14 Indian Vol. 8 No. 1 (Publ. 29 January 2013)

Crested Hawk-eagle Nisaetus cirrhatus feeding on nilgai Boselaphus tragocamelus fawn carcass Aditya Joshi & Raju Kasambe

Joshi, A., & Kasambe, R., 2013. Crested Hawk-eagle Nisaetus cirrhatus feeding on nilgai Boselaphus tragocamelus fawn carcass. Indian BIRDS 8 (1): 14. Aditya Joshi, 103, Sanwadi Apartments, Congress Nagar, Nagpur 440012, Maharashtra, . Email: [email protected] Raju Kasambe, A-205, Trimurti Apartments, Borkar Lane, Tilak Nagar, Dombivali East 421201, Distt. Thane, Maharashtra, India. Email: [email protected] Manuscript received on 11 January 2011.

n 10 February 2010 one of us (AJ) was looking for scats (Kasambe 2004). The location of the sightings described by Sant of tigers Panthera tigris on a pre-determined trail in Bor (2010), and Kasambe (2004) seem to be close to each other, OWildlife Sanctuary (Wardha district, Maharashtra), when i.e., in the Chamar Udhada area of MTR, where a Crested Hawk- he spotted a nilgai fawn Boselaphus tragocamelus carcass, but eagle pair nests regularly every year. On 5 June 2002 a Crested continued with his trail. On the way back, however, he saw a Hawk-eagle was seen feeding on a jungle cat by Mr Rafeeque, Crested Hawk-eagle Nisaetus cirrhatus feeding on this carcass. the bus driver of the MTR’S tourist bus, and 30-odd tourists. For the next three days, while on the same trail, AJ spotted this When Rafeeque saw the incident, he said that the cat was still eagle feasting on the remains of the carcass everyday! Aditya alive, but it seemed to have been blinded by the eagle. made a video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEJXy0L7VWM] recor- Vidal (1880) reported the raptor lifting four kittens, and a ding of this raptor feeding on the carcass. used for falconry in Germany acquired notoriety by elimina- It was difficult to comprehend what had killed the nilgai ting cats from the countryside (Naoroji 2006). fawn, but it was clear that the Crested Hawk-eagle benefited. As Though, the raptor is “capable of tackling fairly large mam- the routes for Aditya’s trails were fixed, he got to see it daily, and mals and game birds” (Naoroji 2004) it was never reported sca- the raptor did not seem to be bothered by his presence at all, as venging on carcasses of dead wild . Presuming that the it was busy eating. raptor did not kill the nilgai fawn or the wild boar, the observation When the YouTube link was posted on Internet, Niranjan of it scavenging on the carcasses is worth reporting. Sant, renowned birder, replied that he had seen a similar event in Melghat Tiger Reserve (MTR; Maharashtra, India), where he had References observed a Crested Hawk-eagle feeding on the carcass of a wild Kasambe, R., 2004. Crested Hawk Eagle (Spizaetus cirrhatus) foraging on Jungle Cat boar Sus scrofa (as posted on “seriousbirders” on 17 February (Felis chaus). Newsletter for Birdwatchers 44 (1): 14–15. 2010 by Mr. Niranjan Sant). Naoroji, R., 2006. Birds of prey of the Indian Subcontinent. 1st ed. Pp. 1–692. New It is worth mentioning that an incidence of this raptor fee- Delhi: Om Books International. ding on a jungle cat Felis chaus was earlier reported from MTR Vidal, G. W., 1880. First list of the birds of the South Konkan. Stray Feathers IX (1,2&3): 1–96.

Recent sightings of the Sooty hemprichii off the coast of Mumbai

Mohina Macker

Macker, M., 2013. Recent sightings of the Sooty Gull Larus hemprichii off the coast of Mumbai. Indian BIRDS 8 (1): 14–15 Mohina Macker, 74 Dar-ul-Muluk, 26 P R Road, Mumbai 400007, Maharashtra, India. Email: [email protected] Manuscript received on 19 November 2011.

ooty Gull Larus hemprichii is primarily a maritime jetty, Alibaug, frequently by ferry, for the past five years. Most of found along shorelines and small oceanic islands. It is the time I look out for birds flying by. In all these years I have Sknown to breed near the Red Sea, and along the African observed the Sooty Gull twice in the harbour. coast, up to the coast of , from April to October. Post The first sighting was on 22 March 2009, about 15 nautical breeding some individuals disperse widely and are reported miles south, off the coast of Mumbai, way past Prongs Reef from up to , , and Zanzibar. Prior to the lighthouse. I was on a friend’s catamaran sailboat enjoying an breeding season, in May and June, it is known to congregate in afternoon cruise at the tip of Mumbai when we chanced upon the Karachi harbour (Burger & Gochfeld 1996). The object of a distinctive dark gull perched upon a thermocol buoy. Its back, this note is to place on record two sightings of Sooty Gull from wings, and head were dark brown. A thin white collar separated Mumbai. the head from the back. It was rather close to the boat and I I have been travelling across Mumbai harbour to Mandwa could see it well through binoculars. On our approach it took off, Macker: Sooty Gull 15

giving me a good view of the underside of its wings, which were been recorded from Gujarat coast,” and refer to a sighting by brown, and its tail, which was tipped dark. Hume in 1875 off the coast of Bombay [=Mumbai]. Sharma Structurally its form was that of a gull. It was somewhat & Zöckler (2007) report one from the Sundarbans delta, West heavier than the Brown-headed L. brunnicephalus flying Bengal, on 24 January 2005. nearby. It therefore precludes any other gull but the Sooty. The The coastal waters of India have not been ornithologicaly only other similar bird is the White-eyed Gull L. leucophthalmus, explored as much as the mainland. Sooty Gull may well be an which would be an extremely unlikely find in our waters. White- irregular migrant to the western coast of India, but paucity of data eyed Gulls have a, ‘conspicuous broad broken white eye ring,’ prevents any comment on its status. In the absence of concrete which this gull did not. facts it is even harder to speculate whether there is any shift in A year and a half later, on 9 November 2011, I was on a ferry its winter distribution. plying between Gateway of India, Mumbai, and Mandwa jetty, Alibaug. Several gulls, mostly Heuglin’s L. fuscus, a few Brown-, References and Black-headed L. ridibundus could be seen in the morning light over the coastal waters. Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 2001. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Ceylon [sic]. Vol 3. 2nd ed. Pp. 2 pr. ll., Around 0700 hrs I saw a dark gull being mobbed by two pp. i–xvii, 1–327, 1 l., 2 ll. Delhi: (Sponsored by Bombay Natural History Society.) Heuglin’s Gulls. This gull was slightly smaller than the latter, and Oxford University Press [Oxford India Paperbacks.]. its head, nape, mantle, throat, wings, and underwings were dark Burger, J., & Gochfeld, M., 1996. Family (Gulls). In: Handbook of the Birds of the charcoal grey, while its breast and belly were striking white; it World. Hoatzin to Auks. 3: 572–623, 4 pll. 50–53 (col. by: I. Lewington), 51 maps was a much darker and sootier than the ones surrounding it. (distribution). del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Sargatal, J. (eds.). Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. The white collar of a breeding adult was lacking. It was barely six Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 1998. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 1st ed. Pp. meters away from the ferry and I got a good, though brief, view 1–888. London: Christopher Helm, A & C Black. albeit without binoculars. Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2005. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2 vols. 1st ed. Pp. 1–378, 1–683. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution As far as the distribution of this species around Mumbai is and Lynx Edicions. concerned Ali & Ripley (2001) state that though Sooty Gulls are Sharma, A., & Zöckler, C., 2007. First record of Sooty Gull Larus hemprichii in eastern “common and abundant in Karachi Harbour,” they have “never India. BirdingASIA 7: 86–87.

Indian birds statistics 2005-2011 Year Volume Pages Articles Photos Text-figures 2005 1 148 97 6 25 2006 2 184 96 51 36 2007 3 232 68 151 111 2008 4 204 93 161 13 2009 5 188 74 162 52 2010 6 174 52 241 40 2011 7 180 90 243 63 TOTALS 1310 570 1015 340

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200 Volume Pages 150 Articles

100 Photos Text-figures 50

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