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Correspondence Seen on 31 January 2020, During the Annual Bird Census of Pong Lake (Ranganathan 2020), and Eight on 16 February 2020 (Sharma 2020)

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Correspondence Seen on 31 January 2020, During the Annual Bird Census of Pong Lake (Ranganathan 2020), and Eight on 16 February 2020 (Sharma 2020) 150 Indian BIRDS VOL. 16 NO. 5 (PUBL. 26 NOVEMBER 2020) photographs [142]. At the same place, 15 Sind Sparrows were Correspondence seen on 31 January 2020, during the Annual Bird Census of Pong Lake (Ranganathan 2020), and eight on 16 February 2020 (Sharma 2020). About one and a half kilometers from this place (31.97°N, 75.89°E), I recorded two males and one female Sind The status of the Sind Sparrow Passer pyrrhonotus, Sparrow, feeding on a village road, on 09 March 2020. When Spanish Sparrow P. hispaniolensis, and Eurasian Tree disturbed they took cover in nearby Lantana sp., scrub [143]. Sparrow P. montanus in Himachal Pradesh On 08 August 2020, Piyush Dogra and I were birding on the Five species of Passer sparrows are found in the Indian opposite side of Shah Nehar Barrage Lake (31.94°N, 75.91°E). Subcontinent. These are House Sparrow Passer domesticus, We saw and photographed three Sind Sparrows, sitting on a wire, Spanish Sparrow P. hispaniolensis, Sind Sparrow P. pyrrhonotus, near the reeds. Russet Sparrow P. cinnamomeus, and Eurasian Tree Sparrow P. montanus (Praveen et al. 2020). All of these, except the Sind Sparrow, have been reported from Himachal Pradesh (Anonymous 1869; Grimmett et al. 2011). The Russet Sparrow and the House Sparrow are common residents (den Besten 2004; Dhadwal 2019). In this note, I describe my records of the Sind Sparrow (first for the state) and Spanish Sparrows from Himachal Pradesh. I also compile other records of these three species from Himachal Pradesh. Sind Sparrow Passer pyrrhonotus On 05 February 2017, I visited Sthana village, near Shah Nehar Barrage, Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh, which lies close to C. Abhinav the border with Punjab (31.96°N, 75.90°E; c.325 m asl). At the periphery of the Shan Nehar Barrage Lake, there are many small waterbodies with an ample growth of Typha sp., Ipomea sp., 143. Sind Sparrow on 09 March 2020 at Sthana. and Saccharum munja surrounding them. Through binoculars I spotted a flock of three sparrows and observed them. There were Shah et al. (2016) erroneously mentioned Sind Sparrow two males with bright chestnut in the sides of their heads and a to be common in Chamba District, supported by a photograph small black bib on the neck. They were smaller than the House of a female sparrow. But this photograph is probably a female Sparrow. Having seen the species at Harike, Punjab, and Dighal, House Sparrow. Moreover, their study area was high altitude Haryana, I identified them as Sind Sparrows. Before I could take Kalatop-Khajjiar Wildlife Sanctuary and the surrounding regions in any photograph they were disturbed by other people and they Chamba District, with coniferous forest. The Sind Sparrow prefers flew away. scrub and low riverine woodland, along large rivers, irrigation On 23 December 2019, I went to the same location at systems, and other wetlands (Rasmussen & Anderton 2012), Sthana with Dipu Karuthedathu, Vijay Ramachandran, and Atanu and is unlikely to be present in the habitat mentioned by Shah Mondal. While we were walking on the road, which runs along et al. (2016). Many other species have been misidentified in the periphery of the lake, Dipu and Vijay saw six Sind Sparrows, this note: e.g., the photographs of Scaly Thrush Zoothera dauma, including four males, c.500 m from the 2017 site. The birds were Brooks’s Leaf Warbler Abrornis subviridis, Sulphur-bellied Warbler feeding on Saccharum munja seeds. They were observed for (Olivaceous Leaf-Warbler) Phylloscopus griseolus, Fire-tailed 20 min, after which they flew. This time I managed to click a few Sunbird Aethopyga ignicauda, Common Rosefinch (Scarlet Rosefinch) Carpodacus erythrinus, and Tree Pipit (Oriental Tree Pipit) Anthus trivialis are not of those species. Hence, it is highly possible that Shah et al. (2016) misidentified this bird too. There has been no other confirmed record of a Sind Sparrow from Himachal Pradesh (den Besten 2004; Dhadwal 2011). Thus, the 05 February 2017 record is the first sight record, and the record on 23 December 2019 is the first photographic record of the Sind Sparrow from the state. Since the Sind Sparrow is a sedentary species (Summers-Smith 2020), and there has been one summer record of this species, it is perhaps resident in the region. The Sind Sparrow is a restricted range species and is endemic to the Indus Plains (Praveen et al. 2020; Summers-Smith 2020). It is a resident in Pakistan throughout the Indus Valley, and western India from Punjab to Delhi (Rasmussen & Anderton C. Abhinav 2012). The eastward expansion of this species in northern India 142. Sind Sparrow on 23 December 2019 at Sthana. is relatively recent (Harvey & Sharma 2002; Summers-Smith Correspondence 151 2020). Harvey & Sharma (2002) reported its first sightings and nesting in Delhi and Haryana, around two decades ago. The birds then spread rapidly across the Haryana plains following the network of irrigation canals and waterways. They were extremely scarce, and locally restricted then in these areas, but now they have established well and show increasing population trends (Harvey & Sharma 2002; Harvey et al. 2006; Vyas 2019). There have been no records of this species from Uttarakhand (Mohan & Sondhi 2017). The species was also unreported from the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (Grimmett et al. 2011; Rasmussen & Anderton 2012) until recently; there have been multiple sightings of the Sind Sparrow from Jammu Division of the Union Territory, post 2017. It has been reported from Kathua, Vijaypur, Samba, Doda, Pargwal, Tawi, Jammu, and the Gharana wetland near Ranbir Singh Pura and its surrounding 144. Spanish Sparrow on 24 March 2012 at Sthana. regions (eBird 2020). These multiple and frequent sightings suggest that the species is now common in the Jammu Division of the Union Territory. The present records of the Sind Sparrow from Himachal Pradesh, and the recent colonization of the species in Jammu, are in line with the expansion of the Sind Sparrow in northern India. The known distribution range of the Sind Sparrow is very close to southern and south-western Himachal Pradesh. Considering the trend of current expansion of the species and its distribution range, it might also be present in the other suitable habitats in these border areas of Himachal Pradesh. There areas should be surveyed to find the presence of the species. Both: C. Abhinav Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis On 24 March 2012, I visited Sthana. At 1100 h, I saw a flock of five sparrows sitting on a bare tree, very close to the location 145. Spanish Sparrow on 24 March 2012 at Sthana. of the Sind Sparrow’s sighting. There were three males and two females. The males had chestnut crowns and broad black markings on underparts, mainly on breasts and flanks. I easily Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus identified them as Spanish Sparrow [144, 145]. Subsequently The Eurasian Tree Sparrow is a resident in Baluchistan, north- they flew down to the ground and started feeding. A few dust- western Pakistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan, and from the Himalayas bathed. I observed them for 15 min, and then left. of Uttarakhand to Arunachal Pradesh, South Assam Hills to Dhadwal (2019) reported Spanish Sparrows once from north-eastern Bangladesh, and the Eastern Ghats in northern Sthana, during passage migration in 2017. A specimen of a male Andhra Pradesh; from the last it is probably extinct (Rasmussen Spanish Sparrow was collected in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, on & Anderton 2012; Shah 2020b, SoIB 2020). 06 February 1869, and is presently in ‘The Cornell University There have been few records of the Eurasian Tree Sparrow Museum of Vertebrates’ (Anonymus 1869). Neither Grimmett from Himachal Pradesh. Stoliczka (1868) noted, in his note on et al. (2011), or Rasmussen & Anderton (2012) documented birds of the Sutlej Valley, that it ‘is only rarely seen in the eastern this record. den Besten (2004) did not report the species from parts of the valley, near Chini [=Kalpa, Kinnaur District] and Kangra District. These two recent records confirm the presence towards the Chinese frontier.’ Marshall (1884) reported it from of Spanish Sparrows in Himachal Pradesh and the record from Chamba without any further details. Mishra (1997) reported it 2012 is the first photographic record from the state. from terraced fields around villages in Majathal Wildlife Sanctuary, The Spanish Sparrow winters in north-western India Solan District, and mentioned it as uncommon during spring (Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan to northern Gujarat) and and summer. This is a doubtful record as the commoner Russet adjacent Pakistan (Punjab and Sind). It has been recorded as far Sparrow and House Sparrow are missing from the list of birds eastwards as eastern Nepal and south-eastern Uttar Pradesh, and sighted by him in the sanctuary. Shah et al. (2016) erroneously on passage through northern Pakistan to northern Baluchistan mentioned Eurasian Tree Sparrow as an abundant resident in (Grimmett et al. 1998; Rasmussen & Anderton 2012). In the Chamba District. But as discussed early, these records by Shah et Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, a couple of records have al. (2016) seem to be incorrect. Grimmett et al. (2011) plotted been mapped by Grimmett et al. (2011); it is a common passage one record from Himachal Pradesh; however Rasmussen & migrant and winter visitor in Gilgit-Baltistan (Shah 2020a). Pfister Anderton (2012) considered all the records available at that time, (2004) mentioned a couple of records from the Union Territory from Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir as unconfirmed. of Ladakh. It has not been reported from Uttarakhand (Mohan & Apart from these records there have been a few other recent Sondhi 2017). records of the Eurasian Tree Sparrow from the state.
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