84 Indian Birds Vol. 1 No. 4 (July-August 2005) Sightings of Sociable Lapwing Vanellus gregarius in Rajasthan, excluding Bharatpur records Harkirat Singh Sangha B-27, Gautam Marg, Hanuman Nagar, Jaipur 302021. Email: [email protected] he Sociable Lapwing Vanellus Table 1: Records of Sociable Lapwing in Rajasthan (excluding Bharatpur) T gregarius is a monotypic species of the No. of birds Date Site Source sub-family Vanellinae (family Charadriidae) 5 14.x.1995 Tal Chhapar, Churu Sangha 2000 and a winter migrant to north-west India. 1 11.i.1998 Revasa, Sikar Sangha 2000 The species is classified as Vulnerable because it has suffered a rapid decline and 15 28.i.1998 Tal Chhapar, Churu Sangha 2000 range contraction (BirdLife International 11 1.ii.1998 Tal Chhapar, Churu Sangha 2000 2000). 2 18.i.1999 Jaisalmer Sangha 2002 There are very few records of the species from Rajasthan, except from Keoladeo collected a specimen on 30.xii.1937 from Acknowledgements National Park, Bharatpur. The prevailing dry Nasirabad, Ajmer (BirdLife International I thank Shantanu Kumar, R. G. Soni, Manoj conditions in the park facilitated by an 2001). Whistler (1938) merely described it Kulshreshtha and Bholu Khan for unprecedented water shortage since last as “a cold weather visitor and common supplying their unpublished data. four-five years seem to have favoured according to Hume.” Many of the refrences Sociable Lapwing and other species. The in Whistler’s paper (1938) are “in very References Yellow-wattled Lapwing Vanellus general terms”, for he has not mentioned Adam, R. M. 1873. Notes on the birds of the malabaricus is commoner in the park than any date or site and his sources are R. M. Sambhur Lake and its vicinity. Stray before and the Indian Courser Cursorius Adam, Dr King (who collected birds at Mt. Feathers 1: 361-404. coromandelicus is breeding in the park this Abu and Jodhpur for nearly two years, but Abdulali, H. 1970. A catalogue of the birds year (Bholu Khan, verbally). Regular published no account of his observations, in the collection of the Bombay Natural sightings of Sociable Lapwing in recent except for supplying specimens to Hume), History Society-5. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. years at Bharatpur suggest that today it is and A. O. Hume. Of the fourteen specimens Soc. 66 (3): 542-559. the most consistently visited site, by the in the collection of the Bombay Natural BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened species, in India. However, from other History Society none is from Rajasthan birds of the world. Barcelona and suitable areas in Rjasthan, like Tal Chhapar, (Abdulali 1970). Cambridge.: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife records are few and far between. Unlike All other published records from International. Keoladeo there is too much ground to cover Rajasthan are shown in Table 1. BirdLife International. 2001. Threatened there. Moreover, such sites have generally Unpublished records of Sociable Lapwing birds of Asia: The BirdLife International remained under-observed. in Rajasthan are from Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Red Data Book. Cambridge: BirdLife This paper reviews and supplements Hanumangarh districts. I observed a flock International. historical, published, data on this declining on 18.x.2003 comprising of six birds Sangha, H. S. 2000. Recent sightings of species. Keoladeo records have been including one juvenile, foraging on a sward Vanellus gregarius (Pallas) at Tal deliberatey excluded as these have been at Baramsar depression west of Jaisalmer. Chhapar and Revasa, Rajasthan. J. generally well documented (BirdLife Shantanu Kumar (verbally) recorded an Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 97 (2): 278-279. International 2001). individual at Badopal, Hanumangarh district Sangha, H. S. 2002. A supplementary note The first record from Rajasthan is more in December 2000 / January 2001. Manoj on the avifauna of the Thar Desert than 135 years old (Adam 1873). Although Kulshreshtha (verbally), Bryan Bland and (Rajasthan) J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 99 Adam collected four specimens on 5.xii.1869, members of a birding group observed seven (1): 120-126. 5.xii.1872, 17.x.1873 and 6.xii.1873 from birds on 26.xii.1998 at Ganga village on way Whistler, H. 1938. The ornithological survey Sambhar, he found the species “not very to Sudasri, Desert National Park, Jaisalmer. of Jodhpur State. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. common; during the cold weather it is to be R. G. Soni (verbally) observed / Soc. 40 (2): 213-235. met with sparingly about the plains,” (Adam photographed one juvenile on 22.x.1991, 1873). A January 1912 record is from Bikaner foraging on the edge of Jor-Bir depression, (specimen in BMNH) and A. E. Jones Bikaner. Some vocalizations of the Jungle Prinia Prinia sylvatica during the breeding season in Maharashtra Sharad Apte “Ushahkal”, 1766 Ganeshnagar, Dr Ambedkar Road, Sangli 416416. Email: [email protected] Introduction resolve disputes about whether a taxon is a behaviour of birds: we can ask what ird vocalizations are of interest for at “good” species, and can provide information is being transmitted through Bleast two reasons. First, in taxonomy information on the degree of relatedness these sounds, to whom, and under what and systematics, similarities and differences between species and subspecies, Second, circumstances. Much remains to be learnt in the structure of vocalizations can help the study of vocalizations tells us about the about the structure of bird vocalizations and.