Gala et al.: Chestnut-tailed 53

Status of Chestnut-tailed Starling malabarica in Rajasthan,

Mittal Gala, Shasank Ongole & Anil Tripathi

Gala, M., Ongole, S., & Tripathi, A., 2019. Status of Chestnut-tailed Starling Sturnia malabarica in Rajasthan, India. Indian 15 (2): 53–57. Mittal Gala, Khem Villas, Kutulpura Malliyan, Sherpur-Khiljipur, Sawai Madhopur 322001, Rajasthan, India. E-mail: [email protected] [MG] Shasank Ongole, Dream Nivas, Sector-1, MVP Colony, Visakhapatnam 530017, Andhra Pradesh. E-mail: [email protected] Anil Tripathi, Aquatic Ecology and Biodiversity Research Lab, MLV Government College, Bhilwara. E-mail: [email protected] Manuscript received on 07 May 2018.

he Chestnut-tailed Starling Sturnia malabarica is a resident Personal observations from Sawai Madhopur in the north-eastern part of the Indian Subcontinent and On 23 March 2015, at 0905 h, MG was watching birds under Tparts of Odisha, and a summer visitor to the Western and a flowering silk cottonBombax ceiba tree inside ‘Khem Villas’ Central Himalayas (Grimmett et al. 2011; Rasmussen & Anderton eco-lodge (26.06°N, 76.43°E; c.100 m asl). The lodge is 2012). It also occurs as a winter migrant to most of southern situated on the outskirts of Ranthambhore National Park in Sawai India (Grimmett et al. 2011; Rasmussen & Anderton 2012). Madhopur District, Rajasthan. While she was watching Rose- However, Kazmierczak (2000), and Grimmett et al. (2011) also ringed Parakeets Psittacula krameri feeding on the flowers, a showed two isolated records/locations of the Chestnut-tailed flew in and buried its head into a flower, probably for nectar. The Starling from Rajasthan. A. O. Hume called the species a specialty bird was pale rufous overall with pale grey wings and orange of Mount Abu, in Rajasthan, and noted that it had not been legs. Since the profile resembled a starling she initially thought observed anywhere else in the region (Bultler 1875). Since then, it was a juvenile S. pagodarum, which is a however, it has been found in other parts of Rajasthan.Here, we common bird in that area. However, it lacked the grey-brown present the status of Chestnut-tailed Starling in Rajasthan. cap, white wing sides, and tail tip of the latter. Since she could not identify the individual by using the illustrations in Grimmett et Methods al. (2011), she examined photographs of found in that We searched for confirmed records of the Chestnut-tailed Starling area on Oriental Bird Images and confirmed it as an adult female from Rajasthan on eBird (2018). Further, we perused photographs Chestnut-tailed Starling S. malabarica. MG managed to take a of Chestnut-tailed Starlings on on various websites, such as, India few photographs before the bird flew away [58]. Nature Watch (www.indianaturewatch.net), Oriental Bird Images After Gala’s sighting in 2015, three more sightings occurred (www.orientalbirdimages.org), Internet Bird Collection (www.hbw. in April and June 2018. All observations, including photographs, com/ibc), and on Facebook groups such as ‘Ask ID for Indian Birds’, were uploaded to eBird (Gala & Ongole 2018; Rathore 2018; ‘Indian Birds’, and ‘Rajasthan Biodiversity.’ We also conducted a Rathore & Gala 2018). literature search using Pittie (2018). Finally, we corresponded with the birders of Rajasthan about observations that may not have Results & Discussion been uploaded to any of the above digital sources. Our research revealed a total of 35 observations (including ours) of Chestnut-tailed Starling from Rajasthan (Table 1, Fig 1). Of these, 12 were from eBird, and the rest, from photography websites, Facebook groups, published works, and communications with birders. The species has been observed in nine out of 12 months in Rajasthan [59], and across a range of habitats [60]. In cases where an observation did not make note of the habitat in which the bird had been observed, we considered the habitat of the larger landscape surrounding the location. The wide temporal spread of observations of Chestnut-tailed Starlings in Rajasthan indicates that it may be uncommon, but is, perhaps, not a migrant to the state. The species has been observed in 13 out of its 33 districts (~40%) showing that it is also widespread, particularly in eastern Rajasthan. However, it is possible that suitable habitats are present in drier parts of Rajasthan, as evidenced by the observation from Bikaner. It has been recorded often on flowering or fruiting trees (Sangha & Devarshi 2006; Gala 2015; Rathore 2018), which is consistent with its known diet. Observations from different habitats (urban, 58. Chestnut-tailed Starling on a blooming Silk-cotton tree. Pic: Mittal Gala. grassland, or forest) spread across the state indicate that the 54 Indian Birds Vol. 15 No. 2 (Publ. 15 June 2019)

Table 1. Observations of Chestnut-tailed Starlings in Rajasthan between 1984 and 2018 S. No. Place District Date Number Habitat description Habitat Remarks Source/s category

1 Mount Abu Sirohi Undated Varies from subtropical Forest Congregate in considerable numbers in Butler (1875) thorn forest in foothills to May and June subtropical evergreen at higher altitudes 2 Keoladeo Ghana Bharatpur 14 November 7 Wetland interspersed with Wetland - Kannan (1984) National Park 1984 woodland patches 3 Sariska Tiger Alwar November - Tropical dry deciduous and Forest Abundant from July to October and Sankar et al. Reserve 1986–February thorn forest1 otherwise rare (1993) 1992 4 - Dungarpur 2000-2001 - Human settlements Others Found near human settlements Saxena M (2003) 5 Phulwari Wildlife Udaipur 2001-2004 11 Tropical dry deciduous and Forest Small flocks during flowering of Butea Sharma (2007) Sanctuary mixed deciduous forest2 monosperma (February-March) 6 Kumbalgarh Rajsamand 2002 - Tropical dry deciduous and Forest - Shantanu Kumar in Wildlife Sanctuary mixed deciduous forest3 Sangha & Devarshi (2006) 7 Bharatpur- Bharatpur 2005 1 Wetland interspersed with Wetland Seen along with Common Myna Mundkur et al. Keoladeo Ghana woodland patches tristis and Bank Myna A. (2007)* National Park ginginianus in an Acacia nilotica tree 8 Tal Chappar Churu 14 October - Grassland with scattered Savannah Adult Savithri Singh * 2012 trees 9 Outskirts of Chittorgarh June 2014 6 Tropical dry deciduous and Forest Adults Mannan Arya* Rawatbhata, near thorn forest4 Bhainsrorgarh Wildlife Sanctuary

10 Ummedganj Kota 09 September - Wetland Wetland Adult Ishwar Malav* Wetland 2014 11 Khem Villas Lodge Sawai 23 March 2015 1 Mixed habitat -dry Others Adult Gala (2015)* Madhopur deciduous forest, grassland, agriculture, water bodies 12 Rawatbhata Chittorgarh 30 September 1 NA NA Adult Rajib Maji* 2015 13 Sawai Madhopur Sawai 01 October 1 Urban (with fruiting trees) Urban Adult Radadia (2016)* Railway Station Madhopur 2016 14 Jorbeer Bikaner 22 January - Open grassland - Large Savannah Adult feeding on Salvadora persicam, Devendra 2017 grazed lands (short grass) Prosopis cineraria, and Tecomella Bhardwaj* interspersed with trees undulata fruits 15 Mukundra Hills Kota 18 May 2017 - Deep gorges with well Forest Adult Sunil Singal* wooded and broad leaf forest, hills belong to Vidhyan range5 16 Menal Bhilwara 31 May 2017 - Deep Vindyan gorges with Riparian Adult, seen in a tree cavity with Anil Tripathi* riparian vegetation forest Salvadora persica twig in its beak 17 Bharatpur- Bharatpur 31 October 1 Wetland interspersed with Wetland - Shah et al. (2017) Keoladeo Ghana 2017 woodland patches National Park 18 Ranthambhore Sawai 15 April 2018 3 Tropical dry deciduous Forest Seen along with Yellow-throated Sahdev Singh National Park Madhopur forest Sparrows Gymnoris xanthocollis and Brahminy Starlings S. pagodarum; in.litt.,e-mail from Harkirat Singh Sangha on 30 June 2018 19 Khem Villas Lodge Sawai 30 April 2018 2 Mixed habitat -dry Others Adult Gala & Ongole Madhopur deciduous forest, grassland, (2018)* agriculture, water bodies 20 Menal Bhilwara 11 May 2018 1 Deep Vindhyan gorges with Riparian Adult, seen flying across a gorge with a Anil Tripathi* riparian vegetation forest twig in its mouth 21 Menal Bhilwara 11 May 2018 2 Deep Vindhyan gorges with Riparian Birds seen in a nest cavity but chased Anil Tripathi* riparian vegetation forest by a pair of Common Mynas 22 Kevda ki Naal Udaipur 13 May 2018 - Riparian vegetation and Riparian Adult Devendra Singh woodland6 forest Rathore* Gala et al.: Chestnut-tailed Starling 55

Table 1. Observations of Chestnut-tailed Starlings in Rajasthan between 1984 and 2018 S. No. Place District Date Number Habitat description Habitat Remarks Source/s category

23 Mukundra Tiger Kota 13 May 2018 - Deep gorges with well Forest Adult Sunil Singal* Reserve wooded and broad leaf forest, hills belong to Vidhyan range 24 Mukundra Tiger Kota 16 May 2018 - Deep gorges with well Forest Adult Sunil Singal* Reserve wooded and broad leaf forest, hills belong to Vidhyan range 25 Mukundra Tiger Kota 20 May 2018 - Deep gorges with well Forest Adult Ishwar Malav* Reserve wooded and broad leaf forest, hills belong to Vidhyan range 26 Baran Baran 30 May 2018 2 Degraded forest with some Forest Seen with Brahminy Starlings; in.litt.,e- Harkirat Singh trees mail dated 17 July 2018 Sangha flowering7 27 Fateh’s Retreat Sawai 08 June 2018 4 Garden with fruiting trees Others Adult feeding on Azadirachta indica Rathore (2018)* Homestay Madhopur fruits 28 Ranthambhore Sawai 09 June 2018 4 Tropical dry deciduous Forest - Aryan et al. (2018) National Park Madhopur forest 29 Ranthambhore Sawai 29 June 2018 1 Tropical dry deciduous Forest - Khurana (2018) National Park Madhopur forest 30 Khem Villas Lodge Sawai 04 August 2018 4 Mixed habitat -dry Others Adult Rathore & Gala Madhopur deciduous forest, grassland, (2018)* agriculture, water bodies 31 Jhoomer Baori Sawai 05 September 7 Tropical dry deciduous Forest Seen with Brahminy Starlings in small Jayaramaiah Madhopur 2018 forest flocks (2018a) 32 Jhoomer Baori Sawai 08 September 3 Tropical dry deciduous Forest - Jayaramaiah Madhopur 2018 forest (2018b) 33 Jhoomer Baori Sawai 10 September 6 Tropical dry deciduous Forest - Jayaramaiah Madhopur 2018 forest (2018c) 34 Kheri mod Dungarpur 06 January 2 Urban Urban Birds seen feeding on unripe lantana Sundar & Tiwari 2019 berries on the roadside (2019)* 35 Banswara Undated - NA NA - Sangha & Devarshi (2006) 36 Sitamata Wildlife Pratapgarh Undated - Tropical dry deciduous Forest - Shantanu Kumar in Sanctuary forest9 Sangha & Devarshi (2006) *Bird photographed. 1Kidwai (2013); 2Kumar (2017); 3Pandey & Singh (1999); 4,5,6Dharmendra Khandal, verbally, dated 13 January 2019; 7Harkirat Singh Sangha, in litt., e-mail dated 18 January 2019; 8Anil Tripathi, 18 January 2019; 9Jain et al. (2005).

species may be capable of exploiting resources in different similar interaction between Chestnut-tailed Starlings and Jungle environments. Around Mukundra Tiger Reserve, it has been Mynas A. fuscus, which ultimately resulted in the nest being taken seen in both, winter and summer, suggesting that it might even over by the mynas. All three species are hole-nesters and such breed there (Mannan Arya, verbally, dated 19 January 2019). On interactions may be common, indicating that the Chestnut-tailed multiple occasions, Arya has seen them in pairs and small parties Starlings may nest in the region. of 10 to 12 birds on fruiting trees [2]. Overall, we believe that the Chestnut-tailed Starling may In May 2017, near Menal Waterfall (Chittorgarh), a Chestnut- be more widespread in Rajasthan than the above observations tailed Starling was observed entering a tree cavity with a Salvadora suggest; more attention needs to be paid to the movements of persica twig in its beak (see Table 1 for AT’s observation) [61]. these birds to ascertain their presence or absence, or commonality In May 2018, in the same region, AT observed a Chestnut-tailed in various regions. It will be interesting to conclusively know if Starling with a twig in its beak, but it quickly flew out of sight. they do indeed breed in Rajasthan. Chestnut-tailed Starlings are known to nest in tree cavities and At the time of the observation near Ranthambore National use twigs and soft vegetation as nesting material (Ali & Ripley Park in 2015, there had been no records of this species from 1987). On the same day, AT also observed a pair of Chestnut- the park (Andheria 2000; Reddy 1999 unpublished). An online tailed Starlings being chased away from the same cavity by a checklist of the birds of Ranthambore (www.wildlywise.com/ pair of Common Mynas [62, 63]. Nath (2009) documented a rnp_birds_compl_list.htm), which had listed the Chestnut-tailed 56 Indian Birds Vol. 15 No. 2 (Publ. 15 June 2019)

Fig. 1. Locations of Chestnut-tailed sightings in Rajasthan (Location with a * indicates historical records, prior to 1984)

J F M A M J J A S O N D Fig. 2. Month-wise temporal spread of Chestnut-tailed Starling observations in Rajasthan between 1984 and 2018. One observation in a month is considered adequate for this chart.

Habitats associated with Chestnut-tailed Starling observations Arya Mann

59. Chestnut-tailed Starlings perched with Red-vented Bulbul. 11% Forest 6% NA 6% 47% Others 11% Riparian forest Savannah

Urban

14% Wetland 5% Anil Tripathi Anil Fig. 3. Habitats where Chestnut-tailed Starling has been observed in Rajasthan. “Others” includes man-made areas like gardens or mixture of different habitats like Khem Villas lodge in Sawai Madhopur. “NA” means Not Available. Savannahs are areas with continuous grass cover and a discontinuous tree cover. 60. Chestnut-tailed Starling in a tree cavity holding a Salvadora persica twig. Gala et al.: Chestnut-tailed Starling 57

References Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1987. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Cuckoo-shrikes to babaxes. 2nd (Hardback) ed. Delhi: (Sponsored by Bombay Natural History Society.) Oxford University Press. Vol. 5 of 10 vols. Pp. i–xvi, 1–278+2+8 ll. Andheria, A. P., 2000. Birds of Ranthambhore National Park, Rajasthan. Newsletter for Birdwatchers 40 (4): 51–53. Aryan, A., Goel, A., Jha, J., 2018. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S46409900. [Accessed on 01 January 2019.] Butler, E. A., 1875. Notes on the avifauna of Mount Aboo and Northern Guzerat. Stray Feathers 3 (6): 437–500. eBird. 2018. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird, Ithaca, New York. Available: http://www.ebird.org. [Accessed on 03 January 2019.] Gala, M., 2015. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44656875. [Accessed on 01 61. Chestnut-tailed Starling; another individual with a twig in its beak. January 2019.] Gala, M., Ongole, S., 2018. Website URL: https://ebird.org/india/view/checklist/S47039022. [Accessed on 01 January 2019.] Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528. Jain, A., Katewa, S. S., Galav, P. K., & Sharma, P., 2005. Medicinal plant diversity of Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary, Rajasthan, India. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 102: 143–157. Jayaramaiah, H., 2018a. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S48318777 [Accessed on 01 January 2019.] Jayaramaiah, H., 2018b. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S48358510 [Accessed on 01 January 2019.] Jayaramaiah, H., 2018c. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S48409007 [Accessed on 01 January 2019.] Kannan, R., 1984. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S22285034 [Accessed on 01 January 2019.] Kazmierczak, K., 2000. A field guide to the birds of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. 1st ed. London: Pica Press / Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–352. 62. Chestnut-tailed Starling visiting a tree cavity. Khurana, D., 2018. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S46867253. [Accessed on 01 January 2019.] Kidwai, Z., 2013. Vegetation structure and composition in core area of Sariska National Park, Rajasthan. Indian Forester 139 (7): 636–644. Kumar, R.S. 2017. Identifying sites for promoting ecotourism in Phulwari-ki-Nal Wildlife Sanctuary (PWLS), Southern Aravalli Hills of India. IIOABJournal 8 (1): 15–21. Mundkur, T., Mudgal, L., & Martin, A., 2007. Addition of Grey-headed Starling malabaricus to the avifauna of Keoladeo National Park, India. Indian Birds 2 (6): 175–176 (2006). Nath, N. K., 2009. Jungle Myna Acridotheres fuscus usurping the nest hole of Grey-headed Starling Sturnus malabaricus. Indian Birds 4 (3): 115–116 (2008). Pandey, R. P., & Singh, N. P., 1999. Studies on the vegetation of Kumbalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Rajasthan. Indian Forester 125 (11): 1105–1116. Pittie, A., 2018. Bibliography of South Asian Ornithology. Website URL: http://www. southasiaornith.in. [Accessed on 20 December 2018.] Radadia, H., 2016. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S32324092. [Accessed on 01 January 2019.]

All: Anil Tripathi Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide: attributes 63. Common Mynas taking over the tree cavity after chasing away Chestnut-tailed Starling. and status. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. Vol. 2 of 2 vols. Pp. 1–683. Rathore, D. S., 2018. Website URL: https://ebird.org/india/view/checklist/S44592089. Starling, could not be substantiated. Experienced birders, familiar [Accessed on 01 January 2019.] with the bird fauna of Ranthambhore, also confirmed not having Rathore, D. S., & Gala, M., 2018. Website URL: https://ebird.org/india/view/checklist/ seen, heard, or even read reports of Chestnut-tailed Starlings S44487658 [Accessed on 01 January 2019.] Reddy, G. V., 1999. Checklist of birds of Ranthambhore. Unpublished MS. in that region (Dharmendra Khandal, verbally, dated 28 April Sangha, H. S., & Devarshi, D., 2006. Birds of Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary, Rajasthan, 2018). MG’s observation, therefore, appears to be one of the first India. Indian Birds 2 (2): 26–32. documentations of the species from Sawai Madhopur District. Sankar, K., Mohan, D., & Pandey, S., 1993. Birds of Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India. Forktail 8 (February): 133–141. Saxena, M. M., 2003. Birds of tribal and hilly district of Dungarpur. Newsletter for Acknowledgements Birdwatchers 43 (4): 54–55. We would like to thank Nirav Bhat for discussions and, Praveen J for advice that Shah, D., Shah, K., Shah, T., & Joshi, A., 2017. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/ substantially improved the manuscript; Suhel Quader and Aditi Murlidhar for providing S40276839. [Accessed on 01 January 2019.] relevant material; Mannan Arya for their photographs and information; Digvijay Sharma, S. K., 2007. Study of biodiversity and ethnobiology of Phulwari Wildlife Sanctuary, Singh Rathore, Harkirat Sangha, Satish Kumar Sharma, Ishwar Malav, and Harsha Udaipur (Rajasthan) (Vol. II). PhD Thesis. Jayaramaiah for sharing their observations; Dharmendra Khandal for his inputs on Sundar, G., & Tiwari, S., 2019. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S51365897. birds of Ranthambhore; and Hotel Khem Villas for logistic support. [Accessed on 12 January 2019.]