Vol. 14 No. 2

Forest in Taxonomic updates | Vol. 14 No. 2 14 | Vol. Greater Flamingos in Indian CONTENTS

33 True winter distribution of the Forest Wagtail Dendronanthus indicus in India Indian BIRDS R. Kannan, V. Santharam, Amrit Kannan & Vikas Madhav Nagarajan www.indianbirds.in Vol. 14 No. 2 37 Taxonomic updates to the checklist of birds of India and the Date of Publication: 28 March 2018 South Asian region—2018 ISSN 0973-1407 Praveen J., Rajah Jayapal & Aasheesh Pittie Status of Greater Flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus in Kerala ditor Aasheesh Pittie 43 E : C. P. Arjun & R. Roshnath [email protected] Associate Editors: V. Santharam, Praveen J. 45 Confirmation records of Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker Dendrocopos nanus from Editorial Board A. M. Saleh Reza, Nazmul Kamal Rony, & Selina Parween Maan Barua, Anwaruddin Choudhury Bill Harvey, Farah Ishtiaq, Rajah Jayapal, Girish Jathar Silver-backed Needletail Hirundapus cochinchinensis at Corbett Tiger Ragupathy Kannan, Madhusudan Katti 46 Reserve: A westward range extension into the western and a R. Suresh Kumar, Taej Mundkur, Rishad Naoroji first record for Uttarakhand and northern India Prasad Ganpule, Suhel Quader Harkirat Singh Sangha, C. Sashikumar Manoj Sharma & Nayan V. Khanolkar Manoj Sharma, S. Subramanya, K. S. Gopi Sundar 50 Two spring 2017 records of Short-tailed Shearwater Ardenna tenuirostris from Gujarat, with notes on its identification Layout & Cover Design: ShreeDesigns Trupti Shah, Dhyey Shah, Jagdish Desai & Batuk Bhil Office: P. Rambabu 52 Correspondence New Ornis Foundation Purple asiaticus congregating to feed on syrup of pearl millet Pennisetum glaucum flour and water, in Jodhpur, Rajasthan Registration No. 314/2004 Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis from Gaidahawa Lake, Founder Trustees Rupandehi District, Nepal Zafar Futehally (1920–2013) Aasheesh Pittie, V. Santharam Colour aberration in Black-headed Cuckoo-Shrike Lalage melanoptera

Trustees Possible nesting of Pacific in the Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu in 1981 Aasheesh Pittie, V. Santharam, Rishad Naoroji, Taej Mundkur, S. Subramanya, Whiskered Yuhina Yuhina flavicollis from Jammu and Kashmir, India Suhel Quader, Praveen J. The first breeding record of Common RedshankTringa totanus for Nepal Aims & Objectives • To publish a newsletter that will provide a platform to Malabar Myophonus horsfieldii feeding on a rat snake birdwatchers for publishing notes and observations Ptyas mucosa primarily on birds of South Asia. A colour aberrant Egret Bubulcus ibis in Guwahati, Assam • To promote awareness of birdwatching amongst the general public. A Falcated Duck Mareca falcata x Gadwall M. strepera hybrid at • To establish and maintain links/liaison with other Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India associations or organized bodies in India or abroad Spot-bellied Eagle- Bubo nipalensis feeding on Indian Flying Fox whose objectives are in keeping with the objectives of the Trust (i.e. to support amateur birdwatchers with Pteropus giganteus cash / kind for projects in ornithology). Roosting behaviour of Black Kites Milvus migrans on high-tension electrical cables

Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri hang-roosting

The Red-throated Pipit Anthus cervinus on Great Nicobar Island, India Volume 13 onwards Indian BIRDS is only available as PDFs on Red-naped Shaheen Falco peregrinus babylonicus from Belgaum, www.indianbirds.in. Karnataka Both, individual papers, and entire issues 64 Letters to the Editor can be downloaded free of cost. 64A Snapshot sightings

Front Cover: Misty Jungle, 2015. Oil on canvas 4 x 3 feet. Address for correspondence: Artist: Ahsan Qureshi New Ornis Foundation, 2nd Flr, BBR Forum, Rd. No. 2, Back Cover: Plaintive Cuckoo Cacomantis merulinus Banjara Hills, Hyderabad 500034, India. Photographer: Sujan Chatterjee Kannan et. al.: Forest Wagtail 33

True winter distribution of the Forest Wagtail Dendronanthus indicus in India

R. Kannan, V. Santharam, Amrit Kannan & Vikas Madhav Nagarajan

Kannan, R., Santharam, V., Kannan, A., & Nagarajan, V. M. 2018. True winter distribution of the Forest Wagtail Dendronanthus indicus in India. Indian BIRDS 14 (2): 33–36. R. Kannan, Department of Biology, University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, Arkansas 72913, USA. E-mail: [email protected] [RK] [Corresponding author] V. Santharam, Institute of Studies and Natural History, Rishi Valley 517352, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh, India. E-mail: [email protected] [VS] Amrit Kannan, 3305 Kinross Drive, Fort Smith, Arkansas 72908, USA. E-mail: [email protected] [AK] Vikas Madhav Nagarajan, No. 3 (upstairs), 1st Cross Street, Indiranagar, Adyar, Chennai 600020, Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail: [email protected] [VMN] Manuscript received on 12 October 2017.

The Forest Wagtail Dendronanthus indicus breeds in eastern Wagtail (243 encounters), obtained over 39 years (1979–2017), Asia and winters in evergreen, and deciduous forests in parts from the Chennai (formerly, Madras) area. We found that the of South- and (Ali & Ripley 1987). In the Indian occurred in all the months from August through May Subcontinent, it is widely reported to winter in south-western in this area (Fig. 2), and not just during its passage migration— India, and pass through the rest of peninsular India on migration typically September–October for south-bound, and March–April (see Table 1 below). Here we report, based on our records plus for north-bound migrants (Santharam 1980; Kannan 1985, an analysis of eBird (eBird 2017) data, and museum specimen 1987). We cannot attribute much relevance to the peaks in records, that the species winters in all of the southern part of the number of sightings in October and March (Fig. 2) because the peninsula wherever there is suitable , and not just the these data were collected opportunistically during birding trips. south-western portion of the peninsula—Kerala, and the Western We did not standardise the time we spent in the field, i.e., there Ghats. We define ‘winter’ as the period between southward- and may have been more sightings in some months simply because northward-bound migrations—November through February— we spent more time birding in those months. Of significance is when the species is relatively sedentary (after Remsen 2001). the striking temporal pattern of occurrence during August–May. Principal locations in the article are shown in Fig. 1. Relative frequencies of occurrence are covered later in this paper. Most of our records have not yet been uploaded into eBird We also used citizen science data available in the public (www.eBird.org). We compiled all our sight records of the Forest domain on www.eBird.org (eBird 2017) to generate seasonal bar charts and distribution maps. We generated composite eBird bar charts for the Forest Wagtail from the Chennai and Bengaluru (formerly, Bangalore) areas (covered as ‘counties’ in eBird), which are on the eastern coast, and in the center of the peninsula, respectively, and compared them with an eBird bar chart from Kerala state, which is part of the south-western winter range of the species (Fig. 3). We did not include a bar chart for the state of Tamil Nadu because the western part of

70 70 60 60 50 43 50 40 36 35 40 32 30 28 30 24 No. of sightings 23 20 18 20 10 10 1 3 0 Aug Sep Oct DecNov FebJan Mar Apr May 0 NovOctSepAug FebJanDec MayAprMar Fig. 1. Distribution of specimens of Forest obtained from peninsular India. The number of specimens from each locality is indicated next to the red dots. The locality of two Month specimens from BNHS was labelled generically as ‘Kerala’ and hence, is omitted from this map. Fig. 2. Forest Wagtail sightings in the Chennai area (1979–2017). The numbers indicate number The map was generated using latitude–longitude coordinates via www.copypastemap.com of encounters with the species, not individual numbers of birds 34 Indian BIRDS Vol. 14 No. 2 (Publ. 28 March 2018)

in Chennai than in Kerala, which may indicate that suitable habitat in the eastern peninsula is patchy (and well-visited by Forest Wagtails and birders) compared to a more homogeneous spread in the moist southwestern areas. Our more recent records indicate that Forest Wagtails were observed in GNP in all of the five months from September 2016 to January 2017 (n = 27 trips). We generated a distribution map of all winter sightings (November–February) of the species in the peninsula from eBird (Fig. 5). This clearly shows that the species is not restricted to Fig. 3. Seasonal bar charts for the Forest Wagtail in two districts (counties) in east (top panel) and west (bottom panel) of peninsular India, including a bar chart for the state of Kerala the southwestern regions in winter, but is found elsewhere in the overall. The higher green bars show the periods when a species is least likely to be missed, southern half of the peninsula wherever optimal habitat exists. while the narrower green bars show when species is present (or sometimes present), but We downloaded eBird data for a closer look at the frequency infrequently detected (eBird 2017). The first four rows from the top are based on a total of 1 5735, 14052, 10887, and 5391 submitted checklists. Composite image generated and compiled of Forest Wagtail observations (percent of complete eBird from eBird (www..org) and created August 13, 2017. checklists that reported the species) in all the aforementioned areas, which is the basis of the bar charts discussed above. The frequency of encounters in Chennai and Bengaluru was that state encompasses the , which is part of the noticeably higher than in Kerala state overall and in the top species’ reported winter range. Chennai and Bengaluru are in the two counties in Kerala (Thrissur and Kannur; Fig. 6). Also, the currently accepted passage migration range of the species. The combined frequency in GNP and IIT was also much higher than temporal patterns of occurrence of the species in Chennai, and in the top five Kerala hotspots combined (Fig. 7). (As in the bar Bengaluru, and in Kerala state were virtually identical; also, the chart analysis, we had to combine the hotspots of Kerala because temporal patterns in Chennai and Bengaluru were more uniform of inadequate data from any one of those. The addition of the compared to the top two (defined by eBird as those with most next three Kerala hotspots [for a total of 8] did not change the bar checklist submissions) counties in Kerala (Fig. 3). This shows chart. We could not use the top five hotspots from Tamil Nadu that the species winters in the eastern part of the peninsula, in for comparison because they are all in the Western Ghats.) It addition to Kerala. The relative increase in sightings in Chennai, is noteworthy that about half (eight-week mean 52.6%) of the denoted by an increase of bar heights (Fig. 3), in October and 76 checklists from GNP/IIT in November/December, and about March, may indicate southward- and northward-bound migratory a third (eight-week mean 28.8%) of the 338 checklists from waves, respectively. The relative lack of uniformity in the two January/February, reported the species (Fig. 7). The data further Kerala counties may be due to the inclusion of coastal checklists reinforces our contention that there is a consistent presence that did not cover potential Forest Wagtail . The gaps in the Kerala bar charts are discussed below. In addition, we generated an eBird seasonal bar chart for the species from Guindy National Park (hereinafter, GNP) and the Indian Institute of Technology (hereinafter, IIT), which comprise an expanse of contiguous semi-evergreen scrub in Chennai, whence most of our sightings were made, and compared that to a combined bar chart for the top five Kerala hotspots (Fig. 4). Again, the pattern showed that the species’ temporal distribution in Chennai was similar to that in Kerala. We combined data from the top five Kerala hotspots due to weak or inadequate data from any one of those areas. Also, we could not generate meaningful eBird bar charts from other areas of the eastern peninsula (the supposed passage migration area of the species) since there were insufficient data. The Bengaluru and Chennai areas were, in contrast, covered and reported adequately by birders, and thus we were able to generate meaningful temporal patterns. The frequency bars in Figs. 3 and 4 are stronger and more uniform

Fig. 4. Seasonal bar charts for the Forest Wagtail comparing two contiguous Chennai area Fig. 5. eBird winter distribution of Forest Wagtail in peninsular India November hotspots (top panel) with the top five Kerala hotpots combined. The wider green bars show the periods when a species is least likely to be missed, while the narrower green bars show when through February (all years). Image provided by eBird (www.ebird.org) and created species is present (or sometimes present), but infrequently detected (eBird 2017). The top and August 13, 2017. bottom panels are based on a total of 746 and 669 checklists, respectively. Composite image

generated and compiled from eBird (www.ebird.org) and created on 13 August 2017. The 1 Kerala hotspots covered are (in the order of most checklists): Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, Periyar In eBird, a complete checklist is the list of birds that an observer saw, or heard, Tiger Reserve Boat Landing, Thattekad Bird Sanctuary Urulanthanni, Walayar Reserve Forest, to the best of his/her abilities. It is a mechanism to obtain both, presence, and and Periyar Tiger Reserve. absence of a species during the sampling effort. Kannan et. al.: Forest Wagtail 35

15 12 Frequency (%) of checklists reporting the species north on the eastern coast, and all nine from the Madurai area 10.7 further12 south, are from December–February—in the peak winter 10 timeframe by our definition. One of the authors of this paper (VS) 8 observed9 it once in September, six times in October, and twice in November in the Puducherry area, suggesting both, passage, and 6 4.7 4.5 winter6 resident status. It is possible that this pattern is the same 4 in most of the other wintering areas as well, with some winter 2.7 2.7 2.9 2.4 1.6 residents and some southward- or northward-bound transients. 2 1.4 1.3 1.5 1.6 1.2 1.4 3 0.7 0.9 0.6 0.8 0 0.4 More records from outside of Chennai and Bengaluru are needed 0 Nov Dec Jan Feb for a clearer0 picture of its movements east of the Western Ghats. Chennai Bangalore Kerala Thrissur Kannur VariousNov factors couldDec have contributedJan toFe theb wide difference Fig. 6. Frequency (%) of eBird checklists reporting the Forest Wagtail in the districts (counties) between the published historical records of this species, from of Chennai and Bangalore, compared with Kerala state overall, and the top two Kerala counties our observations in this paper. The fact that Kerala has been of Thrissur and Kannur. traditionally well surveyed relative to other parts of the peninsula may70 have played a role. Kerala leads the nation even in the 70 Frequency (%) of checklists reporting the species current60 eBird era: With 106,557 submitted checklists (as on 58.1 60 21 August 2017), it is followed, distantly, by Tamil Nadu in the number50 of submissions (58,389). Even extant museum records 50 47.2 are 40mostly from the south-western part of the peninsula. We 40 32.5 solicited museum records of Forest Wagtail specimens collected 30 25.0 in India.30 Of the total of 59 specimen records we compiled, 34 were from the peninsula (south of 20 degrees latitude; Fig. 1), 20 13.5 20 of which, only two (one from Visakhapatnam, AP, and the other 10 5.9 7.4 3.4 from10 Amravati, Maharashtra) were from the eastern, or central 0 Nov Dec Jan Feb part of0 the peninsula; an area through which, the bird supposedly GNP/IIT Top 5 Kerala hotspots passes. NovThe fact thatDe 94%c of theJan specimensFeb collected in the Fig. 7. Frequency (%) of eBird checklists reporting the Forest Wagtail in Guindy National Park peninsula happened to be from the south-western region (an and Indian Institute of Technology eBird hotspots in Chennai, compared with the top five artifact of sampling) may have deceptively indicated the more Kerala hotspots combined. restricted south-western range reported by many authors. As Remsen (2001) cautioned, specimen records are not always reliable to determine seasonal distribution. They are strongly of the species in the winter months in the eastern part of the biased toward more visited areas, and the absence of specimens peninsula, especially in the Chennai area. from an area does not necessarily indicate that the species does In light of the overall evidence presented here, we can now not occur there. confidently state that the Forest Wagtail winters not only in south- Copycat error perpetuation (Remsen 2001), where authors western India, but also in southern peninsular India wherever simply repeat opinions presented by others without scouring the suitable habitat (groves and woods with sparse ground cover but literature for contrasting claims, may also have played a role. A dense canopy) occurs. Grewal et al. (2002) contains the only few sources that indicated a wider winter range were overlooked published map that reflects the true winter distribution. A review or ignored (Table 1). In the nineteenth century, Jerdon (1863: of the species’ status is needed for Andhra Pradesh (hereinafter, 227) wrote that the species ‘…is found throughout the whole AP), Telangana, and the Eastern Ghats, where it is supposed to peninsula of India…’ More than a century later RK published winter (Ali 2002; Manakadan et al. 2011). unequivocally that the species is a ‘common winter visitor in Interestingly, of the ten eBird-records from Pt. Calimere (on Madras’ and even added that it ‘can be seen practically every the eastern coast of India, and just off Sri Lanka), nine were month till the subsequent summer’ (Kannan 1985). Grewal recorded in September–October, suggesting a Sri Lanka-bound et al. (2002) got the winter range map right, although they movement in that area. In contrast, all three eBird reports from indicated that the species winters ‘mainly’ in south-western India. the vicinities of Puducherry (formerly, Pondicherry), further Manakadan et al. (2011) widened their portrayal of the winter

Table 1. Comments on the winter range of the Forest Wagtail in southern India from the literature, in chronological order Winter range Reference ‘throughout the whole peninsula of India…rare in the South of India…’ Jerdon 1863 ‘…winter visitor to…the Western Ghats…’ Sanjeeva Raj 1960 ‘…are they staying back in Madras throughout the winter?’ Santharam 1980* ‘common winter visitor in Madras…can be seen practically every month till the subsequent summer’ Kannan 1985

‘Seen regularly in all winter months between September and May…It can now be conclusively established that it is a common, regular winter * visitor [in Madras]’ Kannan 1987 ‘southwestern India…western Tamil Nadu…’ Ali & Ripley 1987 Map shows that it winters in the Western Ghats, with a small isolated winter population in Chennai area. Kazmierczak 2000 ‘Mostly winter visitor to Andhra Pradesh…disjunctly to the WG [Western Ghats] complex’ Ali 2002 ‘locally common winter visitor mainly to hills of…sw India’ but map shows all of Western Ghats and southern peninsular India. Grewal et al. 2002 ‘…E and W Ghats…’ Manakadan et al. 2011 ‘Mainly a winter visitor to…SW India…’ Grimmett et al.. 2012 ‘Winters primarily W Ghats…widely scattered passage records in Subcontinent…’ Rasmussen & Anderton 2012 *Not a publicly available source 36 Indian BIRDS Vol. 14 No. 2 (Publ. 28 March 2018)

range beyond Western Ghats, to (albeit erroneously?) include the of Comparative Zoology Harvard University, National Museum of Natural History Eastern Ghats. Despite these indications of a wider winter range, Smithsonian Institution, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, The Field Museum, the most recent authoritative work on the avifauna of South Asia Yale Peabody Museum, American Museum of Natural History, University Museum of (Rasmussen & Anderton 2012) reported that the species winters Zoology Cambridge, and the Natural History Museum University of Oslo. Tara Gandhi and Rahul Khot helped with the BNHS collection. Helen James and Christopher in the Western Ghats and has ‘widely scattered passage records’ Milensky helped with the Smithsonian collection. To retrieve relevant literature we in the subcontinent. The last aforementioned work relied heavily searched the online ‘Bibliography of South Asian Ornithology’ (Pittie 2017). The Molly on museum specimens and treated uncorroborated sight records Frances Jordan Memorial Endowment for Biology Research, plus a travel grant from with understandable cynicism (see Rasmussen 2005); but eBird the University of Arkansas–Fort Smith, assisted in the work. A detailed review by an has the potential to add more credibility to sight records, with anonymous reviewer helped improve the manuscript. the chorus of crowd-sourced reports, screened by vigilant eBird reviewers, drowning out or excising the incredible and unreliable References ones. Ali, S., 1979. Indian hill birds. Delhi: Oxford University Press. Pp. i–lvi, 1–188. Given the preponderance of reports that the species winters Ali, S., 2002. The book of Indian birds. 13th (Revised) ed. Mumbai: Bombay Natural in the Western Ghats (Table 1), there may have been a mistaken History Society & Oxford University Press. Pp. i–lvii, 1–326+7. assumption early on that the species is a rainforest or hill bird. We Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1987. Compact handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan found no support in the literature for either of these suppositions. together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. 2nd ed. Delhi: Ali (1979) does not even include the Forest Wagtail in his treatise, Oxford University Press. Pp. i–xlii, 1 l., 1–737, 52 ll. Indian Hill Birds. A survey of literature from neighboring countries eBird. 2017. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web indicates that the bird is neither partial to hills nor rainforests. application]. eBird, Ithaca, New York. Available: http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed: In Sri Lanka, it winters in ‘wooded areas throughout’ (Harrison 22 August 2017). Grewal, B., Harvey, B., & Pfister, O., 2002. A photographic guide to the birds of India 1999); in , it occurs ‘from plains to 1500m’ (Lekagul & and the , including Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Round 1991); and in Southeast Asia, it occurs ‘up to 5,000 feet’, Lanka & the Maldives. 1st ed. Singapore: Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd. Pp. 1–512. in ‘forests, second growth, paddy fields’ (Kinget al. 1983). Harrison, J., 1999. A field guide to the birds of Sri Lanka.1st ed. Oxford, U.K: Oxford Though we find enough evidence in citizen science data University Press. Pp. i–xiii, 1–219. in eBird to support our hypothesis, we do not dwell deep to Jerdon, T. C., 1863. The birds of India being a natural history of all the birds known understand the differences in reporting frequencies amongst the to inhabit continental India: with descriptions of the species, genera, families, different regions. Hence, we caution our reader from interpreting tribes, and orders, and a brief notice of such families as are not found in India, more than what is essential from the charts we present. To cite two making it a manual of ornithology specially adapted for India. 1st ed. Calcutta: Published by the author (Printed by The Military Orphan Press). Vol. II.-Part I of 2 examples, the birding duration of the lists will have an influence vols. Pp. 1–439. on the frequency charts in eBird. A region with many shorter Kannan, R., 1985. Exodus of the Forest Wagtail from Madras. Newsletter for duration lists will inherently have a reduced reporting frequency Birdwatchers 24 (11-12): 3–4. for an uncommon species. Secondly, a region with more focused Kannan, R., 1987. A study of the avifauna of Madras city and its environs. M.Sc. birding effort, restricted to key areas, will show higher reporting dissertation. Loyola College, Madras. frequencies than a region with a more geographical spread in Kazmierczak, K., 2000. A field guide to the birds of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, birding effort. Both these factors are applicable to Kerala, where Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. 1st ed. New Delhi: Om Book Service. Pp. they are running a bird atlas through eBird, covering the entire 1–352. King, B., Woodcock, M., & Dickinson, E. C., 1983. A field guide to birds of Southeast state with short, 15 min duration lists. Asia. Collins, London. Our findings indicate that the true winter distributions of Lekagul, B., & Round, P. D., 1991. A guide to the birds of Thailand. Saha Karn Bhaet, other Indian bird species, especially the purported ‘mountain- Co. Ltd. top migrants’ like Indian Blue Robin Larvivora brunnea, and Pied Manakadan, R., Daniel, J. C., & Bhopale, N., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent: Thrush Geokichla wardii (Ali 1979), may also require similar a field guide (based on Salim Ali & Dillon Ripley’s ‘Pictorial Guide’).1st ed. revision and reassessment, as birding increases in popularity and Mumbai, India: Bombay Natural History Society & Oxford University Press. Pp. as more birders enter their data on eBird. Photographic records i–xii, 1–409+8+3. of both the aforementioned species, from eastern Tamil Nadu, Marantz, C. A., & Remsen, Jr., J. V., 1991. Seasonal distribution of the Slaty Elaenia (Elaenia strepera), a little-known austral migrant of South America. Journal of have been reported in eBird. VS suggested a similar revision of Field Ornithology 62: 162–172. the wintering range of the Black Baza Aviceda leuphotes, which Naoroji, R., 2006. Birds of prey of the Indian Subcontinent. Reprint ed. New Delhi: Om was supposedly a passage migrant on the eastern seaboard Books International. Pp. 1–692. (Naoroji 2006), but is seen in small numbers in Chennai from Pittie, A., 2017. Bibliography of South Asian Ornithology. URL: http://www. October through March (Santharam 2009). A clear picture of southasiaornith.in. [Accessed on 22 August 2017.] bird distributions is vital for conservation efforts (Remsen 2001), Raj, P. J. S., 1960. The Forest Wagtail, Motacilla indica (Gmelin), in Madras, Chingleput especially in the face of possible future changes induced by District. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 57 (1): 220–221. climate change and other anthropogenic factors. More analysis Rasmussen, P. C., 2005. On producing Birds of South Asia. Indian Birds 1 (3): 50–56. Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2nd of the kind we present in this article, and those conducted in the ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. 2 Neotropical regions by Marantz & Remsen (1991), and Remsen vols. Pp. 1–378; 1–683. (2001), are required for Indian avifauna. Remsen Jr., J. V., 2001. True winter range of the Veery (Catharus fuscescens): Lessons for determining winter ranges of species that winter in the tropics. The Auk 118 Acknowledgments (4): 838–848. Santharam, V., 1980. Forest Wagtails (Motacilla indica) in Madras on New Year Day. A citizen science initiative like eBird exists because of the citizens, the birders who Madras Naturalists’ Society Bulletin II (January). upload their data. We thank all those contributors. Museum specimen records Santharam, V., 2009. The Black Baza Aviceda leuphotes in Chennai: a review of sight were obtained mostly via VertNet (www.VertNet.org) from the following museums: records. Indian Birds 5 (1): 19–20. Bombay Natural History Society, Royal Ontario Museum, LSA Museum of Zoology University of Michigan, Natural History Museum Los Angeles County, Museum Praveen et al.: Taxonomic updates 37

Taxonomic updates to the checklist of birds of India and the South Asian region—2018

Praveen J., Rajah Jayapal & Aasheesh Pittie

Praveen J., Jayapal, R., & Pittie, A., 2018. Taxonomic updates to the checklist of birds of India and the South Asian region—2018. Indian BIRDS 14 (2): 37–42. Praveen J., B303, Shriram Spurthi, ITPL Main Road, Brookefields, Bengaluru 560037, Karnataka, India. E-mail: [email protected] Rajah Jayapal, Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Anaikatty (Post), Coimbatore 641108, Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail: [email protected] Aasheesh Pittie, 2nd Floor, BBR Forum, Road No. 2, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad 500034, Telangana, India. E-mail: [email protected] Manuscript received on 25 January 2018.

he first definitive checklist of the birds of India (Praveen taxonomic sequence. We also include the taxonomic treatment et al. 2016)—now in its fourth version (Praveen et al. in Rasmussen & Anderton (2012; henceforth, BSA2), in our T2017a)—and later that of the Indian Subcontinent (Praveen annotations, wherever applicable. The guiding principles of our et al. 2017c), were drawn from a master database built upon taxonomic update to the South Asia Checklist and the India a putative list of birds of the South Asian region (Praveen et al. Checklist are summarised below: 2017b). All these checklists and their subsequent online updates, incorporating additions to the region’s avifauna (available at www. 1. We shall continue to follow the H&M4 higher-order indianbirds.in), followed the from Howard & Moore taxonomy (above species rank) and adopt changes at any of World Checklist 4th edition (henceforth, H&M4) (Dickinson & the taxonomic ranks (, Family, or Order) provided that Remsen 2013; Dickinson & Christidis 2014); the plan being to there is consensus among all the three taxonomies (BLI, update taxonomy in line with the promised online updates of eBird/Clements, and IOC) in their treatment of higher-order H&M4. However, no such update has been forthcoming since taxa. January 2015 (http://www.avespress.com); in the mean time, 2. We shall adopt changes in species limits (either splits or numerous taxonomic changes have been proposed, in various lumps) if all the three taxonomies (BLI, eBird/Clements, ornithological publications, based on multiple evidences, and IOC) have accepted the splits/lumps consistently for including molecular data, in the last two years. As some of these all the of the parent taxon present in South Asia. taxonomic proposals radically affect Indian avifauna as well Any additional extralimital split/lump within the clade by (e.g. Robin et al. 2017), a comprehensive taxonomic update any taxonomy does not invalidate the decision, so long as to our regional checklists is highly desirable to keep pace with the consistency of species groups is maintained within the developments in global ornithology. regional taxa. In the absence of regular updates to H&M4, which we had 3. We shall retain the H&M4 taxonomic sequence (sort adopted as our base, we were constrained to refer to taxonomies order), unless changes are warranted by shifts in taxonomic being followed by other major global authorities, namely, positions that may arise out of adopting changes in higher- BirdLife International (2017; henceforth, BLI), eBird/Clements order taxonomy (see 1 above) or new species limits (see 2 (Clements et al. 2017), and the International Ornithological above). In such cases, we shall also refer to peer-reviewed, Congress (Gill & Donsker 2017; henceforth, IOC). All these and published, phylogenies to support our placement of three lists have a widespread patronage around the world and taxa in the taxonomic sequence. have regular periodical taxonomic updates, available online; they 4. Recognition of subspecies within a species, along with their essentially differ in species and generic limits, but converge, to sequence and authorship, shall follow H&M4. a large extent, on matters of higher order taxonomy. Though we 5. We shall continue to follow the same framework of rules have the option of moving from H&M4 to another authority of and guidelines governing English names as elucidated in taxonomy (“Any change in our choice of taxonomic system in Table 2 of the ‘India Checklist’ (Praveen et al. 2016). the future, would be duly mediated through our own updates to the India Checklist” – Praveen et al. 2016, p.116), we believe We are aware that our ‘consensus model’ of taxonomic that it is too early to migrate completely to a new system and update is driven primarily by pragmatism and utility value, and species sequence. We are also not in favour of instituting an may seem anarchic to puritans. However, we do not wish to Indian taxonomic committee that would independently assess subscribe to any single authority at this juncture, and we prefer each taxonomic publication in relation to Indian avifauna. This is to wait and watch out for further developments in global efforts in line with global trends in which formal taxonomic committees towards forging a consensus in taxonomy among all the world (e.g., Britain) are being disbanded in favour of any of the world lists. We are closely watching all global alignments and regional checklist authorities mentioned above. adoptions in this space and contemplating the best long-term Given this background, we deem it prudent to take ‘a middle strategy for South Asian ornithology. course’, which seeks to incorporate, into the India Checklist, After this taxonomic update, the total number of bird recent taxonomic changes that are consistently accepted by species, including the hypotheticals, recorded from the South all the three global authorities (BLI, eBird/Clements, and IOC), Asian region [comprising Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, even as we continue to keep the original H&M4 list as our base Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and the Chagos 38 Indian BIRDS Vol. 14 No. 2 (Publ. 28 March 2018)

Table 1. Annotated list of taxonomic changes to the checklist of birds of India and the South Asian region S. English name / Group name Scientific name / Higher order taxonomic Notes on taxonomy No. name 1 Andaman Teal Anas albogularis (Hume, 1873) Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with gibberifrons EL (‘Grey/Sunda Teal’). Given spe- cies rank here, following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC.

2 Grebes Order: Podicipediformes Treated by H&M4 within the order Phoenicopteriformes (along with flamingos). Assigned a separate order (Podicipediformes) here, following consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 3 Ashy-headed Treron phayrei (Blyth, 1862) Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with pompadora (‘’). Given species rank here (as including conoveri), following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 4 Grey-fronted Green Pigeon Treron affinis (Jerdon, 1840) Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with pompadora (‘Pompadour Green Pigeon’). Given species rank here, following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 5 Sri Lanka Green Pigeon Treron pompadora Treated by H&M4 as including phayrei, affinis, and chloropterus (‘Pompadour Green (J.F. Gmelin, 1789) Pigeon’). Split here, following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 6 Andaman Green Pigeon Treron chloropterus Blyth, 1846 Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with pompadora (‘Pompadour Green Pigeon’). Given species rank here, following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 7 Asian Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica Treated by H&M4 as including longirostris EL (‘Pacific Emerald Dove’). Split here fol- (Linnaeus, 1758) lowing consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 8 Grey Nightjar Caprimulgus jotaka Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with indicus. Given species rank here (as including Temminck & Schlegel, 1844 hazarae), following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 9 Jungle Nightjar Caprimulgus indicus Latham, 1790 See above. 10 Crested Treeswift Hemiprocne coronata Treated by H&M4 within the family Apodidae (along with typical swifts). Assigned a (Tickell, 1833) separate family (Hemiprocnidae) here, following consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 11 Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis (Stephens, 1815) See below. 12 Andaman Coucal Centropus andamanensis Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with sinensis. Given species rank here, following Beavan, 1867 consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. BSA2 tentatively suggests species status. 13 Fork-tailed Cuckoo Surniculus dicruroides Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with lugubris. Given species rank here (as including (Hodgson, 1839) stewarti), following consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. BSA2 tentatively suggests species status. 14 Square-tailed Drongo Cuckoo Surniculus lugubris See above. (Horsfield, 1821) 15 Trindade Petrel Pterodroma arminjoniana See below. (Giglioli & Salvadori, 1869) 16 Herald Petrel Pterodroma heraldica Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with arminjoniana. Given species rank here, following (Salvin, 1888) consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 17 Tropical Shearwater Puffinus bailloni Bonaparte, 1857 See below. 18 Persian Shearwater Puffinus persicus Hume, 1872 Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with bailloni. Given species rank here, following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 19 Storks Order: Ciconiiformes Treated by H&M4 within the order Pelecaniformes (along with pelicans, herons, and ibises). Assigned a separate order (Ciconiiformes) here, following consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 20 Frigatebirds Order: Suliformes Treated by H&M4 within the order Pelecaniformes (along with pelicans, herons, & ibises). Assigned a separate order (Suliformes) here, following consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 21 Boobies Order: Suliformes Do. 22 Cormorants Order: Suliformes Do. 23 Darters Order: Suliformes Do. 24 Eurasian Thick-knee Burhinus oedicnemus See below. (Linnaeus, 1758) 25 Indian Thick-knee Burhinus indicus (Salvadori, 1865) Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with oedicnemus. Given species rank here, following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 26 Ibisbill Ibidorhyncha struthersii Treated by H&M4 within the family Haematopodidae (along with oystercatchers). Vigors, 1832 Assigned a separate family (Ibidorhynchidae) here, following consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 27 Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus (Linnaeus, 1766) Treated by H&M4 as including hudsonius EL (‘Northern Harrier’). Split here, following consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 28 Oriental Bay Owl Phodilus badius (Horsfield, 1821) See below. 29 Sri Lanka Bay Owl Phodilus assimilis Hume, 1877 Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with badius (‘Bay Owl’). Given species rank here (as including ripleyi), following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 30 Brown Hawk Owl Ninox scutulata (Raffles, 1822) See below. Praveen et al.: Taxonomic updates 39

Table 1. Annotated list of taxonomic changes to the checklist of birds of India and the South Asian region S. English name / Group name Scientific name / Higher order taxonomic Notes on taxonomy No. name 31 Hume’s Hawk Owl Ninox obscura Hume, 1872 Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with scutulata. Given species rank here, following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 32 Indian Scops Owl Otus bakkamoena Pennant, 1769 See below. 33 Collared Scops Owl Otus lettia (Hodgson, 1836) Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with bakkamoena. Given species rank here (as includ- ing plumipes), following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 34 aluco Linnaeus, 1758 See below. 35 Himalayan Owl Strix nivicolum (Blyth, 1845) Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with aluco. Given species rank here, following consen- sus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 36 Austen’s Brown Hornbill Anorrhinus austeni Jerdon, 1872 Assigned by H&M4 to the genus Ptilolaemus. Placed in Anorrhinus here, following consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 37 Greater Golden-backed Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus (Tickell, Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with lucidus EL. Given species rank here (as including Woodpecker 1833) all the forms in the region, barring stricklandi), following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 38 Crimson-backed Woodpecker Chrysocolaptes stricklandi (E.L. Layard, Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with lucidus EL. Given species rank here, following 1854) consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 39 Brown-capped Pygmy Dendrocopos nanus (Vigors, 1832) Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with moluccensis EL. Given species rank here (as Woodpecker including all the forms in the region), following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 40 Fulvous-breasted Pied Dendrocopos macei (Vieillot, 1818) See below. Woodpecker 41 Spot-breasted Pied Wood- Dendrocopos analis Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with macei. Given species rank here (as including pecker (Bonaparte, 1850) andamanensis), following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 42 Barbets Family: Megalaimidae Treated by H&M4 within the family Ramphastidae (along with toucans and New World barbets). Assigned a separate family (Megalaimidae) here, following consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 43 Blue-eared Barbet Psilopogon duvaucelii Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with australis EL (‘Yellow-eared Barbet’). Given spe- (Lesson, 1830) cies rank here, following consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 44 Blue-naped Pitta Hydrornis nipalensis Treated by H&M4 within the genus Pitta. Assigned a separate genus (Hydrornis) here, (Hodgson, 1837) following consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 45 Blue Pitta Hydrornis cyaneus (Blyth, 1843) Do. 46 Malabar Woodshrike sylvicola Jerdon, 1839 Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with virgatus. Given species rank here, following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 47 Tephrodornis virgatus See above. (Temminck, 1824) 48 Tephrodornis pondicerianus See below. (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) 49 Sri Lanka Woodshrike Tephrodornis affinis Blyth, 1847 Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with pondicerianus. Given species rank here, follow- ing consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 50 Greater Racket-tailed Drongo Dicrurus paradiseus See below. (Linnaeus, 1766) 51 Sri Lanka Drongo Dicrurus lophorinus Vieillot, 1817 Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with paradiseus. Given species rank here, following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 52 White-spotted Rhipidura albogularis Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with albicollis. Given species rank here (as including (Lesson, 1832) vernayi), following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 53 White-throated Fantail Rhipidura albicollis (Vieillot, 1818) See above. 54 Spotted Nutcracker Nucifraga caryocatactes See below. (Linnaeus, 1758) 55 Large-spotted Nutcracker Nucifraga multipunctata Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with caryocatactes. Given species rank here, following Gould, 1849 consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 56 Nilgiri concolor Jerdon, 1840 See below. 57 Plain Flowerpecker Dicaeum minullum Swinhoe, 1870 Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with concolor. Given species rank here (as including olivaceum and virescens), following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 58 Van Hasselt’s Sunbird Leptocoma brasiliana Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with sperata EL. Given species rank here, following (J. F. Gmelin, 1788) consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 59 Leafbirds Family: Chloropseidae Treated by H&M4 within the family Irenidae (along with Fairy-bluebirds). Assigned a separate family (Chloropseidae) here, following consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 60 Tricoloured Munia Lonchura malacca (Linnaeus, 1766) See below. 61 Chestnut Munia Lonchura atricapilla (Vieillot, 1807) Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with malacca. Given species rank here (as including rubronigra), following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 40 Indian BIRDS Vol. 14 No. 2 (Publ. 28 March 2018)

Table 1. Annotated list of taxonomic changes to the checklist of birds of India and the South Asian region S. English name / Group name Scientific name / Higher order taxonomic Notes on taxonomy No. name 62 Common Rosefinch Carpodacus erythrinus Assigned by H&M4 to the genus Erythrina. Placed in Carpodacus here, following (Pallas, 1770) consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 63 Scarlet Finch Carpodacus sipahi (Hodgson, 1836) Assigned by H&M4 to the monotypic genus Haematospiza. Placed in Carpodacus here, following consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 64 Sillem’s Rosefinch Carpodacus sillemi (Roselaar, 1992) Originally described as a mountain finch (Leucosticte sp.), but recently found to be a rosefinch (BLI, eBird, and IOC. 65 Mongolian Finch Bucanetes mongolicus Assigned by H&M4 to the monotypic genus Eremopsaltria. Placed in Bucanetes here, (Swinhoe, 1870) following consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 66 Lapland Longspur Family: Calcariidae H&M4 uses the name Plectrophenacidae for longspur family. Replaced here by Calcari- idae, following consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 67 Crested Bunting Emberiza lathami J. E. Gray, 1831 Assigned by H&M4 to the genus Melophus. Placed in Emberiza here, following consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 68 Black-headed Bunting Emberiza melanocephala See below. Scopoli, 1769 69 Red-headed Bunting Emberiza bruniceps Assigned by H&M4 to the genus Granativora. Placed in Emberiza here, following von Brandt, 1841 consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 70 Striolated Bunting Emberiza striolata (M.H.C. Lichtenstein, Assigned by H&M4 to the genus Fringillaria. Placed in Emberiza here, following 1823) consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 71 Eurasian Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus Assigned by H&M4 to the genus Schoeniclus. Placed in Emberiza here, following (Linnaeus, 1758) consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 72 Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola Pallas, 1773 Do. 73 Rustic Bunting Emberiza rustica Pallas, 1776 Do. 74 Black-faced Bunting Emberiza spodocephala Pallas, 1776 Do. 75 Chestnut Bunting Emberiza rutila Pallas, 1776 Do. 76 Tristram’s Bunting Emberiza tristrami Swinhoe, 1870 Do. 77 Little Bunting Emberiza pusilla Pallas, 1776 Do. 78 White-crowned Penduline Tit Remiz coronatus (Severtsov, 1873) Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with consobrinus EL. Given species rank here, follow- ing consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 79 Greater Short-toed Lark Calandrella brachydactyla See below. (Leisler, 1814) 80 Sykes’s Short-toed Lark Calandrella dukhunensis Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with brachydactyla. Given species rank here, follow- (Sykes, 1832) ing consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 81 Black-throated Prinia atrogularis (F. Moore, 1854) See below. 82 Hill Prinia Prinia superciliaris Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with atrogularis. Given species rank here (as including (Anderson, 1871) erythropleura—not always recognised), following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 83 Red-rumped Cecropis daurica (Laxmann, 1769) See below. 84 Sri Lanka Swallow Cecropis hyperythra (Blyth, 1849) Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with daurica. Given species rank here, following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 85 Grey-throated Martin Riparia chinensis (J.E. Gray, 1830) Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with paludicola EL (‘Plain Martin’). Given species rank here, following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 86 Square-tailed ganeesa Sykes, 1832 Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with leucocephalus. Given species rank here (as including humii), following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 87 Black Bulbul Hypsipetes leucocephalus See above. (J.F. Gmelin, 1789) 88 Black-capped Bulbul Pycnonotus melanicterus See below. (J.F. Gmelin, 1789) 89 Flame-throated Bulbul Pycnonotus gularis (Gould, 1836) Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with melanicterus. Given species rank here, following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 90 Black-crested Bulbul Pycnonotus flaviventris Do. (Tickell, 1833) 91 Asian Desert Warbler Sylvia nana Assigned by H&M4 to the genus Curruca. Placed in Sylvia here, following consensus (Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833) among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 92 Barred Warbler Sylvia nisoria (Bechstein, 1792) Do. 93 Eastern Orphean Warbler Sylvia crassirostris Do. Cretzschmar, 1830 94 Lesser Whitethroat Sylvia curruca (Linnaeus, 1758) Do. 95 Ménétries’s Warbler Sylvia mystacea Ménétries, 1832 Do. Praveen et al.: Taxonomic updates 41

Table 1. Annotated list of taxonomic changes to the checklist of birds of India and the South Asian region S. English name / Group name Scientific name / Higher order taxonomic Notes on taxonomy No. name 96 Common Whitethroat Sylvia communis Latham, 1787 Do. 97 Manipur Fulvetta Fulvetta manipurensis Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with cinereiceps EL. Given species rank here, follow- (Ogilvie-Grant, 1906) ing consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 98 White-breasted Parrotbill Psittiparus ruficeps (Blyth, 1842) See below. 99 Rufous-headed Parrotbill Psittiparus bakeri (E. Hartert, 1900) Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with ruficeps. Given species rank here, following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 100 Indian Scimitar Babbler Pomatorhinus horsfieldii See below. Sykes, 1832 101 Sri Lanka Scimitar Babbler Pomatorhinus melanurus Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with horsfieldii. Given species rank here (as including Blyth, 1847 holdsworthi), following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 102 Spot-breasted Scimitar Erythrogenys mcclellandi Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with erythrocnemis EL. Given species rank here, fol- Babbler (Godwin-Austen, 1870) lowing consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 103 Sikkim Wedge-billed Babbler Stachyris humei (Mandelli, 1873) See below. 104 Cachar Wedge-billed Babbler Stachyris roberti Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with humei. Given species rank here, following (Godwin-Austen & Walden, 1875) consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 105 Pin-striped Tit Babbler Mixornis gularis (Horsfield, 1822) Treated by H&M4 as including bornensis EL (‘Bold-striped Tit Babbler’). Split here, following consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 106 Rufous-vented Grass Babbler burnesii (Blyth, 1844) Taxon no longer considered a prinia (BLI, eBird, and IOC. Also see below. 107 Swamp Grass Babbler Laticilla cinerascens Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with burnesii. Given species rank here (as including (Walden, 1874) nepalicola tentatively), following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 108 Indian Grass Babbler Graminicola bengalensis Treated by H&M4 as including striatus EL (‘Chinese Grass Babbler’). Split here, follow- Jerdon, 1863 ing consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 109 Himalayan Cutia nipalensis Hodgson, 1837 Treated by H&M4 as including legalleni EL (‘Vietnamese Cutia’). Split here, following consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 110 Streaked Laughingthrush lineatum See below. (Vigors, 1831) 111 Bhutan Laughingthrush Trochalopteron imbricatum Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with lineatum. Given species rank here, following (Blyth, 1843) consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 112 Chestnut-crowned Laugh- Trochalopteron erythrocephalum See below. ingthrush (Vigors, 1832) 113 Assam Laughingthrush Trochalopteron chrysopterum Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with erythrocephalum. Given species rank here (as (Gould, 1835) including godwini and erythrolaemum), following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 114 Banasura Laughingthrush Montecincla jerdoni (Blyth, 1851) Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with cachinnans. Given species rank here, following consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. Moved to a new genus Montecincla following Robin et al., 2017 (Adopted by eBird, and IOC, and under review in BLI – an exception to our rule 1). 115 Montecincla cachinnans See above. (Jerdon, 1839) 116 Palani Laughingthrush Montecincla fairbanki See below. (Blanford, 1869) 117 Ashambu Laughingthrush Montecincla meridionale Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with fairbanki. Given species rank here, following (Blanford, 1880) consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. Moved to a new genus Montecincla following Robin et al., 2017 (Adopted by eBird, and IOC, and under review in BLI – an exception to our rule 1). 118 Spotted Elachura Family: Elachuridae Found to be unrelated to (wren) babblers and moved to its own monotypic family Elachuridae (BLI, eBird, and IOC. 119 Indian Sitta castanea Lesson, 1830 See below. 120 Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch Sitta cinnamoventris Blyth, 1842 Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with castanea. Given species rank here (as including almorae and koelzi), following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 121 White-cheeked Nuthatch Sitta leucopsis Gould, 1850 See below. 122 Przewalski’s Nuthatch Sitta przewalskii Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with leucopsis. Given species rank here, following Berezowski & Bianchi, 1891 consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 123 Southern Hill Myna Gracula indica (Cuvier, 1829) Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with religiosa. Given species rank here, following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 124 Common Hill Myna Gracula religiosa Linnaeus, 1758 See above. 125 White-rumped Shama Kittacincla malabarica (Scopoli, 1786) See below. 126 Andaman Shama Kittacincla albiventris Blyth, 1858 Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with malabarica. Given species rank here, following consensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. 42 Indian BIRDS Vol. 14 No. 2 (Publ. 28 March 2018)

Table 1. Annotated list of taxonomic changes to the checklist of birds of India and the South Asian region S. English name / Group name Scientific name / Higher order taxonomic Notes on taxonomy No. name 127 Nilgiri Sholakili Sholicola major (Jerdon, 1841) Moved to a new genus Sholicola following Robin et al., 2017 (Adopted by eBird, and IOC, and under review in BLI – an exception to our rule 1). 128 White-bellied Sholakili Sholicola albiventris Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with major. Given species rank here, following con- (Blanford, 1868) sensus among BLI, BSA2, eBird, and IOC. Note that Robin et al. (2017) have described a new taxon ashambuensis (‘Ashambu Sholakili’), and we await its formal adoption as a species by world authorities. 129 Himalayan Rubythroat Calliope pectoralis Gould, 1837 See below. 130 Chinese Rubythroat Calliope tschebaiewi Treated by H&M4 as conspecific with pectoralis. Given species rank here, following Przevalski, 1876 consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 131 Rusty-tailed Flycatcher Ficedula ruficauda Treated by H&M4 within the genus Muscicapa. Moved to Ficedula here, following (Swainson, 1838) consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 132 Eversmann’s Redstart Phoenicurus erythronotus (Eversmann, Treated by H&M4 in the genus Adelura. Placed in Phoenicurus here, following consen- 1841) sus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 133 Blue-fronted Redstart Phoenicurus frontalis Vigors, 1831 Do. 134 Blue-capped Redstart Phoenicurus coeruleocephala Vigors, 1831 Do. 135 White-throated Redstart Phoenicurus schisticeps Do. (J.E. & G.R. Gray, 1847) 136 White-capped Water Redstart Phoenicurus leucocephalus Treated by H&M4 in the monotypic genus Chaimarrornis. Placed in Phoenicurus here, (Vigors, 1831) following consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC. 137 Plumbeous Water Redstart Phoenicurus fuliginosus Treated by H&M4 in the genus Rhyacornis. Placed in Phoenicurus here, following (Vigors, 1831) consensus among BLI, eBird, and IOC.

Archipelago] now stands at 1563. [See Table 1 for an annotated ML.7.3. list of taxonomic updates to the South Asian birds. The updated Praveen J., Jayapal, R., & Pittie, A., 2016. A checklist of the birds of India. Indian BIRDS checklists of South Asia (v. 3.0), the Indian Subcontinent (v. 2.0), 11 (5&6): 113–172A. and India (v. 2.0), are available for download at http://www. Praveen J., Jayapal, R., & Pittie, A., 2017a. Checklist of the birds of India (v1.4). Website: http://www.indianbirds.in/india/ [Date of publication: 25 December, 2017]. indianbirds.in.] Accessed on 25 January 2018. While the total bird species from the Indian Subcontinent Praveen J., Jayapal, R., & Pittie, A., 2017b. Checklist of the birds of South Asia (v2.2). (as limited by the political boundaries of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Website URL: http://www.indianbirds.in/south-asia/ [Date of publication: 25 Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives) is 1383, that December, 2017]. Accessed on 25 January 2018. from within the geographical boundaries of India (as recognised Praveen J., Jayapal, R., Inskipp, T., Warakagoda, D., Thompson, P. M., Anderson, R. C. by the Government of India) is 1306. Taxonomically, the Indian & Pittie, A., 2017c. Birds of the Indian subcontinent: Species not recorded from avifauna covers 26 orders, 111 families, and 492 genera. Of India. Indian BIRDS 13 (4): 93–101. these, 72 species of birds are endemic to India, constituting Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. 2 about 5.5% of the country’s bird diversity. vols. Pp. 1–378; 1–683. We intend to review and update taxonomy of the India Robin, V. V., Vishnudas, C. K., Gupta, P., Rheindt, F. E., Hooper, D. M., Ramakrishnan, Checklist once a year, after the annual taxonomic updates of all U., and Reddy, S., 2017. Two new genera of songbirds represent endemic the three authorities (BLI, eBird/Clements, and IOC) are made radiations from the Shola Sky Islands of the Western Ghats, India. BMC available. In case we plan to move completely to a new taxonomy Evolutionary Biology, 17: 31. or a new model, we shall do so through an explanatory note in Indian BIRDS.

References BirdLife International, 2017. Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. V. 9.1. Website URL: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/BirdLife_Checklist_ Version_91.zip. Accessed on 25 January 2018. Clements, J. F., Schulenberg, T. S., Iliff, M. J., Roberson, D., Fredericks, T. A., Sullivan, With the compliments of B. L., and Wood, C. L., 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016. Website URL: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/. Accessed on 25 January 2018. G.B.K. CHARITABLE TRUST Dickinson, E. C., & Christidis, L., (eds.) 2014. The Howard and Moore complete B-1/504, Marathon Innova, Ganapatrao Kadam Marg, Lower Parel, checklist of the birds of the world: Vol. 2. . 4th ed. Eastbourne, U.K.: Mumbai 400013. Aves Press. Vol. 2 of 2 vols. Pp. i-lii, 1-752, plus CD-ROM. Dickinson, E. C., & Remsen, J. V. J., (eds.) 2013. The Howard and Moore complete checklist of the birds of the world: Vol. 1. Non-passerines. 4th ed. Eastbourne, U.K.: Aves Press. Vol. 1 of 2 vols. Pp. i–l, 1–461. Gill, F. and Donsker, D. (Eds)., 2017. IOC World Bird List (v 7.3). doi: 10.14344/IOC. Arjun & Roshnath: Greater Flamingos 43

Status of Greater Flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus in Kerala

C. P. Arjun & R. Roshnath

Arjun, C. P., & Roshnath, R., 2018. Status of Greater Flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus in Kerala. Indian BIRDS 14 (2): 43–45. C. P. Arjun, Malabar Awareness and Rescue Center for Wildlife, Kannur, Kerala, India; National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. R. Roshnath, Malabar Awareness and Rescue Center for Wildlife, Kannur, Kerala, India; Department of Science, School of Biological Sciences, RT Campus, Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod, Kerala, India. E-mail: [email protected] [Corresponding author] Manuscript received on 16 October 2017.

reater Flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus are the most sighted in 2016 at (N=10, 01 adult and 09 immature widespread of the six species of the Flamingo family birds). Most of the sightings were recorded from the wetlands of G(Phoenicopteridae); they are native to , Asia, and central Kerala (Malappuram, Thrissur, Ernakulum, and Kottayam; the Middle East, and their breeding migration extend towards N=8), followed by northern Kerala (Kannur and Kozhikode; Kazakhstan, and Europe too (Birdlife International 2016). In N=5, Fig. 1). India they breed in the Greater Rann of Kachchh (Ali & Ripley Greater Flamingos prefer coastal wetlands, but willingly 1987; Rasmussen & Anderton 2012), and are widespread winter explore all types of wetlands (Tere 2005). Similarly, in Kerala, birds visitor in the plains (Grimmett et al. 2011). Flamingos roost, and preferred saline and brackish wetlands (N=11) as compared to nest, in the undisturbed shallow regions of inland wetlands, tidal freshwater wetlands (N=7; mainly fresh-water portions of Kole), mudflats, lagoons, estuaries, lakes, large alkaline lakes, open though all of these are coastal wetlands in nature, lying below the shores, and salt pans (Ramesh & Ramachandran 2005). Only mean sea level. a few studies have recorded the distribution and migration of Greater Flamingos are regular winter visitors, in large numbers, Greater Flamingos in India (Rao 1983; Sugathan 1983; Singh to the south-eastern coasts of India, presumably migrating from 1987; Ramesh & Ramachandran 2005), and in Kerala there have Gujarat over peninsular India (Nagarajan & Thiyagesan 1996; been no studies till date. Hence, this article aims to demonstrate Balachandran 2006; Balachandran 2012). They were thought to the migrant nature of flamingos in Kerala. The occurrence data of the Greater Flamingo, in Kerala, were collected from eBird (www.ebird.org), research articles, news reports, and social media platforms like the Facebook group, Birdwatchers of Kerala, and the Yahoo! Group, Kerala birder. All the sightings that had not been uploaded into eBird were first uploaded. Then the data were downloaded, which included details like date, location, and abundance. These data were compiled and analysed to understand the pattern of Flamingo visits into Kerala. Multiple observations from the same locations, within a season, were considered as a single sighting, as it is more likely to be the same flock of birds, and wherever possible, images uploaded by birders were crosschecked. The species was not reported from the state until 1991 (Ali 1969; Neelakantan et al. 1993), when D. N. Mathew reported an unknown number on 04 February 1991 from the Purathur Estuary of Bharathapuzha River, Malappuram District (Sashikumar et al. 2011). Subsequently others birders also recorded these five birds, in the same month, and at the same location (Neelakantan et al. 1993; Sashikumar et al. 2011). On 21 December 1991, C. Sashikumar spotted a single bird in the Kattampally wetlands of Kannur District. In 1993, Manoj V. Nair reported a single bird from Veli-Akkulam in Thiruvananthapuram District; on 03 December 1993, Sathyan Meppayur saw an individual at the Kadalundy Estuary in Kozhikode District. In December 1995, P. K. Ravindran reported six birds from the Purthaur Estuary in Malappuram District (Sashikumar et al. 2011). In the twenty-first century, there were more sightings from all over the state (Table 1). The highest number of birds was Fig. 1. Distributional records of Greater Flamingoes in Kerala (Source: eBird). 44 Indian BIRDS Vol. 14 No. 2 (Publ. 28 March 2018)

Table 1. Year wise sighting reports of Greater Flamingos (Phoenicopterus roseus) in Kerala from 1991 to 2017

District Site 1991 1993 1995 1996 2000 2004 2008 2014 2015 2016 2017 Kannur Angelo fort 1 1 Chemballikund 8 Kattampally 1 1 Kozhikode Kadalundy Estuary 1 Kallayi Estuary 1 Malappuram Purathur Estuary 5 6 6 Uppugal Kole 1 Thrissur Ayinikkad (Kole Wetlands) 1 Charakkad (Kole Wetlands) 1 Mulloorkayal (Kole Wetlands) 1 Ernakulam Wetlands 3 Kandankadavu Wetlands 3 3 Alappuzha 3 Pallithode wetlands, Thuravoor 2 3 3 Melpadam wetlands 10 Changaram wetland 1 Neendakara/Ezhupunna wetlands 1 3 Thannermukkam 1 Kottayam Poovathumkari Wetlands 1 1 1 Thiruvananthapuram Veli-Akkulam 1

12 Monthly sighting of Greater Flamingos in Kerala 4 et al. 2005). Phytoplankton and larvae are a rich source of food 10 for benthic fauna, which form a major part of a Flamingo’s diet 3 (Ramesh & Ramachandran 2005). Since the data on age classes 8 of Flamingos sighted in Kerala were unavailable to us—from the 6 2 photographs that were uploaded in eBird [15], and newspaper reports, and Facebook [16]—we concluded that most of the birds No. of Birds 4 1 that had visited the state were either juveniles or sub-adults. 2 The strong monsoon winds from the Bay of Bengal, towards 0 0 southern peninsular India (Pal et al. 2017), could be a reason Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec for disorienting young birds during their migration to the eastern Maximum number Number of Average number of birds sighted coast, making them straggle to the coasts of Kerala. of birds sighted sighting reports (total no. of birds/no. of reports) The number of Flamingo sightings, post 2010, had increased, Fig. 2: Seasonality records of Greater Flamingos in Kerala 1991-2017. which may be due to an increase in number of birders in southern India. The south-eastern coasts are the main wintering areas of the Greater Flamingos, but when spotted in Kerala, these be rare winter visitors in Kerala (Sashikumar et al. 2011), which birds should be considered winter stragglers, or mainly autumnal the present summary agrees with. In Kerala, these birds were passage migrants. reported throughout the year, but the maximum numbers of sightings were Acknowledgements in September– We are grateful to all the bird watchers who contributing their observation in eBird and November, Bird watchers of Kerala (Facebook Group). We express our sincere gratitude Praveen and January– J., Sandeep Das and S Prasanth Narayanan for their suggestions and reviewing the February (Fig. manuscript. We also thank Bijumon KE and Prasoon Kiran for their photographs. We 2), which retrieved relevant literature from the online ‘Bibliography of South Asian Ornithology’ demonstrates (Pittie 2017). both autumn passage, and References a wintering predilection. Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1987. Compact handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. 2nd ed. Delhi: Kiran The larval Oxford University Press. Pp. i–xlii, 1 l., 1–737, 52 ll. delivery in Ali, S., 1969. Birds of Kerala. 2nd ed. Bombay: Oxford University Press. Pp. i–xxiii,

Prasoon coastal habitats, 1–444. 15. An immature Greater Flamingo in Ayikkara harbour, Kannur. with the effect Balachandran, S., 2006. The decline in wader populations along the east coast of of chlorophyll India with special reference to Point Calimere, south-east India. In: Boere, G. C., production, was Galbraith, C. A., & Stroud, D. A., (eds.). Waterbirds around the world. Edinburgh, reported highest UK: The Stationery Office. Pp. 296–301. in September– Balachandran, S., 2012. Avian diversity in coastal wetlands of India and their KE

conservation needs. Uttar Pradesh State Biodiversity Board. Pp. 155–163. October, and BirdLife International. 2016. Phoenicopterus roseus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened lowest in June– Species 2016: e.T22697360A86051591. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3. Bijumon July (Navarrete 16. Eight sub-adult Greater Flamingos in Chemballikund, Kannur. RLTS.T22697360A86051591.en. Downloaded on 23 July 2017. Reza et al.: Pygmy Woodpecker 45

Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. (Phoenicopterus roseus) distribution in the Pulicat lagoon ecosystem, India. London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528. Wetland Ecology & Management 13: 69–72. Nagarajan, R., & Thiyagesan, K., 1996. Waterbirds and substrate quality of the Rao, A. N. J., 1983. A theory on the flight corridor of Flamingoes in Southern India. Pichavaram wetlands, southern India. Ibis 138 (4): 710–721. Mayura 4 (2): 6–8. Navarrete, S. A., Wieters, E. A., Broitman, B. R., & Castilla, J. C., 2005. Scales of benthic– Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2nd pelagic coupling and the intensity of species interactions: From recruitment ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. 2 limitation to top-down control, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences vols. Pp. 1–378; 1–683. U S A 102 (50): 18046–18051. Sashikumar, C., Praveen J., Palot, M. J., & Nameer, P. O., 2011. Birds of Kerala: status Neelakantan, K. K., Sashikumar, C., & Venugopalan, R., 1993. A book of Kerala birds. and distribution. 1st ed. Pp. 1–835. Kottayam, Kerala: DC Books. Part 1. Trivandrum: World Wide Fund for Nature-India. Kerala State Committee. Singh, G., 1987. Flamingo migration in Punjab. Cheetal 28 (3): 17–19. Pp. i–xxxii, 1–146. Sugathan, R., 1983. Some interesting aspects of the avifauna of the Point Calimere Pal, J., Chaudhuri, S., Mukherjee, S., & Chowdhury, A. R., 2017. Probing for suitable Sanctuary, Thanjavur District, Tamil Nadu. Journal of the Bombay Natural History climatology to estimate the predictability of monsoon onset over Kerala (MOK), Society 79 (3): 567–575. India. Theoretical and Applied Climatology 130(1–2): 59–76. Tere, A., 2005. Ecology of greater flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus and lesser flamingo Pittie, A., 2017. Bibliography of South Asian Ornithology. URL: http://www. Phoenicopterus minor on the wetlands of Gujarat. PhD thesis. The M. S. southasiaornith.in. [Accessed on 10 October 2017.] University of Baroda, Gujarat. Ramesh, D. A., & Ramachandran, S., 2005. Factors influencing Flamingo Confirmation records of Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker Dendrocopos nanus from Bangladesh

A. M. Saleh Reza, Nazmul Kamal Rony, & Selina Parween

Reza, A. M. S., Rony, N. K, & Parween, S., 2018. Confirmation records of Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker Dendrocopos nanus from Bangladesh. Indian BIRDS 14 (2): 45–46. A. M. Saleh Reza, Department of Zoology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh. E-mail: [email protected] [Corresponding author] Nazmul Kamal Rony, 54/1 Omarpur, Sapura, Rajshahi 6203, Bangladesh. E-mail: [email protected] Selina Parween, Department of Zoology, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh. E-mail: [email protected] Manuscript received on 21 August 2017.

he Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker Dendrocopos nanus hills south of Brahmaputra have white spots on their rectrices, but is reported to have a distribution in India, Nepal, and Sri the central pair is solid black. After about two years, a bird was TLanka, and considered widespread in the lowlands and seen again and photographed in 05 May 2017 in the community plains of the Indian Subcontinent (Ali & Ripley 1987). However, its forest site of RU at 0730hrs. This bird clearly showed white eyes, presence in Bangladesh is dubious as sightings are compounded large white-speckled rectrices, and brown crown [18]—clearly with records of Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker D. canicapillus separating it from the Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker, a species (Thompson & Johnson 2003). Here we present photographic we are yet to record in RU. records that confirm the presence of this species in Bangladesh. Sen (2014) reported the presence of Brown-capped Pygmy Since 2005, we have been regularly birding in and around Woodpecker in the adjoining Indian state of West Bengal. Harvey Rajshahi city (24.37ºN, 88.65ºE), situated in north-western (1990) listed Bangladesh. Two important birding areas include the Rajshahi this species for University campus (24.37ºN, 88.64ºE; henceforth, RU), and the Bangladesh, Padma River. The RU is situated on approximately three square giving it the kilometers of land, having diverse habitats including wetlands, status of a rare open and scattered forests, hedges, fields, small patches of resident or a grasslands, croplands, plantations, orchards, and gardens. The visitor, without RU is well covered by birders, with every site within the campus mentioning any being visited at least twice a month; while some parts, like the specific reports. Zoology Field Lab and surroundings, are birded for two hours Thompson almost every day. et al. (1994) On 06 March 2015, a single ‘Pygmy Woodpecker’ was commented photographed at the Zoology Field Laboratory at1650 hrs, which that the species was the first record of either of the above species from our may be present Reza Saleh M. A. campus. The photographs were not clear and hence the bird in Bangladesh, was tentatively left as a ‘Pygmy Woodpecker.’ In retrospect, this but its status was indeed a Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker as all the black there required rectrices had white spots [17] and, in one of the photographs, its clarification, and 17. Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker Dendrocopos nanus eyes appear to be pale. Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpeckers in the further critical showing black rectrices with white spots (March 2015). 46 Indian BIRDS Vol. 14 No. 2 (Publ. 28 March 2018)

surveys, due Hence, these photographic records are the first confirmed to its potential records for Bangladesh though it’s too early to comment on its confusion status. with the Grey- capped Pygmy References Woodpecker. They mentioned Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1987. Compact handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. 2nd ed. Delhi: a record from Oxford University Press. Pp. i–xlii, 1 l., 1–737, 52 ll.

Rony Tarap Hill

Das, T., & Ghosh, U., 2015. Amader Pakhi (in Bangla). Baligonj Place, Kolkata, India. Reserve where del Hoyo, J., Collar, N., & Christie, D.A., 2017. Indian Pygmy Woodpecker (Picoides Kamal D. A. Scott nanus). In: J. del Hoyo, A Elliott, J. Sargatal, D.A. Christie, and E.de Juana (eds.) observed two Handbook of the birds of the world Alive. Lynx Edicians, Barcelona (retrieved

Nazmul pairs at Katka, from http://www.hbw.com/node/467488 on 11 May 2017). 18. Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker showing a pale white eye and another pair Harvey, W. G., 1990. Birds in Bangladesh. Dhaka: University Press Limited. Pp. i–viii, (May 2017). at Nilkamalin the 1–188. Khan, M.A.R., 2008. Bangladesher Pakhi (Birds of Bangladesh). Bangla Academy, Sunderbans of Bangladesh in 1987 (Thompson et al. 1994). Dhaka, Bangladesh. However, detailed notes were not taken in any of these instances. Khan, M.A.R., 2015. Wildlife of Bangladesh: Checklist-cum-Guide. Chayabithi, Dhaka, Subsequently, Thompson & Johnson (2003) commented Bangladesh. that there were no well-documented records that confirmed Sen, S., 2014. Checklist of birds: West Bengal. Website URL: https://www.kolkatabirds. the presence of the Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker in com/main/clist.html. [Accessed on 26 November 2017.] Bangladesh. Khan (2008, 2015) reported the presence of this Thompson, P. M., Harvey, W. G., Johnson, D. L., Millin, D. J., Rashid, S. M. A., Scott, species in Bangladesh but he did not mention any specific record D. A., Stanford, C., & Woolner, J. D., 1994. Recent notable bird records from or locality. Though Siddiqui (2008) did not include this species Bangladesh. Forktail 9: 13–44. Thompson, P. M., & Johnson, D. L., 2003. Further notable bird records from in the main body of his work, he did so in the annexure, which Bangladesh. Forktail 19: 85–102. included species that were not confirmed from the country.

Silver-backed Needletail Hirundapus cochinchinensis at Corbett Tiger Reserve: A westward range extension into the western Himalayas and a first record for Uttarakhand and northern India

Manoj Sharma & Nayan V. Khanolkar

Sharma, M., & Khanolkar, N. V., 2018. Silver-backed Needletail Hirundapus cochinchinensis at Corbett Tiger Reserve: A westward range extension into the western Himalayas and a first record for Uttarakhand, and northern India. Indian BIRDS 14 (2): 46–49. Manoj Sharma, Village Shankarpur, Ramnagar, District Nainital, Uttarakhand 244715, India. E-mail: [email protected] (Corresponding author). [MS] Nayan V. Khanolkar, B-11, Om CHS, Devi Chowk, Dombivli – west, Thane, Maharashtra 421202, India. E-mail: [email protected] [NVK] Manuscript received on 26 August 2017.

eedletails are members of tribe Chaeturini (Apodidae: & Driessens 2000). It has long wings and, a short tail with bare ) (del Hoyo 1999). ‘The swifts of the genus ends to the rectrix spines (del Hoyo 1999). The ‘throat [is] pale NHirundapus form a closely knit group of four very similar brown or grey and can appear distinctly pale greyish-white, but species…’ (Collins & Brooke 1976) that ‘are characterised by the never pure white and sharply divided from breast…’ (Grimmett unusual structure of the tail feathers, with the rachides bare at the et al. 2011), and ‘…lacking contrast with sides of head and tips and stiffened along their whole length, both of which features breast…’ (Rasmussen & Anderton 2012). The underparts are combine to help the birds cling to vertical surfaces’ (del Hoyo dark olive-brown from breast and upper flank to vent; lower 1999). They ‘…are characterized by great size (wings over 170 flanks and undertail-coverts clear white, forming a highly distinct mm long) and a doubtless well-deserved reputation for being horseshoe mark; saddle pale-brown, palest at centre of lower among the fastest flying birds…’ (Collins & Brooke 1976),‘… mantle and back, progressively darker towards nape; upperwing with astonishing flight velocities running as high as 170 km per darker than saddle; underwing coverts appear slightly darker or hour…’ (Dementive et al. 1951), and are ‘among the glossiest of uniform with underbody (Chantler & Driessens 2000). Silver- all swifts’ (del Hoyo 1999). backed Needletail is very similar in appearance to White-throated The Silver-backed Needletail Hirundapus cochinchinensis is a Needletail H. caudacutus. The throat patch of the former is large swift (del Hoyo 1999) with highly glossy plumage (Chantler indistinct, merging with darker brown upper-breast whereas the Sharma & Khanolkar: Silver-backed Needletail 47

latter has a highly contrasting white throat (Chantler & Driessens 2000). Silver-backed Needletail has a less contrasting mantle patch (del Hoyo 1999) and its tertials have a pale grey inner web which may be visible in the field as compared to strikingly white tertials of the similar looking White-throated Needletail H. caudacutus (Grimmett et al. 2011). The species occurs from the foothills of central and eastern Himalayas (westward to Nepal), extreme north-eastern India, Hainan, Taiwan, eastern continental South-east Asia, to mainland South-east Asia, Sumatra, and Java (Dickinson & Remsen 2013). It is found in , in Hannan (Meyer de Schauensee 1984), and in Hong Kong (Chalmers 1986). In South-east Asia it occurs in (Smythies 1986), Thailand (Lekagul & Round 2005), (Robson et al.1993), Cambodia (Robson 2008), (Timmins & Duckworth 2012), (Delacour 1947), Singapore (Wells 1999), and (Strange 2012). It was not recorded in Borneo by Smthies (1968), and Myers (2010), but may occur in West Wallacea (Wells 1999). There are unconfirmed reports of it being a vagrant to Christmas Island, an ‘Australian External Territory’, though located not too far south of Indonesia (Christidis & Boles 2008). In the Indian Subcontinent, the species is found in north-eastern India (Ali & Ripley 1970), where it occurs in Assam (Baker 1927; Barua & Sharma 1999, 2005; Choudhury 19. Silver-baced Needletail, Corbett Tiger Reserve; a view of its 2003b, 2004; Grimmett et al. 2011), Arunachal Pradesh (Choudhury 2003c, 2006a; underparts. Srinivasan et al. 2010), Nagaland (Choudhury 2001, 2003a; Grewal et al. 2012), Manipur (Choudhury 2009), Tripura (Lepage 2017; Mathur et al. 1993), and Mizoram (Choudhury 2008). The species has not been recorded in Bhutan (Ali et al. 1996; Inskipp et al. 1999; Spierenburg 2005), and Sikkim (Ali 1989). Grimmett et al. (2000), and Inskipp & Inskipp (1985) recorded its presence in Nepal, where it was first recorded by Biswas (1951) in the central Nepal terai. It has been recorded in Bangladesh as a vagrant (Thompson & Johnson 2003; Siddiqui et al. 2008). There are three known races of the Silver-backed Needletail (del Hoyo 1999). C. c. formosanus occurs in Taiwan and possibly migrates through Hong Kong to the Philippines (Chantler & Driessens 2000). C. c. cochinchinensis occurs in north-eastern India, northern Myanmar, south-central China (Hainan), and through scattered localities in Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam, wintering in Thailand, peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, and West Java (del Hoyo 1999). C. c. rupchandi has a disjunct distribution range in the Indian Subcontinent and occurs in the central Himalayas in Nepal (Biswas 1951) and winters in west Java, Sumatra, and peninsular Malaysia (del Hoyo 1999). On 13 April 2004 at 0605 hrs, MS saw a flock of 12–15 large needletail swifts from Champion Road (29°32’N, 78°57’E; c.415m asl.) near Sarpduli Forest Resthouse in Corbett Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand, India. The birds were flying over a stretch of the Ramganga River, repeatedly coming down to drink from its surface by skimming up water with their beaks, and offered good views at eye level, and from above, from as close as 15m. Observation lasted for four to five minutes, and the birds were identified as Silver-backed Needletails on the basis of following features: 20. Silver-backed Needletail; a head-on view. Size: The birds were large swifts c. 20cm in size. Structure: Large protruding head, broad triangular wings, square tail with the hint of small rectrix spines extending beyond the tail. Upperparts: Dark glossy head, dark lores and forehead, dark ear-coverts and sides of the head, pale silvery ‘saddle’ on the back and absence of any visible white colouration in the tertial area. The Silver-backed Needletail has pale-grey colouration to its tertials whereas White-throated Needletail, a closely related species with similar plumage, has white inner webs to its tertial feathers. Though this feature is often obscured, it is worthnoting that MS never noticed any hint of white colouration to the tertial feathers of the birds observed subsequently till the summer of 2012, often seen below eye-level when they stooped to drink from the river. Underparts: Throat pale grey-brown, merging into darker breast and not showing a clear contrast with the breast and sides of the head, as in the case of White-throated Needletail. Breast and belly dark brown, white lower flanks and vent, forming a distinct

‘horseshoe’ mark. Pics:

MS searched further on 28 April 2004 and four birds were seen at the same place Nayan at 1700 hrs. The birds were observed for up to two minutes, and once more these were seen flying above the river and repeatedly drinking water from the river. Between 05 Khanolkar and 09 May 2004, MS observed a flock of upto 50 birds daily, between 0900–1030 hrs at Hathgadda grassland (29.58°N, 78.87°E, c. 363m asl.). The birds seemed to be aerial feeding above the river and there was no attempt to drink water from the river. 21. Silver-backed Needletail; a view of the upperparts. 48 Indian BIRDS Vol. 14 No. 2 (Publ. 28 March 2018)

On 15 June 2004, between 1240 hrs and 1425 hrs, a flock of Apodidae are extremely difficult to study under field conditions. eight to ten birds was observed flying, and presumably feeding, Their great mobility and speed of flight preclude periods of in the air above the Ramganga River at Dhikala forest resthouse. prolonged observation and their nest sites, if known, are often The birds were seen flying in a mixed flock comprising Alpine in inaccessible holes in trees or rocky crevices. This has led to Swift Tachymarptis melba, Little Swifts affinis, and Grey- an accumulation of annectodal [sic] information about species, throated Martin Riparia chinensis. On 16 June 2004, at 1730 some based on actual observation, some on hearsay. Often the hrs, two Silver-backed Needletails were seen flying into a patch accounts include data which are incorrect or which must, after of sal trees Shoria robusta, called ‘Sal Bhuji’, some 100m from critical study, be attributed to other species.’ It is often difficult the Dhikala forest resthouse. The birds entered a tree hollow c. to distinguish Silver-backed Needletail from the similar-looking 20–25m from ground, in a sal. White-throated Needletail, especially in flight. Whereas the former A survey was conducted between 12–16 June 2009 by species’ altitudinal range in the Indian Subcontinent is between MS and NK to access the status of the species and to collect 150–2500m asl. (Rasmussen & Anderton 2012), the latter is photographic evidence of its presence in Corbett Tiger Reserve. known to occur in the Himalayas between 1250 m and 4000m The pictures [19, 20, 21] clearly show the lack of a white throat, asl. (del Hoyo 1999). However, Rasmussen & Anderton (2012) lack of white tertial spots, and slightly rounded tail when a bird state that the White-throated Needletail ‘reaches plains-edge has closed its tail feathers. A Silver-backed Needletail has rectrix even during summer.’ There are summer sight records of the spines that are longest and strongest in the centre of its tail, species from Dibru-Saikhowa National Park in Assam (Das 2006; reaching upto 6.5 mm beyond the web (del Hoyo 1999). The Choudhury 2006b), an area with an altitudinal range of 110– birds were often seen in mixed flocks of swifts and , 126m asl. (Choudhury 2006b). It is not recorded from Corbett feeding in flight, above high forested ridges along the Ramganga Tiger Reserve by Grewal & Sehgal (1995) or Sharma et al. River Valley between Dhikala and Khinnanauli, during late (2003). MS has never recorded it in the area despite extensive mornings and afternoons. During evenings, on several occasions, birding during 1996–2017. However, there is a summer sight flocks of 8–12 Silver-backed Needletails were seen coming down record from Kothri Valley (600m asl), adjacent to the western to drink from the Ramganga at Gethia Rao between 1700–1900 limit of Corbett Tiger Reserve (c. 340–1210m asl) (Mohan & hrs, flying in at great speed. After slaking their thirst, these smaller Kumar 2010). Mohan & Kumar (2010) do not give a description flocks would join other flocks to form large hunting parties of upto of the birds seen in the field, and it is likely that they confused 40–50 birds. Often these were joined by groups of Alpine Swift, it with a Silver-backed Needletail. Elsewhere in Uttarakhand, the Pacific Swift A. pacificus, , and Grey-throated Martin White-throated Needletail has been recorded from the Kumaon to form a large mixed feeding party, flying 400–600 mt above (Sultana & Khan 2000; Ilyas 2005; Sultana et al. 2007), and ground. On 14 June 2009 at 1750hrs a Peregrine (Shaheen) Garhwal (Vyas 1970; Singh 2000; Santharam 2002) regions. Falcon Falco peregrinus peregrinator was observed attacking one We suggest that all summer sight records of the White-throated such large flock at Gethia Rao. The falcon had a perch, apparently, Needletail, from low-elevations in Uttarakhand, should be treated in the high forested ridge of Kanda as it was seen launching its with caution to avoid any possible confusion with the Silver- attacks, repeatedly, from that direction. Under attack, the mixed backed Needletail. flock of swifts and swallows was observed to rise higher, gaining The present records of the Silver-backed Needletail from height in order to escape. The falcon pursued by circling and Corbett Tiger Reserve are the first records of the species from gaining height as well. After at least three such unsuccessful the state of Uttarakhand, and from northern India, and represent attempts, it managed to catch a large swift; possibly a Silver- the westward range-extension of the species into the western backed Needletail. Himalayas. Though the nesting habits of this species are The photographs were sent for identification, and expert unknown (del Hoyo 1999), we wonder whether the birds that comments, to Pamela Rasmussen, Harkirat Sangha, Tim Inskipp, were seen entering a tree hollow on 16 June 2004 at Dhikala and James Eaton. Pamela Rasmussen (in litt., e-mail dated 09 were nesting? The White-throated Needletail is known to nest June 2013), Harkirat Sangha (in litt., e-mail dated 09 June 2013), in the bottom of large hollow trees in the Sakhalin Island region Tim Inskipp (in litt., e-mail dated 19 June 2013), and James (Gizenko 1955; Lobko-Lobanovski 1956; Neufeldt & Ivanov Eaton (in litt., e-mail dated 25 August 2013) all confirmed the 1960), and Japan (Austin & Kuroda 1953; Jahn 1942). More identification. studies are recommended, to ascertain the breeding status of the On 16 June 2010, between 1750 hrs and 1810 hrs, MS Silver-backed Needletail in Corbett Tiger Reserve and surrounds, saw a small flock of four to six birds at Champion Road and and also to ascertain whether this population is from the central photographed one individual. Between 2004 and 2012, MS Nepal race ‘H. c. rupchandi’, or another form. regularly observed the species during April, May, and June along the Ramganga River Valley between Champion Road and Acknowledgements Dhikala. It is worthnoting that MS failed to record the species MS wants to thank Charles T. Collins who generously shared a copy of his publication on brief visits to the area during April–June 2013–2016. As MS on the genus Hirundapus. MS also want to thank Pamela Rasmussen, Harkirat Sangha, could not actively and regularly monitor these areas after June Tim Inskipp, and James Eaton for help with the photo identification. To retrieve 2012, it is possible that the species may have escaped his relevant literature we searched the online Bibliography of South Asian Ornithology attention. Alternatively, it is also possible that the population that (Pittie 2017). visits Corbett Tiger Reserve during summer, had moved to some nearby areas, due to some unknown reasons. It is suggested that References a proper study of the Corbett Tiger Reserve and its surrounding Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1970. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with areas in the Kumaon and Garhwal regions should be undertaken those of Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Ceylon. Frogmouths to pittas. 1st ed. Bombay: to assess the current status of the species in Uttarakhand. (Sponsored by Bombay Natural History Society) Oxford University Press. Vol. 4 of Collins & Brooke (1976) state, ‘the swifts of the avian family 10 vols. Pp. i–xvi, 1–256, 1 l. Sharma & Khanolkar: Silver-backed Needletail 49

Ali, S., Biswas, B., & Ripley, S. D., 1996. Birds of Bhutan. Records of the Zoological University Press. Pp. 1–192. Survey of India, Occassional Paper No. 136: 1 l., i–v, 1–207+1. Jahn, H., 1942. Zur Oekologie und Biologie der Vӧgel. Joural für Ornithologie 90: Ali, S., 1989. The birds of Sikkim. 2nd (impression) ed. Delhi: Oxford University Press. 207–209. Pp. i–xxxiii, 1–414. Lekagul, B., & Round P. D., 2005. A guide to the birds of Thailand. Bangkok: Saha Austin, O. L. Jr., & Kuroda, N., 1953. The birds of Japan, their status and distribution. Karn Bhaet Group. Pp. i–vi, 1–457. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 109 (4): 277–637. Lepage, D., 2017. Avibase - Bird checklist of the world: Tripura. URL:http://avibase. Baker, E. C. S., 1927. The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Birds. bsc-eoc.org/checklist.jsp?region=INnetr&list=howardmoore. (Downloaded on 2nd ed. London: Taylor and Francis. Vol. IV of 8 vols. Pp. i–xxiv, 1–471. 24 July 2017). Barua, M., & Sharma, P., 1999. Birds of Kaziranga National Park, India. Forktail 15: Lobko-Lobanovski, M. I., 1956. K biologi iglohvostogo striyoa (Hirundapus 47–60. caudacutus) na Sakhaline [The biology of Hirundapus caudacutus in Sakhalin]. Barua, M., & Sharma, P., 2005. The birds of Nameri National Park, Assam, India. Zoologicheskij Zhurnal 35: 1586-1587 (in Russian, English translation by Alex N. Forktail 21: 15–26. Hilkevitch). Biswas, B., 1951. On some Larger Spine-tailed Swifts, with the description of a new Mathur, H. N., Chakraborti, D., & Bhattacharya, T., 1993. Birds of Tripura - a Checklist. subspecies (Chaetura cochinensis rupchandi) from Nepal. Ardea 39 (4): Agartala: Tripura State Council for Science and Technology, Govt., of Tripura. Pp. 318–321. 1–24. Chalmers, M., L., 1986. Annotated checklist of the birds of Hong Kong. Hong Kong: Meyer de Schauensee, R., 1984. The birds of China. 1st ed. Oxford; Washington DC: Hong Kong Birdwatching Society. Pp. 1–279. Oxford University Press; Smithsonian Institution Press. Pp. 602. Chantler, P., & Driessens, G., 2000. Swifts: a guide to the swifts and treeswifts of the Mohan, D., & Kumar, R., 2010. Breeding birds of Kothri Valley, eastern Garhwal world. 2nd ed. Sussex, UK: Pica Press. Pp. 1–272. Himalayan foothills, India. Forktail 26 (August): 75–81. Choudhury, A., 2001. Some bird records from Nagaland, north-east India. Forktail 17: Myers, S., 2010. A field guide to the birds of Borneo. London; Cape Town; Sydney; 91–103. Auckland: New Holland Publishers. Pp. 1–272. Choudhury, A., 2003a. A pocketguide to the birds of Nagaland. 1st ed. Guwahati: Neufeldt, I., & Ivanov, A. I., 1960. Some notes on the biology of the Needletailed Gibbon Books & The Rhino Foundation for Nature in NE India. Pp. 1–48. Swifts in . British Birds 53: 433-453. Choudhury, A., 2003b. Birds of Kaziranga National Park. A checklist. 1st ed. Pittie, A., 2017. Bibliography of South Asian Ornithology. URL: http://www. Guwahati: Gibbon Books & The Rhino Foundation for Nature in NE India. Pp. southasiaornith.in. [Accessed on 26 August 2017.] 1–46. Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide: Choudhury, A., 2003c. Birds of Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary and Sessa Orchid attributes and status. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Forktail 19: 1–13. Institution and Lynx Edicions. Vol. 2 of 2 vols. Pp. 1–683. Choudhury, A., 2004. Kaziranga: Wildlife in Assam. 1st ed. New Delhi: Rupa & Co. Robson, C., 2008. Birds of South-east Asia. London; Cape Town; Sydney; Auckland: Pp. 4 pr. ll., pp. 1–94. New Holland Publishers. Pp. 1–544. Choudhury, A., 2006a. A pocket guide to the birds of Arunachal Pradesh. 1st ed. Robson, C.R., Eames, J.C., Wolstencroft, J.A., Nguyen, C., & Truong, V. L., 1993. Recent Guwahati: Gibbon Books & The Rhino Foundation for Nature in NE India. Pp. records of birds from Vietnam. Forktail 5: 71–97. 1–109. Santharam, V., 2002. Birdwatching in the Garhwal Himalayas. Newsletter for Choudhury, A., 2006b. Birds of Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and Biosphere Reserve, Birdwatchers 42 (1): 4–7. Assam, India. Indian Birds 2 (4): 95–105. Sharma, M., Harvey, B., Devasar, N. & Grewal, B., 2003. A checklist of birds of Corbett Choudhury, A., 2008. A pocket guide to the birds of Mizoram. 1st ed. Guwahati, Tiger Reserve. Published by The Field Director, Corbett Tiger Reserve. Pp. 1–24. India: Gibbon Books & The Rhino Foundation for Nature in NE India. Pp. 1–122. Siddiqui, K. U., Islam, M. A., Kabir, S. M. H., Ahmad, M., Ahmed, A. T. A., Rahman, A. Choudhury, A., 2009. Significant recent ornithological records from Manipur, north- K. A., Haque, E. U., Ahmed, Z. U., Begum, Z. N. T., Hassan, M. A., Khondker, M., east India, with an annotated checklist. Forktail 25: 71–89. & Rahman, M. M., (eds.) 2008. Encyclopedia of flora and fauna of Bangladesh: Christidis, L., & Boles, W. 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Two spring 2017 records of Short-tailed Shearwater Ardenna tenuirostris from Gujarat, with notes on its identification

Trupti Shah, Dhyey Shah, Jagdish Desai & Batuk Bhil

Shah, T., Shah, D., Desai, J., Bhil, B., 2018. Two spring 2017 records of Short-tailed Shearwater Ardenna tenuirostris from Gujarat, with notes on its identification. Indian BIRDS 14 (2): 50–52. Trupti Shah, Pratanagar, Vadodara 390004, Gujarat, India. E-mail: [email protected] [TS] Dhyey Shah, Pratanagar, Vadodara 390004, Gujarat, India. [DS] Jagdish Desai [JD] Batuk Bhil, At-Naip, Taluk Mahuva, District Bhavnagar 364290, Gujarat, India. E-mail: [email protected] [BB] Manuscript received on 24 August 2017.

n 30 April 2017, while TS and DS were scanning for the Mahuva White-winged Terns Chlidonias leucopterus from a coast (20.05° Oboat, with Latif bhai, at Nal Sarovar (22.80°N, 72.05°E), N, 71.80° E), Gujarat, at 1010 hrs, they immediately noticed an all dark bird, Bhavnagar flying low, with fluttering wing beats, to their left, and a few District, Gujarat. seconds ahead of us. Fortunately, DS and TS took two photos Despite rescue [22, 25] while TS recorded a small video (https://www.youtube. attempts and com/watch?v=phpnCTh4Gw0) before it quickly disappeared. We treatments, it were quite confident that this was a pelagic bird, and suspected did not survive. it to be a petrel. Next morning, after interactions with experts, JD did a post it became clear mortem, and Jagdish Desai that this was some plastic a shearwater: material was either a Sooty found in its 24. Shearwater obtained from Mahuva coast. Shearwater stomach. BB Ardenna grisea, sought further or a Short-tailed help from other Shearwater A. experts and Dhyey Shah 22. Shearwater flying over Nal Sarovar. tenuirostris. concluded it as However, a a Short-tailed detailed analysis Shearwater of the photo (See below). clinched its T h e identity as a Short-tailed Short-tailed Shearwater Shearwater (See is believed to Shah Dhyey below). be a vagrant On 20 May to the Indian 2017, JD, a Subcontinent. 25. Nal Sarovar Shearwater video grab after shifted levels for veterinary doctor, However, six whites and mid-tones. sent a few earlier records photos [23, 24] (Giri et al. 2013; Praveen et al. 2013; Thompson et al. 2013; of a dead bird to Praveen et al. 2015) are present from the April–May season, BB. It looked like indicating a strong tendency for spring vagrancy. The Short-tailed a pelagic bird Shearwater is an addition to the birds of Gujarat, as the species but BB could is not listed in the recent checklist of the birds of that state not identify the (Ganpule 2016). species. The bird had been Acknowledgements retrieved on Jagdish DesaiJagdish that day from TS and DS would like to thank Latifbhai and Kabaruddin for birding arrangements at 23. Shearwater obtained from Mahuva coast. Nal Sarovar. Shah et al.: Short-tailed Shearwater 51

References flatter belly and a more torpedo-shaped body which appears Ganpule, P., 2016. The birds of Gujarat: Status and distribution. Flamingo 8(3)-12: larger when compared with narrower and more pointed 2-40. wings. This bird has quite long and broad wings compared Giri, P., Dey, A., & Sen, S. K., 2013. Short-tailed Shearwater Ardenna tenuirostris from to body size, suggesting a Short-tailed Shearwater) Namkhana, West Bengal: A first record for India. Indian BIRDS 8 (5): 131 • Underwing pattern, appearing overall dark, with no marked Praveen E. S., Das, S., & Dilip K. G., 2015. Sighting of Short-tailed Shearwater Ardenna contrast between primaries and coverts (A Sooty Shearwater tenuirostris, and Wedge-tailed Shearwater Ardenna pacifica from the Arabian Sea, would show marked contrast between darker under-surface off Ponnani, Kerala. Indian BIRDS 10 (1): 26–27 of primaries against white region of coverts. Short-tailed has Praveen J., Jayapal, R., & Pittie, A., 2013. Notes on Indian rarities—1: Seabirds. Indian BIRDS 8 (5): 113–125. highly reflective under surface to primaries which shows Thompson, P. M., Reza, C. M., & Ul Haque, E., 2013. First record of Short-tailed little or no contrast with pale regions of coverts. In addition, Shearwater Puffinus tenuirostris from Bangladesh. Indian BIRDS 8 (5): 135–136 Jeff Davies took the video grab into Photoshop and shifted levels for whites and mid-tones to reveal tonal pattern of the Notes on identification under-primary area, and it re-confirmed the typical Short- We took up the challenge of identifying the species, and contacted tailed underwing pattern [XX4]) several experts, worldwide, to confirm the species identity. • Though the flight pattern reminded one of a Sooty, it was suggested that this couldn’t be relied upon in an inland lake without significant winds and waves. There was also a mention Bird 1 – From Nal Sarovar: about personal observations of Short-tailed Shearwaters flying The photographs of this bird were of poor quality [XX1, 4], and in similar manner in such conditions elsewhere. the video grabs not clear enough, to evaluate the plumage in detail. Hence the identification was far from straightforward. After the analysis of re-processed underwing images, and We began by eliminating from our prospective list, “all-dark” detailed discussions, all experts aligned towards Short-tailed shearwaters possible in the region. Shearwater and there were no divergent opinions. John Cox • The Wedge-tailed Shearwater A. pacifica was ruled out additionally suggested that the bird was a juvenile based on due to the short tail (vs long tapering tail of Wedge-tailed) noticeable pale fringes to upper primary and lesser wing coverts, and prominent head projection with a steep forehead (vs with no sign of primary moult. An adult in late April should a slimmer head projection with relatively more sloping possess worn plumage (thus no pale fringes) and probably be forehead of Wedge-tailed) of the photographed bird. starting to moult. • The Flesh-footed Shearwater A. carneipes was ruled out due to the slimmer and “all-dark” bill (vs. thicker and bicolored Bird 2 – From Mahuva bill of Flesh-footed), steep forehead (less steep in Flesh- Identification of this bird was easier due to the greater number footed), and slimmer and elongated wings (vs relatively of good photographs available for analysis [xx2, 3]. All-dark broader wings of Flesh-footed) of the photographed bird. underparts eliminated most of the shearwaters except Wedge- tailed, Flesh-footed, Sooty, and Short-tailed. The bird had darker So, the remaining possibilities were Sooty-, and Short-tailed- underparts (brown) and in the field, would appear almost uniform Shearwaters. Separating these two species was tough as there (ruffled here due to the condition of the bird). The medium-sized are a lot of similarities between them, and the photographs and “all-dark” bill, and pale bar in the under-primary coverts, eliminated videos that we had were of poor quality prohibiting us from a Flesh-footed Shearwater. The short, rounded tail and underwing checking specific identification features. pattern eliminated a Wedge-tailed Shearwater. The medium- At this point, we tried to get expert opinion. Initially, there were length bill better fits a Short-tailed Shearwater than it does a Sooty differences of opinion regarding the identification, even among Shearwater. The underwing pattern, from what is visible, is typical them. A few suggested it was a Sooty Shearwater, but given that of a Short-tailed, rather than a Sooty: secondary coverts have an the quality of photographs, they were not definite about it. even-width pale bar, primary coverts are pale and lack any obvious The points that were brought up in favour of Sooty Shearwater dark shaft streaking. The bases of the primaries also appear slightly were: pale and do not contrast markedly with the pale primary coverts. • Long flexing wings in flight (rather than rounded wings held Based on these characteristics, this bird was definitely a Short-tailed stiffly in flight). Shearwater. John Cox also agreed that this bird was a Short-tailed • Deeper and slower wing beats (and not clipped as is typical Shearwater, and additionally commented that this could also be a in Short-tailed Shearwater). juvenile judging by its fresh pale-fringed scapulars. • No indication of trailing feet. • The bill size (few correspondents considered this to be Further notes on distinguishing Short-tailed and Sooty acceptable for a Sooty Shearwater). Shearwaters: John Cox prepared a detailed analysis clarifying the usefulness of some of the well-documented identification features. The points that came up in favour of Short-tailed Shearwater The key points that were detailed by him are given below: were: • The bill size (according to few correspondents this was not White flashes on underwing: A Short-tailed Shearwater could long enough for a Sooty and was better fitting a Short-tailed have various shades of grey covering its entire underwing, Shearwater). although, most often there are areas of very pale grey or white, • Paler area on the throat (or chin), which Sooty usually does which, unlike on a Sooty, are centred on the secondary coverts not have, but is quite a common feature for Short-tailed. and sometimes extend to the outer primary coverts. Thus, • Pot-belly and substantial wings. (The pot-belly compares Short-tailed usually appears to have a pale, sometimes white, well with other photos of Short-tailed whereas Sooty has a central area on the underwing, whereas Sooty has white areas 52 Indian BIRDS Vol. 14 No. 2 (Publ. 28 March 2018)

centred more towards the wing tip. This feature was crucial in the identification of both the birds here. Correspondence Wing and body shape: A Sooty Shearwater has a slightly greater wing-length and wingspan than Short-tailed, although Purple Sunbird Cinnyris asiaticus congregating to any difference would be undetectable on a flying bird due to feed on syrup of pearl millet Pennisetum glaucum dimensional overlap. Total body lengths are also similar, but the flour and water, in Jodhpur, Rajasthan greatest differences between them are the body bulk and shape. On 12 July 2016, at 0830 hours, Pranjal J. Saikia was driving Sooty is usually the heavier bird, and in flight appears to be much in Jodhpur city (Rajasthan) when he saw c. 25 Purple bigger-bodied ratio to wing-length than Short-tailed. Moreover, Cinnyris asiaticus gathered on the footpath of a busy road. All the it usually appears flat-bellied, whereas Short-tailed Shearwater birds were busy feeding on grain [26] that people had scattered is rounder or pot-bellied. In flight, the larger body of Sooty to feed birds, mainly feral Rock Pigeons Columba livia. Upon a Shearwater creates the impression of it being a smaller-winged closer look, he found that the grain comprised of partially ground bird than a Short-tailed, which appears to have a more substantial bajra or pearl millet Pennisetum glaucum. Bajra is popularly wing area. But this difference is subtle and often depends upon fed to seed-eating birds, e.g., Blue Rock Pigeon, House Sparrow the condition of a bird. For example, individuals may be in moult, Passer domesticus, and other birds associated with human starving, have a full crop or bloated intestines that may slightly settlements at prominent places in Jodhpur, as elsewhere in alter their shape and proportions, or a freeze-frame camera could India. It was interesting to watch nectarivorous birds feeding on simply catch them in an unusual position or posture. He also ground-bajra. On closer inspection he noticed that rainwater had pointed out that the wing shape (round vs pointed wing tips) drenched the ground-bajra, creating a syrupy liquid of its flour; is not useful as both birds have similar primary formula. Bird 1, the birds were foraging on that syrup with their long tongue. above, showed a pot-bellied structure, thus supporting its ID as a Short-tailed Shearwater.

Bill size: Bill size is not a reliable feature of identification if the photographs are not sharp enough (as in the case of Bird 1 here).

Toe projection: The legs and feet of a shearwater are not held straight and trailing in normal flight. In normal flight the legs are usually drawn up and concealed within dense ventral feathers, with all joints bent. The tibia run outwards from the knees to the ankles, from where the tarsi turn inwards and downwards Pranjal J. Saikia to the toes, which are usually angled in line with the body. Thus, with this zigzag positioning of leg and foot bones, the feet can be instantly drawn further inwards by a twitch of the tendons; probably an adaptation to minimise aerodynamic drag on these very fast-flying birds. Their legs are most often extended when a 26. Purple Sunbirds feeding on pearl millet. bird is circling, turning, or coming in to land. In flight, both species may exhibit toes extending beyond the tail-tip, but this feature is While around 25 Purple Sunbirds were feeding on the not really a valid identification criterion for a single bird because footpath, there were an equal number in nearby trees, bushes, the toes can be retracted at will in both species. However, Short- and on electricity wires—as if waiting for their turn to feed. They tailed Shearwaters have a shorter tail and usually do have trailing were completely oblivious of the people around them. The toe-tips, although even in good light they can be extremely feeding frenzy continued for more than 20 mins. difficult to see. For Bird 1, images are not sharp and the tail (and Even though arthropods are an important part of the diet of toes?) appears blurred and uniform black, making it impossible most, if not all sunbirds, their primary source of nutrition is nectar, to detect if any toes are trailing. and over time their beaks have evolved in order to feed on nectar Flight action and jizz: There are really too many physical, of a variety of different plants. Sunbirds have also been observed physiological, and environmental variables that can greatly affect feeding, opportunistically, on invertebrates—gleaning them from the shape of a bird in flight, including its actions and rate of wing- off leaves and flowers, as well as by sallying like flycatchers beats, and applying generalisations to a single bird can lead to (Cheke & Mann 2001). The Purple Sunbird is known to feed on error. He concluded that, since the bird seen in Nal Sarovar is , and the juice of grapes (Ali & Ripley 1999). They have almost certainly a juvenile, lost and nearing exhaustion, its flight also been observed feeding on the sugary syrup exuding from action and jizz may not have been normal. ‘jalebis’ in Rajasthan (Sangha 2015). We would like to thank Charles Anderson, David James, Jeff Davies, John Cox, Neil Cheshire, Oscar Campbell, Rohan Clarke References for providing the expert comments and a very fruitful discussion Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1999. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with on the identification of these birds. Jeff Davies also helped with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. to buntings. re-processing the image to bring out the underwing pattern more 2nd (Hardback) ed. Delhi: (Sponsored by Bombay Natural History Society.) clearly. In addition, John Cox also provided a detailed note on Oxford University Press. Vol. 10 of 10 vols. Pp. i–xvii+1, 1–250, 9 ll. identification, which is reproduced here. Cheke, R. A., & Mann, C. F., 2001. Sunbirds: A guide to the sunbirds, flowerpeckers, spiderhunters and sugarbirds of the world. 1st ed. London: Christopher Helm. — Compiled by Dipu Karuthedathu, Prasad Ganpule & Praveen J. Pp. 1–384. Correspondence 53

Mason, C. W., & Maxwell-Lefroy, H., 1912. The food of birds in India. 1st ed. Calcutta / 83.28°E), Rupandehi District, in the western lowlands of Nepal. London: Thacker, Spink & Co. / W. Thacker & Co. Pp. 1–371. The bird was first recorded on 15 May 2017, in the western side Sangha, H. S., 2015. Purple Sunbird Nectarinia asiatica feeding on sugary syrup of the lake, amidst a flock of Lesser Whistling DucksDendrocygna exuding from ‘jalebis’. Indian BIRDS 10 (6): 165–166. javanica. When disturbed, it flew to, and settled upon an adjoining – Pranjal J. Saikia & Harkirat Singh Sangha sal Shorea robusta tree, where it roosted. The bird mostly foraged Pranjal J. Saikia, 2A District Shopping Center, Saraswati Nagar, Basni, Pali Road, Jodhpur in the middle of the lake, and frequently in its southern, and 342005, Rajasthan, India. E-mail: [email protected] western parts. It appeared to be moulting, and its completely Harkirat Singh Sangha, B-27, Gautam Marg, Hanuman Nagar, Jaipur 302021, Rajasthan, India. grey wings in May [27] transformed into a whiter plumage by E-mail: [email protected]. Received on 22 August 2017 early July [28]. It was last recorded on 10 July 2017. According to a local fisherman, a ‘pelican’ had been visiting the lake in April– Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis from May for the past three years. The timing of our sighting is in line Gaidahawa Lake, Rupandehi District, Nepal with current knowledge where Inskipp et al. (2016) state that The Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis is a local migrant the species visits Nepal mainly during February–May, and some in Nepal and is categorised as ‘Critically Endangered’ in the stay up to October. The present sighting is c. 400 km west of country’s National Red List (Inskipp et al. 2016). Except for one its regular range in Nepal though it has sparingly also occurred specimen, collected in the Kathmandu Valley in April, in the early further west in Uttarakhand (Rahmani 2012). nineteenth century (Hodgson 1844), almost all records have been from Koshi Barrage, and Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, in Acknowledgements the south-eastern terai region; except one, sighted in Patana We thank the Rufford Foundation, UK, for financial support, and Carol Inskipp and Lake, Chitwan National Park, in March 2005 (Inskipp et al. 2016). Hem Sagar Baral for their encouragement. We report below the sighting of an immature Spot-billed Pelican during May–July 2017, in Gaidahawa Lake (27.60ºN, References Hodgson, B. H., 1844. Catalogue of Nipalese birds, collected between 1824 and 1844. Zoological Miscellany 3: 81–86. Inskipp, C., Baral, H. S., Phuyal, S., Bhatt, T. R., Khatiwada, M., Inskipp, T., Khatiwada, A., Gurung, S., Singh, P. B., Murray, L., Poudyal, L., & Amin, R., 2016. The status of Nepal’s Birds: The national red list series. Zoological Society of London, UK. Rahmani, A. R., 2012. Threatened birds of India: their conservation requirements. Mumbai: Indian Bird Conservation Network; Bombay Natural History Society; Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; BirdLife International; Oxford University Press. Pp. i–xvi, 1–864. – Prashant Ghimire*, Bhuwan Singh Bist, Shristee Panthee, Bishal Aryal, Basant Sharma & Nabin Pandey Institute of Forestry, Hariyokharka, Pokhara 37700, Nepal E-mail*: [email protected], [email protected] Ghimire Colour aberration in Black-headed Cuckoo-Shrike Lalage melanoptera Prashant 27. Spot-billed Pelican in May. On 30 July 2017, while birding near Yarmal (15.77°N, 74.54°E), a village near Belgaum city in northern Karnataka, I noticed a single pale-coloured bird on a hill slope with scattered small bushes. I took several photographs of this interesting individual. I identified it as a Black-headed Cuckoo-ShrikeLalage melanoptera with the help of Grimmett et al. (2011), and Rasmussen & Anderton (2012). Although upon initial observation it seemed like a leucistic bird, careful examination revealed that it was missing some of the characteristics of a what is considered a leucistic condition. It had normal-coloured (black; not red) eyes, but was silvery grey (and not completely white) [30, 31]. Compared to the normal-coloured bird [29], it showed a much fainter eye- stripe, lighter grey upperparts, a lot paler grey wings and tail, and whitish-grey underparts that retained barring. According to Guay et al. (2012), and van Grouw (2013) a plumage with these colour aberrations could be reffered to as ‘dilution’. Mahabal et al. (2015, 2016), who recently reviewed the colour aberrations of Indian birds, did not mention any instance

Ghimire of colour aberrations in this species or any other member of the Campephagidae. So this observation would be the first record of colour aberration in this family from India. Manshanta 28. Spot-billed Pelican moulting in July. 54 Indian BIRDS Vol. 14 No. 2 (Publ. 28 March 2018)

Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. 2 vols. Pp. 1–378; 1–683. van Grouw, H., 2013. What colour is that bird? The causes and recognition of common colour aberrations in birds. British Birds 106 (1): 17–29.

– Niranjan Sant 27, Adarsh nagar, Vadgaon, Belgaum 590005, Karnataka, India. E-mail: [email protected] Received on 09 August 2017

Possible nesting of Pacific Swift in the Nilgiri Hills, Tamil Nadu in 1981 In 1981, I travelled extensively around India. Although this was a ‘hippy trail’ journey, I did not neglect my birdwatching, and while 29. Normal coloured female of Black-headed Cuckoo-Shrike. I mostly saw mundane species for the localities I visited, there is one observation that, in retrospect, appears to be of note. The delay in publishing is due to life pressures causing me to put aside my notebook on returning to the UK; it was subsequently mislaid until I rediscovered it in mid-2017. In April–May 1981 I spent some time in the Nilgiri Hills based in Ootacamund. On 06 May I travelled to a remote rest house, noted as ‘Mukerti Bungalow’ in my notebook, where I spent the night prior to climbing Mukurthi Peak (2554 m asl) the following day. At the summit, at 0905 hrs on 07 May, I saw several ‘large long-winged white-rumped Apus, - ? pacificus – going in and out of the cliff below [the] summit.’ I added in my notes that this white-rumped swift had a ‘moderate tail fork, kept more or less closed (i.e. greater than [Indian House Swift A.] affinis but less than [Horus Swift A.] horus [an African species] – in any case wings too pointed for affinis and [the] white rump patch doesn’t extend more than ½-way round flank.’ After descending, I then 30. Black-headed Cuckoo-Shrike. Form of dilution resulting in silver-grey plumage. watched from under the summit cliff from 1000 hrs to 1030 hrs, but the birds had mostly gone – I saw only three Alpine Swifts A. melba and one large white-rumped swift, though there were occasional swift-like calls from the cliff face. Finally I saw two of the white-rumped birds fly off from the face of the cliff, where they had apparently been perched. After this there was silence, and I returned to the bungalow (possibly what is now, fide Wikipedia, called the Mukurthi Fishing Hut). The only other swifts seen in the immediate area were Indian Swiftlets Aerodramus unicolor, though I saw Indian House Swifts elsewhere in the Nilgiris. I was in no doubt then that these birds were Pacific Swifts Apus pacificus, and I have no reason to revise this view. I was already familiar with the species in Japan and with the similar

Sant Horus Swift in , and with House Swifts widely in Africa and

Asia: size, dark underparts, and the forked tail rule out the White- rumped Needletail Zoonavena sylvatica. I was travelling light and Niranjan only had Ali (1968), and Woodcock (1980) with me, which have Pics: 31. Black-headed Cuckoo-Shrike. Form of dilution resulting in silver-grey plumage. little information on Pacific Swifts. This species is mainly recorded in southern India in winter (e.g. Grimmett et al. 1999; Sashikumar et al. 2011; Praveen et al. 2016), though there is an old report of References its suspected nesting in the hill-caves near Dudhsagar in the Ghats of Uttar Kannada [=Northern Kanara], Karnataka (Davidson 1898), Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. some 475 km NNW of Mukurthi. However, in recent times, there London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528. Guay, P. J., Potvin, D. A., & Robinson, R. W., 2012. Aberrations in plumage coloration in appears to be only one published spring record (Anand 2016) birds. Australian Field Ornithology 29: 23–30. and none in summer. They were not seen in March over the Mahabal, A., Sharma, R. M., & Sayyed, A., 2015. Colour aberrations in Indian birds. Kerala border in Silent Valley by Vijayan et al. (2000). Anand saw BirdingASIA 24: 119–121. and photographed a bird on 09 April 2016 at Jawalikadavu APW Mahabal, A., van Grouw, H., Sharma, R. M., & Thakur, S., 2016. How common is Camp in the Nilgiris, significantly only about 31 km NE of Mukurthi albinism really? Colour aberrations in Indian birds reviewed. Dutch Birding 38: Peak. My birds were a month later and clearly interacting with 301–309. the cliff as if breeding. It seems probable that there is (or was) a Correspondence 55

small outlying breeding population in the Nilgiris, where, to judge [32] fluttering around the Mallotus philippensis–Flacourtia indica by the paucity of published papers, there has been little serious understorey along a moist seasonal stream near Bal Jarallan general birdwatching activity in recent years. Reviewing birds in village (33.30°N, 74.36°E, c. 720 m), in Rajouri Tehsil and District, the Nilgiris (including Mukurthi National Park) from visits over the Jammu and Kashmir. Another individual joined it later. four years 2001–2004, Zarri & Rahmani (2005) did not mention This species has so far been reported up till Chamba (Singh Pacific Swifts; I have not scoured all the online trip reports from 2011; Shah et al. 2016) in western Himachal Pradesh, apart visiting foreigners, but the sample I have looked at did not reveal from the districts of Kangra (den Besten 2004), Solan (Singh any Pacific Swift observations in spring or summer. 2015a), and Mandi (Singh 2015b). Thus, it appears to be an addition to the avifauna of Jammu and Kashmir. Acknowledgements I thank Praveen J. for help with references not easily found in UK, and an anonymous referee for finding the old account by Davidson.

References Ali, S., 1968. The book of Indian birds. 8th (Revised and enlarged) ed. Bombay: Bombay Natural History Society. Pp. i–iv, v–xlvi, 1–162, xlvii–li. Anand, V., 2016. Checklist S28901022. Online at: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/ S28901022 [accessed 28/9/2017.] Davidson, J. A. G., 1898. The birds of North Kanara. Part II. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 12 (1): 43–72. Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 1999. A guide to the birds of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Princeton: Princeton

University Press. Pp. 1–888. Sharma Neeraj Praveen J., Subramanya, S., & Raj, V. M., 2016. A checklist of the birds of Karnataka. Indian BIRDS 12 (4&5): 89–118. Sashikumar, C., Praveen J., Palot, M. J., & Nameer, P. O., 2011. Birds of Kerala: status and distribution. 1st ed. Kottayam, Kerala: DC Books. Pp. 1–835. Vijayan, L., Bhupathy, S., Balasubramanian, P., Nirmala, T., & Ravikumar, S., 2000. A bird 32. Whiskered Yuhina at Bal Jarallan. survey in the Silent Valley National Park, Kerala. Coimbatore: Sálim Ali Centre For Ornithology & Natural History. Pp. 20. Acknowledgements Woodcock, M. W., 1980. Collins Handguide to the Birds of the Indian Sub-continent Including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri-Lanka and Nepal. 1st ed. London: The help and support provided by the Department of Forests and Wildlife Protection, Collins. Pp. 1–176. Government of Jammu & Kashmir is gratefully acknowledged. The authors appreciate Zarri, A. A., & Rahmani, A. R., 2005. Annotated avifauna of the Upper Nilgiris, Western the participation of Parmil Kumar, Sanjay Bose, and Sahasrangshu Chowdhary during Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India. Buceros 10 (1): i–iii, 1–46. the field survey.

– Anthony S. Cheke References 139 Hurst St., Oxford OX4 1HE, UK. E-mail: [email protected] Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 2001. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. 2 ed. Delhi: (Sponsored by Bombay Natural History Society.) Oxford University Press [Oxford India Whiskered Yuhina Yuhina flavicollis from Jammu and Paperbacks.]. Vol. 5 (Larks to Grey Hypocolius) of 10 vols. Pp. 2 ll., pp. i–xvi, Kashmir, India 1–278 + 1 l., 2 ll. On 12 August 2017 around 1015 hrs we spotted a pair of den Besten, J. W., 2004. Birds of Kangra. 1st ed. Dharamsala & New Delhi: Moonpeak Publishers & Mosaic Books. Pp. 1–176. Whiskered Yuhinas Yuhina flavicollis feeding on the ripe fruits of Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. Berberis lycium along a perennial stream near village Mathola, London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528. (32.97°N, 75.67°E, c. 2025 m) Bhaderwah Tehsil, Doda District, Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide: Jammu & Kashmir. The birds were photographed and identified attributes and status. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian as this species by SKR based on his previous sightings in other Institution and Lynx Edicions. Vol. 2 of 2 vols. Pp. 1–683. parts of the north-western Himalayas, which was subsequently Shah, T. A., Ahuja, V., Anandam M., Srinivasulu C., 2016. Avifauna of Chamba District, confirmed from the field guides (Ali & Ripley 2001; Grimmettet Himachal Pradesh, India with emphasis on Kalatop-Khajjiar Wildlife Sanctuary and al. 2011; Rasmussen & Anderton 2012). The photographs clearly its surroundings. Journal of Threatened Taxa 8 (1): 1711–1718. Singh, A. P., 2011. Birds of the upper catchment of Ravi River, Chamba district, revealed the prominent features like dark brownish crest on head, Himachal Pradesh, India. Indian BIRDS 7 (4): 97–103. white eye-ring, blackish moustache extending below the eyes Singh, D., 2015 a. Avifaunal diversity of Solan district, Himachal Pradesh, India. till neck, yellowish hind collar, and white underside to establish International Journal of Science and Research 4 (10): 550–556. its identification as Whiskered Yuhina. While returning, at around Singh, D., 2015 b. Avifaunal diversity of Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh, India. 1745 hrs, we spent some time searching for the birds and found International Journal of Current Research in Life Sciences 4 (11): 452–458. two individuals fluttering around aCedrus deodara tree about 100 m away from our earlier sighting. One bird instantly came – Neeraj Sharma & Suresh K. Rana Neeraj Sharma, Institute of Mountain Environment, University of Jammu , out and perched in front of us on an Aesculus indica tree, and Bhaderwah Campus 182222, Jammu & Kashmir, India subsequently flew to an adjacent Ailanthus altissima tree before E-mail: [email protected] [Corresponding author] [NS] finally disappearing towards the stream. We followed their activities Suresh K. Rana , Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun 248007, Uttarakhand, India for some time and noticed that the pair was nesting three meters E-mail: [email protected] [SKR] Received on 17 August 2017 above the ground, within tree twigs of Cedrus deodara. On 23 November 2017, around 0915 hrs, NS spotted one individual 56 Indian BIRDS Vol. 14 No. 2 (Publ. 28 March 2018)

The first breeding record of Common Redshank terrains (Walker & Chandler 1985). During July–August, we saw Tringa totanus for Nepal Common Redshank adults in breeding plumage [34] on multiple On 04 August 2015, at 1430 hrs, we were walking along the occasions, in the lakes and marshes of Upper Humla, but the shore of Tso Lamgyok Lake (30.37°N, 81.58°E; 5010 m asl) in reported instance above, was the only time we saw a chick with the remote Humla District, Province 6, Nepal. The lake is situated the adults. within the Gyau Valley, which is located in the south-western The Common Redshank was earlier considered a winter corner of the Tibetan Plateau, bordering the Tibetan Autonomous visitor to Nepal (Ali & Ripley 1987; Inskipp et al. 2016). On the Region of China to the north of Nepal. Indian Subcontinent, breeding of the species is only reported A pair of adult Common Redshank Tringa totanus was circling from the Tibetan Plateau of Ladakh, in Kashmir at an elevation above us, uttering alarm calls of strung-out quick-repeated trilling of 4000–5000 m asl (Ali & Ripley 1987) in solitary pairs or in notes (Ali & Ripley 1987). In due time, we noticed a chick walking loose colonies (BirdLife International 2016). Because the newly slowly along the shore of the lake [33]. Walker & Chandler (1985) documented breeding site in the Tibetan Plateau of Nepal lies report selection of wet areas, for feeding, by Common Redshank close to the Tibetan Plateau of China, MacKinnon & Phillipps chicks for which the adult pairs usually nest close to wetlands (2000) had already included the region in a map of the breeding such that the family can move to the wetland as soon as the range for the species. Our note on the first breeding record of the chick(s) hatches. The Common Redshanks in Upper Humla also Common Redshank for Nepal supports the aforementioned map demonstrated a similar pattern. Here the breeding pair is the and adds to the knowledge of its breeding areas on the Indian most likely to have nested in the alpine steppe near the lake, Subcontinent. which comprised abundant grasses, sedges, forbs, and shrubs (Salix sp., and Astragalus sp.). This vegetation cover may prevent Acknowledgements predators from detecting the . The proximity of nesting site We acknowledge the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and and feeding area represents an anti-predator instinct, as long- Department of Forests, Kathmandu and District Forest Office, Humla, Friends of Nature distance movement of chicks, between such two sites, would Nepal, Carol Inskipp, Hem Sagar Baral, Jose Luis Copete and the Rufford Small Grants provide greater opportunities to predatory birds like a Golden for supporting this research. Eagle Aquila chrysaetos, Upland Buzzard Buteo hemilasius, or Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus. The close location of nesting References site to the feeding area also precludes the chicks’ likelihood of Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1987. Compact handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan injury, or separation from its parents, when crossing unfamiliar together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. 2nd ed. Delhi: Oxford University Press.Pp. i–xlii, 1 l., 1–737, 52 ll. BirdLife International. 2016. Tringa totanus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22693211A86687799. Inskipp, C., Baral, H.S., Phuyal, S., Bhatt, T.R., Khatiwada, M., Inskipp, T., Khatiwada, A., Gurung, S., Singh, P.B., Murray, L., Poudyal, L., & Amin, R., 2016. The status of Nepal’s Birds: The National Red List Series. Zoological Society of London. UK. MacKinnon, J., & Phillipps, K., 2000. A field guide to the birds of China. 1st ed. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Pp. i–xiii, 1–586. Walker, A.J., & Chandler, D.F., 1985. Family group movements by breeding Redshanks on South Uist. Wader Study Group Bulletin 45: 29–31.

– Naresh Kusi & Geraldine Werhahn Naresh Kusi, Resources Himalaya Foundation, Lalitpur, Nepal; Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK E-mail: [email protected] Geraldine Werhahn, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK E-mail: [email protected] 33. Common Redshank chick at Tso Lamgyok Lake, Upper Humla, Nepal, on 04 August 2015. Received on 28 September 2017.

Malabar Whistling Thrush Myophonus horsfieldii feeding on a rat snake Ptyas mucosa On 28 July 2017, around 1823 hrs, while photographing at Lakshmi Estate road (10.05°N, 77.03°E), Munnar, Idukki, Kerala, GK spotted a Malabar Whistling Thrush Myophonus horsfieldii (Family: Muscicapidae) jumping and trying to catch something on a stream- side rock that was surrounded by grass. The bird was trying to kill a snake that was longer than it. The snake was later identified by AS, as a juvenile rat snake Ptyas mucosa, based the long tapering tail, dark irregular transverse streaks, and dorsum marked with Kusi fine, somewhat irregular, off-white bands[35] . The snake was aggressively attempting to bite the bird and trying to escape. The Naresh

thrush repeatedly pecked at the snake and jumped upon it several Pics: 34. Common Redshank adult (breeding) in Upper Humla, Nepal, during August 2015. times. Finally, as the snake’s movements ceased, the thrush flew Correspondence 57

– Amit Sayyed, Gokulakrishnan G., Rajgopal Patil & Anil Mahabal Amit Sayyed, Wildlife Protection and Research Society, Satara, Maharashtra, India. E-mail: [email protected]. [AS] Gokulakrishnan G., 17/A2 Kamaraj Nagar, Sirumugai 641302 Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail: [email protected] [GK] Rajgopal Patil, Institute of Natural History, Education & Research (INHER) B1-602, Kumar Parisar, Kothrud, Pune 411038, Maharashtra, India. E-mail: [email protected] Anil Mahabal, Institute of Natural History, Education & Research (INHER), G.

B1-602 Kumar Parisar Kothrud, Pune 411038, Maharashtra, India. E-mail: [email protected] [Corresponding author] Received on 16 November 2017. Gokulakrishnan 35. Malabar Whistling Thrush feeding on rat snake. A colour aberrant Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis in Guwahati, Assam While birding in Khanapara Veterinary College (26.13°N, 91.82°E), to a tree, with the snake in its bill, and started to swallow it. Soon Guwahati, Assam, on 06 October 2017 at 1640 hrs, I observed the bird got disturbed and flew away into the denser areas of the an oddly plumaged Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis foraging with other, forest, continuing to hold the snake in its mouth. white-plumaged Cattle Egrets. The flock was in a grazing area Members of the Muscicapidae feed predominantly on insects meant for the research farm . The overall appearance, and other arthropods, and also a very wide range of other prey and behaviour, of this bird were quite similar to that of its flock. I such as woodlice (Isopoda), snails (Gastropoda), took some pictures of the bird to confirm that the colour on the (Oligochaeta), and some seeds and small fruit, principally bird was not the result of a mishap [36]. I could take just one berries. Instances of muscicapids preying on snakes have been picture of the bird that day. rare. In Africa, the Chat-flycatcherAgricola infuscatus is known to On 22 October 2017, at 0930 hrs, I spotted the bluish Cattle take blind-snakes (Typhlops sp.), and Fraser’s (African) Forest- Egret following a cow. This time it was foraging in an unused flycatcher Fraseria ocreata was once observed to catch a newly piece of land within the campus. I was able to click several hatched small snake (Taylor 2017). photographs and better appreciate the greyish-blue colours of The current observation is an interesting addition to the rare the bird. Its beak, and limbs seemed like those of a normally records of snake-eating among muscicapids. coloured Cattle Egret. It was quite hard to spot the bird due to The Malabar Whistling Thrush varies in length between 240 this disguising colour [37]. mm and 250 mm (Rasmussen & Anderton 2012). Given that the snake was bigger than the bird, this could probably be one of the largest prey items recorded for the Muscicapidae. Ali & Ripley (1998) recorded the food of Malabar Whistling Thrush as chiefly insects, snails, worms, crabs, small frogs, etc., as well as drupes, and wind-fallen figs and berries. Recently, Munnar & Kallettumkara (2017) recorded an instance of a Malabar Whistling Thrush feeding on a shieldtail snake (family Uropeltidae). The present record adds to the food sources in the diet of the bird, and the deftness with which the bird captured the snake indicates that snakes might be a part of its regular diet.

References Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1998. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Robins to wagtails. 2nd (Hardback) ed. Delhi: (Sponsored by Bombay Natural History Society.) Oxford 36. Dark morph Cattle Egret. University Press. Vol. 9 of 10 vols. Pp. i–xviii, 1–310, 10 ll. Collar, N., 2017. Malabar Whistling-thrush (Myophonus horsfieldii). In Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D. A., & de Juana, E., (eds.). https://www.hbw.com/species/malabar-whistling-thrush- myophonus-horsfieldii. Accessed on 14 November 2017. Munnar, K., & Kallettumkara, R., 2017. Website URL: https://ebird.org/ebird/india/view/ checklist/S35365375. [Accessed on 27 November 2017.] Praveen, J., Jayapal, R., & Pittie, A., 2016. A Checklist of the birds of India. Indian Birds Pics:

11(5&6): 113–172. Leons Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2nd

ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. 2 Mathew vols. Pp. 1–387; 1–683.

Taylor, B., 2017. Old World Flycatchers and Chats (Muscicapidae). In: Handbook of the Abraham Birds of the World Alive. del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D. A., & de Juana, E. (eds.). https://www.hbw.com/family/old-world-flycatchers-and-chats- muscicapidae. Accessed on 14 November 2017. 37. Dark morph Cattle Egret. 58 Indian BIRDS Vol. 14 No. 2 (Publ. 28 March 2018)

I ruled out Western Reef Egret Egretta gularis after referring to Grimmett et al. (2011), as it’s dark morph has a whitish throat, and besides, it looks more like a Little Egret E. garzetta. An earlier record exists, of a grey Cattle Egret, from Dona Paula, Goa, India, on 19 November 1995 (Willoughby 2001). Singh (2013) spotted a melanistic bird at Alinganagar village, in Jharkhand. There seem to

be no more cases of colour aberration in this species from India Chakraborty Rajarshi (Mahabal et al. 2016), though these have been noted in other countries (Siegfried 1971; Willoughby 2001; Scheres 2002; Carr 2015). It still has not been established whether a dark morph of Cattle Egret exists, like it does for Little Egret, in spite of the reports of birds, in various shades of grey, from all over the world. 38. Male Falcated Duck X Gadwall hybrid. I retrieved relevant literature from the online ‘Bibliography of South Asian Ornithology’ (Pittie 2017).

Table 1. Reports of hybrid Falcated Duck x Gadwall, from India References Site Date Reference Carr, P., 2015. Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis in the British Indian Ocean Territory: where did Pathshala, Assam April 1917 Robinson (1918) Pinky come from? Birding ASIA 23: 54–55. Harike, Punjab December 2003 Anonymous (2003) Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528. Asan Barrage, Uttarakhand January 2008 Anonymous (2008) Mahabal, A., van Grouw, H., Sharma, R. M., & Thakur, S., 2016. How common is Fulbari, West Bengal January 2009 Tharkuta (2009) albinism really? Colour aberrations in Indian birds reviewed. Dutch Birding 38: Maguri Beel, Assam February 2015 Sengupta (2015) 301–309. Maguri Beel, Assam December 2015 Phukan (2015) Pittie, A., 2017. Bibliography of South Asian Ornithology. URL: http://www. Pobitora, Assam February 2016 Das (2016) southasiaornith.in. [Accessed on 20/10/2017.] Scheres, W., 2002. A partly melanistic Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis. A Rocha Portugal Kaziranga, Assam March 2016 This paper Observatory Report 2002 15. http://www.arocha.org/pt-en/413-DSY/version/ Dighal, Haryana December 2016 Ghosh (2016)* default/part/AttachmentData/data/pt-report-2002.pdf. *Hybrid combination putative Siegfried, W. R., 1971. Plumage and moult of the Cattle Egret. Ostrich 9 (Suppl.): 153–164. Singh, S., 2013. Probable first sighting of dark morph of Eastern Cattle-Egret (sic) Acknowledgements Bubulcus coromandus from Lakhimpur kheri, Uttar Pradesh, India. Journal of the We would like to express our gratitude to Bubul Borah, for providing us transport into Bombay Natural History Society 109 (3): 199 (2012). KNP and helping with the requisite permits, and Dave Appleton, for confirming the Willoughby, P. J., 2001. Melanistic Cattle Egret. British Birds 94: 390–392. identification of the bird.

– Leons Mathew Abraham References M. R. Mallik Arcade, 3rd Floor, Near Flyover, Panjabari Road, Six mile, Khanapara, , Guwahati 781022, Assam, India Anonymous. 2003. Falcated Duck Anas falcata (December 2003 mystery bird). E-mail: [email protected] Delhibird-The Northern India Bird Network. Website URL: http://speciesguide. Received on 26 October 2017. delhibird.net/internal/9/falcated_duck.htm. [Accessed on 22 November 2017.] Anonymous. 2008. Falcated Duck Hybrid (presumed): January 2008 Assan Barrage, northern India. Website URL: http://www.harrisbirds.com/Falcated%20Duck%20 A Falcated Duck Mareca falcata x Gadwall M. strepera Hybrid.htm. [Accessed on 22 November 2017.] hybrid at Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India Das, A. K., 2016. Falcated Duck Anas falcata hybrid. Website URL: http://www. A male hybrid between a Falcated Duck Mareca falcata and orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_ID=216&Bird_Image_ID=115716. Gadwall M. strepera was spotted at 1647 hours, on 25 March [Accessed on 9 January 2018.] 2016 in Kaziranga National Park (henceforth, KNP), Assam, eBird. 2018a. Maps: Gadwall (Marcera strepera). Website URL: http://ebird.org/ebird/ india/map/gadwal. [Accessed on 15 January 2018.] India. The bird was spotted [38] in an open wetland (26.61°N, eBird. 2018b. Maps: Falcated Duck (Marcera falcata). Website URL: http://ebird.org/ 93.34°E) belonging to the central range (Kohora) of KNP. At the ebird/india/map/falduc. [Accessed on 15 January 2018.] time of observation, the bird was feeding in a shallow portion Ghosh, S., 2016. Falcated Duck x Gadwall Anas falcata x Anas strepera—Hybrid. of the wetland, near a mud bank amongst a group of Gadwalls, Website URL: http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_ID=216&Bird_ Eurasian Wigeons M. penelope, and a few Indian Spot-billed Image_ID=130675 [Accessed on 9 January 2018.] Ducks Anas poecilorhyncha. Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 1998. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 1st ed. Both, Falcated Ducks, and Gadwalls are winter migrants to the London: Christopher Helm, A & C Black. Pp. 1–888. north-eastern Indian Subcontinent (Grimmett et al. 2011; eBird Johnson, K. P., & Sorenson, M. D., 1999. Phylogeny and biography of dabbling ducks (genus: Anas): A comparison of molecular and morphological evidence. The Auk 2018a; eBird 2018b) including KNP, where we have recorded 116 (3): 792–805. them in previous seasons. Falcated Duck x Gadwall is one of Phukan, P. J., 2015. Falcated Duck x Gadwall Anas falcata x Anas strepera—Male. the most common waterfowl hybrids found in the wild because Website URL: http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_ID=216&Bird_ they are sister species (Johnson & Sorenson 1999). There are Image_ID=113352 [Accessed on 9 January 2018.] a number of instances, since 1918, wherein Falcated Duck x Robinson, H. C., 1918. On two abnormal specimens of ducks in the collection of the Gadwall hybrids, or presumed hybrids, have been reported from Zoological Survey of India. Records of the Indian Museum 15: 47–48. the country, indicating that they are regular in our region too Sengupta, S., 2015. Falcated Duck x Gadwall Anas falcata x Anas strepera—1st winter (Table 1). male. Website URL: http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_ ID=216&Bird_Image_ID=102946 [Accessed on 9 January 2018.] Tharkuta, A., 2009. Falcated Duck x Gadwall Anas falcata x Anas strepera—Male. Correspondence 59

Website URL: http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/search.php?Bird_ID=216&Bird_ Image_ID=113351 [Accessed on 9 January 2018.]

– Oishik Roy, Tushar Mouli Chakraborti & Rajarshi Chakraborty Oishik Roy, 39/40 Dumdum park, Park Tower, Flat No. 3, Kolkata 700055, West Bengal, India E-mail: [email protected]

Tushar Mouli Chakraborti, Department of Geology, Presidency University, 86/1 College Street, Kolkata 700073, West Bengal, India E-mail: [email protected] [Corresponding author] Rajarshi Chakraborty, WWF-India Western Arunachal Landscape Programme, Tezpur, Assam 784001, India. E-mail: [email protected] Received on 23 November 2017.

Spot-bellied Eagle-Owl Bubo nipalensis feeding on Indian Flying Fox Pteropus giganteus 40. Spot-bellied Eagle Owl feeding on an Indian flying fox. The Spot-bellied Eagle-Owl Bubo nipalensis is a resident species in Uttarakhand (Rasmussen & Anderton 2012), and occurs in the lower Himalayas upto c. 2100 m asl (Ali & Ripley 1981). a dead Indian flying fox Pteropus giganteus in its talons, and MS has recorded its presence throughout the year in Corbett was feeding on it. The owl was identified as Spot-bellied Eagle Tiger Reserve (MS pers. obsv.). Its habitat has been described Owl, based on such features as: large size, large black-and-white as ‘dense evergreen and moist deciduous forest, usually near horizontal ear-tufts, large yellow beak, fully feathered tarsii, and water, montane wet temperate forest and riparian gallery forest’, prominent spotting on the underparts. and that it ‘hunts also in scrub, bamboo jungle, thin deciduous As per del Hoyo et al. (1999), bats are incidental prey items forest, sometimes edges of clearings’ (del Hoyo et al. 1999). for many owls but, except for one species, owls do not specialise The species is ‘largely nocturnal, spending the day dozing on in preying upon bats. We could not locate any previous records of a densely foliaged bough in the forest, but sometimes on the the Spot-bellied Eagle Owl feeding on bats, and hence this note. move and even hunting during daytime’ (König et al. 1999). It has been recorded taking fair-sized mammals, birds, and reptiles (Resmussen & Anderton 2012). A formidable hunter, it is Acknowledgements recorded taking Kalij Pheasant Lophura leucomelanos, and Red MN wants to thank Naveen Chandra Singh for informing him about the owl, and MS Junglefowl Gallus gallus from their night-time roosts (del Hoyo wants to thank Rakesh Bhatt for bringing the record to his knowledge. To retrieve relevant et al. 1999). Kannan (1995) recorded it preying on the Indian literature we searched the online ‘Bibliography of South Asian Ornithology’ (Pittie 2017). giant squirrel Ratufa indica, and Nandini (2005) found it feeding on an Indian chevrotain Moschiola indica. Its diet is described References consisting of game birds including pheasants, jackals, hare, fawn Ali, S., Ripley, S. D., 1981. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with of barking deer, lizards, snakes and fish (Ali & Ripley 1981). those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Ceylon. Stone Curlews to Owls. 2nd Garjia Village (29.47°N, 79.15°E; 437m asl) is located on (Hardback) ed. Vol 3 of 10 vols. Delhi (Sponsored by Bombay Natural History the banks of River Kosi, on the eastern boundary of Corbett Society.): Oxford University Press. Pp. i–xvi, 1–327. Tiger Reserve (Uttarakhand, India). The village is surrounded by del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Sargatal, J., (eds.) 1999. Handbook of the birds of the world. mature moist, mixed, and semi-deciduous forests, dominated by Volume 5. Barn-owls to Hummingbirds. 1st ed. Vol. 5 of 17 vols. Barcelona: Lynx sal Shoria robusta on its western side, and a narrow stretch of Edicions. Pp. 1–759. river valley on its eastern, with similar mature forest habitat on Kannan, R. 1995. Forest Eagle Owl (Bubo nipalensis Hodgson) - a predator of the the opposite bank of the river. On 12 January 2018 at c. 1720 Indian Giant Squirrel (Ratufa indica). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 91: (3) 454. hrs, Naveen Chardra Singh (verbal comm.) informed MN about König, C., Weick, F., & Becking, J-H., 1999. Owls. A guide to the owls of the world. a large owl being seen in a tree by the side of the road at Garjia. Robertsbridge, UK; New Haven: Pica Press; Yale University Press. Pp. 1–462. MN photographed the owl at c. 1730 hrs [39, 40]. It was holding Nandini, R. 2005. Predation by Forest Eagle-Owl Bubo nipalensis on Mouse Deer Moschiola meminna. Indian Birds 1: (5) 119–120. Pittie, A.,2018. Bibliography of South Asian Ornithology. URL: http://www. southasiaornith.in. [Accessed on 15 January 2018.] Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2nd ed. 2 vols. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. Pp. 1–378; 1–683. – Manoj Sharma [MS] & Mohd. Nafees [MN] Manoj Sharma, Village Shankarpur, Ramnagar 244715, District Nainital, Uttarakhand, India. E-mail: [email protected] Mohd. Nafees, Village & P O Dhikuli, Ramnagar 244715, District Nainital, Uttarakhand, India. E-mail: [email protected] Received on 21 January 2018. Nafees

Mohd.

Pics: 39. Spot-bellied Eagle Owl feeding on an Indian flying fox. 60 Indian BIRDS Vol. 14 No. 2 (Publ. 28 March 2018)

Roosting behaviour of Black Kites Milvus migrans on behaviour of Pariah Kite Milvus migrans govinda in Pune (Maharashtra). Journal high-tension electrical cables of the Bombay Natural History Society 82 (2): 337–346. Mazumdar, S., Ghose, D., & Saha, G. K., 2017. Communal roosting behaviour of the Pallikaranai (12.56ºN, 80.13ºE) is a large wetland in Chennai black kite (Milvus migrans govinda) in an urban metropolis. Journal of Ethology with high-tension electric cables running over the water. On 35: 269–277. Website URL: http://sci-hub.tw/10.1007/s10164-017-0516-x. these high-tension cables (not the pylons), around 50 Black Kites Milvus migrans were observed roosting [41] along with – Sanjiv Choudhary & S. S. Mahesh 250+ Spot-billed Pelicans Pelecanus philippensis, and 40 Little Sanjiv Choudhary, Instructor on flight safety at Indian Air Force, Tambaram Station Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Cormorants Microcarbo niger. The observations were made from E-mail: [email protected] 29 July 2017 to 29 August 2017. SS Mahesh, Founder of Ornithology Cell of Indian Air Force Air HQ, New Delhi Currently CEO of Grus Ecosciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India Researcher on bioacoustics of birds and animals. E-mail: [email protected]

Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri hang-roosting The Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri is a communally roosting species (Ali & Ripley 2001); except during its breeding season. It is also the most widespread species among the psittacines (Forshaw 2010). There are several studies on the roosting requirements, and behaviour of Rose-ringed Parakeets (Gadgil & Ali 1976; Mabb 1997; Khan & Beg 1998; Zeeshan et al. 2016), but none of them refers to its nocturnal sleeping behaviour, neither do Ali (1984), Ali & Ripley (2001), Rasmussen & Anderton (2012), or Neelakantan (2017). Though the aptonymous Vernal Hanging Parrot Loriculus vernalis hangs upside-down while roosting, Collar (1997) mentions at least six other psittacids that do this, or at least rest in this posture. It is commonly accepted that this behaviour trait allows the birds to escape quickly from nocturnal predators (Collar 1997). We observed Rose-ringed Parakeets hanging while roosting Sanjiv Choudhary at a site in , (Kerala, India). Since a 41. Black Kites roosting on high-tension cables at Pallikaranai Wetland, note the bottom most few years, the various tree species in that area, such as Thespesia cable. populnea, Tectona grandis, and Mangifera indica are being used as communal roosts by House Crow Corvus splendens, Common Myna Acridotheres tristis, Jungle Myna A. fuscus, and Rose-ringed In addition to the above, 150 kites also roosted on the pylons. Parakeets, which latter roost exclusively on the coconut Cocos The first batch of kites arrived to the roost on the metal frames of nucifera and areca Areca catechu palms. At dusk, when they pylons one hour before sunset (1820–1825 hrs). There seemed moved to the ventral surface of the palms’ fronds, we thought it to be no order of preference that the kites, about first roosting on was a kind of ‘playing behaviour’ before they settled for the night. pylons, or cables. We noted that kites began roosting on cables At night, however, we saw, with the aid of an electric torch that even when there was ample space available on pylons. Kites the parakeets were hanging on the ventral side of the fronds [42, were still roosting on cables when the site was revisited at 2130– 43]. We first observed this behaviour in the summer of 2016, and 2200 hrs on several occassions. Kites always roosted on the lengths of cables running over land (i.e., garbage dump), but never on those over water. The cables were c. 20–25 m above the garbage dump. Kites continued to roost on cables and pylons till ten to twelve minutes before sunrise, with a majority leaving the roost at this time. The birds dispersed in three big batches: the first batch left the roost 20 min before sunrise. Similarly, at Sholinganallur Lake (12.89ºN, 80.23ºE), which is about 10 km southwards, c. 40 Spot-billed Pelicans were

observed roosting on high-tension cables, during the same Pics:

observation period though there were no Black Kites there. There S.

appear to be no previous reports of Black Kites roosting on high- Prasanth tension cables, though roosts on pylons have been recorded

(Mahabal & Bastawade 1985; Mazumdar et al. 2017). Narayanan

References Mahabal, A., & Bastawade, D. B., 1985. Population ecology and communal roosting 42. Rose-ringed Parakeets hang-roosting on ventral side of palm fronds. Correspondence 61

– S. Prasanth Narayanan [SPN], A. P. Thomas & B. Sreekumar S. Prasanth Narayanan, Advanced Centre of Environmental Studies and Sustainable Studies (ACESSD), School of Environmental Sciences Mahatma Gandhi University, Priyadarsini Hills, Kottayam 686560, Kerala, India E-mail: [email protected] A. P. Thomas, Advanced Centre of Environmental Studies and Sustainable Studies (ACESSD), School of Environmental Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University, Priyadarsini Hills, Kottayam 686560, Kerala, India B. Sreekumar, Kottayam Nature Society, Sree Nilayam, Near Union Club, Kottayam, Kerala, India.

The Red-throated Pipit Anthus cervinus on Great Nicobar Island, India On 25 November 2015, while on our way to the southernmost point in Indian territory, Indira Point (6.75°N, 93.82°E), Great Nicobar Island, we stopped briefly at Gandhi Nagar, off Gelathia 43. Rose-ringed Parakeets hang-roosting on pinnate-leaved palm fronds. Road, as the damp open habitat with short grass, along the sea, looked promising for birding. We flushed two birds while walking, which, after a short erratic flight, dropped to the ground and through the months of the south-western monsoon. Despite the resumed foraging. Loathe to disturbing them again, we watched presence of several tree species in the area, parakeets roosted them from a safe distance and immediately recognised them only in the pinnate-leaved palms [43] hang-roosting under their as pipits Anthus sp. The birds were alert and proved very shy leaves at night. whenever we ventured closer, flushing several times, uttering a When we posted photographs taken by SPN, on the Facebook loud pssssssii call—but fortunately they did not leave the area, Group, ‘Birdwatchers of Kerala’, (https://www.facebook.com/ thus allowing prolonged views. We identified them as Red- photo.php?fbid=1728408393841913&set=gm.11629880804 throated Pipits Anthus cervinus. Though they are on the India 77209&type=3&theater), Mr. Md. Mothi responded, confirming Checklist, they are scarce here, and so we decided to photograph that he too had noticed parakeets displaying similar behaviour in them [44, 45]. Chennai, Tamil Nadu (Mothi, in litt., 13 May 2017). At Ramankary, most tree species have an understory, which the roosting-site palms did not. We believe this to be an anti-predatory safety measure adopted by the birds, as mentioned by Collar (1997), which could also help them escape from the strong monsoon winds, and torrential rain.

References Ali, S., 1984. Birds of Kerala. Reprint of 2nd ed. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. Pp. i–xxiii, 1–444. Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 2001. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Ceylon [sic]. 2nd ed. Delhi: (Sponsored by Bombay Natural History Society.) Oxford University Press [Oxford India Paperbacks.].Vol. 3 of 10 vols. Pp. 2 pr. ll., pp. i–xvii, 1–327, 1 l., 2 ll. Collar, N. J., 1997. Family Psittacidae (Parrots). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Sargatal, J., (eds.). Handbook of the birds of the world. sandgrouse to cuckoos. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. Vol. 4: Pp. 280–477. Forshaw, J. M., 2010. Parrots of the world.1st ed. London: Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–328. Gadgil, M., & Ali, S., 1976. Communal roosting habits of Indian birds. Journal of the 44. Red-throated Pipit on Great Nicobar Island. Bombay Natural History Society 72 (3): 716–727 (1975). Khan, H. A., & Beg, M. A., 1998. Roost and roosting habits of rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri) in central Punjab (Pakistan). Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences 1 (1): 37–38. Mabb, K. T., 1997. Roosting behavior of naturalized parrots in the San Gabriel Valley, California. Western Birds 28: 202–208. Neelakantan, K. K., (Induchudan). 2017. Keralathile Pakshikal. Trichur: Kerala Sahitya Academy. Pp. i–xiii, 1–638 [5th ed. [In Malayalam.] Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide: attributes and status. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. Vol. 2 of 2 vols. Pp. 1–683. Zeeshan, A., Khan, H. A., Javed, M., & Farooq, M. J., 2016. Roosting requirements and habits of rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri: Borealis) in a canal-irrigated Pics:

plantation in central Punjab, Pakistan. Journal of Entomology and Zoology Sudhir Studies 4 (6): 663–667.

Garg

45. Red-throated Pipit on Great Nicobar Island. 62 Indian BIRDS Vol. 14 No. 2 (Publ. 28 March 2018)

This monotypic pipit, with its colour changes, breeds in the References Tundra. It enjoys one of the most northerly ranges of all Abdulali, H., 1965. The birds of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Journal of the birds and undertakes one of the longest journeys made by an Bombay Natural History Society 61 (3): 483–571 (1964). Anthus pipit (Simms 1992), wintering predominantly in Africa Abdulali, H., 1967. The birds of the Nicobar Islands, with notes on some Andaman (south of the Sahara), and South-east Asia (Tyler 2004). birds. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 64 (2): 139–190. The identification of pipits can be difficult, especially outside Abdulali, H., 1979. The birds of Great and Car Nicobars with some notes on wildlife their breeding season. The following description is based on brief conservation in the Islands. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 75 field notes and photographs: (3): 744–772 (1978). Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1998. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Robins to wagtails. 2nd Description: Both birds had rather uniform olive-tinged, grey- (Hardback) ed. Delhi: (Sponsored by Bombay Natural History Society.) Oxford brown and white streaked plumage. The distinct black streaks University Press. Vol. 9 of 10 vols. Pp. i–xviii, 1–310, 10 ll. were broad on the back and flanks and narrow on the crown, Alström, P., & Mild, K., 2003. Pipits & Wagtails of Europe, Asia and North America. nape, rump, and upper tail coverts. While the breast was overall Identification and systematics. 1st ed. London: Christopher Helm (Publishers) white with heavy uniformly dark streaks, the flanks had thick Ltd. Pp. 1–496. longitudinal stripes. The belly and undertail coverts were un- Cramp, S., (ed.), 1988. The birds of the Western Palearctic, 5. Oxford: Oxford streaked. Prominent white stripes on mantle were conspicuous. University Press. Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 1998. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 1st ed. There were two white wing bars, the upper one, on the median London: Christopher Helm, A & C Black. Pp. 1–888. wing coverts, being broader and more conspicuous. The legs Hume, A. O., 1874. Contributions to the ornithology of India. The Islands of the Bay of were the colour of pale flesh. Bengal. Stray Feathers 2 (1,2&3): 29–324. The crown had fine dark longitudinal streaking extending Kazmierczak, K., 2000. A field guide to the birds of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, to the nape and hind neck; short thin bill; a prominent buffish- Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. 1st ed. New Delhi: Om Book Service. Pp. white supercilium starting at base of bill and reaching far beyond 1–352. eye towards nape; dark brown ear-coverts; very prominent sub- Pittie, A., 2017. Bibliography of South Asian Ornithology. URL: http://www. moustachial stripe, dark malar stripe, and strong black patch southasiaornith.in. [Accessed on 15/10/2017] Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2nd (wedge shaped) on lower throat, all created a rather characteristic ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. 2 pattern. vols. Pp. 1–378; 1–683. In general, adult Red-throated Pipits show rufous on the Ripley, S. D., 1982. A synopsis of the birds of India and Pakistan together with those supercilium, throat, and breast, although a small number of adult of Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. 2nd ed. Bombay; Oxford: females may lack any trace of rufous and thus appear similar to Bombay Natural History Society; Oxford University Press. Pp. i–xxvi, 1–653. first-winter birds (Alström & Mild 2003). The fresh plumage, lack Simms, E., 1992. British Larks, Pipits and Wagtails. Harper Collins, London. of any rufous on the head, the distinct malar stripe, strong wedge Tikader, B. K., 1984. Birds of Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Calcutta: Zoological Survey shape on lower throat, white stripes along mantle indicate that of India. Pp. i–xxiii, 1–167. Tyler, S. J., 2004. Family (Pipits and wagtails). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., the Great Nicobar birds were first-winters. & Christie, D., (eds.). Handbook of the birds of the world. Cotingas to pipits and wagtails. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. Vol. 9: Pp. 686–786. Behaviour: The habitat was typical for Red-throated Pipits, which preferentially forage in areas of short turf browsed by ungulates – Harkirat Singh Sangha & Sudhir Garg where, as here, they often form mixed assemblages with Yellow Harkirat Singh Sangha, B-27, Gautam Marg, Hanuman Nagar Wagtails (Cramp 1988; Alström & Mild 2003; Jaipur 302021, Rajasthan, India M. flava pers. E-mail: [email protected] obs.). The birds typically foraged singly, presumably to avoid Sudhir Garg, Vidhyadhar Nagar, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India competition with both conspecifics and allospecifics. E-mail: [email protected] Received on 17 November 2017. The Red-throated Pipit is a scarce passage/winter migrant to the Indian Subcontinent (Ali & Ripley 1998; Kazmierczak 2000). Red-naped Shaheen Falco peregrinus babylonicus According to Rasmussen & Anderton (2012) it is a passage from Belgaum, Karnataka migrant in north-eastern Afghanistan, the Indus Valley (Pakistan), While birding in the morning of 06 December 2017, at Belgaum and occasionally through the Himalayas and North-eastern India; (15.81ºN, 74.53ºE; 662 m asl), we noticed a falcon perched it winters in the Maldives, the Andaman Islands, and possibly on the branch of a tree and feeding on some prey it held in its the Nicobar Islands (old sight report from Camorta). While talons. When we got a better view, we were surprised to see Kazmierczak (2000), Grimmett et al. (2011), and Ripley (1982) that it was a Red-naped Shaheen Falco peregrinus babylonicus have assumed its presence on the Nicobar group of islands, feeding on a Black-headed Bunting Emberiza melanocephala probably based on Hume (1874), Tikader’s (1984) statement [46]. A few crows were harassing the bird, and ultimately, it flew that ‘in the Bay Islands it is common but restricted to marshy away with its prey. While flying off it uttered akee-kee-keee call. grounds’ is of very general nature. We wonder if this statement of We compared the images of the falcon to the illustrations in Tikader is justified, for Hume (1874) quotes Davison’s remarks Rasmussen & Anderton (2012), and in Bhatt & Ganpule (2017), that it ‘occurs both at the Andamans and Nicobars, frequenting confirming our identification. The photos clearly show the rufous similar situations. At the Nicobars I observed it only on Camorta nape, and the rufous wash on cheeks and underparts—diagnostic Island.’ During his visits to the Nicobar Islands, Abdulali (1965, of this race. We also discussed the identification with Nirav 1967, 1979) did not report the species although he reiterated Bhatt, Prasad Ganpule, and J. Pranay Rao; all concurred with our that Hume recorded it from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands identification. and, ‘in the latter it had only been recorded from Camotra.’ Thus, the Great Nicobar Island birds probably constitute the first confirmed photographic record from the Nicobar Islands. Correspondence 63

The Red-naped Shaheen is known to winter in the western and north-western parts of India. There are hardly any published records of the bird from southern India. Bhatt & Ganpule (2017) include two photographs by J. Pranay Rao, taken in Hyderabad in 2010, which appears to be the only published record. It is not listed in Praveen et al. (2017) and hence, our record must be an addition. The bird is known to winter in desert and semi-desert parts of India, and its occurrence in a totally different habitat, in Niranjan Sant Belgaum, probably indicates that it’s a vagrant.

46. Red-naped Shaheen feeding on a Black-headed Bunting, in Belgaum. 64 Indian BIRDS Vol. 14 No. 2 (Publ. 28 March 2018)

References ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. 2 vols. Pp. 1–378; 1–683. Bhatt, N., & Ganpule, P., 2017. The identification of the Red-naped Shaheen Falco peregrinus babylonicus, its separation from F. p. calidus, in the field, and its status – Niranjan Sant & Vidhyadhar Shelke and distribution in north-western India. Indian BIRDS 13 (4): 85–92. Niranjan Sant, 27, Adarsh nagar, Vadgaon, Belgaum 590005, Karnataka, India Praveen J., Subramanya, S., & Raj, V. M., 2016. A checklist of the birds of Karnataka. E-mail: [email protected] Indian BIRDS 12 (4&5): 89–118. Vidhyadhar Shelke, Shelke Medicals, Bazaar Galli, Vadgaon, Belgaum 590005, Karnataka, India. Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2nd Received on 07 December 2017.

Letters to the Editors

The European GreenfinchChloris chloris from Ladakh On looking at these photos again I agree that this isn’t a European is a Common RosefinchCarpodacus erythrinus Greenfinch and that it more closely fits a female Common Rosefinch in post-breeding moult—contrary to the opinion I Bharadwaj (2017) reported, with images, the first record of provided earlier, and which was quoted in Bharadwaj (2017). On European GreenfinchChloris chloris from the Indian Subcontinent. more considered reflection the bill is a fairly obvious indicator We analysed the published pictures, as well as the picture set that this isn’t a Greenfinch’s bill from any part of its range and the hosted in Oriental Bird Images, and the bird in question does moult pattern and forked tail also are not right. not seem to be a European Greenfinch, but instead a Common In mitigation, I think I was persuaded by the green edges to RosefinchCarpodacus erythrinus. Here we list the arguments on the primaries and the base of the tail which are (or appear) to why this is not a European Greenfinch. be very bright for a rosefinch and unlike the majority of female Bill: In European Greenfinch, the bill is rather long and or first-winter Common Rosefinches but there are several photos conical, with straight edges and longer culmen. However, in on OBI of birds in fresh plumage that get close to this colour this bird, the bill is rather short and bulging, showing curved though none of the field guides or handbooks mention this, nor edges to both upper and lower mandible and is less conical admittedly does Clement et al. (2011), and may well be worth in shape. The bill colour of a European Greenfinch should further investigation. In addition, the head and nape appear to be also be paler than in this bird. In shape, size and colour, the grey and not at all streaky, it has a small dark eye and in one photo bill of this bird matches that of a Common Rosefinch. the lores appear to be dark, all features more closely associated Moult: The pattern of the feather wear, very evident with with European Greenfinch. In other photos of the Ladakh bird heavy worn coverts and tertials, is a strong indication of a the face and mantle appear to be tinged dark green or olive Common Rosefinch, which moults in winter quarters. The green also a colour found in female Greenfinch compared to the European Greenfinch invariably moults on the breeding brown or olive-brown in Common Rosefinches but this could be grounds after the breeding season, usually showing a more apparent than real and a colour distortion of the camera. complete moult in adults and a partial moult in first year Finally, the photo of the bird in profile—the only one which shows birds. The greater and median coverts, as well as the tertials, the underparts well—shows no, or at least very little, streaking of the Ladakh bird are very worn, and are not moulted for that is at all obvious thus giving the impression of rather plain at least six months, which would be highly unlikely in a underparts but this again could be a distortion. European Greenfinch; in September, a European Greenfinch In summary, I agree with the conclusion that this record is invariably in fresh plumage. should be withdrawn, despite the oddities in plumage. Plumage patterns: There is a hint of worn wing-bars, the remains of what were more marked bars when the feathers Reference were fresh, on the greater as well as on the median coverts. This is a diagnostic character of Common Rosefinch when Clement, P., Harris, A., & Davis, J., 1999. Finches & sparrows. 2nd ed. London; Princeton: Christopher Helm; Princeton University Press. Pp. 1–500. compared with a European Greenfinch, which lacks these wing-bars. Similarly, the worn tertials show clear remnants – Peter Clement of pale edges, diagnostic of Common Rosefinch, and again Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, PE13 1RL, UK absent in European Greenfinch. As the only claim of European Greenfinch from the Indian Editorial comment: The European GreenfinchChloris chloris subcontinent it has to be withdrawn; we propose that the species has now been removed from the India Checklist. should be dropped from the checklist for India and the Indian subcontinent.

Reference Bharadwaj, A. K., 2017. European Greenfinch Chloris chloris in Ladakh: An addition to the avifauna of the Indian Subcontinent. Indian BIRDS. 13: (6) 162–163.

– Magnus Hellström & José Luis Copete Magnus Hellström, Ottenby Bird Observatory, Ottenby 401, S-386 64 Degerhamn, Sweden E-mail: [email protected] José Luis Copete, Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive, Lynx Edicions, Montseny 8, E-08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain. E-mail: [email protected] Snapshot sightings 64A

Maharashtra we saw a Snapshot sightings Sandpiper with upturned bill and the orange-yellow legs which was readily identified Whimbrel at Najafgarh Drain, Haryana as a Terek Sandpiper Xenus Mohit Mehta & Piyush Dogra cinereus. The bird was seen

later on 8 and 14 October Ingale Onkar On 14 October 2017, a and probably was a bird on its lone Whimbrel Numenius 49 migration towards southern phaeopus was photographed India. This is probably the by us from Najafgarh drain second report from interior Maharashtra away from the western (28.50°N, 76.96°E). There coasts (Suryawanshi 2015). Considered mainly migrating along are no historical records the coasts (Ali & Ripley 1987), there is just one other report of this species from Delhi (Robson et al. 2016) from central India. NCR region (Harvey et al. 2006) and just one recent Ajinkya Supekar, 2, Pranav Residency, Rasanenagar, Savedi, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, India, 414003. Email: [email protected] photograph by Deepak Mani Onkar Ingale, 127/4A, Datarange mala, Nalegaon, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, Tripathi made last year from India. 414001 Email: [email protected] the same general area (Anand 47 2016). Perhaps this species Red-tailed Wheatear from Singalila, West Bengal is a rare autumn passage migrant through the wetlands of Delhi. Biresh Basak

Mohit Mehta, H.No 95, Ist Floor, Sector 17-A, Defence Colony Gurgaon 122001 On the 14 October 2017 Email: [email protected] early morning, while nearing Piyush Dogra H.No 1134, 2nd Floor Sector 17B, Gurgaon 122001. Email: [email protected] Tumling SSB Camp, Singalila National Park (27.12°N 88.07°E) in Darjeeling Indian Skimmer from Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu district, West Bengal, I saw and photographed a Red- Anoop R & Ramesh Iyer tailed Wheatear Oenanthe chrysopygia. This appears to be the first report of this 50 species from West Bengal (Ali & Ripley 1987, Grimmett et al. 2011, Rasmussen & Anderton 2012, eBird 2018) and the sighting in October probably indicate the bird was on passage.

Topamari, P.O- Vivekananda pally, P.S- Kotwali, Dist- Jalpaiguri – 735121, West Bengal, India Email: [email protected] 48 References On 28 October 2017 at 1026hrs, two Indian Skimmers Rynchops Ali, S. & Ripley, S. D. 1987. Compact handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan albicollis were noted on flight above the waters of salt lake plot together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. i–xlii, 1 l., 1 at Puthalam (8.17°N, 77.77°E), of Kanyakumari district, Tamil 1–737, 52 ll.. Oxford University Press. Karachi Nadu. They were in close contact with flocks of Caspian Terns Anand. M. 2016. Website URL: https://ebird.org/india/view/checklist/S31639938 Hydroprogne caspia, Gull-billed Terns Gelochelidon nilotica and Accessed on 10 March 2018. Greater Crested Terns Thalasseus bergii and were actively flying eBird. 2018. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web along with Caspian Terns. This seems to be the third report of application]. eBird, Ithaca, New York. Available: http://www.ebird.org. Accessed on 10 March 2018. this species from Tamil Nadu in recent years (Nagarajan 2009, Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T. 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. Helm Sundaram 2015) and the southern-most from the country (eBird Field Guides. 1–528. Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. London 2018, Grimmett et al. 2011). Harvey, B., Devasar, N. & Grewal, B. 2006. Atlas of the birds of Delhi and Haryana. 1–352. Rupa & Co. New Delhi. Anoop R, TNHS, Uthradam, TC 48/1082-1, House no:23, Vikas Nagar, Ambalathara, Nagarajan. V. M. 2009. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S20959514 Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala (695026). Email: [email protected] Ramesh Iyer, TNHS, 4A, Pearl Haven Muthoot Apts, Vazhuthacaud, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Accessed on 10 March 2018 (695014). Email: [email protected] Rasmussen, P. C. & Anderton, J. 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide: attributes and status. 2: 1–683. Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions.. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona Terek Sandpiper from Ahmednagar, Maharasthra Robson, C., Roddis, S., & Loseby, T. 2016. From the field: India. BirdingASIA. 26: 140–141 Ajinkya Supekar & Onkar Ingale Sundaram, A. 2015. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S26408305 Accessed on 10 March 2018 On 03 October 2017, at a site (19.21ºN, 74.76ºE) between the Suryawanshi, K. 2015. Website URL: https://ebird.org/india/view/checklist/S24814209 Pimpalgaon Lake and Pimpalgaon Malvi village, Ahmednagar, Accessed on 10 March 2018 For

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