DOCSLIB.ORG

Ghanaian Ringing Scheme Launched

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Ghanaian Ringing Scheme Launched greenpages, since it has widenedits range. Fourof the six in Kazakhstanis possibleonly on the territory of severalstate specieslisted in the KazakhstanRed Data Book are also reservesand reservations: Sociable Plover-in the Kurgald- includedin the Red Data Bookof the formerUSSR, and jinskyand Naurzumsky reserves, Ibisbill - in the Alma-Atinsky Asiatic Dowitcher and Little Whimbrel are included in the Red reserve,White-tailed Plover- in the Turgaisky reserve. It is Data Book of lUCN. extremelyimportant to createa widernetwork of nature reserves,because this provides the mosteffective action to At present,the conservation of rareand endangered waders protectrare waders and theirhabitats in Kazakhstan. Ghanaianringing scheme launched Phil Ireland and Steve Dodd Reprintedby agreement with the editors,from the Shorelines feature in BTONews ). Followingearlier discussion and advice from the British thesecond half of Septemberleft little time to arrange RingingOffice, Dr. Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu of the Universityof funding,so we werevery grateful when the BritishAirways' Ghanainvited representatives from the BritishTrust for AssistingNature Conservation scheme stepped in with the Ornithologyto help set up the GhanaianRinging Scheme and generousoffer of flightsponsorship to Accra,the capitalof to trainlocal personnel in ringingtechniques. Ghana.The next10 daysof innoculations,telexing Ghana andobtaining visas were hectic, with British Airways again Manywill be aware of the work done in Ghanato educatethe comingto the rescueas messengerwhen the Universityof localpeople about the birds that use their shores. Great Ghanatelephone lines were out of order.Even so, it was effortshave been made to ensurethe birds'survival by notuntil the morningof theflight that Phil Ireland collected discouragingthe useof snaresto trapterns by the Savethe thevisas from the GhanaianHigh Commission in London: SeashoreBirds project. This project has been running for five the Britishpostal system, bureaucracy and complex forms years,and Dr. Yaa Ntiamoa-Baidu,instigator ofthe Save the betweenthem conspired to leavePhil just 20 minutes SeashoreBirds project and senior lecturer at the Universityof betweenarriving at Gatwickand his 'plane's departure. Ghana,feels that moreneeds to be learnedabout the other birds,and particularly the waders, which use these areas. Accrawas the venue for our first two days in Ghana,where planswere discussed and equipment checked, with oppor- Followingdiscussions with the BTO,it wasfelt that it wouldbe tunitiestoo for visiting wader and birdwatching sights. moreappropriate to set up an independentGhanaian Ringing Photographingwaves below the cliffs by the Gameand Scheme,rather than use British rings, and the firstrings to WildlifeService rest house nearly brought a prematureend bearthe inscription GRS ZOOLOGY LEGON GHANA have to ourvisit. A distantbuilding was a prohibitedsubject, nowbeen manufactured by Lambournes,makers of the resultingin our arrest by some of the locals.Accompanied BTO'srings. The Ghanaiansasked for the assistance of by halfthe localpopulation, we weremarched off to the Britishwader ringers to inauguratetheir ringing scheme, and localarmy officer, who eventually allowed us to retainthe hence our visit. film which had been removed from our camera. Planninga visitto Ghanaduring the peakautumn passage in Allwe knewof the catchingsites before our visit was that I I theywere coastal. We knewthere were lagoons which held ringed.The evening provided many lessons for the largenumbers of AvocetsRecurvirostra avosetta other Ghanaians,not least about the need to bewell organised to wadersand terns.Esiama, the firstsite we were takento, was dealwith a suddeninflux of birds.It provedinstructive for the 250 kmwest of Accraand turned out to be 13 kmof sandy Europeansas well,teaching us that however far from a shorebounded by an estuaryat eachend, backed by a string settlement,people will materialise. In themiddle of dealing of palms.All along were fishing villages, with lines of nets withthe birds we suddenly became aware of peoplerunning constantlybeing pulled in. The mostcommon wader was about,and we werein the thick of a disputeover the rightto Sanderling,with good numbers of RingedPlover Calidris fishon the estuarywhere our nets had been set. hiaticulaand Common Sandpiper Tringa hypoleucos. Forthe second part of ourstay, we movedto a hugearea of Thenewly fledged Ghanaian Ringing Scheme had purchased shallowcoastal lagoons three hours drive east of Accra.This a numberof mistnets and we hadbrought clap netting areawas obviously very productive, with large numbers of materialwith us, so the problemnow was to catchsome of wadersand terns, and also a greatdeal of humanfishing the birds.The next'dayand a halfwas spent in unsuccessful activity.There were not places for clap-netting so ourefforts attemptsto catch,partly due to ourimprovised mechanisms weredirected towards mist netting. The intentionwas to mist- forthe clap net but also due to theoccasional huge wave netat dawnand duskwith nets in the shallowwater, with the whichwould wash far higherup the beachthan the rest, aimof cathingwaders and particularlythe Avocets.In causingthe Sanderlingto takeoff or the netto beflooded out. practice,the first night was very productive for Black Chlidoniasniger, Little Sterna albifrons and Common Terns, Carefuldiplomacy was called for with dealings with the village 35 intotal, with success declining rapidly, with few waders children,who had been watching, since the Savethe beingcaught. SeashoreBirds project had been educating them not to catch birds.However, they did come to ourrescue by aski.ng why Severalfactors contributed to this lack of success, including we didn'tcatch birds the way they used to catchthem. Their thedrying of the waterin the lagoons,strong winds and the techniqueinvolved the useof snaresusing maggots as bait. waxing,bright moon. To minimisethese effects, some nets wereset amongst mangroves, and these resulted in greater Thesnares were promptly confiscated by Yaa, declaring them successin catchingwaders. Some interesting birds were illegal,but we didadapt their method by using maggots as a caughtin this way, including two Kittlitz's Plovers Charadrius meansof enticingthe birdsaway from the wavesand intothe pecuariusand a LittleBittern Ixobrychus minutus, the latter catchingarea. To the delightof all, it worked!And so the first beingthe onlyspecies other than waders and terns which birdringed by the GhanaianRinging Scheme was a Sanderl- wascaught during the visit. ingB00001. Our glee was short lived, since we caughtonly onemore bird that day, a CommonSandpiper, but a further Althoughthe intentionis to tryto findout more about all wader 24 werecaught the next. speciespassing through Ghana, four species have been singledout for special attention. These are Avocet, Spotted Unlikein Britain,the behaviourof wadersin Ghanais deter- RedshankTringa erythropus, Curlew Sandpiper Calidris minedby the stateof the daylight,rather than the stateof the ferrugineaand Sanderling. All are beingcolour ringed so that tide.The birds'normal routine was to feedin the early subsequentreports do notdepend on the birdbeing recaught. morning,rest at mid-day,feed again until dusk and then go to Avocetsare to havepart of theirplumage dyed yellow. roostovernight. Locals told us they had seen waders roosting underthe palms,but our attempts to waylaythem with mist- Whilstour visit was successful in catchingSanderling (44 nets did not succeed. ringed)only six Curlew Sandpiper were ringed and neither of theother two study species were handled. Our two main aims We trieda newtactic on ourfinal night in Esiama,setting wereachieved, namely to initiatethe RingingScheme and mist-netsover a Sandyspit at the mouth of the River Aman- providesome practical advice on techniques in relationto sureat nightfall.This proved highly successful, catching 50 waders.We hadnot intended to catchand ring large numbers birdsof variousspecies, including Sanderling, Common of birds.As we left,the team made up of Yaa,three field- Sandpiper,six Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus and small workers and their driver were about to embark on further numbersof KnotCalidris canutus, Turnstone Arenaria fieldwork to consolidate what we had been able to teach them interpresand Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola. The first non- duringour stay. wader,a CommonTern Stema hirundo, was also caught and 34 .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Phylogenetic Reanalysis of Strauch's Osteological Data Set for The
    TheCondor97:174-196 0 The Cooper Ornithological Society 1995 PHYLOGENETIC REANALYSIS OF STRAUCH’S OSTEOLOGICAL DATA SET FOR THE CHARADRIIFORMES PHILIP c. CHU Department of Biology and Museum of Zoology The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Abstract. Strauch’s (1978) compatibility analysisof relationshipsamong the shorebirds (Charadriifonnes) was the first study to examine the full range of charadriifonn taxa in a reproducibleway. SubsequentlyMickevich and Parenti (1980) leveled seriouscharges against Strauch’s characters,method of phylogenetic inference, and results. To account for these charges,Strauch ’s characterswere re-examined and recoded, and parsimony analyseswere performed on the revised matrix. A parsimony analysison 74 taxa from the revised matrix yielded 855 shortesttrees, each length = 286 and consistencyindex = 0.385. In each shortest tree there were two major lineages,a lineageof sandpiper-likebirds and a lineageof plover- like birds; the two formed a monophyletic group, with the auks (Alcidae) being that group’s sister taxon. The shortest trees were then compared with other estimates of shorebird re- lationships, comparison suggestingthat the chargesagainst Strauch’s results may have re- sulted from the Mickevich and Parenti decisions to exclude much of Strauch’s character evidence. Key words: Charadrilformes; phylogeny; compatibility analysis: parsimony analysis; tax- onomic congruence. INTRODUCTION Strauch scored 227 charadriiform taxa for 70 The investigation of evolutionary relationships characters. Sixty-three of the characters were among shorebirds (Aves: Charadriiformes) has a taken from either the skull or postcranial skel- long history (reviewed in Sibley and Ahlquist eton; the remaining seven involved the respec- 1990). Almost all studies used morphology to tive origins of three neck muscles, as published make inferences about shared ancestry; infer- in Burton (1971, 1972, 1974) and Zusi (1962).
    [Show full text]
  • Disaggregation of Bird Families Listed on Cms Appendix Ii
    Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals 2nd Meeting of the Sessional Committee of the CMS Scientific Council (ScC-SC2) Bonn, Germany, 10 – 14 July 2017 UNEP/CMS/ScC-SC2/Inf.3 DISAGGREGATION OF BIRD FAMILIES LISTED ON CMS APPENDIX II (Prepared by the Appointed Councillors for Birds) Summary: The first meeting of the Sessional Committee of the Scientific Council identified the adoption of a new standard reference for avian taxonomy as an opportunity to disaggregate the higher-level taxa listed on Appendix II and to identify those that are considered to be migratory species and that have an unfavourable conservation status. The current paper presents an initial analysis of the higher-level disaggregation using the Handbook of the Birds of the World/BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World Volumes 1 and 2 taxonomy, and identifies the challenges in completing the analysis to identify all of the migratory species and the corresponding Range States. The document has been prepared by the COP Appointed Scientific Councilors for Birds. This is a supplementary paper to COP document UNEP/CMS/COP12/Doc.25.3 on Taxonomy and Nomenclature UNEP/CMS/ScC-Sc2/Inf.3 DISAGGREGATION OF BIRD FAMILIES LISTED ON CMS APPENDIX II 1. Through Resolution 11.19, the Conference of Parties adopted as the standard reference for bird taxonomy and nomenclature for Non-Passerine species the Handbook of the Birds of the World/BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World, Volume 1: Non-Passerines, by Josep del Hoyo and Nigel J. Collar (2014); 2.
    [Show full text]
  • The Institute for Bird Populations 2012
    BIRD POPULATIONS A journal of global avian biogeography Volume 11 2012 (2011-2012) Bird Populations 11:1-6 © The Institute for Bird Populations 2012 A SURVEY OF AVIFAUNAL DIVERSITY IN WETLANDS AROUND KEOLADEO NATIONAL PARK, BHARATPUR, RAJASTHAN, INDIA1 BHUMESH SINGH BHADOURIA2, VINOD B. MATHUR, AND K. SIVAKUMAR Wildlife Institute of India Chandrabani, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India K. R. ANOOP Keoladeo National Park Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India Abstract. Keoladeo National Park, a world heritage site, is famous for its rich avifaunal diversity but is now facing water shortages. Therefore, many species of migratory birds have been moving to nearby wetlands for foraging. In this connection, a survey was carried out during 2009-10 to understand the status of birds and their use of these wetlands. A total of 27 wetlands have been identified within 100 km radius of the Keoladeo National Park, and within them 75 species of water birds were recorded. Of the 27 wetlands, Rediabundh is the most species rich with 44 bird species, while only one species was found in Chicksana wetland. Larger-sized wetlands with more water attracted larger numbers of species, including more individual birds, than the smaller wetlands. A landscape level conservation plan, including these wetlands, is needed for the long term conservation of birds in Keoladeo National Park. Key words: India, Keoladeo National Park, Rediabundh, Wetland bird populations. DIVERSIDAD AVIFAUNISTICA EN LOS HUMEDALES ALEDAÑOS AL PARQUE NACIONAL KEOLADEO, BHARATPUR, RAJASTHAN, INDIA Resumen. El Parque Nacional Keoladeo, sitio patrimonio de la humanidad, es famoso por su rica diversidad de aves pero se enfrenta a cortes de agua.
    [Show full text]
  • India: Tigers, Taj, & Birds Galore
    INDIA: TIGERS, TAJ, & BIRDS GALORE JANUARY 30–FEBRUARY 17, 2018 Tiger crossing the road with VENT group in background by M. Valkenburg LEADER: MACHIEL VALKENBURG LIST COMPILED BY: MACHIEL VALKENBURG VICTOR EMANUEL NATURE TOURS, INC. 2525 WALLINGWOOD DRIVE, SUITE 1003 AUSTIN, TEXAS 78746 WWW.VENTBIRD.COM INDIA: TIGERS, TAJ, & BIRDS GALORE January 30–February 17, 2018 By Machiel Valkenburg This tour, one of my favorites, starts in probably the busiest city in Asia, Delhi! In the afternoon we flew south towards the city of Raipur. In the morning we visited the Humayan’s Tomb and the Quitab Minar in Delhi; both of these UNESCO World Heritage Sites were outstanding, and we all enjoyed them immensely. Also, we picked up our first birds, a pair of Alexandrine Parakeets, a gorgeous White-throated Kingfisher, and lots of taxonomically interesting Black Kites, plus a few Yellow-footed Green Pigeons, with a Brown- headed Barbet showing wonderfully as well. Rufous Treepie by Machiel Valkenburg From Raipur we drove about four hours to our fantastic lodge, “the Baagh,” located close to the entrance of Kanha National Park. The park is just plain awesome when it comes to the density of available tigers and birds. It has a typical central Indian landscape of open plains and old Sal forests dotted with freshwater lakes. In the early mornings when the dew would hang over the plains and hinder our vision, we heard the typical sounds of Kanha, with an Indian Peafowl displaying closely, and in the far distance the song of Common Hawk-Cuckoo and Southern Coucal.
    [Show full text]
  • SHOREBIRDS (Charadriiformes*) CARE MANUAL *Does Not Include Alcidae
    SHOREBIRDS (Charadriiformes*) CARE MANUAL *Does not include Alcidae CREATED BY AZA CHARADRIIFORMES TAXON ADVISORY GROUP IN ASSOCIATION WITH AZA ANIMAL WELFARE COMMITTEE Shorebirds (Charadriiformes) Care Manual Shorebirds (Charadriiformes) Care Manual Published by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in association with the AZA Animal Welfare Committee Formal Citation: AZA Charadriiformes Taxon Advisory Group. (2014). Shorebirds (Charadriiformes) Care Manual. Silver Spring, MD: Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Original Completion Date: October 2013 Authors and Significant Contributors: Aimee Greenebaum: AZA Charadriiformes TAG Vice Chair, Monterey Bay Aquarium, USA Alex Waier: Milwaukee County Zoo, USA Carol Hendrickson: Birmingham Zoo, USA Cindy Pinger: AZA Charadriiformes TAG Chair, Birmingham Zoo, USA CJ McCarty: Oregon Coast Aquarium, USA Heidi Cline: Alaska SeaLife Center, USA Jamie Ries: Central Park Zoo, USA Joe Barkowski: Sedgwick County Zoo, USA Kim Wanders: Monterey Bay Aquarium, USA Mary Carlson: Charadriiformes Program Advisor, Seattle Aquarium, USA Sara Perry: Seattle Aquarium, USA Sara Crook-Martin: Buttonwood Park Zoo, USA Shana R. Lavin, Ph.D.,Wildlife Nutrition Fellow University of Florida, Dept. of Animal Sciences , Walt Disney World Animal Programs Dr. Stephanie McCain: AZA Charadriiformes TAG Veterinarian Advisor, DVM, Birmingham Zoo, USA Phil King: Assiniboine Park Zoo, Canada Reviewers: Dr. Mike Murray (Monterey Bay Aquarium, USA) John C. Anderson (Seattle Aquarium volunteer) Kristina Neuman (Point Blue Conservation Science) Sarah Saunders (Conservation Biology Graduate Program,University of Minnesota) AZA Staff Editors: Maya Seaman, MS, Animal Care Manual Editing Consultant Candice Dorsey, PhD, Director of Animal Programs Debborah Luke, PhD, Vice President, Conservation & Science Cover Photo Credits: Jeff Pribble Disclaimer: This manual presents a compilation of knowledge provided by recognized animal experts based on the current science, practice, and technology of animal management.
    [Show full text]
  • Attempting to See One Member of Each of the World's Bird Families Has
    Attempting to see one member of each of the world’s bird families has become an increasingly popular pursuit among birders. Given that we share that aim, the two of us got together and designed what we believe is the most efficient strategy to pursue this goal. Editor’s note: Generally, the scientific names for families (e.g., Vireonidae) are capital- ized, while the English names for families (e.g., vireos) are not. In this article, however, the English names of families are capitalized for ease of recognition. The ampersand (&) is used only within the name of a family (e.g., Guans, Chachalacas, & Curassows). 8 Birder’s Guide to Listing & Taxonomy | October 2016 Sam Keith Woods Ecuador Quito, [email protected] Barnes Hualien, Taiwan [email protected] here are 234 extant bird families recognized by the eBird/ Clements checklist (2015, version 2015), which is the offi- T cial taxonomy for world lists submitted to ABA’s Listing Cen- tral. The other major taxonomic authority, the IOC World Bird List (version 5.1, 2015), lists 238 families (for differences, see Appendix 1 in the expanded online edition). While these totals may appear daunting, increasing numbers of birders are managing to see them all. In reality, save for the considerable time and money required, finding a single member of each family is mostly straightforward. In general, where family totals or family names are mentioned below, we use the eBird/Clements taxonomy unless otherwise stated. Family Feuds: How do world regions compare? In descending order, the number of bird families supported by con- tinental region are: Asia (125 Clements/124 IOC), Africa (122 Clem- ents/126 IOC), Australasia (110 Clements/112 IOC), North America (103 Clements/IOC), South America (93 Clements/94 IOC), Europe (73 Clements/74 IOC ), and Antarctica (7 Clements/IOC).
    [Show full text]
  • An Ornithological Survey of Manaslu Conservation Area, Potential Important Bird Area, Nepal
    An Ornithological Survey of Manaslu Conservation Area. Report Submitted to: Oriental Bird Club, UK. Submitted by: Jyotendra Jyu Thakuri Bird Conservation Nepal, Lazimpat, Kathmandu, Nepal [email protected] & [email protected] 2013 i Summary Bird surveys of Manaslu Conservation Area were conducted on December 2012 and April-May 2013 to cover both winter and summer visitor and breeding birds. The surveys started at Jagat, Gorkha and covered two major Valleys, the Tshum and Nubri. The overall objective of the study was to determine the seasonal and overall bird diversity and species richness of the Manaslu Conservation Area and identify the bird rich areas within the Manaslu Conservation Area. Mackinnon’s list and direct count methods were used to survey the birds. The purpose of this study is also to recommend Manaslu Conservation Area to be declared as new IBA site. A total of 191 bird species were recorded from 77 Mackinnon’s lists spending 31 days field survey. The December survey produced a total of 121 species and the April May survey 151 species independently. The April survey was able to add 70 more species in December list. The most significant bird species recorded during the survey were globally threatened Red-headed Vulture (critically endangered), Satyr Tragopan (near threatened), River Lapwing (near threatened) and nationally threatened Ibisbill (endangered), Lammergeier (vulnerable) and Himalayan Griffon (vulnerable) . Forest is the important habitat for the birds in MCA which is reflected by the recording of 116 Forest, 17 Wetland, 13 Forest and agriculture, 14 Forest and Mountain, 20 Mountain and open area, 3 Mountain and agriculture, 3 Grassland and agriculture, 3Human settlements and 2 Agriculture - human settlements dependent bird species.
    [Show full text]
  • Nepal's Birds 2010
    Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN) Established in 1982, Bird Conservation BCN is a membership-based organisation Nepal (BCN) is the leading organisation in with a founding President, patrons, life Nepal, focusing on the conservation of birds, members, friends of BCN and active supporters. their habitats and sites. It seeks to promote Our membership provides strength to the interest in birds among the general public, society and is drawn from people of all walks OF THE STATE encourage research on birds, and identify of life from students, professionals, and major threats to birds’ continued survival. As a conservationists. Our members act collectively result, BCN is the foremost scientific authority to set the organisation’s strategic agenda. providing accurate information on birds and their habitats throughout Nepal. We provide We are committed to showing the value of birds scientific data and expertise on birds for the and their special relationship with people. As Government of Nepal through the Department such, we strongly advocate the need for peoples’ of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation participation as future stewards to attain long- Birds Nepal’s (DNPWC) and work closely in birds and term conservation goals. biodiversity conservation throughout the country. As the Nepalese Partner of BirdLife International, a network of more than 110 organisations around the world, BCN also works on a worldwide agenda to conserve the world’s birds and their habitats. 2010 Indicators for our changing world Indicators THE STATE OF Nepal’s Birds
    [Show full text]
  • A Bird's EYE View on Flyways
    A BIRD’S EYE VIEW ON FLywayS A brief tour by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals Second edition IMPRINT Published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) A BIRD’S EYE VIEW ON FLywayS A brief tour by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals UNEP / CMS Secretariat, Bonn, Germany. 64 pages. Produced by UNEP/CMS Text based on a report by Joost Brouwer in collaboration with Gerard Boere Coordinator Hanah Al-Samaraie, E-mail: [email protected] Editing & Proof Reading Hanah Al-Samaraie, Robert Vagg, Darinka Blies, Tracy Johnston Publishing Manager Francisco Rilla, CMS Secretariat, E-mail: [email protected] Design Karina Waedt, E-mail: [email protected] Second edition © 2012 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. UNEP would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permis- sion in writing from the United Nations Environment Programme. DISCLAIMER The contents of this volume do not necessarily reflect the views of UNEP or contributory organizations.The designations employed and the presentations do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP or contri- butory organizations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area in its authority, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
    [Show full text]
  • The Birds and Other Wildlife Recorded on the David Bishop Bird Tours Bhutan Tour - 2015
    The Birds and Other Wildlife recorded on the David Bishop Bird Tours Bhutan Tour - 2015 Wallcreeper © K. David Bishop Compiled and led by K. David Bishop David Bishop Bird Tours Bhutan 2015 BHUTAN 2015 “The Paro Dzong (monastery), guarded by icy crags, sits warming under the late afternoon sun. It seems to welcome our approach to our beautifully located hotel. An Ibisbill, so subtle as to be taken for a glacial stone, dips quietly in the snowmelt. This is indeed the Kingdom of Bhutan and the land of the peaceful Dragon.” As my good friend Steve Hilty remarked on first setting foot in the kingdom, "This is fairytale land." K. David Bishop This was my 28th bird tour to Bhutan. I first began leading bird tours to this magical kingdom in 1994 and have enjoyed the privilege of returning there once or twice a year almost annually since then. So what is it that has makes this particular tour so attractive? Quite simply Bhutan is in a class of its very own. Yes it is an expensive tour (although with David Bishop Bird Tours perhaps not so), largely because the Bhutanese have decided (in our opinion quite rightly) that they would rather not compromise their culture and spectacular natural environment to hundreds of thousands of tourists and in consequence they charge a princely sum for being among the privileged few to visit their country. Similarly we feel that we have a very special product to offer and whilst we could make it shorter and thus less expensive we feel that that would diminish the experience.
    [Show full text]
  • Population Trends, Threats, and Conservation Recommendations for Waterbirds in China Xiaodan Wang, Fenliang Kuang, Kun Tan and Zhijun Ma*
    Wang et al. Avian Res (2018) 9:14 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40657-018-0106-9 Avian Research REVIEW Open Access Population trends, threats, and conservation recommendations for waterbirds in China Xiaodan Wang, Fenliang Kuang, Kun Tan and Zhijun Ma* Abstract Background: China is one of the countries with abundant waterbird diversity. Over the past decades, China’s water- birds have sufered increasing threats from direct and indirect human activities. It is important to clarify the popula- tion trends of and threats to waterbirds as well as to put forward conservation recommendations. Methods: We collected data of population trends of a total of 260 waterbird species in China from Wetlands Inter- national database. We calculated the number of species with increasing, declining, stable, and unknown trends. We collected threatened levels of waterbirds from the Red List of China’s Vertebrates (2016), which was compiled according to the IUCN criteria of threatened species. Based on literature review, we refned the major threats to the threatened waterbird species in China. Results: Of the total 260 waterbird species in China, 84 species (32.3%) exhibited declining, 35 species (13.5%) kept stable, and 16 species (6.2%) showed increasing trends. Population trends were unknown for 125 species (48.1%). There was no signifcant diference in population trends between the migratory (32.4% decline) and resident (31.8% decline) species or among waterbirds distributed exclusively along coasts (28.6% decline), inland (36.6% decline), and both coasts and inland (32.5% decline). A total of 38 species (15.1% of the total) were listed as threatened species and 27 species (10.8% of the total) Near Threatened species.
    [Show full text]
  • Feeding Behavior in Ibisbill (Ibidorhyncha Struthersii)
    Advances in Zoology and Botany 9(2): 60-64, 2021 http://www.hrpub.org DOI: 10.13189/azb.2021.090204 Feeding Behavior in Ibisbill (Ibidorhyncha struthersii) Iqram Ul Haq1,*, Bilal A. Bhat1, Khursheed Ahmad2 1Biodiversity Conservation Lab, Department of Zoology, University of Kashmir, India 2Division of Wildlife Sciences, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir, India Received December 7, 2020; Revised January 9, 2021; Accepted March 12, 2021 Cite This Paper in the following Citation Styles (a): [1] Iqram Ul Haq, Bilal A. Bhat, Khursheed Ahmad , "Feeding Behavior in Ibisbill (Ibidorhyncha struthersii)," Advances in Zoology and Botany, Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 60 - 64, 2021. DOI: 10.13189/azb.2021.090204. (b): Iqram Ul Haq, Bilal A. Bhat, Khursheed Ahmad (2021). Feeding Behavior in Ibisbill (Ibidorhyncha struthersii). Advances in Zoology and Botany, 9(2), 60 - 64. DOI: 10.13189/azb.2021.090204. Copyright©2021 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License Abstract Feeding behaviour of Ibisbill was studied in ibidorhynchidae) commonly known as Ibisbill, is a large the Kashmir Himalayan River Sindh. Observations on the wader inhabiting the shingle bed Rivers of Central Asia. foraging behaviour were made at six selected sites. The Its range is centered on the Pamirs, Himalayas and the food items consumed by the bird during the study period Tibetan plateau with some populations occurring west to include aquatic invertebrates, insects, and fishes of smaller Turkistan, east to northern Myanmar [1, 2].
    [Show full text]