Gowande et al.: Lesser Fish 83

A report of the Lesser Fish Eagle Icthyophaga humilis from Maharashtra, Gaurang G. Gowande, Pratik S. Joshi, Monish Dave, Shireesh Dharap & Anirudh Chaoji

Gowande, G. G., Joshi, P. S., Dave, M., Dharap, S., & Chaoji, A., 2016. A report of the Lesser Fish Eagle Ichthyophaga humilis from Maharashtra, India. Indian 12 (2&3): 83–84. Gaurang G. Gowande, Department of Biotechnology, Fergusson College, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India; Pugmarks Holidays, 33/15, Karve Road, Opposite Abasaheb Garware College, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India. E-mail: [email protected] [Corresponding author.] Pratik S Joshi, Department of Environmental Science, Fergusson College, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India; Pugmarks Holidays, 33/15, Karve Road, Opposite Abasaheb Garware College, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India. Monish Dave, Pugmarks Holidays, 33/15, Karve Road, Opposite Abasaheb Garware College, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India. Shireesh Dharap, 1286 Jangli Maharaj Road, Hotel Pearl Building, Pune 411005, Maharashtra, India. Anirudh Chaoji, Pugmarks Holidays, 33/15, Karve Road, Opposite Abasaheb Garware College, Pune 411004, Maharashtra, India. Manuscript received on 09 May 2016.

he Lesser Fish Eagle Icthyophaga humilis is known to occur Melghat, and were deposited in the Nagpur Central Museum. in South and , from India to South Moluccas Rasmussen & Anderton (2012) reported that the Lesser Fish Tthrough and Sumatra (Clark et al. 2016). In India, Eagle has been cited in Maharashtra, however, no specimens the species was once thought to be restricted to the foothills of could be traced in museum collections. Besides, no record of the the , and to north-eastern India (Naoroji 2007), until a species is available for the western parts of the state. Here, we small population was discovered recently on the banks of River report the species from western Maharashtra. Cauvery, in Karnataka (Lethaby 2005). This was supported by a On 14 January 2016, we observed and photographed an eagle scrutiny of photographs from Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary, thought that was soaring over a private wetland in the north-western part to be those of Grey-headed Fish Eagle I. ichthyaetus, but were of of Pune city, Maharashtra, India [96]. It was tentatively identified the Lesser Fish Eagle (Praveen 2011). Further field surveys led as the Grey-headed Fish Eagle, but upon further investigations to the documentation of the species in the states of Kerala, and and interactions with the experts, the species was identified as Tamil Nadu (Praveen 2011). The northern Indian populations the Lesser Fish Eagle on the basis of the following morphological are recognised as the subspecies plumbea (Clark et al. 2016), pointers, following Lethaby (2005), and Naoroji (2007): however, the subspecific status of the peninsular populations 1. Absence of dark terminal black band on the underside of the is not known, and demands further study (Lethaby 2005). tail (vs. present in Grey-headed Fish Eagle) – a diagnostic D’Abreau (1935) mentioned that specimens of Lesser Fish Eagle feature of this species. [=Himalayan Fish Eagle I. humilis plumbeus] were collected from 2. Seven ‘fingers’ of the hand (vs. eight to nine in Grey-headed Fish Eagle). 3. White patch at the base of outer primaries (vs. mostly absent in Grey-headed Fish Eagle). Once the was correctly identified, we checked for its occurrence in published literature (Prasad 2004; Grimmett et al. 2011), and also combed through photographic records on public forums and online photographic portals like, India Nature Watch (www.indianaturewatch.net), Oriental Bird Images (www. orientalbirdimages.org), and India Biodiversity Portal (www. indiabiodiversity.org). Barring the aforementioned ones, there were no earlier records, making ours the first record for this species from Maharashtra, in recent times. Of the Icthyophaga species, the only earlier record of the Grey-headed Fish Eagle from western Maharashtra is from Mumbai (Prasad 2004). However, since this record antedates Lethaby (2005), it should be treated, as all other sight records of the Grey-headed Fish Eagle from the Western Ghats, with caution. Nonetheless, photographic records are available from the central Indian forests of Maharashtra, including Pench, and Tadoba (www.orientalbirdimages.org). The nearest northern locality for southern population of Lesser Fish Eagle is Ganeshgudi, Dandeli Anshi Tiger Reserve, Karnataka (Praveen 2011); the aerial distance between Ganeshgudi and 96. Lesser Fish Eagle Icthyophaga humilis, Pune, Maharashtra, India. Pune city being c. 370 km. 84 Indian BIRDS Vol. 12 No. 2 & 3 (Publ. 12 October 2016)

Birders and photographers regularly visit suitable habitats the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Editions, Barcelona. Retrieved from http:// around Pune city throughout the year. The lack of any other sighting www.hbw.com/node/52989 on 18/01/2016. from them probably indicates that the bird we photographed was D'Abreu, E., 1935. A list of the birds of the Central Provinces. Journal of the Bombay a straggler, as it is impossible to miss such a large raptor that often Natural History Society. 38 (1): 95–116. Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the . 2nd ed. circles high in the sky. London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528. Acknowledgements Lethaby, N., 2005. The occurrence of Lesser Fish Eagle Ichthyophaga humilis on the Cauvery River, Karnataka, India and some notes on the identification of this We would like to thank Pankaj Koparde and Ushma Shukla for comments on an earlier species. BirdingASIA 4: 33–38 (with 11 photos). version of this note. The authors are indebted to the BNHS ENVIS team for their support. Naoroji, R., 2007. Birds of prey of the Indian Subcontinent.1st ed. New Delhi: Om We are also grateful to Praveen J., and Pushkar Phansalkar for help in the identification Books International. Pp. 1–692. of the species. We thank Praneti Khardekar, Shivani Jalan, and Sayali Sawant for Prasad, A., 2004.Annotated checklist of the birds of Western Maharashtra. Buceros 8 accompanying us on the visit. Lastly, we thank Pugmarks Holidays for providing logistic (2&3): i–ii, 1–174 (2003). help and for acquiring permissions for the visit to the private property. Praveen J., 2011. An update on the distribution of Lesser Fish-Eagle Ichthyophaga humilis in southern India. Indian BIRDS 7 (1): 14–16. References Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide: Clark, W., Kirwan, G.,& Christie, D., 2016. Lesser Fish Eagle (Icthyophaga humilis). In: attributes and status. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian del Hoyo, J., Elliot, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.,& de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of Institution and Lynx Edicions. Vol. 2 of 2 vols. Pp. 1–683.

Rock Bunting Emberiza cia: An addition to the birds of Gujarat Rajni Trivedi

Trivedi, R., 2016. Rock Bunting Emberiza cia: An addition to the birds of Gujarat. Indian BIRDS 12 (2&3): 84–85. RajniTrivedi, 20/C Mangaldeep App., Jodhpur Gam Road, Satellite, Ahmedabad 380015, Gujarat, India. E-mail: [email protected]. Manuscript received on 12 May 2016.

he Rock Bunting Emberiza cia is a polytypic species, with Observations the race stracheyi resident in India. It breeds in the outer I have photographed the Rock Bunting at three different locations Tranges of the western Himalayas, from the Afghan border, in Gujarat, in the last few years (Fig. 1). and in the western Himalayan Indian states of Jammu & Kashmir, On 07 February 2007 I saw the species at Jarpara village Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, extending up to central (21.35ºN, 71.10ºE), near Dhari town (Amreli District), on the (Rasmussen & Anderton 2012). During winter, it visits Chalala–Dhari road. I was with Jitubhai Patel, a local farmer, who adjacent southern plains (Grimmett et al. 2011; Rasmussen & wanted to show an owl, in his farm, to me. There I photographed Anderton 2012). Despite this wintering range, actual records a male Rock Bunting, which was perched on a tree [97]. The of the speices from mainland India, away from the Himalayas, rufous under parts, and white head with three black stripes were are scanty (Grimmett et al. 2011). This species has not been prominent characteristics, which helped in its identification. reported from Gujarat earlier (Khacher 1996; Parasharya et al. A year later, on 27 January 2008, I photographed another 2004). Here I present photographic evidence of its presence, bird [98], which was on the ground, enabling good views, from three locations in Gujarat. and clear photographs. This was at ‘Kalodunger’, near Khavda (23.90ºN, 69.80ºE), in Kachchh District. Here, the bird was on the ground and I could observe it clearly and take photographs. I saw the bird a third time, on 01 September 2014, at Velavadar Blackbuck National Park (22.00ºN, 72.00ºE), Bhavnagar District. A male bird was on the ground, along with Grey-neck Buntings E. buchanani. My friend, Kasam Sama, was able to get close to the birds and take a picture [99]. The clear dorsal view of the tail, and back, along with the head profile, were sufficient to establish its identity.

Discussion The Striolated Bunting Fringillaria striolata is a resident, and widespread, species in Gujarat. From a distance the Rock Bunting resembles the Striolated Bunting. So birdwatchers might tend to mistake a Rock Bunting for a Striolated Bunting. Especially since Fig. 1. Locations in Gujarat, where the Rock Bunting has been photographed. the Rock Bunting had not been recorded from Gujarat, though