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on Wetland Ecosystems including Inland Wetlands Sarovar Saurabh Vol. 15(2), 2019 Picture Courtesy: M. Mahendiran (A Centre of Excellence under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Govt. of India) Anaikatty, Coimbatore - 641 108 (INDIA) on Wetland Ecosystems including Inland Wetlands Vol. 15(2), 2019 ISSN: 0972-3153 Contents Dr. Goldin Quadros Page Coordinator, ENVIS, SACON 1. Checklist of Birds around Puthanampatti Lake in Tiruchirappalli District, Tamil Nadu 1-3 2. Flagship Species of Ramsar Site 4-5 Mr. N. Mohamed Ibrahim 3. International Day for Biological Diversity 2019 Report 6 4. World Environment Day 2019 Report 6-7 5. Abstracts from published literature 7-9 6. Newspaper Article 10 Views expressed in the articles of this newsletter are of the authors only. From the Editors' Desk For the effective conservation and management of wetlands in the We welcome original research and popular articles, reviews, reports, research highlights, notes, news, snippets, etc., related to the country the Central Government felt the need to supersede the thematic area of the ENVIS Resource Partner for publication in Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules 2010 and ‘Sarovar Saurabh the ENVIS Newsletter on Wetland Ecosystems published the Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules 2017 including Inland Wetlands’. after several rounds of consultation and meetings. With increasing concern for the water bodies several states have formed their The articles and other information should be neatly typed in double wetland authorities and even have the District wetland authorities. space not exceeding five pages. The figures, graphs/drawings should be of good quality and clarity. Photographs should be of minimum The concern for the wetlands is increasing and Wetland Rules have 300 dpi resolution. References should be limited and cited in the text managed to create awareness among the policy makers and by name and year. Council of Science editors style may be referred to managers, thereby impacting the conservation at landscape level. In for listing references at the end. this issue, we bring compilation of articles on the Point Calimere wildlife and Bird Sanctuary while also highlighting the flagship Email your articles in MS-Word 2003 or 2007 format to sacon- species from the wetlands i.e. the Blackbuck. We have also included [email protected] or [email protected] articles on the Environment Day celebrations and other activities Send the articles in hard copy by post to: that we conducted during the quarter. The ENVIS Co-ordinator, Here I request all readers to kindly contribute your events, activities, Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) articles and keep us updated on the happenings of the wetlands Anaikatty P.O., Coimbatore - 641108. Tamil Nadu, India around you. Your inputs will help us in disseminating the message of Ph: 0422-2203100, 129 environmental well being to the masses. Website: www.saconenvis.nic.in; www.sacon.in Editor Checklist of Birds around Puthanampatti Lake in Tiruchirappalli District, Tamil Nadu T. Siva and P. Neelanarayanan Department of Zoology, Nehru Memorial College (Autonomous), Puthanamapatti – 621 007, Tiruchirappalli District, Tamil Nadu. Introduction Wetlands are important ecosystems in the world that supports a diverse range of plant and animals species. Waterbirds are one of the popular biodiversity groups found in wetlands drawing attention of bird-watchers globally. The waterbirds utilize wetlands for feeding and nesting. Wetlands and waterbirds are inseparable elements and support a rich array of waterbird communities (Grimmett and Inskipp, 2007). Waterbirds are an important component of wetland ecosystem as they occupy several trophic levels in the food web of wetland nutrient cycles. Activities of waterbirds are considered as an indicator of quality of the wetland ecosystem and form the terminal links in many aquatic food chains, and as a result, they reflect changes originating in several different ecosystem components (Custer and Osborne, 1977). The Present study was conducted in Puthanampatti Lake situated in Puthanampatti village of Musiri Taluk and backyard of Nehru Memorial College, Tiruchirappalli District, Tamil Nadu. The location of the area is Latitude 11°3'27.59" N and Longitude 78°40'43.91" E and 110 m Elevation above the sea level. The total study area of the lake is 6.32 hectares. The freshwater lake is fed by natural rainwater. Avifauna was observed during the winter season for two months i.e., on December 2015 and January 2016. Observations were carried out every week following line transect method during early morning 7:00 am to 10:00 am and evening 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm as the bird activity was high during this time of the day (Bibby et al., 1998). The check list of species was prepared following Grimmett et al. (2011). Location of the Puthanampatti Lake The natural vegetation present within and on the edges of the lake comprised of Acacia nilotica, Prosopis juliflora, Azadirachta indica and Pongamia pinnata. Farm lands especially paddy, and lemon plantations are present in the study area and lake water was used for irrigation purpose. We recorded 75 species of birds in the Lake which represent 19 orders and 41 families (Table 1). SACON ENVIS Newsletter - Sarovar Saurabh Vol.15(2), 2019. ISSN: 0972-3153 1 Maximum bird species were recorded from the order belonging to Passeriformes comprising of 35 species followed by Cuculiformes with six species. Among the 75 species recorded, 11 species were waterbirds that includes Indian Spot-billed Duck, Little Grebe, Indian Pond Heron, Little Egret, White-breasted Waterhen, Common Moorhen, Common Snipe, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper and White-throated Kingfisher. Remaining 64 species were terrestrial birds and were in high numbers during the survey. We counted over 400 cattle egrets roosting on the trees within the lake. All the 75 species were least concern birds as per the IUCN red list. Table 1. Avifauna checklist of Puthanamapatti Lake S. No Common Name Scientific Name Family 1 Grey Francolin Francolinus pondicerianus Phasianidae 2 Indian Peafowl Pavo cristatus Phasianidae 3 Indian Spot-billed Duck Anas poecilorhyncha Anatidae 4 Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis Podicipedidae 5 Indian Pond Heron Ardeola grayii Ardeidae 6 Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis Ardeidae 7 Little Egret Egretta garzetta Ardeidae 8 Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus Falconidae 9 Black Kite Milvus migrans Accipitridae 10 Shikra Accipiter badius Accipitridae 11 Booted Eagle Hieraaetus pennatus Accipitridae 12 White-breasted Waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus Rallidae 13 Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus Rallidae 14 Indian Thick-knee Burhinus (oedicnemus) indicus Burhinidae 15 Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus Charadriidae 16 Common Snipe Gallinago gallinago Scolopacidae 17 Wood Sandpiper Tringa glareola Scolopacidae 18 Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos Scolopacidae 19 Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse Pterocles exustus Pteroclidae 20 Common Pigeon Columba livia Columbidae 21 Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto Columbidae 22 Spotted Dove Stigmatopelia chinensis Columbidae 23 Laughing Dove Stigmatopelia senegalensis Columbidae 24 Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri Psittaculidae 25 Jacobin Cuckoo Clamator jacobinus Cuculidae 26 Common Hawk Cuckoo Hierococcyx varius Cuculidae 27 Grey-bellied Cuckoo Cacomantis passerinus Cuculidae 28 Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopaceus Cuculidae 29 Blue-faced Malkoha Rhopodytes viridirostris Cuculidae 30 Southern Coucal Centropus (sinensis) parroti Cuculidae 31 Indian Scops Owl Otus bakkamoena Strigidae 32 Spotted Owlet Athene brama Strigidae 33 Indian Nightjar Caprimulgus asiaticus Caprimulgidae 34 Asian Palm Swift Cypsiurus balasiensis Apodidae 35 Common Hoopoe Upupa epops Upupidae 36 Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis Coraciidae 37 White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis Alcedinidae 38 Green Bee-eater Merops orientalis Meropidae 2 SACON ENVIS Newsletter - Sarovar Saurabh Vol.15(2), 2019. ISSN: 0972-3153 S. No Common Name Scientific Name Family 39 Blue-tailed Bee-eater Merops philippinus Meropidae 40 Coppersmith Barbet Megalaima haemacephala Megalaimidae 41 Common Iora Aegithina tiphia Aegithinidae 42 Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus Laniidae 43 Bay-backed Shrike Lanius vittatus Laniidae 44 Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus Dicruridae 45 Indian Golden Oriole Oriolus kundoo Oriolidae 46 RufousTreepie Dendrocitta vagabunda Corvidae 47 Indian Jungle Crow Corvus (macrorhynchos) culminatus Corvidae 48 House Crow Corvus splendens Corvidae 49 Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica Hirundinidae 50 Jerdon'sBushlark Mirafra affinis Alaudidae 51 Rufous-tailed Lark Ammomanes phoenicura Alaudidae 52 Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer Pycnonotidae 53 White-browed Bulbul Pycnonotus luteolus Pycnonotidae 54 Plain Prinia Prinia inornata Cisticolidae 55 Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius Cisticolidae 56 Blyth's Reed Warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum Acrocephalidae 57 Hume's Whitethroat Sylvia althaea Sylviidae 58 Large Grey Babbler Turdoides malcolmi Leiothrichidae 59 Yellow-billed Babbler Turdoides affinis Leiothrichidae 60 Common Myna Acridotheres tristis Sturnidae 61 Brahminy Starling Sturnia pagodarum Sturnidae 62 Indian Robin Saxicoloides fulicatus Muscicapidae 63 Pied Bushchat Saxicola caprata Muscicapidae 64 Purple-rumped Sunbird Leptocoma zeylonica Nectariniidae 65 Purple Sunbird Cinnyris asiaticus Nectariniidae 66 Loten's Sunbird Cinnyris lotenia Nectariniidae 67 House Sparrow Passer domesticus Passeridae 68
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  • The First Record of Yellow-Throated Sparrow Gymnoris Xanthocollis in Egypt MASSIMILIANO DETTORI & István Moldován

    The First Record of Yellow-Throated Sparrow Gymnoris Xanthocollis in Egypt MASSIMILIANO DETTORI & István Moldován

    The first record of Yellow-throated Sparrow Gymnoris xanthocollis in Egypt MASSIMILIANO DETTORI & ISTVÁN MOLDOVÁN The Yellow-throated Sparrow Gymnoris xanthocollis breeds in southeast Turkey, through Iraq, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (Porter & Aspinall 2010, Rasmussen & Anderton 2005). It has been recorded as a vagrant, three records, in Israel (Perlman & Meyrav 2009). On 5 June 2010, on the Egyptian Red sea coast 17 km north of Marsa Alam city, while birding in the garden of Brayka Bay resort, MD noted a calling Yellow-throated Sparrow in the top of a palm tree (Google Earth GPS coordinates 25° 12’ 59.92” N 34° 47’ 58.23” E). The bird was easily detected as its continuous calling had brought it to the attention of MD. The call was very like that of a House Sparrow Passer domesticus, but because no House Sparrows had been seen or heard in the resort, MD investigated further. During the observation, the bird also uttered a guttural low-tone short song while perched on top of the tree. Through binoculars, the yellow throat-patch, chestnut-coloured feathers on the edge of the scapulars and white median-covert bar were immediately obvious, sufficiently so to identify the bird without any doubt as a Yellow-throated Sparrow. Regarding its behaviour, MD noted that it was very shy, but when its call was imitated by MD, the bird came closer to him and perched on a nearby eucalyptus tree. The bird was observed 07.10–07.30 h before it flew away. Next day (6 June) the bird was seen again at 07.45 h for 10 minutes.