.org/checklist/S53920177. [Accessed 07 that Common Swifts are under-reported everywhere in the Indian October 2020.] Subcontinent, especially during their brief transit periods, being Strickland, M. J., & Jenner, J. C., 1978. A report on the birds of Addu Atoll (Maldive overlooked as Indian House Swifts or Asian Palm Swifts. Islands). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 74 (3): 487–500. 198 Indian Birds Vol. 16 No. 6 (Publ. 28 December 2020)

Warakagoda, D., Inskipp, C., Inskipp, T., & Grimmett, R., 2012. Birds of Sri Lanka. 1st ed. London: Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–224.

– Ragupathy Kannan & Bopitiya Gamage Pavan Thilina Saranga Ragupathy Kannan, Honorary Visiting Professor of Zoology, University of Ruhuna, Matara 81000, Sri Lanka. E-mail: [email protected] Bopitiya Gamage Pavan Thilina Saranga, Meemanage Wattha, Godagama, Matara, Sri Lanka. E-mail: [email protected]

A Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula at Sambhar Lake, and its status in Rajasthan The Common Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula is a winter visitor to the coasts of Pakistan (mainly Sind), southern India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, straggling (or overlooked) elsewhere on coasts; it’s a passage migrant through south-western and north- eastern Afghanistan, eastern Pakistan, and north-western India Fig. 1. Sightings of the Common Ringed Plover from eastern Rajasthan. (Rasmussen & Anderton 2012). It is generally considered rare in northern India (Grimmett et al. 2011), or a straggler, ‘possibly sometimes confused by observers with Little Ringed Plover, and in Center Rajasthan checklist (Anonymous 2015), and in Vyas immature plumage with Lesser Sand Plover’ (Ali & Ripley 1980). (2013), is obviously based on Grimmett et al. (2011) and On 19 May 2019, at 0910 h, while birding on a satellite Kazmierczak (2000), who indicated only one record from wetland of the Sambhar Lake, Rajasthan, I spotted a Common Bharatpur in their respective distribution maps, but the season of Ringed Plover in breeding plumage, in a small flock of Little its occurrence is unspecified and the source of the information Ringed Plovers C. dubius, and identified as such by its larger size, is not known. In the bare checklist of Keoladeo National Park at and the absence of an obvious eye-ring. Fortunately, the bird was Bharatpur it was included by Vijayan (1994) confiding and continued foraging even when approached quite The above records of the species indicate that it uncommonly close and I was able to observe it for about 10–12 min. Gaurav occurs on wetlands in Rajasthan (Fig.1) during winter or spring Sharma, a photographer from Sambhar town, photographed passage. Perhaps it has been overlooked in the past. another bird [208] in breeding plumage on 07 May 2020 at the saltpans of Sambhar. He observed the bird for two–three days. References The species has not been previously recorded from Sambhar Adam, R. M., 1873. Notes on the birds of the Sambhur Lake & (sic) its vicinity. Stray Lake (Adam 1873,1874; Sangha 2009). Feathers 1 (5): 361–404. Adam, R. M., 1874. Additional note on the birds of the Sambhur Lake and its vicinity. Stray Feathers 2 (4&5): 337–34. Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1980. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Megapodes to Crab Plovers. 2nd (Hardback) ed. Delhi: (Sponsored by Bombay Natural History Society.) Oxford University Press. Vol. 2 of 10 vols. Pp. i–xvi, 1–347. Anonymous [=Bombay Natural History Society]. 2015. Statewise list of birds of India: Rajasthan. Website URL: http://www.bnhsenvis.nic.in/Database/Statewise%20 list%20of%20Birds%20of%20India_833.aspx. [Accessed on 05 December 2020.] Forsyth, E., & Lindie, R., 2011. Website URL: https://app.rockjumperbirding.com/sites/ rockjumper/attachments/2/Northern-India-birding-Trip-Report-Dec-2011.pdf. [Accessed on 17 October 2020.] Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., &Inskipp, T., 1998.Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 1st ed. London: Christopher Helm, A & C Black. Pp. 1–888. Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., &Inskipp, T., 2011.Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528. Holt, P., 2019. Website URL: https://ebird.org/checklist/S52793484. [Accessed on 17 October 2020.] Kazmierczak, K., 2000. A field guide to the birds of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. 1st ed. New Delhi: Om Book Service. Pp.

Gaurav Sharma Gaurav 1–352. 208. Common Ringed Plover at Sambhar saltpans, Rajasthan. Rasmussen, P. C., &Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. 2 vols. Pp. 1–378; 1–683. There are reports of its occurrence from the eastern parts of Rowland, F., 2017. Website URL: https://ebird.org/checklist/S27778797. [Accessed on 17 Rajasthan (Fig. 1). A bird in breeding plumage was observed on October 2020.] 17 February 2016 at Soorwal Lake in Sawai Madhopur District Sangha, H. S., 2009. The birds of Sambhar Lake and its environs.Indian Birds 4 (3): (Rowland 2017); the members of a birding group reported 82–97 (2008). Vijayan, L., 1994. Keoladeo National Park, Rajasthan. New Delhi: WWF-India. Pp. 1–77. another on 02 December 2011 (Forsyth & Lindie 2011); and a Vyas, R., 2013.Birds of Rajasthan.1st ed. Mumbai: Bombay Natural History Society & third was photographed in non-breeding plumage at Bharatpur on Oxford University Press. Pp. i–xiv, 1–322+4. 16 February 2019 (Holt 2019). – Harkirat Singh Sangha Its inclusion in the Bombay Natural History Society’s Envis B-27, Gautam Marg, Hanuman Nagar, Jaipur 302021, India. E-mail: [email protected]