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A Preliminary Survey on the Diet Selection and Feeding Strategies Employed by Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus Ibis Coromandus) in Jammu (J&K), India

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A Preliminary Survey on the Diet Selection and Feeding Strategies Employed by Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus Ibis Coromandus) in Jammu (J&K), India International Journal of Applied Science-Research and Review www.ijas.org.uk Original Article A Preliminary Survey on the Diet Selection and Feeding Strategies Employed by Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis coromandus) in Jammu (J&K), India Deep Novel Kour*, Sakshi Koul and D.N. Sahi Post Graduate Department of Zoology, University of Jammu, Jammu-180006, J&K, India A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T Received 26 June 2014 Received in revised form 08 July 2014 This documentation reports an analysis of the diet selection along with Accepted 22 July 2014 the diverse feeding strategies being utilised by Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis coromandus) from Jammu. In the study area, Cattle Egrets were Keywords: recorded to be strictly insectivorous with the preference of grasshoppers, Cattle egrets, flies, house crickets, mole crickets and earthworms in the grassland Diet selection, Feeding techniques, ecosystem and beetles, backswimmers, molluscs, orthoptera larvae, Aquatic ecosystem, fishes and frogs in aquatic ecosystem. Moreover, the behavioural Grassland ecosystem, methods, like walking steadily in shallow waters, running with stabs Molluscs. usually on land, standing and waiting and capturing flying prey from a standing position were registered to be the main feeding techniques Corresponding author: Post Graduate exploited by Cattle Egrets during the study period. Department of Zoology, University of Jammu, Jammu-180006, J&K, India E-mail address: [email protected] © 2014 International Journal of Applied Science-Research and Review All rights reserved INTRODUCTION Organisms do not forage in patches disturbances to the livestock5. We present independent of the risks of predation1-4. here the results of the first preliminary study Moreover, they do not select habitat pertaining to the feeding strategies and independent of the kinds and quality of food feeding preferences of Cattle Egrets as resources in different places. Thus, the virtually nothing has been reported on these knowledge of food and feeding habits is a aspects of Cattle Egrets from the study area. pre-requisite for the effective management of birds, thereby rendering advantageous MATERIALS AND METHODS clues on the subject of habitat use, physiology and behaviour. Cattle egrets Study area (Bubulcus ibis coromandus), belonging to Nestled against the backdrop of the the family Ardeideae are commonly referred snow-capped Pir-Panjal mountains, the to as terrestrial foragers as they pick region of Jammu constitutes the disturbed insects alongside grazing livestock southernmost unit of the state of Jammu without causing any inconveniences or Kour et al______________________________________________________ ISSN: 2394-9988 and Kashmir (Figure 1). The geographical St. IV: Army Cantonment, Nagrota area of the district is 3097 sq.km. This station is positioned at a latitude Geographically, it lies between 320 and longitude of 32046’33.86” N and 27’ and 330 50” North latitudes and 740 19” 74054’16.20” E respectively. Its height from and 750 20” East longitudes. Altitudinally, it the mean sea level is 351 meters. It is extends from 250 meters to 410 meters situated at a distance of 12 km from Jammu above the mean sea level. The climatic city. conditions in and around the study area are dry sub-humid to arid with four well Flora marked seasons in a year namely winter, The aforementioned stations(Sts. I to summer, monsoon and autumn. The study III) fall under the category of areas of open was carried out at the following stations cultivation and were noticed to be well representing varied habitats from December, irrigated with the plantations of Oryza 2007 to November, 2008. sativa (Rice), Triticum aestivum (Wheat), Acacia nilotica (Babul), Acacia modesta St. I: Tirlokpur, Gho Manhasa (Kramishatrav), Dalbergia sisoo The station is positioned at a latitude (Sheesham), Morus alba (Shahtoot), of 320 43’27.79”N and a longitude of Eucalyptus tereticornis (Safeda), 74044’21.12” E with an elevation of 265 Mangifera indica (Aam), Melia azadirachta meters from mean sea level. It falls in (Vakayan), Ficus bengalensis (Barghad), Jammu tehsil and is about 12 km from Lantana camara (Kattu hingu), Zizyphus Jammu city. At this station, the main source spp. (Ber) etc. On the other hand, St IV falls of water is Gho Manhasa Stream. in the category of Kandi Area or Semi Hilly. Triticum aestivum (Wheat) and Zea mays St. II: Pounichak, Gho Manhasa (Maize) are the main crops in the small This station is situated between the patches of cultivation. Vegetation included latitude and longitude of 32044’20.28”N and Pinus roxburghii (Chir) at higher altitudes. 74047’58.49”E respectively. Its elevation Other vegetation includes; Grewia optiva from the mean sea level is 281 meters. It is (Dhamin), Emblica officinalis (Amla), at a distance of 14 km from Jammu city Vitex negundo (Nishigandha), Cassia fistula and falls in Jammu tehsil. Gho Manhasa (Amaltaas), Butea monosperma, Zizyphus stream is the main source of water at this sp., Carissa opaca, Lantana camara, station too. Dedonea viscose etc. St. III: Gharana Wetland, R. S. Pura Methodology It is situated between the The data was collected during a 32036’51.52” N latitudes and 74038’58.15” continuous period of one year from E longitudes. It is located at an elevation of December, 2007 to November, 2008. 251 meters from the mean sea level. This Periodic surveys were performed in the area station is at a distance of 35 km from the under inquisition from 0630 to 1200 h in the Jammu city in Ranbir Singh Pura tehsil. At morning and 1300 to 1900 h in evening this station, the main source of water is during summer and 0730 to 1200 h in Ranbir Canal. morning and 1400 to 1830 h in evening during winter. In addition to it, several erratic excursions were also conducted during different hours of the day, before IJAS [1][3][2014] 144-149 Kour et al______________________________________________________ ISSN: 2394-9988 sunrise to sunset. The birds were observed techniques utilized by the Cattle Egrets for with naked eye and through binoculars procuring their food in different habitats (Bushnell 7 X 50 U. S. A. made) whenever were found to depend upon the type of the found necessary to record the data from food, depth at which the food was available quite a long distance in order to avoid any and the habitat. In the different study sites, interference to birds due to the presence of Cattle Egrets were discerned to display observers. Photographic evidence was distinguishable feeding strategies like collected with the aid of Canon EOS camera walking steadily interspersed with stabs in fitted with 300 mm zoom lens, Digital shallow water and on land, running with Camera (Sony) fitted with 14.1 megapixel stabs usually on land, standing and waiting lens with an optical zoom of 4X. Besides, and capturing flying prey in a standing videos recordings were done with the aid of position. Cattle Egrets also depicted the 800 X Digital 200M/Optical 20 X video crouched or leaned posture with the neck camera. extended. However7, also recorded the The observations were taken on their “Stand and Wait” strategy followed by foraging behaviour using “Focal Animal Cattle Egrets in the study area. “Stand and Sampling” technique6. To identify the food Wait” strategy was viewed to be the most items, samples were collected from the preferred strategy to feed. This conclusion is study site besides analysing the gut contents in accordance with the one made by8 but of accidently killed specimens in the field. antithetical to the observation of9. The The collected dead adult birds were probable explanation for the adoption of dissected and their crops and gizzards were such a strategy by Cattle Egrets may be the taken out and opened to ascertain the diverse superiority of the method for finding hidden food contents. The contents were put in or cryptic prey. Same justifications have screen sieves, washed and placed on a been propounded by10-12. blotting paper and dried for 10-15 minutes depending upon room humidity at room Feeding preferences temperature. Different food items were then On the basis of the collection of sorted out and identified. Prey was available food items in the study area, it was identified visually whenever possible. In concluded that the probable food items case, where prey was not identified, food consumed by Cattle Egrets were chiefly items were collected from the study site insects like grasshoppers, flies, house using Sweep Nets. Prey was categorized into crickets and mole crickets in case of 2 size classes. The first size class (< 3 cm in grassland ecosystem and fishes, beetles, length) consisted of invertebrates and the backswimmers and orthoptera larvae in case second class (3-6cm) of small fish and frogs. of aquatic ecosystem. These observations were also authenticated by the analysis of RESULTS AND DISCUSSION guts (n=5) of accidently dead specimens of Cattle Egrets. Cattle Egrets were also Feeding techniques discerned occasionally to cater on larvae of During the study period, Cattle insects exposed after watering of Trifolium Egrets were observed to forage for insect- fields. Sometimes frogs like Haplobatrachus preys in different types of habitats, such as tigerinus, tadpoles and fishes were also farm-lands, grasslands, along the roads and considered as a nutriment by Cattle Egrets in when moving along side grazing livestock, the study area. While feeding in association thereby, picking various species of insects with the different herds of cattle, Cattle disturbed by these animals. The feeding IJAS [1][3][2014] 144-149 Kour et al______________________________________________________ ISSN: 2394-9988 Egrets were noticed to prey upon ticks and Grasshoppers have been reported to be the leeches. Besides, a typical ‘probing predominant food item of Cattle Egrets by15- behaviour’ though shallowly was showed by 18.
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