Full text of "NLBW15"
Newsletter For
Birdwatchers
VOL XV NO. I JAN. I97S
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NEWSLETTER FOB
BIRDWATCHERS
Volume 15, Number 1.
January 1975
CONTEIflS
ArSecond Appeal, by K.S- Iavkumar
Sone Observations en Chick Rfiaring
in the White Headed Babbler (Turdcides affinls ).
by D.E.P. Jeyasingh
The Purplarumped Sunbird, by K*K. Neelakantan
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Editorial - by S.V. Nilakanta
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CORRESPONDENT :
A Whiteheeded mck -
R.S. Dharmakumarsinhji-
A SECOND APKAL
K.S. Iavkumar.
In July number of /slums XIV appeared ray appeal far the declaring
of Chilfca as a Sactuary, wilderness area, recreational area and a
birdbanding centre all in one. later, I received a letter from Mr.
Zafar Futehally informing ne that the Government of Oriesa was in
fact thinking of developing the Chilka area on approximately the
same lines. He further asked me whether I would lilce to assist in
preparing a booklet on the waterfowl of the lake. Correspondence
in the matter was started with the OrisSa Government, but to date,
IJiave received no reply. I now await the return of Mr. Futehally
who, I believe, la somewhere on the other side of the Earth. Now
I turn my sights to another part of the country, the Gharwal Dist-
rict of tfttar Pradesh.
In farmer times when roads were not developed into the Hlmalayar *
mountains, pilgrims to the sacred shrines of Kedarnath and ladri-
nath, had to walk much of ths way in manageable "Padavs" or stages.
From Rudraprayag of the maneater fame, the pilgrims went up by a
bridle path along the lovely flandakini River. The entire valley is
treely beautiful and every turn In the road a delight. Right across
the bead if the valley Is the great bastion of Himalayan peakB with
Kedarnath on the west and the breathtaking Badrinath on the east.
T propose the entire range be declared a National Bark and all the
Newsletter for Birdwatchers
January 1975
development In the valley beyond Gupta Kaahi on the right bank of
the ttindakini and tfehimath on the left serosa the river, should be
carefully managed with a control on wasteful activities* The area
could largely be a sanctuary which would go down well with the
holy aura of the place and would be much appreciated both by visi-
tors and the locals. Forestry should be so enraged as to develop
the quality of the forests and a restriction imposed on increase
in grazing. The southern slopes of the main range are not densely
populated and it would not be effecting toe many people. There are
several valleys going up to the glaciers draping the giant mountains
which Beem to float almost in an ethereal manner above the Inhabited
valley.
The entire area has a range of forest types from Cheer Pinus longi-
foXlA to hi#i altitude oak Quercus sps_. Above the forests are broad
stands c£ Rhodendron campanula turn and beyond these the alpine maa-
dows or "udiare" with dwarf junipers and lovely flowers. Above these
are the crags writhes in mista and the eternal snewe. Mich of this
area is difficult of access and the geographical restrictions should
be augmented by Government regulations whereby visitors may enter
only for scientific reasons. The sacred shrines of Kedarnath 11,750'
and Ifedhyaneshwar would be centres for visitors from where parties
could go up into higher altitudes far rock and snow craft and to
get to know the vegetation and fauna of the higher altitudes.
A little above Ukhimsth there is a lovely tarn which could have
a small tourist centre and then to the east is the bold 13,000'
Tungnath mountain which would form the eastern part of the proposed
Himalayan wilderness recreational area. This mountain has, or had,
a magnificent forest of oei, snd other broad-leaved trees, end
higher up spruce and fir. I can confidently say that this mountain
isolated from the main range rnd rising above the lower ranges and
with two deep valleys on both sides ts unique in the views it af-
fords and the fact that the higher precipitation it receives mak-
ing it a bird paradise. Here there Is a lovely forest rest house
called lughalbetta which could be developed into a centre for visi-
ters and .from it, paths with gentle gradients could radiate in all
directions taking wanderers to various altitudes from 5,000' to
13,000' providing invaluable opportunities of getting familiarised*
with various altitudinol zonation cf vegetation and resulting bird-
life. This mountain should be completely preserved from all forms
of exploitation and cultivation or grassing should not be permitted
to increase, rather the few hamlets which do exist over the entire
area and on this mountain in particular 3hould be absorbed into
the new developnent so that they may provide the necessary shelter
for 1he tourists and guides for those wanting to to into the higher
valleys of the main range. Tungnath itself is of religious signi-
ficance.
:iew&lctrteT- far
Birdwatchers
January 1974
Newsletter far Birdwatchers
January 1975
The north side of the main range is occupied by uninhabited
glaciers of Gangotry opening into the Hiagirathi watershed and the
Satopanth Glacier into the Alakanandc watershed and these could
become a high altitude sanctuary :'or nountein sheep and other
Himalayan game*
There Is now a road right upto Gupta Kashi and from there another
road gees across the Jfendakini to Utoiimeth and then over the shoul-
der of the Tungnath mountain on to the otherside to the district
headquarters town of (hamoli. It would thus be possible to easily
get people into the valley and make it a richly rewarding area to
spend a short holiday. The northern glaciers would be approach-
able from the west by Gnngotri and from the east by Badrinath.
In passing I may Just draw attention to the fact that all the place
names I have taken are sanctified by centuries of faith. The
Hmdakini valley is the least sensitive of the Himalayan region
since no routes lead through to Tibet and as such it Is not worth
being declared out of bounds even for foreigners.
Our Coyer :
Our cover illustration for 1975 is drawn by copying a fine action
photograph by Mr. T. Koneri Rao. It is very difficult to "photo-
graph birds in flight as a wide angled lense would reduce the size
of the object and a telephoto cannot accept high angular velocities
There are further complications ctf selecting correct filters and
getting the light to fall on the bird.
The bird is
plumage.
Gull-*illed Tern (Gelochelidon n Hot .tea) in winter
last years cover was made possible when a pair of bulbuls raided my
custard apple tree. Very little of the custard apple was left by the
tins the preliminary lines of the sketch were completed-
Original photographs and sketches will be greatly appreciated
if made available for reproduction in the Newsletter.
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-Ed*
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flewsletter fete Birdwatchers
January 1
SOIlE OESERVATT0II5 CN CHICK HEARING IS THE
WHITE HEAIED B&3BT2R fcgTJRDOIDBS AFFUOS )
D.E.P. Jeyasin^i.
In September 1971, I had the opportunity of watching, with the
help of binoculars, a nest of the White-headed Babbler, IXrring
the course of these observations, which lasted from the 16th
September to the 1st October 1971, I happened to mentionit to
Dr. P.J. Sanjeevara;}, professor of Zoology in the college where .
I teach, and he gave me, together with his encouragement, a re- ^**»*"~
print of his article entitled ' ^mmercia3 > Breeding in the White- "^
headed Babbler /Jurdoldes aff inia (Jerdon)7 in Tambaram, Madras
State" published in the Journ. Eombay Nat. Hist- Soc. Vol. 61 (1 )
pp 181-183, 1964. I Jotted down my observations on the back of
this reprint and quite forgot about it till I happened to look
it up again a few days ago. I am struck by the exact correspon-
dence between the dates he notifies on the hatching of the eggs,
the growth of the chicks etc. and my own observations of these
events. It appears that in our college campus, the White-headed
Babbler breeds during the later half of the month of September,
and by the beginning of October, the chicte abandon the nests and
fly off with the adult birds. Thus, the whole development, from
the hatching of the eggs to the time the fledglings fly away,
takes place in about 14 days.
One observation that I have made has not been recorded by the
above BBntioned nuthcr. This pertains to a sort of reciprocal
'feeding' of the adults by the chickB. I will return to a discuss-"
sion of this phenomenon in a monent. let ne first give my observa-
tional notes.
16th Sept- '71
18th
19th
20th
21st
- Eest noticed on Neem tree in back garden.
Four blue eggs.
- 3 eggs hatched. Order of hatching not observed.
Eyes of chicks remain closed. Movement of
branches of tree cause chioks to open their
mouths expecting to be f3d.
- 4th egg also hatched.
- Chicks graving rapidly. Eyes still closed.
- Only 3 chickB present. Chicks have developed
fine greyish feathers along the edge of the
wing**. Prom about 2.15 P«m. the bird which
fed the chickB sat in the nest for nearly
half an hour. This again happened at about
News letter for Birdwatchers
January 1975
22nd
23rd
4.15 P»au Two birds were seen feeding the
young- Pocsibly there are more than two
doing this job. Warns and brown coloured
grass hoppers were noticed as feed* At
night, the bir^ sitting in the nest was
marked by squirting red ink, with an ink-
filler, on to its head-
There arq definitely at least three birds
feeding the chicks as could be made out by
the marked bird. Fearers developed on wings
and back of chicks. -v**s at ill closed.
It rained Jj) ©rning. An adult bird,
other than the one trv.it was marked, sat in
the rest giving protection to the chicks,
but now and then 1 it would leave the nest
In order tc bring food and at these inter-
vals the chicks got drenched. Syes of chicks
appeared to be partially opened.
24th
25th
26 th
27th
Only two chicks in the nest. Chic Is become
active only when the nest was touched and not
when the branches were shaken as observed
earlier .
Chicks have grown to the size of newly hatched
poultry chicks. Ejee are frilly open* The marted
bird end others of the gang have started moving
farther away from the rest, in search of "feed,
than they had on previous days (they were notic-
ed in the front garden)- The adult bird which
fed the chicks was seen to swallow the faeces
of the chicks as they defecated. ?he faeces
was a solid, elongated globule, white in colour
with a black ond that case out last. The adult
swallowed it right away.
The chicks were found fallen down and the nest
toppled. They were picked up and put back in
the nest which was set in position and fasten-
ed with strings. Hed plastic strips were fasten-
ed to the legs of the chicks with the help of
a stapler to serve as streamers. The chicks
were big enough now to stretch their wings and
preen themselves.
The chicks look more like babblers now. Feed-
ing by the marked bird and others of the gang
continues.
Newsletter f or Birdwatchers
7
January 1975
30th
1st Oct. "71
29th - The two chicks were seen perched on the rim
of the nest in the morning.
- Chicks net in the nest.
- The two fledglings were noticed on a tree
nearby* Ihey were perched fairly high up en
a branch. One had the red streamer attached
to its leg. The other chick was sitting in
a position that made it difficult to observe"
its legs. However, by its size and its proxi-
mity to the other'chick it was possible to
guess that it belonged to the same brood*
As noted on the 25th instant, the bird which fed the young was
seen to svjfllow the faeces expelled by the chicks. I took special
care to see whether the faeces was taken and thrown elsewhere by
the adult feeder bird. But this was not so. I could distinctly
see through the binoculars the movement of the gullet of the
feeder bird and I am sure the globule of faeces went down its
throat. I even noticed the feeder bird waiting for a moment after
dropping the feed into the wide open mouth of the chirk to get
this "reward 1 (if it may so be teamed) vfcich was excToCed by the
chick by a slight tilt of its rear end. Biis behaviour seems to
ensure two things at the same time. One, it helps to keep the
nest clear of the droppings of the chicks; and two, it probably
helps to fill the belly of the feeder bird which must be spending
a lot of its energy in obtaining food for the young, giving much
of what it picks, itself eating very little. I do not know how
well this phenomenon is known. I venture to speculate that this
habit could have developed in some birds through natural selec-
tion to prevent the waste of nourishnent that probably go undigest'
ed in the alimentary canal of the chicks either due to excess of
food or due to the difference in the digestive physiology of the
young compared to that of the adult. I have reasons to believe
that this kind of 'faeces feeding' is also present in the weaver
birds which I had the opporturdty of observing for the past two
years.
;tter far Birdwatchers
January 1975
8
THE HHHERUMEED SDITBXRD
K.K. Neelakantan.
Brother fiavarro's commsr.ts on the Purplerumped Sunbird reminded
nfi of eone incidents recently witnessed. On 27.10.1974 a female
Purplerumped Sunbird which had discovered a small "ball of surgi-
cal cotton lying on the ground made a number of vain attempts to
carry it off. Though it could not have been either the size or
the weight of "ttie iaass of cotton that had foiled the bird's
attempts to bear it away, 1 pulled the ball to pieces and scat-
tered the pieces about. Soon the bird returned and, one by one,
took away two or three of the pieces. Then she seemed to lose
interest in the cotton and started collecting the 'silk' from
leaf -rests of the red ant. The next morning, however, she carried
off two more pieces of cotton* She was constantly accompanied by
the male whose sole functions appeared tc be providing moral sup-
port and vocal enc ouragece nt .
A few weeks ago a neighbour gave my daughter a deserted sunbtrd-
nest» This we suspended from the eaves close to a hibiscus bush
regularly visited by sunbirds. At 8.00 a. a. on 26.11.1974 a female
Pur plerumpe d Sunbird was seen pulling out the soft lining of this
derelict nest. The lining consisted of large, soft down-leathers
with a slight admixture of silk-cotton. The bird was taking only
one feather at a time. Some ten to fifteen visits later whet
remained of the lining fell to the ground. It remained a compert
mass though a few small feathers had floated off and were cling-
ing to the wall and the vegetation. The sunbird now began collect-
ing the scattered feathers, taking away only one at a time. Just
once she actually alighted on the ground closo to the large mass'
of feathers, worried it until many of the feathers were detached,
picked up one feather and flew off. Till 9.20 she went on trans-
porting one feather after another to her nest somewhere in the
reighbouring compound.
Batween 9.30 and 12.30 she paid many mere visits to our backyard,
but, ignoring the remaining feathers, always went to the 'shell 1
of the nest to take only long strands of fibre or tiny blobs of
cotton-
These incidents also illustrate the resourcefulness of a nesting
PurpleruraFed Sunbird. The second incident suggests that one indi-
vidual at least has somehow hit upon a very economical method of
obtaining nest material.
Newsletter for Birdwatchers
January 1975
EDITORIAL :
Annual General Lfeeting:
The Annual General teeting of the Birdwatchers ' Field Club of India has to
be postponed to tferch 1975 for unavoidable reasons. Members who had been
attending these iifietings far the last decade or sore will recall with nostal-
gia the beautiful garden adjoining the Picturesque residence of Rr. Zafar
Futehally- Even as 'each meeting progressed Golden Orioles flitted from mango
tree to mango tree. Alas after the departure of. Mr. Putehally to Bangalore,
this house and the garden have been torn down and replaced with a multi-
storeyed block I
fcfeanwhile, Br. Salim All has invited us to hoi: 1 , the meeting in the Itotti in
front of his house in Rtli Hill. Althou:': :-uru-ounded by concrete monsters
this little green patch will remain, we hope, for some time. Dr. Salim All
has also kindly consented to preside over the nesting. As Dr. Salim Ali will
be out of town during the v.-hole of February the maeting will have to be held
in torch. The exact date and time of the meeting and instructions for getting
there will be given in the February issue.
-Ed,
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COnRESK)KBENCE :
A Whiteheaded Buck.
I was visiting the Delhi Zoological Iterk at New Delhi on the 19th November,
1 974 and while going round the main wildf owl pond, I noticed among the many
ducks, almost all wild, a duck with a completely white head. I drew the atten-
tion of the Zoo Director and his Assistant end then came the next day with my
binoculars to see it again. It was there, among Shcvelers and Hntail and
allowed close approach to about 12 meters. I had no doubt that it was a
Shoveler (Anas clypeata ) drake with a complete white head and a salmon pink
bill mottled brown on the dorsal ridge or culmen. The eyes appeared dark and
unlike the yellow of the male shoveler. But the iris was not distinct. It
wes not yet in full plumage and the rest of the shcvelers were still in semi
eclipse plumage as were Pintail, ifre duck was conspicuous amidst the large
groupls of ducks. I hope members of the Delhi 3irdwatching Society take a
look of this unusual duck while it is with us.
R .3. Dharmakumnrsinhji.
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S.V. Nilakanta
Editor, Newsletter for Birdwatchers
CD. Barfiwala fiferg
Andheri (West), BOMBAY 400 058.
EDITORIAL BOARD :
Or. Salim All,
Bombay.
Zafar Futehally,
269, Rajmahal Vilas Exten.
Bangalore-560 006.
Mrs. Jamal Ara,
Ranchl.
Kunvar Shri Lavkumar,
Rajkot.
Prof. K. K. Nealakantan.
Trivandrum.
Dr. A. S. Mahajan,
Bombay.
Br. A. Navarro,
Bombay.
Editor i
S. V. Nilakanta.
32A, C. D. Barfiwala Marg,
Andhari.
Bombay-400 058.
Annual Subscription Rs. 10/-
Students Rs. 5/-
I .
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Newsletter For
Birdwatchers
VOL XV NO. 2 FEB. 1975
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NEWSLETTER FOR
BIRDWATCHERS
Volume 15,. Number 2. February 1975
CONTENTS i
The Crimaonbrea3ted Barbet ( Mogalaima haomacaphala )
by Abraham Verghese &.
P.M. Gavindakrishnan. 1
Birds in Urban Areas, by Zafar Futehally. 3
* Unusual Nesting by Red-Wattled Lapwing,
* by S.K. Reeves. 5
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Nhava Island - Bombay Harbour, by R. Prabhakar Monan. 66
A 5.T. Busman's Birdwatching from
Ratnagiri to Bombay, by H.P. Hnrchekar. 7
Editorial - 9
CORRESPONDENCE - Forest Wagtail - R. Prabhakar MBnon. 10
THE CRIMS0NBREA5TED BARBET ( Mogalaima haemacBphala )
NESTING IN BANGALORE.
Abraham Verghese &. P.M. Gavindakrishnan.
While nn a routine ' Birding Trek 1 in the rampus of our
collage (University of Agricultural Sciences, Hsbbal) on
February 1, 1974 ws encountered a crimsonbreasted barbet
sngaged in building (rather excavating) a nest. Realizing
that this was the barbet 1 s nesting season, we searched for
more nests and came across a few, some occupied and some not»
We then selected two of these nests for the purpose of our
observations and the results of our studies are presented
below.
The nest hole that we had first spotted was situated on a
dead stubby branch of a Rain Tree (Enterolobium saman). The
peir of barbets excavating this nest toiled all through the
day upto February 23, when they were noted to have etarted
incubating. However, this pair was not able to raise a sucess-
ful brood. It was interesting to note that pariah kites
( Milvus m igrans ) , white scavenger vultures (Neo phron percnop-
tBrus ) , black drongos (Dicrurus adsimilis) , jungle crows
( Corv us macrorhynchqs_ ) and house crows ( Corvus splendens )
which approached the nest fairly closely did not cause any
disturbance to the excavating barbets. On one occasion only,
Newsletter for Birdwatchers February 1975
we watched one of the burbots driving off an inquisitive myna
(Acr idotheres trisjbis) with en aggressive ■ che-e-rrk .
On Tebruery 15, we spotted another pair of barbots nesting on
a 'living' and apparently healthy branch of the Bead Tree
(Melia ar.ed aiach ) which is a popular oxotic in southern Europe,
or7^c7ount of the beautiful rosaries made from its sesds by
the monks in monasteries there. Tho entrance hole was not exact-
ly on the underside of the branch but a little to tho side. On
the opposite branch of the tcme tree a pair of small Green
Barbets (M egalaima viridis) were nts.ing. The tree was sur-
rounded bj houses and gardens but the barMf* ware n at / f ^ sd
by the noisy atmosphere. For us ;his was advantageous in thaffi
it permitted observation of the nest from a few yards only
without cejsing tho birds much concern. 4
This pair started incubating on February 18. Both sexes wore
noted to brood tha eggs at regular intervals of ten minutes
or so in the earlier stages which extended to twenty minutes
or more in the later portion of the incubation period. Reliev-
inq of one bird by the other was a vary interesting process.
The non-incubating bird starts calling whan it is to take over
incubation and is replied to by tho incubating bird by coming
out of the nest on tc an adjacert branch and preening itsoXT
beside the reliever. At times both birds would then go on
calling silultaneously, this whole process lasting for juit
over a minute or two culminating when the relieving bird would
enter the nest hole. We uould like to mention here that Mr. v.
Ravi in his note on "A Coppersmith's Brood" / Newsletter 6(1 h
4/ writes " the female was en duty most of the time,
the male once in a while only." Laver on he goes to state:
"On the day orevious' to tho hatching of eggs the male, «£<*
was all along absent was r.oticaablo near tho nest. Hr. Km* s
findings seem to contradict our observations. We found that
both sexos are equally resoonsiblo ^or incubation.
To resume our account, we found that the incubating bird would
put its head out of the nest hole every two or three minutes,
keep it out for twenty to thirty seconds, and then withdraw
it into the hole. The small Green Barbot howover, keeps its
head out for moro than three minutes. This may be duo to the
fact that being larger birds, small green barbets need a
greater quantity of fresh air and also probably because tho
strain of stretching the neck out is lesser.
The first sign of feeding was soon on March 5 which meant that
the sags had hatched. This meant that the incubation period
wca.about fifteen days (February 18 to March 4). feeding was
not clear cut for the first four days as wo saw the bird enter-
ing the nest with a berry und coming out with the same. On
Newsletter for Birdwatchers
3
February 1 975
p j' ■
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March 9 we noted for the first time the barbet removing faecal
pellets from the nest*
Thereafter feeding was more regular and the birds brought food
for the nestlings every two minutes on an average. The food usu-
ally consisted of berries of the banyan Tree (Fie us ben gha lensia )
and these were squashed into smaller pieces before feeding. At
times the parent birds interrupted their feeding to drive away
intruding birds, mostly the small green barbets , but soon re-
sumed their main task.
The fledgelings left the nest nn \pril 15 after a period of
forty days, well before the onset of the monsoon, unlike. .in
Ranchi, where Mrs, Jamal AraAlawsletter 2 (5): 3/ observed
that "the fledgelings leave the nest when monsoon showers
drench the land," The fledgelings lacked the crimson patch
on the forehead which condition was also reported by Cmdr.
N.S. Tyabji/Newslettcr 1 (7): 5/-.
The INDIAN HANDBOOK (4: 164) states that "Both sexes share
all the domestic chores. Period of incubation undetermined."
Mr. Ravi probably the first person to record the incubation
period (see above) gives it as 17 days, which tallies fairly
well with our own finding of 15 days.
A glance through the published volumes of the excellent
INDIAN HANDBOOK rBVeals that the nidification (breeding
biology) of many of our common bird species (not to mention
the rarer ones) is almost unknown except for such superficial
details as location and structure of the nest, size, colour
and number of eggs etc. Except for the laudable and highly
detailed studies currently being carried out by Dr. B.S, Lamba
(JBBH5 60: 121-133 et seq.) of the Zoological Survey of India,
Calcutta, other students of Indian bird biology seem all but
evident. If every reader of the NEWSLETTER makes a fairly de-
tailed study of the nesting of just one bird each season and
reports it to the others through the pages of our Newsl etter;
just think of the amount of useful and objective ornitholo-
gical matter we could contribute.
BIRDS IN URBAN AREAS
Zafar Futohally.
Since it is almost cortain that the human population will be
7,000 million by the year 2,000 as against the 4,000 million
of today, several of the larger green areas which are the
delight of people today will not be available to our succes-
sors. But what is encouraging is that wherever there is some
I
Newsletter for Birdwatchers February 1975
4 ...
open space with shrubs, trees und water , birds are invari-
ably found. With proper planning it might be possible for
birds and humans to co— exi3^ in the same general habitat.
Sometimes birds disappear not because they distrust humans,
but simply because they have nowhere to stay, and nothing
to eat. Occasionally pollution drives thsm away. It is will
known that many bird species which hod disappeared from
London for almost 30 years settled down in the city again
efter atmospheric pollution was abated. The presence of birds,
therefore, might indicate the cleanness or otherwise of the
^- human environment. A good project for 1 VIS would be to keep
a tag on the bird life of Bombay^ Calcutta and BangalorB,
and in fact of as many urban areas at: wc can, to act as Indi-
cators of pollution* Becciuse thn p.atabolisra of birds is so
much faster than that of humans' they suffer the effects of
pollution much quicker then human beings da, end are in a
sense advance warning lights for all of us.
In Bombay, as I wrote Barlier in this newsletter, I was
amazed that the White— breasted Waten Hen continued to nest
in our suburban garden till last year, inspite of the high
rise structures which by then had virtually encircled the
compound. The female Paradise Flycatcher was seen on the
estate a few weeks ago, while tho usu-il complainant of Golden
Orioles, White— spotted Fantail Flycatchers and a dozen other
species continued tc survive - noisy construction activities
notwithstanding- The total are.- of the garden which was 12,400
sq. yards in the grand oJd drys, has shrunk to 6,000 sq. yards
today, larger slices of land on cither side of the house hav-
ing succumbed to advancing Civilisation 1 . Yet the surviving
garden with its many fine trees of Mango, Jamoon, Karanj, Imli,
Coconut, Palmyra, Chickoo, Fulnohur, Bombax and others provide
the habitat which birds sejm to like. Tho Bombax in between two
high buildings on the extreme corner of the compound was visit-
ed regularly by Rosy Pastors last February.
Bangalore where I now reside, is fast going the way of Bombay.
High rise buildings are coming up, and many splendid single
houses with largo compounds are being replaced by "subdivisions"
and jail like tenements. Evan in the one year we have been here,
Bangalore has become considerably mora congested, and many open
areas where I watched birds last December have now been built
over.
Yot the variety of bird life which one can see here is quite
impressive. In a two hour walk yesterday, within the city limits,
I saw Largo Green Barbets, Coppersmiths, Grey and White Wagtails,
White Eyes, Tailor Eirds, Purplo-rumped Sunbirds, Large Pied
Wagtails, Pied Bushchots, Kestrel, Koels, Golden Orioles, Blyth's
Reed Warbler, Black Drongas, Indian Robins, Pariah Kite, Common.
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Newsletter for Birdwatchers February 1975
5
Myna, Common Bee-aaters, Red Wattled Lapwing, Little Brown
Shrike and House Crows. In Sankey Tank there were over a
dozen Coots, Surprisingly there arc no other water birds,
not even a Dabchick, in spite of the fact that there appears
to be plenty of vegetable food in the water* Spotted Doves
abound in Bangalore, and they soo away during most of the
day f but their cooing ends at the 3rd or the 4th note, and
I have never heard them reach the maximum number of six which
they aro supposed to achieve.
# * *
UNUSUAL NESTING BY RED-WATTLED LAPWIUG
S.Ki Reeves (Holt, Norfolk).
I was very interested in the Note by Mr. Saxena on the un-
usual nesting of the Red-wattled Lapwing ( Vanellus Indicus ),
which appeared in the November, 1974 issue of the Newsletter.
It led mo to wonder just how unusual it was for this species
to nest on buildings. I therefore consulted the literature
at my disposal and discovered same interesting facts of which
other readers of the Newsletter rmy care to know.
Salim Ali and Ripley in the Handbook of the Birds of India
and. Pakistan say that unusual nesting sites are recorded and
mention the flat concrote roof of a residential bungalow in
New Delhi and the example brought to the attention of McCann
and recorded' in Vol. 42, Page 442 of the Journal of the Bombay
Natural History Society. This nest had been placed on a heap
of ballast between two railway tracks in Ghorsana Station
Yard (Alwar State). McCann records that the nest contained
three eggs and that every time a train came in the bird flew
up only to return to its domestic duties immediately the train
left. The record does not reveal whether the young were
brought off successfully.
Stuart Bckcr - Nidification of Birds of the Indian Empire,
Vol. IV, Pago 398 - says that the roofs of houses have often
been found occupied by a pair of these birds, and that he was
told of a pair which nested annually on the roof of an indigo
factory.
At page 248 of Vol. 35 of the Journal of the Bombay Natural
History Society, Stuart Baker records finding a nest containing
four eggs of the Burmese raco (Atronuchalis ) in the footmark
of a huge tiger on a sandbank.
tf
Newsletter for Birdwatchers February 1975
6
Hume, in that splendid work, 'The .Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds'
at page 340' et seq., of Vol. 3, gives much information on vari-
ous sites selected by the bird.
He says that the ballast of a railway is often selected and the
nest placed in such a position sometimes that the foot-board of
every carriage passes over the bird's head.
He also mentions a hedge-bank and an old brick-kiln.
He says that a pair nested on the top of his flat-roofed two-
storied house at Mynpoorco and hatched their young there. On
the second day he saw tha young in his garden and wondered how
the parents got them down there — a matter of forty feet.
fl Mr. Anderson, so Hume records, knew of a pair of Red-wattled
Lapwing which built on the flat roof of the opium cutchcrry at
Mynpooree.
Whistler - Popular Handbook of India Birds, Page 460 - sounds
a melancholy note when he tells us that the bird sometimes
places its nests on graves.
Strangely enough, Jerdon, in 'The Birds of India', is complete-
ly silent as to the form or site of the nest of this species.
Finally, with regard to the belief, mentioned by Mr. Saxona,
that if the Red— wattled Lapwing lays its oggs on high ground
the rains that year would be heavy, Dharmakumarsinhji in 'The
Birds of Saurashtra', pages 172 and 173, summarily dismisses
the belief as being false. Ha says that the bird docs select
high ground where there is the likelihood of pronnial flooding,
for example when close tc lakes and creeks. However, despite
this, he says that eggs do got washed away when the rains are
excessive.
NHAVA ISLAND - BOMBAY HARBOUR
R. Prabhakar Menon.
The unusual nesting by Redwattled Lapwing described by V.S.
Saxena ( Newsletter . Nov. 1974) rsninds ma of a similar inci-
dent recorded by Malcom Macdonolc, the then British High
Commissioner in India in his book Birds in the Sun (page 62),
k.
v
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Newsletter for Birdwatchers February 1975
7
This is about a pair of tho same species he had seen nesting
an the terrace roof of his house in April 1 960 in Now Delhi.
The nest was a heap of BOO pebbles with a shallow scoop at
the centre. The pair deserted the nest before laying eggs,
possibly owing to the disturbance caused by the celebrations
at the High Commission at the time.
Several days latex he found another nest just across the
road on tho roof of another building. This was made up of
687 bits of bro.<on chips of cement. The birds had started
incubating 4 cgg3 but for so mo reason could not complete
incubation and rear a family just the way Saxcna's Lapwings
did.
It would be interesting to know whether 1960 was a flood
year for Delhi.
A SiT. BUSMAN'S BIRDWATCHING ROM
RATNAGIRI TO B01PAY
H.P. Harchekar.
On 30 January 1963 I left Ratnrgiri by an Express S.T. Bus
at 06. 10. It was a cold morning -nd the sun rose after about
07.00. The first halt was at San gameshwar after about an hour's
run. It was a bit foggy her:: ant' the birds were not very active
still. However, while I was having a cup of tea at the tea-
stall I heard and saw a Magpie Robin in a leafless coral tree
calling a plaintive swee-ee-ec-ee. After some time the sun
was visible and the fog started clearing and mare birds
started clearing and more birds started showing, themselves
up. A mixed party of Spotted and Bed Turtle Doves (about 15-
20) were sunning with their heads turned and beaks tucked in
their wings on a dry branch of a mango tree. Common drongos
' vm * and Green Bee— eaters were commonly Been on telegraph wires
along the route. 5wallowe, which I mode nut to be the Common,
were present at several points, and at one spot so closely
packed on the overhead wire so as to appear as if tangled
*• in one another.
We were approaching the taluka headquarters of Chiplun.
Chiplun is situated on a river bank with hills on three
sides. The river receives its water from the Koyna Project.
Many Whitebreasted and Common Kingfishers were on the bonks
of this river. The highway runs on one side of the town,
and on the other cattle were grazing in the fields, with
.
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Newsletter for Birdwatchers February 1975
8
their attendants, the Cattle Egrets, closely following them.
The duration of the halt was longer here and this allowed to
to move about the place for a while. There were Common Hynas
around; a Fantailed Flycatcher was busy sallying insects
in a roadGide garden; a Coppersmith tonked in a pcopal, and
a Golden Oriole was deligently searching among the mango
trees. At the following halt at Khed f about 20 miles from
Chiplun birdlife continued to be identical; drongos and bee-
eaters predominated. In addition, a Fufousbacked Shrike and
two Baybacked were on the wires overhead. At a watarholo
where some people were bathing, little egrets and a pond - ^
<**•"'• MbrW wereicalmly biding their time on the opposite bank -
for pouncing on a prey, not very far from the bathers.
The run ahead was a bit tedious owing to many diversions
to the older route, as the Bombay-Goa Highway was under
repairs. These diversions being through harvested fields
presented pipit3, and larks. By tho time we reached the
next halt, the sun was high up having approached the noon,
and birdlife dull probably owing to the advanced hours.
ThQ next leg from Monad to Xndapur, birdlife activated „V>
itself to my surprise, at least r hundred Indian Rollers
or Blue Jays were seen perched along telegraph wires on
the route. A few of them appeared harassed by the heat of
the aay and were sheltoring in the shade of porcelain in-
sulators. At many points Whitebreasted Kingfishers and
Common Lrongos were noticed in their company. The scene
continued for a long time until wo" reached Kolad.
A big wa-erhale at Kolad, known as Kolad Doha was a picture
of the mest scenic sight of my run. On its bank stood a dry
tree, con.olcjtely covarcd and ornamented by egrets in their •
immaculate whitoj their reflection in the waters of the
waterhole ^opeared to complete the scenic grandeur of the c
sight. As i B to punctuate tho scene □ brahminy kite now flaw
above the wa-;cr, with some egrets together with Pond Herons
scatteredly sitting or tho adge, and a Black-bellied variety _,
y, -.- -of ■ Tern constantly kep-, skinning the water l s surface. Here **'
then was a never-to-be-forgotten sight!
The lengthening eveninc shadows were calling a halt to my
birdwatching every minu'-.u, and thus brought to an end an
eleven-hour spree of birdwatching which had started early
that morning.
Newsletter for Birdwatchers February 1975
9
EDITORIAL :
Readers will be very happy to know that a Birdwatchers Club
has been founded in Indore. Some 25 members have been
brought together by Dr. P;T. Thomas, Principal, Indore School
of Social work.
The members meet once a month at the School of Social work,
Old Sehoro Road. They have discussions, see projected Colour
transparencies and have had at least one birdwatching trip
to Sirpur Lake, consequent to which a Newsletter was pub-
lished.
It is probably much easier for like-minded people to get
together in smaller towns. Such group activities help to
sustain interest and draw more people into the fold.
Wo wish the Indore Birdwatchers all success in their Club.
Live Birds fed to Eagles
flown to Britain:
Live parakeets wars fed to birds of prey on a Pan American
flight from New Delhi to London Heathrow. When the cargo
jet landed on Wednesday evening, horrified R.5iP;C;A; offi-
cials found the dismembered bodies of the parakeets in
blood— soaked cages.
Only one survived the ordeal and is at present being cared
for at the R.S.P.C;A. airport hostel.
The R.S.P.C.A. believe that they were deliberately put there
as food during the 12-hour journey. As well as the dead
parakeets, two eagles, one buzzards and a tawny owl also
died during the journey.
The R;S;P;C;A. said last night that this was because they
had bean cagod in contradiction to international regula-
tions. Instead of being boxed individually they were crated
six to a box, consisting of a canvas frame with a small-
gauge wire mesh covering it.
According to a roportiln the "Daily Telegraph", a hunt is
on in India for the oxportor of parakeets sent abroad by
a firm from the "Holy City" on the Gongos. Mr. Bobbar,
the Airlines Cargo Manager, is doing hi3 utmost to bring
the culprit to book. Our 5.P.C.A. has also written to the
Animal Welfare Board in India and to the R.S.P.C;A. in
this regard and we trust that they will stop this nefarious
trade immediately.
Newsletter for Birdwatchers February 1975
1D
Annual General Meeting:
The Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday 15th
March 1 975 'at 5.00 p.m. at the residence of Dr. Salim Ali
at 46, Paii'Hill, Bandra, Bombay 400 050.
Members who wish to travel by bus will find the BEST con-
necting service 211 and 214 from opposite 3andra Railway
Station to Ambedkar Road. From there it is a short walk up
Pali Hill to Er. Salim Ali*n residence. (The gats to the
compound has the name of Mr. Hassan Ali). The house is next
to that of film actor Dilip Kumar.
- Ed.
CORRESPONDENCES
Forest Wagtail.
I have s'een a Forest Wagtail on the morning of 15.10.1974.
The bird was feeding among the mango trees in the neigh-
bourhood of my office till evening. that day. This is an
earlier record than the one given by J.S. Surraa as 22.10.
1972 in the Newsletter for November 1972.
Is this the earliest x^cord on the bird's southward passage?
R. Prabhakar Monon,
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S.V. Nilakania
Editor, Newsletter for Bircwatchers -
CD. Barfiwala Marg,
Andheri (West), BOMBAY 400 358.
■
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EDITOK.'aL BOARD :
Dr. Salim Ali,
Bombay.
Zafar Futehally,
269, Rajmahal Vilas Exten,
Bangalore-560 006.
Mrs. Jamal Ara,
Ranchi.
Kunvar Shri Lavkumar,
Rajkot.
Prof. K. K. Neelakantan,
Trivandrum.
Dr. A. S. Mahajan,
Bombay.
Br. A. Navarro,
Bombay.
Editor i
S. V. Nilakanta,
32A, C. D. Barfiwala Marg,
Andherl,
Bombay-400 058.
Annual Subscription Rs. 10/-
Studenta Rs. 5/-
*
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1
Newsletter For
Birdwatchers
VOL XV NO. 3 MAR. 1975
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NEWSLETTER FOR
BIRDWATCHERS
V o 1 u m b 15, Number 3. Haxch 1975
CONTENTS;
Will the Fauna of Khandala Region survive
the persistent and steady change of
its ecology7 by Rev. A. Navarro, S;Ji 1
Behaviour-Pattern Mimicry by a Goldfronted
Chloropsis and some thoughts on it,
by J.S. Serrao. A
Proceedings of the Annual General Meeting 5
Gulls at Krishnarajasagar, by S.G, Neginhal. 7
CORRESPONDENCE I
Arrival &. Departure of Swallows at Worli -
B.A. Palkhiwalla. 8
WILL THE FAUNA OF KHANDALA REGION SURVIVE
THE PERSISTENT AND STEADY CHANGE DF ITS EC0L0GY7
Rev* A. Navarro, S.J;
On May 3, 1974, I spent part of my holidays in Khandala. On
my arrival some of my friends greeted me with e tricky question!
"Why is it that there are less birds in Khandala this year7
Since the question was put forth by a keen observer of nature,
I gave serious thought to it. I moved about checking different
parts of the forest of Khandala to see if I could observe tho
usual birds seen at these points in previous years. The fact is
I that the bird population of Khandala has diminished cur the
•I last eight or ten years and this is a sad reality.
In order to verify this observation, I requested the company
and mutual co-operation of a friend who has been for a long tiiie
my inseparable companion on all my ramblings up and down the
' r , ravines of the Khandala Region.
The problem of the bird population is itself a oomplex one.
Perhaps it will be very useful to analyse the complexity of
this problem by examining the Khandala Region which is going
through a speedy change in its ecology. The Khandala Ghats are
the centre of this region and ore being encroached upon by all
sorts of human activity from all sides, but mainly from Khopali
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Newsletter far Birdwatchers. March 1975
2
and Lonnvala. The steady overflow of congested traffic through
the ghats, the appearance of new industries and factories, the
building of more and more residential houses and the everyday
activities of the local population pollutes and violates the
solitude and peaceful environment of this region. We must sur-
mise that all those facts must have a very bad influence on
the very survival of the birds.
I have learnt by experience that there are very few corners in
the Khandala ravines which are free from the rattling noises
of heavy vehicles and electric horns and at night the disturb-
ances are from the flashing of powerful lights of the vehicles
that move up and down tho ghats. Besides, we hove to bear in
mind that tho birds are still suffering from the ill-effects
of last year's drought. In my article "The Year of the Drought"
published in this paper on 12-73, I had mentioned "I still wonder
that under these circumstances how many birds failed in their
final goal of rearing offspring." The mere fact that some have
noticed a slight decline in the bird population may bo a con-
firmation of what I had foretold might happen.
This year the forest vegetation was exuberant, a true reville
of luxurious foliage with all combination of green and yellow
shades and patterns. But in spite of this, the insect life was
very poorj besides the trees and bushes bearing wild fruits
and berries have rendered a poor crop. Therefore it is evident
that for the time being many birds will have to put up with an
unbalanced diet, or search for food from some nearby forest.
The final conclusion of our observation were that there were
less noise than there usually should have bean at this time of .
the year. We tried to spend more time on tho spots whore the
birds were. in previous years, but it only verified the conclu-
sion that' tho bird population was loss than usual. With refer-
ence to the Shama's and Parakeets my companion remarked that
year after year we see less and loss of thorn. We visited a spot
nicknamed by us "The valley of tho Shamas" where we never
failed to see or hear tho melodious songs of the Shamas. It
is lamentable how the forest of the Khandala region is dis-
appearing. It would be worthwhile to find a method by which
the maximum benefits with the minimum of damage could bs
attained when cutting down ox clearing forest areas. In this
way the size of the forest will remain fairly constant in-
stead of diminishing forever. I heve always been rather suspi-
cious of seeing axes and sawp entering the fornst areas. I
think they do greater damage then the guns.
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NHwalettHi- for Birdwatchsxa March 1975
Perhaps those responsible for the indiscriminate but system-
atic destruction of forests have not fully understood the
principles of conservation. There is what is known as " protect -
ive association" * In simple term it means that the forests are
needed for the protection of the fauna of that region. By des-
troying this protective association the birds and other animals
have lost their natural protection and shelter and their food.
They are also left to the mercy of predators and all other
kinds of eventualities. In short, we are unbalancing the Eco-
logy, Balance may take a long time. But since Nature works slow-
ly, the region may be deprived of its proper adjustment in
nature, the weather may be disturbed. This, in turn, would
cause all kinds of unforseen problems in that region. T^ero
may also be a danger of insects, plagues or it may trigger off
on erosion process, losing oil chances of o new reforestation.
(SPAN - September 1974) -.,
wraRUk-£O0D P8Q0li6M9 WD-BRGSPECTS - by Lawrence A. Mayer:
"Of all the imponderables that affect the future demand for
food, supply is the most difficult to gauge, for it ia affected
not only by economic considerations, but by changes in climate
and in ecological conditions."
"Secretary Butz agrees, adding that the possibility of growing
several crops a year makes the tropics "one of the great un-
tapped agricultural areas of the world," It should be added,
however, that some scientists believe the ecological balance
of tropical regions to be quite delicate, and warn that deve-
lopment there must be undertaken cautiously."
No doubt the ecology of the Khondala region is being steadily
destroyed by the depredation of man. Unfortunately, this is not
an isolated incident but a world wide phenomenon.
As the population of man increases there is less and less
space for all other creatures. Man being very high up in the
food chain to sjstain him demands a much greater contribu-
tion from Nature.
Moreover, the affluence of man is quite unfortunately linked
to the' proportion of raw materials that he uses. It is still
more saddening that many of these raw materials are irrepla-
ceable. In fact the more the consumption of steel, petroleum,
foodgrain, milk, paper etc. per capita population, the greater
the society and the nation which mokes such exploitation pos-
sible.
Nnwslettnr fur Birdwatchers March 1975.
4
-:- :■■• ■ r.£ ■
The solutions to this problem seem to bo first of all
to exercise immediate restraint an the- wasteful consumption
of Nature 1 s bounty and secondly to control the alarming rapid
increase, of world population,
A simple mathematical exercise of comparing the diminishing
resources of the world against the increase in population
will not only cqnvinco any intelligent individual of the grave
.danger but oven frighten him. It is quite possible that we
have already reached tho point of no return.
-.* - ' ' '
- Ed.
* * » *
BEHAVIOUR-PATTERN MIMICRY BY A GOLDFRONTED CHLOROPSIS,
AND SOME THOUGHTS ON IT.
J.S. Serrao.
The Goldfronted Chlnropsis ( Chloropsis aurifrons ) is noted to v
vocally mi«ic to perfection the Tailor-Bird, Redwhiskcrad Bulbul,
Iara, Whitebronatsd Kingfisher, Rufousbackcd Shrike, and the
defiant shikra-like notes of the Black Drongo, but for the first
time on 29th January, I observed the bird mimic the defiant
calls accompanied by frenzied behaviour— pattern an excited
Grey Drongo ( Djcrurus -oucophacus ) exhibits.
It all happened when qy companion, a beginner of a birdwatcher,
drew my attention to tro calls in the Borivli National Park,
Bombay, and asked for tho identity of the caller. Relying on
hearing alone, I declared it to be a Grey Drongo. I realized
later that I was fooled when my companion drew my attention
to the caller's colour and I took a look at it.
Perched in ah exposed petition on a topmast, leafless branch
of a manga tree, the chlcropsis was aggressively displaying ta
an assembly of Redwhiskcrod bulbula feeding among the flowers
of tho Flame of the Fores': (Butoa monosporm a) close to the
mango tree. The chloropsis was uttering the dufiont cheks of
tho Grey Drongo, flicking tail while so doing, and happing
from twig to twig as docs tho Grey Drongo. It kept this up
until it spotted us below, when it dropped down to the thickly
falioged part of the pcrcl-troe and continued the swearing.
Tho other instance of vocal.— cum-behaviour mimicry, I recoil
is the one recordod from P^riynr, Koraln — a Racket-tailed
Erongo ( Dicrurus paradisnus ) modelling a Jungle Babblor
( Turdoides stria tug ) /~J.C. baniol, J. Bomb ay Nat. Hist. Sac.
63:443 /. ~~ J
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Nbwr1.bLLo3? -for rirlwa- criL-3* March 1975
Dr. Salim Ali records an instance from the Surat Dangs of a
Racket-tailed "rongo vocally mimicking a Shikra ( Accipiter
taodius ) ■ Soon ifter the rackettailed concluded mimicking it
was pounced upen. chaaed, caught and devoured by a Shikra
(ibid. BOO). How then :.s mimicry advantageous to the mimicking
bird? Of relevance to the query is the article entitlod 'Vocal
mimicry and bird song evolution 1 , by F, Norman in the Now
Scientist , 21 June 1973 issue, at pp. 742-3. The author 3tates
that the basic mechanism of vocal mimicry is displacement acti-
vity. A mimicking bird places itself in a situation of being
predated upon or being attacked by males of its own species.
In these circumstances of conflicting response mimicry emerges
as a displacement activity. Where mimicry is not biologically
disadvantageous it may remain temporarily in the repertoire
of the mimicking bird. 5o long mimicry docs not create confu-
sion during the breeding season, tht mimicked calls can be
readily employed and their significance can be enhanced when
they are linked with an event. The ability to associate de-
fiant calls with defiant behaviour adds to the information
content of vitalised mimicry.
Seemingly, mimicry evolved to augment territorial display
according to the author. The first step is simple imitation
by juveniles learning song; its occurence in adulthood is the
result of displacement activity. Retention of mimicry in adult
song depends on two factovs: '.1 ) the mimic must use the calls
at a season when they have no biological significance; (2)
the mimicked calls must be physically similar enough ta those
of the bird mimicking them, so as to convey the same information
to territorial rivals. Where these two conditions do not occur,
mimicry, if at all it occurs, will not become a permanent fea-
ture of the full song and will be confined to sub— song or dis-
placement activity.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING ;
The Annual General Meeting of the Birdwatchers' Field Club if
was held at the residence of Dr. 5alim Ali at Pali Hill on the
evening of Saturday '5th liarc'i 1975.
1
Dr. Salim Ali was kind enough to take the Chair and preside
over the meeting.
The Hon. Secretary gave a bri jf account of the problems faced j
by the Club during the pasc year. At the autset the Hon.
Secretary wanted to record an appreciation of the very great
assistance given to the Ncswslet'-er by Mr. K;5. Lavkumor.
Newsletter for Birdwatchers. March 1975.
6
The account book was placed before tha members for perusal
and showed approximately the same balance when compared to
corresponding months of previous years.
The membership remained practically constant, the new members
being equal to those who had dropped out.
The out-door activities of the club in tha Bombay region was
restricted by the staggering of weekly holidays being a result
of the power cut. However, Mr. J.C, Danniel'.. assured the
members that the BNH5 will continue to arrange outings on
fixed days from fixed points. These will bo announced in
future issues of the Newsletter and will give members suffi-
cient advance notice to participate in thesa group observa-
tions.
The editor complained about the enormous increase in the price
of paper. It was also felt by Dr. 5alim All and many members
that the standard of articles in the Newsletter should be kept
up and not allowed to fall.
It was, therefore, decided to skip one or two issues to save
poper t especially when there wore o paucity of a suitable mix
ofarticloa.
It was however made clear that the Newsletter is not a scienti-
fic journal and its informal nature will be sustained.
Regarding subscriptions ""-he Hon* Secretary was of the opinion
that members find it difficult, during working hours, to queue
up in a post office for despatching a money order or postal
order. Therefore, Dr. Salim Ali suggested that if a subscrip-
tion was not received by the middle of the year, the member
concerned should be sent an issue of the Newsletter by V.P;P;
This would save the membur from considerable effurt and waste
of time. This suggestion W03 accepted.
A new Bank Account has been opened in the name of the Honorary
Secretary - Bird Watchers Field Club of India and Editor —
Newsletter for Birdwatchers. Cheques addressed to those Office
Bearers as well as in the personal names of the office bunrnrg
are acceptable.
The existing Office Bearers were elected to continue for the
year 1975 and until the next Annual General Meeting,
At one stage the . proceedings of the meeting were slightly inter-
rupted by the all too brief an intrusion by a Paradise Flycatcher,
. '.
Newsletter far Birdwatchers March 1975
7
GULLS AT KRISHNARAJA5AGAR
S.G. Neginhal. •
On the March 7th 1975 I sighted seme Gulls at the Krishnara-
jasagar reservoir, near Mysore. I give below details of these
birds.
The birds were gregarious and lovely. From a long distance the
general body colour was snow-white. But through a binocular
some of the birds had their heads, necks, tails and underparts
snow-white; and some had greyish blue heads. The mantle appear-
ed to be pale greyish-blue. Out of 99 birds counted two had
blackish caps. All the birds had reddish legs and bill except-
ing two that hod yellowish legs and bills. One had a blackish
bill. The feet were webbed. The tails were short and square
and white in colour. The wings were white at the base and black
at the tips with white "mirrors", seen while descending or
taking off. The wings were long and exceeded the tail when closed,
and their tips crossed over each other. Many had a vortical black
crescent mark on their side necks just behind their eyes. It
was evening time and the birds wore settling for roosting an
the partly submerged rocks of the dried up bed of the Krishna-
rajasagar. The birds also settled easily on the water, float-
ing with more than half their bodies above water.
From the observation detailed above the possibility of tho
bird3 being terns is rulod out and that these ore gulls is
established. Terns differ from gulls, among other details, in
being lightly built, with longer and narrower wings. Terns
rarely settle on water (except Anous) and have short legs.
They have slender bills. Gulls have stout bills with upper
mandible longer than tho lower.
Which are these Gulls? There are five possibilities - tho
Yollowlegqed and Pinklegged Herring Gulls , the Leaser Black-
backed Gull , the Brcwnhcadcd Gull and the Blackhaaded Gull .
The Yellowleggod Herring Gull, Larus argentatus hou_ glini , a n d
the Lesser Blackbacked Gull, Larus fuscus fuscus , have yellow-
ish legs and, therefore, are to be ruled out, as almost all
the above seen birds have reddish legs (although two had yellow-
ish legsj and argontatus and fuscus are often found together).
Tho Blackhcadcd Gull, Larus ridibundus ridibundus has no white
"mirrors" near tip of primaries. As all the birds seen exhi-
bited white "mirrors" in flight the ridibundus has to be
deleted* .
Newsletter for Birdwatchers March 1975.
8
This reduction brings us to consider two possibilities viz.,
the Pinklegged Herring Gull, Larus argentatus monqolicus and
the Brownheaded Gull, Larus brunnicephalus . The Monqolicus ia
not quite separable from tho houglini excepting that the mantle
is slightly paler grey and the legs and feet ere usually pink-
ish. This gull has its entire head, neck, tail and undcrparts
snow-white (Salim Ali and D. Ripley). All the above birds seen
had reddish legs, excepting two, and the group contained both
snow-white headed and light grey headed gulls. Out af 99 birds
counted two hod dark brown caps almost appearing blackish.
Since many of the birds had light grey caps, it may suggest that
the birds are getting into their summer dress of the brunnicephalua,
which has also the red legs and bill. Moreover many of these birds
had block crescent markings just behind their eyes.
Only further keen observation in the coming days will establish
the identification. I am sure the bird watchers will .take ad-
vantage of the presence of the birds at the Krishnarajasagar
in studying them before they emigrate.
From the above detailed description it appears that the birds
were mainly Brownheaded Gulls ( Larus brunnicephalus ) . At this
time of tho year the adult birds develop the brown cap - the
colour is Nescafe without milk.
It is not known whether any birds were observed with a bar on
the tail.
Young birds go through various phases of colour change but
continued further observations may not be possible if the
birds go away to their breeding ground.
- Ed.
.-
#
i'j
i ■ ■
' *.' * * #
IORRESPONDENCE:
Arrival &. Departure of Swallows at Wnrli.
, r or the lost three years I have been ohnnrvinq the arrival and
ccparture of Swallows at our factory situated ^*ff Dr. Moses
Foad, Worli. They are with us from October to April. In the
coming between 8 and 8-30 a.m. I would see about 50 of them
perched on an electric wire. Similarly in the evening when tho
Sun starts going down, between 4 ond 4-30 they would be back
on the wire. Their droppings have mode a white line under the
wire. During the day they are busy catching insects on the
flight, baking graceful dives and turns.
Newsletter for Birdwatchers March 1975
9
This year, surprisingly, I am only sooing a pair of these birds.
This means that the other birds have given up this place, and
have not returned to their usual hunting ground. I am unable to
find any particular reason. Is it because the oil furnace has
been shifted from one place to another nearer to the wire on
which they perchedj The chimney of this furnace is not high
enough and emits lot of smoke at a lower level.
But the pair of White Wagtails is back again this year and
entertains me morning and afternoon on our office terrace, I
cannot soy if life the same pair. Once I threw bits of bread to
see if they would accept. At first they seemed to be liking
them, but subsequently rejected the brood,
>
During lost week, for the first time I saw a party of Rosy
Pastors on the Peepal trcos near our office. They were moving f
from treo to tree and were with us for about 4/5 days. I don't
see them now.
Incidentally, for the first time I sow swallows at our camp
site at Jogcshwari. There has been a lot of digging around our
camp site with the result that the Vcrsova Creek water has made
inroads at many places and it looks as if these birds ore find-
ing a lot of insects from tho stagnant water.
But the most surprising thing this year is the absence of sea-
gulls at Haji Ali. I am sure many of our other readers have
also observed this. Otherwise, at this time every year we used
to ses thousands of seagulls in the shallows near the wall just
bohind tho bus stop. Can any reader explain the reason for this
sudden absence7
B;A; Palkhiwalla, i
i * * * *
Pollution of air and water can not only repel
birds but also chase away the insects on which
the birds prey,
- Ed,
S.V. NILAKANTA
Editor, Newsletter for Birdwatchers
C.D. Barfiwala Marg,
Andheri, BOMBAY 400 058.
EDITORIAL BOARD :
Or. Salim Alt,
Bombay.
Zafar Futehally,
269, Rajmahal Vilas Exten.
Bangalore-560 006.
Mrs. Jamal Ara,
Ranchi.
Kunvar Shri Lavkumar,
Rajkot.
Prof. K. K. Neelakantan,
Trivandrum.
Dr. A. S. Mahajan,
Bombay.
Br. A. Navarro,
Bombay.
Editor i
S. V. Nllakanta,
32A, C. 0. Barfiwala Marg,
Andheri,
Bombay-400 058.
■T
Annual Subscription Rs. 10/-
Students Rs. 5/-
!
Newsletter For
Birdwatchers
VOL XV NO. 4 APR./MAY 1975
J
I
!
NEWSLETTER FOR
BIRDWATCHERS
Volume 15, Number 4. April/May 1975
CONTENTS i
Girding in Pudukottai, by Miss Shama Futehally. 1
Behaviour in Nesting Season, by Anonta Mitra. 4
Bird Sanctuary at Killoshwar in Barda Hill
(Jamnagar Diet., Saurashtra),
5
CORRESPONDENCE!
More about the Nesting of tho Red-wattled Lapwing
- Thomas Gay. 9
Does "Crow eat Crow?" _ Thomas Gay 9
BIRDING IN PUDUKOTTAI
Miss Shomn Futehally.
ing
the established Indian principle that relatives arc necessary
everywhere, I wont along. The others of the party were three
I rule tribola, charming and easy people who arc " professional'
snake-catchers. Wo were put up by Mr. and Mrs. Nadudurrai of
the ruling family, who treated us with incredible kindness and
hospitality. And they ^ven laid on Nightjar colls at night and
Drain-fever Bird calls during the day, just outside our room.
Tho area surrounding Pudukoitai town is mainly scrub jungle
with a groat deal of acacia and Proscojais juli flora . Needless
to say, a large Reservo Forest area has recently been planted
over with eucalyptus by the Forest Dcptt.
Every day the six of us would jeep out to a new area, where
the others would start digging for snakes in likely places -
the Irulas displaying an intuition about the snakes' hideouts
which to mc seemed magical. I admired them, however, from some
distance. My awn occupation was to wander about with the bino-
culars, playing a solitary game of guess-the-bird. On tho
/
by Sursinhji S. Jadeja.
Attracting Birds, by ft.K. Bhotnagar. 7
Editorial, by S.V. Nilakanta. a
V
Newsletter for Birdwatchers. April/May 1975.
first day wo drove out in the evening, and along the rood
we totted up the usual Rollers, White-breasted Kingfishers,
Hoopoes, Common Green Bee-eaters, Black Drongoes, Rose-ringed
Parakeets, and a Shikra,
■
In the field, there were two or three White-browed Bulbuls
which allowed me to get fairly close and watch. One small
shrike gave me a hearty chase through ocacia thoms before
emerging as a Grey Shrike, As the light was fading a Grey
Partridge called occasionally and a Pale Harrier glided into i
view a couple of times in the distance.
The next day we went to Sittanavcssal, which is a group of
Jain rock temples out dramatically in a vast lion-coloured
buttress of rock, overlooking rice-fields. The cliff harboured
many Dusky Crag Martins , and Scavenger Vultures were const-
antly wheeling round. But the highlight of the cliff was a
pair of Brown Fish Owls which sat at apposite ends of the
cliff and occasionally launched towards each other in swift
flight, which from the distance was identified by Romulus
as belonging to the Short-toed Cagla. A3 wo wandered a little
away from the cliff we saw Red-vented Bulbuls, Purple Sunbirds,
and Ring Doves; then we reached a large bundh on the other side
of which was a small jheel, inhabited by a Common Sandpiper and
a Redshank. Our return ~a the cliff brought i 3hock; wo heard
a sudden rifle shot up tie slope which winged one of the Fish
Owls and brought it hurling to the. ground. It was immediately
collected by a group of youths who emerged from the naorfty
village. After attempting to quarrel with them we discovered
that thoro was very little to bo done, since if we took thu
owl home to nurse, its mr.to would probably replace it in the
cooking-pot. We left the scone resolvud an another strong
letter to the Times of Incia.
On the way homo a Laggor Falcon flew close by the jeep a couple
of timos. Every small pond or jheel had its attendant Pied
Kingfishers sitting on overlooking wirer, or mnking their
crash landings on the water. As often as not there was a Common
Kingfisher an the side. As the joop approached a White Wagtail
would frequently take off from the side of the road. Close
scrutiny of the fields 3omatimc;s revealed a group of Ashy-crownad
Finch-larks, and onco or twice at least, a Rufous-tailod Finch-
lark. Small brown movements on the side of the road materialised
as Indian Pipits. And groups of Whita-hoaded Babblers scorned to
congregate under every Banyan trmo slong the road.
On another cf these expeditions we saw a Kestrel on o telegraph
wire, and scattered a group of Utttle Ring Plovers as we bumped
through a wot field. I was beginning to be vastly disturbed by
a small bird of prey which floated miles up in the sky wherever
we were displaying only its underside, sut after much distress
Newsletter for Birdwatchers April/May 1975
3
I sow it alight on a tall tree and reveal itself as o Black-
winged Kite. A Piod Bush Chat (Southern?) a pair of Spatted
Owlets in a small copse of trocs, and a group of Yellow-
wattlcd Lapwings standing so still it was hard to believe,
made up the day. On the way homo Brahminy mynahs strutted
along the edges of the fields, and we saw one or two large j
groups of Brahminy kites wheeling and diving over jhcels. Just
near Pudukottai town were two surprises, a Red-winged Bush-
lark on o wire and a Wood Shrike just below it on a bush.
Another day was spent in the huge grounds of the old Palace,
which is now the municipal building of Pudukottni. It is
planted with mango, tamarind, and other largo trees. Hero wo
sow a couple of Golden-backed Woodpeckers following each
other up a tree-trunk, a lone Coppersmith high up somewhere,
and heard the clinky call of a Troopie.lt was nice to be inter-
rupted by one of the Irula boys with a fresh piocc of honoy-
corab dripping with honey, .-nd to be told to chew the honeycomb
and suck in the honey. Thus fortified I hunted out a pair of
Jcrdon's Chlorapse3, a female Paradise Flycatcher, and, sur-
prisingly for the first time in our stay, a Magpie Robin. I
also hod a glimpse of the rear ond of an Oriole. Then there
was an even moro excising interruption. One of the Irulas was
following the chatter of Jungle Babblers 03 an indication that
a snake was in the vicinity, and ha broke upon a cobra eating
a monitor lizard. The dead monitor was still whole, and half-
way down, ond we all watchod and photographed the scene from
•yards away.
After that; 3nakcs were on my mind for the day. At one point
I peered closely at a dappled patch of light and shndo under
a bush, and distinguished myself by screaming that it was a
Russets Viper. Then I set down bitterly on a stone, and saw
only e Grey Wagtcil.
On tho way back to Madras wo moved up along the coast, and as
the aree began to get marshier and more full of water, it pro-
vided Dabchicks, a group of Blackwingod Stilt3, one or two
Greonsharks, and a Chestnut Bittern nearly hidden under o
clump of reeds. When we stopped and walked along tho soa in
the sun, we were roqarded by a Whitabelliod Sea Eagle sailing
gently over our heads towards the soo, and diving for fish.
The long drive in the jeep was marked by what might bo called
a "cute 1 in-ident. At one point we stopped near the side of
tho road to -:olloct some weaver— bird nests which were lying
on tho grounc. Thesa ware tucked away at the back of tho jeep
as future drawing— room decorations, but before wo had gone
very far the rests began to wiggle about and three baby munias,
not weaver— bizds, fluttored out of them. They were gone before
m
Proceeding ahead I -as confronted with sharp agitated cnlls of
Bronzed Drongos (DIC?URUS ftENEUS). A pair of thum was pouring
in their vehement protest at my approach. The cause of their
angry demonstration wa* soon revealed. A new-barn Chic was there
An almost indistinct 'Cnn Cha' sound gave out its presence. But
for the tiny book and o^es it was n round fluffy thing, resting
on the small branch of a mango tree (MANGIFERA INDICA).
Newsletter for Birdwatchers April/Hay 1975
wc could collect ourselves, but my recollection is that they
wcro grey with darker grey heads.
Another thing which was pointed out to ma in the course of
the drive was the great variation in tho bluo of the Whita*--
breasted Kingfishers. It seemed to vary from a deep metallic
blue to a light blue which waa almost green. I would be grate-
ful for support in this observation.
i
Near Chidambaram, wo stopped at a river bonk in tho cause of
crocodiles, and this yielded, at a great distance, a pair af
Pheasant-tailed Jacana3, unmistakcablo although they were in
non-breeding plumage. Loud did-you-do-its reminded us that wo
had not heard them in Pudukottai at all. And a very good finalo
for the trip was to discover a Pied Crested Cuckoo near the
Chidambaram Roservoir, although the price of watching the bird
was the consciousness that a crocodilo might join mo any minute.
BEHAVIOUR IN NESTING SEASON
Ananta Mitra.
It was the end of spring. In the mtfrning on 21.4.74 at about
10.00 a.m. I went to our faVOUXita haunt for birds, the Rath-
tola Garden. It is about 20 Kms south of Calcutta. Bird-Calls
wore coming from all directions. The calls which attracted me
most -were the sharp "Cha-Chwe, Cha-Chwe" calls of the Paradise
Flycatcher (TiRPSIPHONE PARADISI). Movement of these birds in
this locality, is not clearly known. It has been observed that
in the month o* April and May they come in this area for rais-
ing their younc and depart after somo months.
Within a few minutes I discovered a pair of these fascinating
birds flitting go /fully in tho foliage. Following their move-
ments I found thoir nest. In the fork of a small "Golap Jom<
tree (EUGENIA JAHBOS) at a height of about 10 feet a cup-shapod
nest had been built. It contained oggs and both the male and
femalo were hatching the eggs by turns.
*«
Newsletter for Birdwatchers April/May 1975
5
As I trained my attantion on the chic the parents screamed
in protest. When screams did not have the desired effect,
they started mimicking the scolding notes of the Tree Pio
(DENDROCITTA VAGABUNDA). Failing even at this, the shrieking
birds began to whirl menacingly over my head, Thoir boldness
went so far that it seemed that they wore trying to swoop on
mc with their sharp beaks* I got really afraid and had to beat
a quick retreat.
Moving furthar into the garden I once again facod a similar
situation. Thi3 time with a pair of Black— naped blue flycatcher
(MONARCHA AZUREA). A chic of th^m had just como out of the
shell and the parents wero mounting guard on him. A little
bluish ball with dazzling tiny eyes was looking around the
world. The parents became deeply concerned about the safaty
of their charge and began to shriek their loudest.
But unlike the Drongos there was no frontal attack. Tempera-
mentally they arc much lass fierce than the Drongos.
In the garden there wcro a few big and small patches of water
whici were used by some species of Kingfisher. Among than I
identified a Storkbillud Kingfisher (PELAGCP5I5 CAPENSIS) ,
In the nesting season he had become vociferous with loud calls
of "Kwah - Kwah-Kwah-Kwah".
Among various other birds a goad number of Black-headed
Oricles (ORIOLUS XANTHORNUS) wore found. Thay were giving out
pleasant seasonal calls, sounding like, "Ekti-khoka-Hoke,
Ekti-khoka-Hoko, Ekti-Khoko-Hoko". In Bengali tho words moan
"let a son be born".
At intervals batches of 2 or 3 Orioles wore pursuing one
anothor and seemed to be selecting their mates.
BIRD SANCTUARY AT KILLESHWAR IN BARDA HILL
(Jaimagar Dist,, Saurashtra).
Sursin-.ji 5. Jadejn.
Tho ancient Killeshwar Temple situated in Barda Hills is 60
miles south of Jamnagar*
Famous ihummli ruin3 lie adjoining tho north slops of Abha-
pura peek (ancient RAIVATAKA) and Killeshwar is on the
southern slops of Abhapura.
■. -■
•
Newsletter for Birdwatchers April/May 1975
6
■■•
Last December I had an opportunity to visit Killeshwar to
see the renovation work of the ancient temple which is be-
ing carried out by Shri Jan Dharmada Trust sinco last three
years.
*** Close by the temple runs a small stream which is known as
Kilganga and surrounding the temple grow very old treos of
Mango, Jambu, Amli and People etc., which are ideal for a
Bird Sanctuary.
Despite three lean years in Saurashtra, and despits the fact
that Killeshwar is more than one thousand feat above sea
level, the rivulet is live with fresh water. The beautiful
Parvati kund has 30 feet of water which is overflowing.
During ray 15 days 1 stay at Killeshwar I was very much
attracted by many apeciss of birds which are rarely seen
elsewhere in Saurashtra,
Special privileges enjoyed by
. K .11 l°. 8 Jl v X a - r - JAgda
The total area under the temple does not exceed more than
40 acrea, yet this small area is visited by more than 50
species of birds, because they are specially protected hare
by strict orders of Jamsahob Shri Sataji - the sole Trustee.
Privileges enjoyed by birds are as under :-
1) Nobody is allowed to shoot birds in this unique
sanctuary.
2) No one is allowed to pluck fruits from any fruit
tree however remunerative they may bo.
3) A special type of bird feeding platform is con-
structed 20« x 10* on top and 10' high, surrounded
by a water channel, so that not even rats could
get on it.
Such privileges are not to be enjoyed by bird3 in any part
of India.
Among the specieo found here, Babblers are the mast auda-
cious birds. They are not at all afraid of huraan beings.
A visit to Killeshwar is a MUST to Bird Lovers.
Newsletter for Birdwatchers April/May 1975
7
ATTRACTING BIRDS
R.K. Bhatnagar.
Note on 'Attracting birds' by Mr, Abraham Verghese (in News-
letter for Bird Watchers, Vol. XIV (3):5-6, March, 1974) appears
of interest to us from Economic Ornithology point of view, be-
sides of course its multifarious significance to bio., eco. and
behavioural aspects. Since from the perusal of literature v/e
find that very scarce information is available on this aspect
and shall be of interest to field bird watchers, the aspect is
being reported.
Attractanl3 are of various types: food, viz. most of the birds
are attracted to region where food is available as in cose of
Parakeets on Sun flower and Vultures on carcase; habitat: vari-
ous oirds are attracted to suitable habitat which is duo to
varices factors - protection, nesting, food etc.; sex: physio-
logical., mating pair etc. These aspects amongst birds particu-
larly en Indian species are least worked out. However, similar
studies on insect species are good and considerable work is
being ccne in India too. Further discussions on these are be-
yond our scope here.
Here it nay bo pointed out that in arriving at or in finding
out an a~tractant one should bear in mind tho factor of avail-
ability 'of food) too. In fact in such findings a series of
trials are performed to find out preferences and further trials
ojt of preferred ones, sometimes yields an attractant. In fact
this is how with prabaiting (untreated) effective bait is
evclvod. Obviously this varies from species to species and
somutimes from season to season, depending upon the proferoncc
at tTat tirre.
Perusal of literature on f food preference in nature 1 amongst
birdsrr. we find that there is a paucity of information and the
only irformation available i3 from studies by Dr. Salirn All
in his farious books. Still, much remains to be done. Thus
this aspect is not only important for watching birds from close
angles bit also on factors like » food 1 preference' , Visitant
species, segregation of plant varieties (crops particularly)
not preferred, either due tD plant physiological bearings
(viz* groirs at milky stage) or due to morphological structures
of the plant viz. shed layers of anthers on uarheads of bajra,
though it i« preferred food of many birds and presence of long
awns on whoa": carhcads. Such studies, thus, can perhaps bo used
as methods affording 'selectivity' i.e. to trap the required
species and release tha others.
Newsletter for Birdwatchers April/May 1975.
8
From the descriptions of Mr. Abraham it appears that he
perhaps refers to the largo sized Sunflower which is cultivated
in many parts of India for its oil bearing scads. In many
parts of Northern India, the crop is" damaged mostly by Parakcots
approximatsly to the tune of 10-25$. In a study at Now Dalhi,
wo found that birds do not always feed in concentric circles
of seeds, instead start feeding from any sido thoy perch. Some-
times they even feed on soft ports of flower and often not a
single seed is left on a flower. This can be visualised when
in a flower of about 8 inches diameter no seed i3 left.
In fact all field observations ara immensely important parti-
cularly on ■feeding habits' in nature as the factor is of sig-
nificance and is scantily worked out. Perhaps this is the rea-
son of poorly developed 'culturing techniques 1 in our country.
Also such studies may yiold many mora such valuable information
as has been shown by Dr. Salim Ali in his studios on 'Weed Seed
dispersal' and ■ Ornithophily' •
EDITORIAL:
The following news item is being reproduced for bird watchers.
In caso our readers had missed it earlier it can ba read now.
"Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma, Union Minister for Communica-
tions, released four multi-coloured postage stamps,
depicting Indian birds, in Bombay on Monday.
Dr. Sharma hoped that these stamps would help people to
remember about birds and their importance in this country.
The first stamps in the series wera handed^ over by Dr.
Sharma to the noted ornithologist, Mr. Salim Ali, and to
the artist, Mr. J. P. Irani.
The four stamps are in the denominations of 25 p., 50 p.,
one rupee and two rupees.
The birds were chosen by Mr. Salim Ali, painted by Mr.
J. P. Irani and printed by the photogravure process at
the India Security Press at Nasik."
A postage stamp seems to be a very good way of making the
public aware of the desired object. This publicity factor is
further enhanced when the stamps are released' under television
and radio coverage.
-
-.1
Newsletter for Birdwatchers April/May 1975
9
The unobtrusive and beautiful Indian Pitta is shown on the 25
paise stamp which we all use more than the other denominations.
Most city dwellers may not be" aware of the existence of such
a bxrd although it is not rare in cities with gardens and hedges.
rfe should see a lot more of the Pitta if cats and crows can be
kept in check.
CORRESPONDENCE
* *
Does "Crow Eat Crow"?
- Thomas Gay.
My care for the safety of small nesting birds around my flat
has from time to time led me to aim my .22 air rifle at Crows
or — especially — Crow Pheasants. Whenever my air has besi
true, the result has been a burst of excitement and indignation
among the whole local population of Crows, both sp Ian dens and
nacjorhvnchoB. Their -reaction has been just the same, when the
victim has been 3 Coucal, as when it has been one of themselves,
This seems to show thnt Corvu3 regards Contropus as a member of
its own infamous brotherhood.
i
More about the Nesting of tlfe
Red-Wattled Lapwing.
V
Recent letters about "Unusual nesting by Red-wattled Lapwings" \
prompt me to remind my fellow Watchers of the several pairs of
Jfoill&faa A P . d A. c iJ3 tnat serenely nest amid the rose bushes in the
Mogul Gardens of Hashtrapati Bhavan , New Delhi.
There is also the unique case of the Kotah (Rajasthan) Lapwing
that nests — or did nest until at least 1956 — just in front
of the Palace. An extensive "parade-ground" had at some tins
been stripped of its original grass and turf, and tarred over
— all but a small triangle of grass, with sides each about 20
feeS in length, which included an obviously traditional nesting
site of a pair of Vanellus. Realising the riskiness of a site
now so greatly exposed and open to all kinds of dangers, the
benevolent Maharao had appointed an armed sentry to stand at
one corner of the triangle and thus ensure the safety of the
incubating Lapwing.
Does anybody know whether this delightful situation still con-
tinues? I have had go opportunity to seB the place again since
1955. Surely this must be the only genuinely wild bird which
has had the honour of a Royal Guard !
\
Newsletter for Birdwatchers
10
April/May 1975
Now, in the days when tho price of cartridges permitted one to
shoot snipe and quail, and oven to practise on corws, I used to
observe the samo corvine excitoment and indignation, but never
saw a dead crow actually touched by any of its fellows. From
this I concluded that the "Dog doesn't cot dog" principle applies
to cr,ows (although in these tough days it is no longer invari-
ably truo of dogs).
I was therefore not n little surprised, in tho last week of
February, to observe a Jungle Crow pecking strongly at tho cor-
pse of a Crow Pheasant which I had shirt five days previously.
Other crows made vocal comments an tho performance, but not
one would join the pockex at his work; after a while cvon he
seemed to find the strip of feathers scarcely worth investi-
gating, end flaw away.
Have any of my fallow Watchers come across such examples of
"Crow doos oat Crow"?
I
•- Thomas Gay.
* • # * # * *
Tho cunning nature in a crow scons to bo inbuilt and not
necessarily acquired through the exorcise of any special
intelligence or through experience. I will cito an example
in support of this opinion.
Lost month I was sitting in the verandah of my hotol in
Trivandrum, In front of me was a group of largo trees
which had the nest of a Pariah Kit a. Several crows were
also nesting in the snme trees which also served as a
noisy roost for a hundred or more birds at night.
As I sipped my afternoon tea I idly watched o kite bring-
ing something to food its young. A group of crows immedia-
tely harassed the kite which aftar screaming with frus-
trated rngo dropped the tit bit.
Even as the morsel of food foil to tho grassy ground a young
crow dropped down besides the food and held its mough open.
Within the samo half of a second a parent crow picked up the
food and thrust it down tho throat of tho young crow, .
Obviously the young crow was too young to foed itself but
was not too young to participate in the well timad perform-
ance of depriving the kito family of its snack.
Newsletter for Birdwatchers April/May 1975
11
Although this performance smacked of well drilled and
rehearsed efficiency this drilling and tutoring, if any,
could not have taken place as only a few weeks must have
elapsed since the fledgeling loft its nest,
(Trivandrum is about 10° south of Bombay and the summer
season seems to bo therefore about 40 days in advance
as witnessad by the crow3 nesting and the flowering of
Cassia, Poltoforum and other trees).
- Ed.
.
S P V, Nilakanta
Editor, Newsletter for Birdwatchers
CD. Barfiwala Marg
Andheri (West), BOMBAY 4UU 050.
EDITORIAL BOARD :
Dr. Salim AM,
Bombay.
Zafar Futehally,
269, Rajmahal Vilas Exten.
Bangalore-560 006.
Mrs. Jamal Ara,
Ranchi.
Kunvar Shri Lavkumar,
Rajkot.
Proi. K. K. Neelakantan,
"Trivandrum.
Dr. A. S. Mahajan,
Bombay.
Br. A. Navarro,
Bombay.
fc
i -
r
Editor : t*.
S. V. Nilakanta,
32A, C. D. Barf iwala Marg
Andheri,
Bombay-400 058.
Annual Subscription Rs. 10/-
Students Rs. 5/-
Newsletter For
Birdwatchers
VOL XV NO. 5 JUNE 1975
I
I
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NEWSLETTER FOR
B I RDWATCHERS
Volume 15, Number 5. June , 9?5
CONTENTS
Birdwatching (or Searching) in Mizoram,
by Ishwor Prakaah 1
The Fighting Urge, .. by T.V. Jose
Editorial Note, .. by S.V. Nilakonta
CORRESPONDENCE!
3
A suggestion to Members £. Editor )
„ _. ) Thomas Gay 10
How Yollow is a "Yellow"-eyed Babbler? )
-5
BIRE WATCHING (OR SEARCHING) IN MIZORAM
I shwar Prokash.
I visited Mizoram for about a week in connection with the
outbreak of rodent population allegedly associated with Bamboo
flowering. After arriving at Aizawl air-strip by e Dakota
flight, I was greeted by a loud symphony being ardently played
by cicads but shockingly there was no chirruping of sparrows
or cawing of crows to break the monotony. We took about an
hour to travel by circuitas road to Aizawl proper (around 4000')
but not a single sighting of any bird was recorded.
Mizoram is a montanne terrain, steep valleys, tall hills;
villages and towns are situated on slopes, nearly on the top
of the mountains. Although the everoge annual rainfall in
Mizjram varies from 2000-3000 mm yet except for the rainy
season, a general paucity of water continues. Water is collected
from dripping creeks. The most dominant vegetation is composed
of bamboos of several species, Mau, Rua, Rawthing; Erianthus
grass; and a few species of trees. The herbaceous cover during
this time (third week of March) of the year appeared ta be rathar
poorly represented. Mizos by and large believe in high-protein
diet and are omni-non— vegetarian.
Na/sletter for Birdwatchers June 1975
1
After, settling in the Circuit House, I scanned the sky - no
kites, vultures, crows — the vast sky overhanging the deep
valley and over the lofty mountain was devoid of any kind of
life, except plentiful swifts - probably two species. Then I
searahed the canopies of the trees, no bulbuls, doves, and
sparrows. There were no babblers in the hedgas and no drongos,
no bee-eaters on telephone wires. I did not take this absence
of birds at Aizawl seriously but next day at 4 a.m. as the sun
peeped from behind two cliffs, I tuned my ears for bird calls.
During the 4 hours of bird 'listening 1 , I heard the domestic
fowl only. I was overjoyed to see a small flock of six house
sparrows which, I was told by the owner of the Circuit House,
was being protected by him from tiny tots playing with sling-
shots or catapults.
I did not score any addition to my bird list until I visited
Sarrang, a village at the foot of the hill, on the bank of
Tlawng river, and about 30 kms of Aizawl. The valleys and
hill slopes, through which we motored, are thick with bamboos,
Sachharu m ( Eriant hjJs now) and occasional trees. On our way
down to the" valley, a chat like bird did vanish into the clumps
but I could not see it properly. On the river bank, we saw a
lonely wagtail and delightfully heard the calls of jungle fowls
which are told to be plentiful particularly in the southern
Mizoram where thoy are reported to be a paddy pest. I was,
eagerly expecting to see lapwing, egrets -ind other marsh-
loving birds on the river bank but was utterly disappointed
by their absence. On the last day of my stay at Aizawl, how
glad I was to see a lonely kestrel havering over the sky.
On my way back from Aizawl to Silchur (190 kms) by the pre-
cariously winding road, 1 maintained on intense vigil to
watch birds which was not quito difficult as the jeep could
barely cross a speed of 25 km/hr. During our descent to Kampui
and Thingdwal, I did not see any bird nor heard the jungle
fowl although swifts were plentiful throughout. Near Kolasib,
about 2000* near a Banyan tree, I heard the sweet chuwik,
chuwik, probably of a Tailor bird? A red— vented bulbul, then
a pair, flew past. Two pairs of house crows were keeping their
vigil from a tree over the restaurants. From Kolasib to —
Bilkhawthlir, the spotted dove started appearing repeatedly
on the road. A few chats, Rack-chnt, Copsychus , a black robin
like bird, a hoopoe and a Drongo were seen. At Vairengte two
pariah kites were hovering; a common myna, couple of crows
were also observed. After a few km of Vairongti, I got out of
the hills into the plains — lot of birds, all one could
expect, perching on tho telephone wires, on marshy fields
and so on.
*% - - -
Newsletter for Birdwatchers June 1975
3
I had discussed the apparent paucity of bird fauna at Aizawl
and near about regions with the local inhabitants and I was
told of only one reason about their apparent rarity. Mizos like
to eat more protein - almost any kind. 2-3 decades ago partridges,
wild fowl, harnbills, pheasants were quite common around Aizawl.
But now wo can ! t see them at all. I thought of other reasons Qf
this apparent depletion of avifauna in Mizoram and to my mind
they are t
(1) There may be a seasonal altitudinal migration of birds up
and down the hills and during summer, when I visited Aizawl,
there were not many birds. Althaugh I had travelled thrice from
the baso of the hilly region to the top, birds were only a few
in number at every altitude. Sustained observations over a year
may tell us the real story.
(2) Most of Mizoram is covered with bamboos, some of which
flower once in 50 years and others follow a 25-30 years flower-
ing cycle. Fruit-bearing horbacious cover is scanty. There is,
therefore, not much food for birds.
(3) The jhum -poddy cropping pattern may also be indirectly
responsible for scaring the birds out of the jungle. The forests
are vary frequently burnt for cleaning to accommodate the paddy
fields. The same field is not sown next year and a 4 to 8 years
shifting cycle is obsorvud. Hence largo scale jungle fires aver
vast areas ore vary common. In fact ono can see 4 to 6 large
scale fires on one slope of a valley. Fires not only scaro tha
avifauna but also destroy their habitat. Secondly, the C0 2 and
CO content in the air should bo so high as to spurn any
attempt on the part of the birds to survive there. I hove
noticed that on certain days the visibility in the valley is
very paor duo to clouds of smoke.
Lastly I caution the readers that my bird watching (or
searching) lasted only for o short while, only during one season,
and only at a handful of localities, so it is difficult to draw
any definite conclusion.
THE FIGHTING URGE
T.V. Jose
This refers to the note "Jungle Babblers at Pali Hill, Bandra
Bombay 410 050 by Salim Ali in November 74 issue (Vol. XIV Nil)
of N.L.
I am giving here a hypothetical explanation on the basis of
a few incidental observations. Yet I suppose this may prove
■Newsletter for Birdwatchers June 1975
4
useful to the readers of NL in general to be more critical
and careful in their future observations, and for a few others,
who have environmental opportunity and the enquiring mind to
serve as an incentive to study deeply the phenomenon through
further observations and even experiments if possible, so
that the truth will be available in more accurate form.
H uraana witneao avian mock-f ights ;,. not a_yery_ J^jc. 8 _ °S £ yjFr.
renc^e;
At the outset I must say the range of this strange behaviour
(referred by Salim Ali in his note) extends to other species
also. For, I have witnessed such skirmishes among common house
crows (Corvus spj.ejidan_s) and as in the cose of jungle babblers
(X.urdqides_ somrner vil lei) their amity was unquestionable when
they" we'rB 'found resting side by side on the same branch of a
tree after the vicious fight between then only a moment ago.
This unmediated liaison could raise only doubt and confusion
to the extent that I wanted more and more observations of
this peculiar phenomenon before I would commit to write and
send the note to the Editor of Nl*
Mock-f ight: it s ca_u_se__arKl^ef feet:
During the early stages of evolution when gregariousness was
no-, a part of their nature, individual birds fought against
eact- other for food and sex and the selection was based mainly
on tre fighting ability of the individual birds. In group life
like -.hat of jungle babblers to fight f or food (and sex ?) is
not ne-essary, but I feel the instinct to fight persists none-
theless in rudimentary form. Like any other instinct this
instinc-. too must be causing tension when it is not allowed
to operEte in an organism and this tension (the urge) is
relieve- periodically in their mock-fights.
If that ;e the case what makes individual birds leave their
single life in preference to group life, as we have assumed
here ? Th-a answer is that various organisms adapt themselves
to various safety methods to get protection from their enemies,
and group life is just one among them. The very sight of a
number o* organisms together is. likely to keep their enamy at
bay. I would rather quote +Tinbergen: "The black caterpillars
which are not camouflaged, live in clusters. ...it has been
shown that the closely related and very similar larvae of the
small Tortoise shol- and the Peacock do derive protection
frou living in clusters. Redstarts for instance do not as a
rule attack these lar*ae while they are clustering, but as
soon as one detaches itself from the group and wanders off
the birds are fax loss reluctant to take them"*
* pp 185, Curi-us Naturalists by Tinbergon
Newsletter far Birdwatchers June 1975
In the case of birds, group life means much mora. Tha ability
to bo vigilant and to locate the danger is not uniform among
the individual birds like any other ability. Some of them are
mora alert and vigilant by nature than others in the group
and their service will be enjoyed by all. Group life will
allow, again, many of the members to relax while a few arc
on the look-out. The pattern can change from time to time
with the result all the members can relax in their turn and
yet the group will remain watchful of the likely dangers in
the best manner. In the event of an enemy's attach individual
birds in a group may fly off in different directions. The
visual and auditory stimuli that -crowd upon the enemy's
, sensory organs might put the enemy in utter confusion. The
element of unexpectancy and the inherent fear in the enemy
itself could make the confusion worse. It is also possible the
group may mob the enemy instead of fleeing. In the face of
numerical strength, more threatening than the massive strength
of a single individual, the enemy would show a clean pair of
heels.
As regards co-operation among the individuals and their inter-
dependence and amity, not all group-laading spocies of birds
can bo alike, +At one end the individuals in a species are
strung together very loosely while at the other end gregari—
ousness and sociability may novo suppressed tho individuals'
fighting instict almost entirely and it will be difficult to
find an instance of fighting among them. Even our having not
witnessed a fight among the individuals in a particular group
of birds should not lead us prematurely to believe that they .
have achieved sociability fully, for I feel the life preserv-
ing instincts die hard in any species. Group life of birds
deserve closer study before which any conclusion that we may
arrive at should remain tentative in nature,
„
I wish to recall here an experience I had yoars ago when I
was a boy hunting birds with a catapult in my hands, A common
sandpiper (Trir^ga hyj3_o_l cucos ) was struck by the pellet. Con-
sequently ono of its wings was incapacitated and tha bird
dropped dawn into a feeding canal of 5 or 6 ft, width in a
rice field. Faced with myself on one bank and my friend on
the other, the bird found no way to escape and we were suro
to catch the floating bird alive. But the unexpected happened:
the bird dived down into the water with no visible element
of difficulty and surfaced some distance ahead. It had to
repeat tha feat many times before it found itself safely
away from us. Now the question is : how many of us have
observed a commen sandpiper diving? I have not scan before
or since* I am sure the bird was able to revive the power
Newsletter for Birdwatchers June 1975
6
to swim and dive when faced with a situation demanding it,
though its ancestors sometime in the bird*s genealogy must
have used this power in a larger measure in their daily life,
This incident proves that thcro arc various trends, lying, in
an organism dormant and wo may pass them on as not existing
at all. The fighting instinct could be very well one among
them*
It can be argued that the extent to which tension relieving
fight (for brevity, t.r.f.) will be absent in that 3pccies.
If therefore f.s.f. is found moro commonly among house corws
than among jungle babblers, the fighting (t.r.f.) as an
exercise to relieve tension will be moro frequently observ-
able among the babblers than among the crows. Thus it is do-
finitely impossible to witness t.r.f. in the xufous-backed
shriko or the magpie robin, for example, since they never
load a group lifo and never need to suppress f.s.f. On the
other hand, there having many species of birds leading group
life and the chance of seeing these birds fight to relieve
their tension being sufficiently large how shall we account
for our lagging in observations of these fights (t.r.f.) and
their fewer reportings? Probably the answer lies in the fact
that we rarely pay serious attention to any fights of birds
presuming that they fight cither far *ad or sex.
Ale rt. AQcho flifOT _-r_ _q. J^ipdrcd b oh a vi our j rf t _.«*>Jj?. '
If the fighting instict of the individuals in a species is
for the survival of the fittest, the alert mechanism ha3 boon
evolved nut of the need to save the group from external
enemies.
The stranga behaviour of houso crows at night reported by
Mr. Partha Pratim Majumdar (April, May, 74, issues) is to
me not due t- any error in sense of time, sinco it is well-
known that birds and other animals have very accurate time
sense and errors on this score is an unlikely possibility.
On' the contrary, I feel, it is because the alert mechanism
is at work. The roosting habit of the crows and the feeding
nature of the domestic fowl (Ga llUS £allus } must have made
thorn most vulnerable to the attack of enemies in their long
past lifo. The foar and the instict to escape, built up by
the enemies' attack and fortified by the individual vigilance
during the period, continue to exist still, in a vestigial
form. It is possible, we may presume, that some individual
bird/s will bo more prone to be provoked than any other ones
in a group at a given time. Some stimuli, now unknown to us,
trigger off the responso in that individual bird (or birds).
In the group, other biid3 that are also responsive to the
same stimuli at varying degrees but not equally, will respond
to the signal to escape (danger cry) and the fear spreads out
to them readily and the^ in their turn as members of the group
>
Newsletter for Birdwatchers June 1975
7
make the some escape signal. And the interaction of fear ai.iong
the members continues for some time, but in the. absence of any
fear-object, the fear is not sustained further, and they settle
down to feed (in the case of domestic fowl) or to roast (in
the pase of house craws).
S£££*£&£2L PJ. _v e s.ti^i a 1 t f i gh.tin g instinct - in corvion crowds
_. a l4 A n . BabbXM: slatexhoodi
The vestigial fighting instinct of the members of a group may
manifest itself more acutely in some of the individuals for
hereditary reasons when same stimuli now unknown to us release
the response to fight and the fight breaks out in the gaoup.
Other members that strain at .the same leash but to a lesser
extent enters the melec according to the intensity of their
urge, some jeering and cheering, one or two plunging right
into the thick of the fight which goes on till the tension is
fully relieved. This type of emotional purge, as it were,
affects all the members that participate at different levels
in the fight. The interval between one such fight and the other
should therefore be comparatively tension free and peaceful.
The painful experience of their fight does not leave behind
bitterness or enmity among the participants* We humans will
have great difficulty to comprehend this kind of activity in
a group life for ma sons of our awn.
.* '■
A fl, _a v i a n_ i^.t.n.Gs. 3 . 6 . 8 . JO. J l J J . m . a in. i^ c X"".'C : H£ n _* :
LBt us put the question to ourselves: Are wa entirely free
from this type of pugnacity? The answer to this question is
our long list of internecine quarrels and blood-shed in our
well-recorded history which can be traced ultimately to our
mutual fear, suspicion and the desire to fight (which we may
acknowledge or not) in spite of our far bettet reasoning power.
Though we get our tension relieved partly or fully after each
figit unpleasant enmity or pleasant excitement remains as a
residue in our behaviour. For this we have to take into account
our -etter memory, culture and our far more developed ego. We
indeed get relief from the tension that mounts up in the
absence of any fight in peace time, through various kinds of
spores, physical and mental, which are nothing if not mock-
figh's in humans. Let U3 bring before our mental eyea a foot
ball piny ground, crowded with spectators, two batches active-
ly playing to win over the other, the cheer end jeer of the
gallery, incipient kicking movements of their legs and at
lest ifter the game both the batches shaking hands with no
elemcrt of enmity in them, no matter who has won. A crow or
a juncle babbler would be equally puzzled, if it wore allowed
to witness the human mock-fight, provided of-course it had
the satre interest, power of perception and the ability to
interpret.
* * .2 * #
.- .
Newsletter for Birdwatchers June 1975
8
EDI TORIAL UgTE i
There is much satisfaction in coming to know and recognize
a large variety of birds by their appearance and voice. For
a number of years a bird watcher" b life is full of pleasant
surprises in making new discoveries for himself.
However, unless the watcher ia fortunate enough to keep chang-
ing his environments, a time will come when he knows all the
birds in his locality and there is nothing new to amuse him.
When this situation is reached a bird watcher is likely to
lose interest, unless he realizes that actually there is very
little we know about even the most common birds.
Referring to Mr. Jose's enlightening article in this issue we
come to understand that man and for that matter birds do not
live by bread alone. A little fighting is necessary, especially
if you are young and happen to be male. Apart from organized
mock-fighting in the shape of foot ball or even an indoor game
of chess who has not continued to wrestle on the class room or
dormitory floor even as the kibitzers shouted "teacher is
coming" 7
For further knowledge of the fighting urge the reader may
refer to the works of Lorenz and Timbergen and above all
make his own observations.
We know very little about so called well known birds. For
instance, two days ago there was a cyclonic wind. In the
late afternoon, my daughter reported that a sick black and
white bird like a Magpie robin, on being alarmed by her
approaching steps, had just managed to fly over a four foot
wall and was lying in my neighbour's compound. I asked her
to get the bird cage ready and ran around to our neighbour's
backyard expecting to find a Pied Crested Cuckoo. The cuckoo
was found and picked up by me before any of the cats which
were stretched out in the sun woke up. The usual Crows -hlch
huunt the neighbourhood were busy riding up and down the stoun
wind a form of sport which they will not miss for anything.
The right wing of this Pied Crested Cuckoo ( Clamato£ iac^in us )
„ a3 hanging down a little and the bird was quite «hD«ted.
After reviving the bird with water from a dropper it was placed
in a cage and given glucose and water. This gave sufficient
energy for it to perch properly instead of sitting on the floor
No caterpillars, neither hairy nor smooth, "^"cording to
the books is the main diet of these birds could be found.
Tender leaf tips were ignored by the bird.
Newsletter for Birdwatchers June 1975
9
i
Therefore, later in the evening the bird was force fed with
some hard boiled egg. It was noticed that the inside of the
mouth was pink in colour although the glossy black plumage
with green reflections may indicate an adult bird.
Although the bird protests loudly and nips my fingers every
time I pick it up for force feeding it the very fact that I
have to feed it, that its mouth is pink and it does not even
bother to catch winged iarmites which came in profusion lost
night are pointed to it being a young one*
1 The wing measures 150 mm indicating its African habitat
( Clamatog j^ 3_s_r_ratu t s) but its tail is only 150 ram. Only
adult African birds are supposed to come to India for breed-
ing during the monsoon. Young birds of this variety may be
expected by the end of the monsoon. Then what is this doing
here on the 31st of Hay?
One would expect the monsoon wind to help the birds in their
flight from Africa to India which seems to be just conjecture
in the absence of banding records. Is it possible for somB
birds to arrive without the help of the monsoon and find
breeding babblers and lay their eggs in time to produce a
young adult by 31 st May? Sounds incredible. Is it possible
for the local species, CJ.ajnat o r A » j^cjabinus to have a 150
mm wing?
The direction of- wind on that day was from the South East at
that time and the velocity was about 80 k.m.p.h. as reported
by Colabo observatory which had warned the people of Bombay
against the mini-cyclone. The bird could not have been blown
in from the sea. Tho damage to the right wing which appears
to be mending well shows no external injury by cat or crow
~ which normally never let go ofter drawing first blood.
Various foods such as broad, eggs and fruit have been tried
and the bird seems to thrive on bananas.
Considerable more observation and research will have to bo
done by bird watchers to understand the migration and fending
habits of the Pied Crested Cuckoo both the native and the
African sub-specie. The information available now is quite
scanty. We just do not know to what extent this bird is a.
resident of India, is locally migratory and oots fruit in
addition to caterpillars. Young birds which had been fed
by their foster parents (insect eating babblers) may show
stomach contents of caterpillars. Later on they may take
to a more frugivorous diet like many other cuckoos.
N ewslettur for Birdwatchers June 1975
10
Meanwhile this beautiful bird may afford mo a chance to make
a sketch in black and white for n new NL cover.
* * * * *
CORRESPONDENCE ;
I wish that some of our Members would reply to queries raised
by fellow watchers. With the exception of the Editor, hardly any
of them ever do this. Surely it makes our Newsletter much more
lively if Members 1 questions are answered or commented upon.
If you agree with me, can you editorially suggest this?
Tbomas Gay
Done.
- Ed.
* * * * *
How Yellow is a "Yellow"-tyed Babbler?
On the evening of 18 May, at Panchgani (District Satora,
Maharashtra State) I watched a small party of Babblers
near a trickle of water among sono bushes. They were
obviously Ysllow-eyed Babblers (Chriaomma sinen_s_e) but
their eyes, which I studied through ray binoculars at a
range of twenty feet or so, were of a bright and shining
crimson.. Has any fellow Watcher observed the same colour?
Is it explainable on the score of a distinct local race?
Thomas Gay.
S.V. Nilokontn
Editor, Ncwsinttcr frrs birdwatchers
C.JD, Barfiwalo Marg
Andheri (West), BOMBAY 400 058.
EDITORIA L BOARD :
Dr. Salim Ali,
Bombay.
Zafar Futehally,
269, Rajmahal Vilas Exten.
Bangalore-560 006.
Mrs. Jamal Ara,
Ranchi.
Kunvar Shri Lavkumar,
Rajkot.
Prof. K. K. Neelakantan,
Trivandrum. ^ '
Dr. A. S. Mahajan, »
Bombay.
Br. A. Navarro,
Bombay.
Editor :
S. V. Nilakanta,
32A, C D. Barfiwala Marg
Andheri,
Bombay-400 058.
Annual Subscription Rs. 10/-
Students Rs. 5/-
^
5
I
i
Newsletter For
Birdwatchers
VOL XV NO. 6 JULY 1975
i
f.
NEWSLETTER FJrt
BIRDWATCHERS
Volume 15, Number S. July 1975 ;
/
CONTENTS
The Pied Crested Cuckoo, by J.S. Serrao 1
Indian Great Reed Waxbler f AcXjOC B Rh fllUfl •
atgj togeu s) , by K.S. Lavkuraar 3
Terok Sandpiper , ... by Ananta Hitxa 4
Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary in Summer,
by R.K. Sha tnagar 5
Bird3 helping each other, by Anil K. Joseph &.
Vergheso K. Joseph. 6
Editorial Note, by 5. V. Nilakanta 7
CORRESPONDENCE: Observations on Koala &.
Dabblex3 - Dr. Hiss G.D. Coyaji. B
THE PIED CRESTED CUCKOO
J.S. Serrao.
It is interesting to note from the Editorial in the Newsletter
15(5): 8-9 that Mr..S.V. Nilakanta came across the Pied Created
Cuckoo (Clamator iacobinuaQ - on 31st May 1975. I nyself came
across it on tst June morning in the Borivli National Park.
The bird's settled behaviour made me to think at the time
that it. had arrived in Bombay much earlier -than I had met it
that morning. In 1974 I stumbled on the bird on the morning
of 16th June; 1B birda seemingly making for shelter inside
of a mile along the Park road pointed out that they were just
pouring into Bombay.
Mr. Nilakanta gives the wing of his bird as 150 mm and sug-
gests it to be of African origin, Clamator jaoobinus s o r ratus. .
But wing measurements alone are very indistinct in determin-
ing the races of the Pied Crested Cuckoo. An accepted for-
mula prescribes an average wing of 144 mm. an_d_ over for the
race sar ratu s , and 144 mm an d u nder for jB£ SJjj&nu& ■ A look at
this prescription shows that there should be individuals in
both the races whose wings ran ye from 132 to 156 mm. That
such a variation in the wing measurement exists could be made
out from the detailed wing lengths given by C.B. Ticehurst
in The Ibis 1923: 38.
Newsletter for Birdwatchers July 1975
2
It is generally considered that Pied Crested Cuckoos breeding '
to the north of a line drawn from about 18° N latitude (i.e.
just south of Bombay) to Darbhanga in north Bihar belong to
the race serratus. But how very arbitrary this demarcation
could be is illustrated by the male collected by Dr. Salim Ali
at Bandipur on 17.xi.l939 during tha Mysore Ornithological
Survey - a bird which was excessively fat, and which Dr. Salim
Ali considered it to be of the race serra tu s, preparing rather
late for emigration- (J>._B.°" lbay Mot. .. Hist.. Soc . 44: 9-10).
It is possible that Indian breeding birds winter in tropical
Africa migrating via Baluchistan and Arabia and spend the
winter months mostly in the eastern part of Africa as for
south as Transvaal. But a certain number also breeds in Africa,
at least in Ethiopia from March to middle of June {Bannerman,
HffiJ&g ifiJSt Tro p ical West Africa. Vol»3: 107; 1933), and
southern part of Sudan. It is rather improbable that they
breed twice, once in Africa laying o white, and then in India
laying a blue egg ae suggested by Whistler { J_._ 3 pmb ay n at ..
ij^sta-joc*. 33: 136-144). Possibly a certain number convert
the normal winter quarters into their breeding area and never
return to their original home, thus giving rise to a popula-
tion of quite different habits os regards migration and may-
be of morphological differentiation also. So at a season when
birdwatchers come across a Pied Cuckoo and thoughts run wild
cs to its origin, birdwatchers will do well recalling Dr.
Salim AU's comments in his review of Herbert Friedmann's
X^LJLarpj^ itic_ Cuckoos of A f ri ca. Quoted in toto they read:
"Considering the large numbers of Pied Crested Cuckoos which
arrive to breed in north and central India during the south-
west monsoon season every year, it is deplorable that so
little is known of their movements. Whether this influx is
merely from western Asiatic countries, or in fact from Africa,
as has been suggested, can only be ascertained by the ringing
method. In spite of obvious difficulties in the way of trap-
ping adequate numbers of adult Pied Crested Cuckoos for tha
purpose, or of finding a reasonable quantity of their nestl-
ings, it is nevertheless a line of field work which holds
important possibilities and ona that can bo earnestly commend-
ed to those with the necessary opportunities" (J»_ Bjg&W nfft»
ilist. Soc. 48: 344-6).
Perhaps an appeal from the Editor to the readers of the _News-
fetter to work in the direction suggested by Dr. Salim Ali
would go a long way off in making a beginning to solve the
puzzle.
-."
Newsletter for Birdwatchers July 1975
3
INDIAN GREAT REED WARBLER (ACRQC EPHALU5 5TENT0REUS )
K.5. Lavkumar.
David Fcrnandes and I visited the mangrove swamp between the
National Highway and the Western Railway bridge across the
Mahim Creek, It was a morning's walk through heavily polluted
tidal mangrove thickets. With hondkerchieves to keep off the
stench we wanted to know how best the pollution sources might
be diverted because the area is now marked to be a bird san-
ctuary.
5th June is mid-summer and as such the gulls and waders were
totally absent| and the high leval of pollution seemed to
have reduced the Paddy Birds, Egrets and Whiskered Terns
which are quite plentiful on marshy tracts close by. We were,
however, impressed by the numbers of Reed Warblers flying
around and singing; in fact, their presence was intrusive.
Quite obviously the density of the birds and their vigorous
song suggest that this is a residential and breeding popula-
tion. Location of a nest or sighting of birds carrying nest-
ing matarial, feed for nestlings or fcacal packets would
clinch the issue.
Besides the Reed Warbler3 wa were impressed by the plontitudo
of Ashy Wren— Warblers (P r ing. a soci^ lis) in the mangroves.
Three Fantail Flycatchers iRhipi dura a jj b i i collig ? caught me
quite by surprise. Their presence. was proclained by melodious
ditties so characteristic of the species and confirmed by
sighting a bird flitting, prancing, piroutting and flaunting
its fanned tail among the shrubs, at times in branches over-
hanging the filthy creok water and dirt impregnated soil.
It is quite apparent that once the man jrave forest grows tall
with the stopping of seasonal cutting, many more resident
spocieg would breed regularly and a reduction of pollution
would increase waterside species to augment the flocks of
waders which throng the mudflats in the cold season.
Since 1930 Dr. Salim Ali has suspected the Reed Warbler brood-
ing in similar habitats around Bombay, vide Hugh Whistler,
J . _Bomb_oy_ not. Hist. i 5oc^ 35: 450-54. Members living close
to Mahim Cruck or other similar areas around Bombay could
help find nests of this warbler in tho Bombay area.
Newsletter for Birdwatchers
July 1975
TEREK SA.MDPIPER
Ananta Mitra, Calcutta.
It was the morning on 4.11.74. I was at the seashore at Digha,
West Bengal. The vast beach with the sea to its south spreads
sast and west for miles.
A mixed flock of about 40 waders were hunting on the shore.
There ware little stints (.CajjLdria minut us? , Common Sandpipers
(Tringa hypoleucas) and others.
Waves were breaking on the shore, spreading themselves and
were receding back to the sea. The birds were moving back and
forth with the waves. They were quickly picking up minute
marine bodies with their agile beaks.
Among the picking beaks I located a pair of beaks behaving in
a peculiar way.
On close observation I identified then to be Terek Sandpipers
(Tringa terBk). The birds with orange—coloured legs and upcurved
teaks.
The particular contrivance of the beak wa3 being utilised by
the birds with masterly efficiency.
I briefly give below their mode of operation.
The seemingly level Digha beach has small undulations on its
floor creating long furrows running perpendicular to the sea.
When dashing waves recede from the shore they leave behind in
these furrows long patches of water which take a little time to
seep into the sand.
On the floor of these furrows Tringa Terak rests its upcurved
beak and with mandibles slightly open glides through at consi-
derable speed (See figure).
t
R IN G ^ Tfc^k
Newsletter for Birdwatchers* July 1975
5
The gliding beak as it fuxrows through gathers into the
mouth minute marine bodies that come its way. At each
sally the bird covers 20 to 25 feet in seconds. They repeat
their operation with each receding wave.
The masterly performance of the small birds was unique and
interesting*
* * # *
SULTANPUR BIRD SANCTUARY III SUMMER
R.K. Bhatnagar.
Much achievement is being envisaged for this bird sanctuary.
In order to see the bird-life during summer heat, we visited
the sanctuary on 30*4.75. We took the route from Palam Air-
port and on approaching Gurgaon suburbs, a guide board was
seen on the left side of the road but put before the bifur-
cation. It would have been better if there were arrows in-
dicating the route to be taken and also if the board were
closer to the bifurcation. The guide board inside Gurgaon
city was also somewhat inconspicuoUsiin its location. I
wonder why a prominent sign or symbol could not be adopted
and simple boards with the symbol and arrow showing the
route to bo taken are erected, This would reduce the cost*
The prominence of the board would also increase* Fields on
road side of the sanctuary had heaps of harvested wheat and
at some points it was being threshed. In the sanctuary we
occasionally saw small flocks of sparrows ■ 4 brahminy mynas,
about 17 crested larks and common babblers were many* But
to our surprise the catchment area of the sanctuary (so
called lake) was nearly completely dry, only in virtually
dried depressions some moist ground could bo seen. Most of
the catchment area ground was cracked and whitish due to
deposition of salts on the surface* This process of flood-
ing the ground surface usually leads to the build up of salts
on the surface on drying* This in turn effects the growth
of vegetation in wet wer.ther as germination i3 effected,
adversely due to higher concentration of salts on the sur-
face of the catchment area* However, if the flooding also
arings about washed sedinentry strata, the ground fertility
is increased or else salinity increases as is happening at
many points along the river Luni in Rajasthan* Obviously,
decreased vegetation due to this process would affect the
food chain of insects and so forth. I wonder as to how
much and in what manner this drying of catchment area would
be affecting the food resources at the disposal of winter
migrant species during the ensuing season in the sanctuary*
Newsletter far 3irdwatchcrs • July 1 975.
6.
Naturally | the first effect would perhaps be the reduced food
supply which would reduce the number of birds and may affect
seme of the passage migrants also. I am not aware if any sort
of population counts- are being taken to compare influx of
migrant;; end their period jf stay in successive years, so that
some assessment can be made of those aspects. I am also not
a war a if anywhere else in our country such studies are being
taken up in rolation to bird-life* However, in Rajasthan the
ground salinity due to flooding and drying of the ground is
being studied along the coarse of the river Luni by G.S.I.
I therefore feel that this aspect would be of interest and
isserveu attention of the bird watchers visiting the sanctuary.
Glancing around the catchment area from the Wctch-towcr one
feels that some trees are badly needed around banks and in
the middle of tho catohmen-t area, preferably opposite the
tower. This would provide the much needed perching sites for
the migrants. The ground below tho trees if deepened would
retain water for a longer time than now and would be a good
watering points to the resident birds. However, the watch tower
i3 indeed beautifully designed and it would not bo wrong to
soy that it is amongst the best in- north India. In Dohra Dun
ard even in Corbctt Park one finds, that many of the watch
towers arc out of place in design: white concrete pillars sup-
porting a wooden hutment on top standing amidst serene- land-
scape like n multi-storyed building in o village. Provision
cf somo nesting boxes on trees would definitely increase watch-
ing pleasure. In Haryana, tho black partridge population seems
to have gone down considerably. Trial study on brooding in
captivity of this partridge can be made in large field cages
Ln the sanctuary of the campus. Incidentally it may be pointed
out tho4 in Japan, partridges arc farmod. This may be tried
in places like Poona,- Gurgaan and areas of Punjab which throng
with poultry forms.
* * ft *
3IRDS HELPING EACH OTHER
Anil K. Joseph cL Vergheso K. Joseph.
On tho mominc of 3rd Juno 1975 at about B a.m. three fledgl-
ings of the Indian Robin left their nest located in a clump
of Mother-in-law 1 s tongue (Liliaccao) growing in a pot in our
garden in the Calicut University Campus. Along with their
parents they Cow and hopped into the bush growing under a
nearby Cashew troc.
Newsletter for Birdwatchers July 1975
7
At about 10 a.m. wo heard the churring distress calls of the
parent birds, soon followed- by the disorderly melee of distress
calls of various other birds including the Purplerumpcd Sunbird,
Common Babblers, Tailor Bird, Block Drongo, Common Myno, Rod-
vented Bulbul, Blackheadad Oriole and Spotted Dove. On closer
approach, it was observed that a 2-fcet long snoko (unidenti-
fied) was proceeding close to the fledglings of the Indian
Robin, then perched on some low bushes. Uttering churring
calls both tho parent birds and two Black Drongos could be
seen darting over tho head of the snake from one sido to
the other, whilo the other birds flitted from one branch of
the Cashew tree to the other uttering their respective calls,
probably in their effort to thwart the attempt of the snake
to reach thu fledglings. It is also likely thet the distress
calls of the- parent Robins made the other birds go to the
help of the Robins. And probably as a result of the concerted
attack by the assembly of birds, the snake retreated from the
scono.
The same scone was again v/itnesscd the same day at about
3.30 p.m. But this time, for fear that the snake might kill
the Robin fledglings, wc threw stones at the snake and drove
it away.
.EDITORIAL NOTE :
Readers of the Newsletter may bo aware that a city known
popularly as New Bombay is being built across the harbour.
This is to cater for the expanding population of Bombay and
for which thers is no place in the limited confines of Bombay
island and the existing suburbs.
The surroundings of Naw Bombay are to be planted with some
millions of tr^os and the work seems to be progressing as
shown in the photographs accompanying the news reports.
The trees arc to be fast growing trees. Furthermore, 30ms
fruit trea3 specially attractive to birds will be included.
3ne of the objects of growing trees is to retain moisture
in the ground and to prevent soil errosion. For serving all
these functions few trees can excel the great Pipul tree
(.Fi^cus jce_^g w i o_s_a ) whose wide spreading roots can hold tena-
ciously even our river banks. The figs of this tree are
greatly relished by orioles, borbeta and a variety of birds.
There are few living things in the world whose life spans
can be measured in centuries and millenniums - the Pipul tree
being one of them.
Newsletter for Birdwatchers July 1975.
B
The tree planting at New Bombay is going to work out at ft.5/=> par
per person who is to live in New Bombay. This is a very small
expenditure in a lifetime investment to ensure the neutralisa-
tion of the polluting effects of man - his breath and his cook-
ing fires. In fact plants neod the wasta products of men pro-
vided the same are made available in continuous small quanti-
ties*
Even more praiseworthy is the action taken by the Government
in stopping the construction of a road connecting the western
suburbs to the eastern. The road making was well under way -
several trees having been felled in the wooded area of the
Aarey and National Pork foot hills.
We owe much to the unceasing efforts of those few enlightened
poople who have fought for this cause and all praise is duo
to the authorities who have abandoned the project even after
spending a considerable sum of money.
^^XSPOND.ENCE:
Just a few observations I have made recently. The Koel's dis-
tinctive call of kuoo-kuoo-kuoo starts around the 23rd to 25th
of March. But this year it started much earlier, I think I
heard it the first time on the 7th or Qth of March. I .nought
this very unusual.
Another interesting fact is about babbles. I have been seeing
the common babbler off anc on' in Poona. But this past year, I
have heard and seen them in bur own compound continuously from
November last year, upto now. At first I thought may be thoy
are migratory over short distances. But they seem to have come
here to stay.
Dr. Miss CD. Coyaji.
5.V. Nilakanta,
Editor, Newsletter for Birdwatchers
C.D. Barfiwala Marg
Andheri (West), BOMBAY 400 058.
EDITORIAL BOARD :
Dr. Salim Alt,
Bombay.
Zafar Futehally,
269, Rajmahal Vilas Exten.
Bang alore-560 006.
Mrs. Jamal Ara,
Ranchi.
Kunvar Shri Lavkumar,
Rajkot.
Prof. K. K. Neelakantan,
Trivandrum.
a-
Or. A. S. Mahajan,
Bombay.
Br. A. Navarro,
Bombay.
Editor :
V
-
S V. Nilakanta,
32A, C. D. Barf -wala Marg
Andheri,
Bombay-400 058
Annual Subscription Rs. 10/-
Students Re. 5/-
Newsletter For
Birdwatchers
VOL. XV NO. 7 AUG. & SEPT., 1975
I
NEWSLETTER FOR
BIRDWATCHERS
Volume 15, Number 7. Augu&t-Sept. 1975
CONTENTS ;
Comparative Study of Birdwatching
at Susagowahatti, by Bro. A. Navarro 1
Nesting of the Little Egxoti
A new record for Kerala, by C. Mohankumar,
S. Satheosh Chandran Naix &
K.K. Neelakantan. IS
On Finding the N3etlings of
Rodwattled Lnpwing, by A.K; Chakravaxthy &
P.M, Govindokrishnan* 6
A Free for All, by Ashok Kumar Sharma 7
Editorial Note. B
CORRESPONDENCE: Sandpiper Feeding on a Building
- Thoras Gay. . 8-9
"Birdwatching in Mizoram" - H;N. Mathur 9
Shape of Bill - Ananta Mitra &. Olfaction in Birdg ) 10
" T.V. Jose) ~~
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF BIRDWATCHING AT SUSAGOWAHATTI,
(Desur area, Belgaum).
Bro. A. Navarro.
Since it is not the first time that I have been birdwatching
at Suaagowahatti, Desur Area, I spent the October vacation
here with the main objective of having a chance to make a
comparative study of the observations of the rainy season
and the dry season.
The Locality,,
Desur area is a . n .arge plateeti of high agricultural activity,
with scattered eettlemonts end small villages surrounded by
distant hilla on all r.id^s and a few sholas here and there.
Some parts of the forest mingle with the cultivated lands,
en excellent com'-ir.at-von of environment for wild life and a
paradise for birdwatchers*
The Time ;
.
From the twentyfifth of October until the second of November
tho weather was not suitable for moving about without the
risk of unforeseen sudden showers, proper at the end of the
monsoon; on account of tho pulonged monsoon last year, the
T^
Newsletter for Birdwatchers August-Sept, 1975
formers had not yet harvested their crops. The cultivated
land was covered with tall grass. Therefore, the only way
to go about, was through" a footpath or bUllockcart tracks;
--for. the same .reason movement throughout the forest was also
restricted to a few well trcdden tracks.
On my first outing I noticed the Painted Partridges wore
calling almost the whole day ldngj most of the calls wore
coming from open grounds, covered with thick, long gross j
the calls from the cultivated areas wero rare* As the sea-
son wore 'on and tho roins ceased, tho weather changed remark-
ably enough from wet to dry? the partridges dropped their
calls and by the fifth of Novsmber the calls stopped altoge-
ther. The Jungle Quails confined themselves to ^ , forested
area and were often seen gracefully resting on open patches,
and at other times cautiously making away through the under-
growth.
The common Seven Sisters of this locolity are the White-
headed Babblers seen in small parties on open ground, though |
more often they were found amongst bushes and groves of trees
near the forost; their typical calls of tri^ri-ri constantly
repeatsd as they went about were audible only at a very short
distance; nonetheless, thsy would suddenly burst into e loud
ana pleasant whistling call and often utter a few squeaking
noises, somewhat of o reminiscence of the Jungle Seven Sisters.
I soon discovered that the best time for observation was from
runrise upto 9.30 a.m.; by this time the wqather conditions
were rather windy so that even the birds ware slowing down
their activities. Tho only sounds that could be heard ware
the rustling- of leaves and the swishing of the wind. The
farmers gave mo to understand that for a long time they have
been following this weather indication as the time to start
harvesting their crops.
The noisiest birds of the forest at this time were the Jungle
Dovee; at times the echoes of their calls resounded from every
corner of tho forest, and lasting often till about 11.00 a.m.
when all the other birds hrd already long dropped their calls.
After the Jungle Daves, the next noisiest group was the Scimitar
Babblers; these have two different sounds! tho first is a caJJ. ,
the second is a babbling noise. In this season, their calls
sounded very much like koo-kroo-koo; at each call the female
would answer with two distinct syllables: ko-ka. Quite often
these would be called for a short time quite late in the evening.
Traversing the forest, I cam across a double bullock-cart track,
almost a mile long.
4
--.%
Newsletter for Birdwatchers August-Sept. 1975
3
Being a quiet spot with abundance of bird activity criss-
crossing the forest, I took this chance and had the opportu-
nity of some interesting observations. Day after day, I
would stroll along the track; on the first day I noticed
small groups of Blossomheaded Parakeets with their erratic
flights in all directions in the forest, uttering their
typical calls, suddenly perching for a short moment of
time on the tallest trees and flying away once mare. At the
same time the Jungle Fowl too wore seen crossing the open
track. The Rufous Shrikes were the only birds that were
persistently flying up and down ths track, never entering
the forestj small flecks of Brahmany Mynas wsre silently
flying about in the jungles the Babblers (familiarly known
as Seven Sisters) were often seen moving through the forest,
not as noisy as usual. The Grey "Headed Flycatchers. were con-
stantly on the move flying from branch to' branch, cheerfully
uttering loudly their sweet whistling 3ong. Though o few
Fantail Flycatchers were seen, ye ; , the occasions on which I
heard their short melodious tinkling song were very rare.
From the vary first day I mover; along the open track. Every i
day 1 heard, from the came spct, a puzzling, harsh, low,
chattering sound which at siiort intervals burst into brief
chuckling sounds, reminiscent of ttic chuckling colls of the
Red Spur Fowl. On my last day I decided to solve the problem
of the puzzling calls. Therefore, from the inner side of the
forast, I cautiously nade my way towards the likely spot of
the source of thesa mystcriot-s sounds, when suddenly from a
nearby tree two birds flew of-,-; luckily one cf the birds
flew across thn open trcck and settled on a tall tree by the
odge of the forest. Tron the day I h^erd the strange sounds,
I thought it to *be tne calling of the small owlet. Now seeing
the manner in I'hich the bird was flying, it was evident that
this, was not an owlo-i. The bird called for a short time and
again flow to a nearby tree -and perched on a bare branch,
and started calling or.ee again. With the aid of a pair of
binoculars, I saw the bi-^-d and it turned out to be the Blue-
boarded Beo-eotar. What struck my attention was the fact
that at each call, the blue feathers cf the throat puffed up;
at the time of his calls, the head was being moved up and
down in the manner described in The India Fauna,. volume 4,
page 243.
One thing that struck me with wonde* quite often wss the
frequency with which I found tho Paradise Flycatcher in the
shadow patches of the forest; also the Shamas, flying grace-
fully among the trees, bushes, and creepers. Though the
Paradise Flycatcher kept silent all the time, the Shamas
wore, at long intervals, uttering short melodieus calls.
\
14 1 * f
Newsletter for Birdwatchers August-Sopt. 1975
I also found the Ioras were confined to the forest and at
the same time very noisy with their loud and monotonous
calls, but without any co-ordination with each other.
During the first days r missed the familiar calls of the
Green Barbets. It was only at the beginning of November when
I heard thorn calling from different parts of the forest;
their calls were short and low in intensity; they never went
further than that sort of ducting ox chorus which the Green
Barbets seem to indulge in for long periods uf time.
By the middle of November, I noticed e sudden outburst of
bird activity. The Junglo Sparrow and Tits made their first
appearance. Sines then mixed noisy parties of small birds,
most of them Babblers, Warblers, BulbUls* Tits, Junglo
Sparrows, ware seen to be on the move t through the forest,
in search of insects* Accidentally, I observed that the white
bellied Drongos were apparently following these' groups, in a
manner as if they were not an integral part of the groups,
but as a separated unit, nevertheless keenly following the
groups at times nearer than otherwise. At this time, the Sun*
birds and the Flawor Peckers were also seen with greater
frequency.
By this time the birds of the night, normally plentiful in
this locality, were not yet heard, except a few stray calls
of the Red Wattled Lapwing, the Yellow Wattled Lapwing and
the Stone Curlew, audible now and then, through the night.
Dividing the birds of Dosur area into two groups, the birds
of the open land and the birds of the forest, I found that
the birds of the first group wore more constant: I found the
same birds on the same spots as seen on previous occasions!
with respect to the second group, the birds of the forest, I
noticed that towards the end of the monsoon there were fewer
birds in the forest area. All the same, this fluctuation among
forest birds is a natural factor, Cesur area being an area of
heavy rainfall; given this condition, the birds move to areas
of lesser rainfall, affording a better one more suitable
environment.
As already mentioned, by the middle of November there was on
outburst of bird activity: a sign that the birds wore coming
back to the forest area. Under identical weather conditions,
I observed the same pattern of behaviour in the bird popula-
tion on more than one occasion, in the Khandalo region.
•
Newsletter for Birdwatchers August-Sept. 1975
5
NESTING OF THE LITTLE EGRET : A NEW' RECORD FOR KERALA
C. Mahankumar - 5. Satheesh Chandran Nair - K.K. Neelakanton.
Since Dr. Selim AU's BIRDS OF KERAU (1969) states that the
breeding of the Little Egret (Earetta aarzetta) has not been
recorded in Kerala, wo are happy to report the discovery
a small breeding colony at Kanyakulangara, about 10 km north
of Trivandrum, Jn the Trivandrum-Kottarakkaro Rood*.
On 9.1.1974 one of us (N) hod a glimpse, from a fast-moving
bus, of a tree full of egrets, at about 10 a*m. All efforts
to locate that tree again failed. Eight months later, on
"another bus journey, N hoard a young man beside him asking
for a ticket to Vembayam, a place not far from where N hod
seen the egrets. When sufficient rapport had been established
with the young man, N asked him whether he knew of any place
where large white birds nested iir company. Although the young
man claimed that he was not interested in birds, he had noted
that some pure white birds with black legs and bills did nest
every year in a tree" standing close to the mosque at Kanya-
kulangara. Unfortunately, he could not remember their nesting
season. As the birds had-buen first noted in January, 5.5.
and N visited this plane en 12.1. '75 and found only a few
'-, deserted nests, fragments of egg-sholl, aomo feathers and
bones. They gathered that breeding shorts only in Juno or
; July. ; ' t . '-.
On 23.vi.'75 M went to Kanyakulangora and found that most of
the LLttle Egrets hnd weil-grovn chicks already. He discovered
that many pairs of -Fond Herons were also nesting within the
Uar mosque compound a few yards oast of the egrets* tree. ™o
; threr of us spoof two hours at the heronry on 29.vn and found
that there were more than 2* nests of the Little Egret and a
single nest of the Pond Heron on the large tree, and a much
larger number of Pond Heron, nests distributed over some 15
square yards ' jungle on the eastern * do :/ lthau * "°?L lB
pairs- of both species hnd well-grown juveniles, a few Little
rgret nests hold tiny squabs. One Little Egret and ******
Herons wore sitting in their nests, presumably incubating.
According to the local people, egrets started. Resting hero
- , only 10 or 12 years ago. Tfcey say that the WEf *"**»*,
as a roost throughout the year. Small numbers of Cnttlo Egrets
are regularly seen during the rains in parts of Kottarakkoro
Taluk, but none was found in or near this heronry.
At present the birds are tolerated rather than P**«*°* at
this place. The location is itself greatly in the birds'
favour. Still, wo heard that it was possible. to get permission
V"
Newsletter fox Birdwatchers August-Sept. 1975
to shoot the birds if one paid Rs.5/» to tha right person! In
view of the fact that this is the only known breeding place
of any kind of Egret in Kerala, wc hope that it will be possible
to persuade the authorities of tho mosquo to provide full pro-
tection to the birds.
ON FINDING THE NESTLINGS OF REDWATTLED LAPWING ( Vanellus indfc us)
A*K. Chakravarthy & P»M. Govindakrishnan - Bangalore.
On 13th June, 1975 we saw a pair of Redwattled Lapwing taking off
from a particular spot on the ground, uttsring their alarm call,
and betraying thus thoir young ones to us. The nestlings were
three in number, two huddled together, and one astray was a yard
away. The chicks appeared to be a couple of hours old, thumb-
sized and perfectly blending with the surroundings in their
brown and black mantle. Mr. D. Ray (Newsletter 12 j (6) 1-4)
gives a perfect description of the chicks. According to him,
"they (the chicks) wera the size of day old 'desi murghi chicks"
only longer in the neck and legs. The bock and wings earthly
brown, speckled and mottled in black, with a cap on the head
of a similar colour. The neck, underparts were white and a
faint black necklace across the breast." In addition we would
like to mention that the legs were folded, dark greyish in
colour,- and appeared more skinny than scaly. The beak was
brownish in colour, and the upper mandibles had a pair of small
holes on either side of tho cu3jnen. Pebbles scattered around
the clutch suggested that thia spot, in all probability, was
the nesting site.
Mr; V.S. Saxcna surmises in his excellent article, "Unusual
Nesting by Redwattled Lapwing", {Newsletter" 14 (11) 3-5) that
tho nesting site of the Lapwing could probably have a bearing
on the occurence of a flood. Ho goes to narrate how the unusual
nesting of Redwattled Lapwing on the roof of a garage was fol-
lowed by a flood in Bhiratpur. Wo f finding tho nesting site at
low ground level, thought in the reverse, and sensed almost a
drought in Bangalore! But the raingoddosoes were moro merciful,
and Karnataka particularly Bangalore experienced a heavy fall
of rain soon after.
•-,. * • •;:• *
.\
Newsletter .-* b ..*..*- '.Jit- a hugust-S^it. 1975
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A FREE FOR ALL
Ashok Kumar Sharma - Jaipur.
Oh 2nd July 1975 at about 4 p.m. I saw an interesting scans.
, A House Crow ( Corvu.s splendens ) hloding a Ringed Dove
( Streptopelia decaacta ) in its claws and beak came flying.
Suddenly two Indian Mynas ( Acridotheres tristjs ) flew after
it screaming constantly ;, Kwso— r Kwee— — , Kwee— ~". The
puzzled crow came down on a parapst wall.
The mynas still chased it. The crow cawed at them and moved
towards them stretching its neck as if to strike them with its
beak. The frightened mynas leaped bac!< but kept screaming
louder than before, A Black Drongo ( Dicrurue adsimilie ) came
on the scene surely attracted by the screaming of mynas. The
Black Drongo pounced upon the crow. Frightened by this sudden
.attack the crow left the ringed dove. The drongo flew up and
hurled itself down on tho crow several times. The crow cawed
and raised its head as if pleading for mercy or to protect
itself from the Black Drongo with its beak.
During this attack the mynas screamed constantly to cheer the
Black Drongo,
A Brahminy Myria (" V-irnus pagodarum ). a Rodvented Bulbul
( Pycnonotus ca f e. : )" and some House Crows joined the scene. . •
The Brahiminy Myr.a and the Rcdventod Bulbul merely "looked on.
But the crows fought for the crow, cawing and circling around
the drongo wKo s"ill continued its attack. Meanwhile the
Ringed Dove gathered its nerves and hid itself under a low
bush.
The. Black Drongo chased by crows or after seeing that the
ringed dove was safe, flew and perched on an electric wire
overhead. Mynas rlso stopped screaming. .and flew to a nearby
tree. • * .<■
The crow was so frightened that it dared not see where its
query had gone. After some moments it looked down tho wall K
for the dove'. Not seeing it~thore, it came down the wall to
look for it. But the mynas again ceme screaming attracting
the Black Drongo, who came diving ajb the craw. The^crow returned
ta the wall again. The drongo again pounced in the same manner
upon the crow frightening it so much that it flew cawing, to-
wards a nearly tree. This time other crow^ didn't come to the
rescue of their fellow. The Black Drongo and mynas also returned
back to their perches.
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Newsletter for Birdwatchers August-Sept. 1975
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Mr. Sharma has given a graphic account of this fast moving
action packed incident. It must have been quite difficult
to observe" all- the details that have been described.
The .question is, docs a crow carry anything in its claws?
A number of years ago in an article in the N.l. Mr. Jayaroraon
had casually mentioned a crow carrying a stick in its claws.
Dr. Solim Ali pointed out that a crow carries objects by hold-
ing them in its bill and not by clutching the same by its claws.
Readers of the N;U who see crows or other perching birds carry-
ing anything in their claws, are requested to send in their
observations.
- Ed.
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.EDITORIAL NQTE i
The editor must remind readers that the Newsletter is sustained
only by the articles contributed by the readers. It is difficult
to brihg out the issues month after month without accumulating
behorehand a reasonable pile of matter inclusive of an interest-
ing productwuix.
Also comments and criticisms of Newsletter articles should bo
made in writing and published. After all we are hero to parti-
cipate in lively dialogues and discussions through the Newsletter.
There is no point in being discouraged by criticism. Rather, it
is discouraging if no interest is taken and no critical or cor-
roborative comment is made after the publication of a note.
* # ». # #
CORRESPONDENCE :
Sandpiper Feeding on a Building.
The fish wharf at Karwar (Kamataka) is today almost entirely a
concrete structure, but in one comor a small area of tho ori-
ginal wooden planking still survives. Just after 7 p.m. in mid-
March I saw a solitary Common Sandpiper ( Tringa hypolcucos )
tripping daintily over these planks (which stand some seven
feet above water level) and stopping every now and then to peck
and tug at some objects scattered over their surface. Louwgers
sat, watching the fading daylight, not far off; less than a
hundred feet away, launches were noisily unloading baskets of
fly-covered prawns. The bird allowed me to approach (slowly,
• ir
Newsletter for Birdwatchers August-Sept. 1975
of-courso) quite close before it flew off, and I then discover-
ed that the objects of its interest had been the severed heads
of quite large prawns, obviously far-too big for the Sandpiper
to swallow whole and surely too tough to be pulled to pieces.
This observation seemed to no worth recording for the bird's
unusual hunting-ground, BV?n more than for the unsuitable
nature of the food in which it was showing interest. Are there
any other records of a Sandpiper feeding or hunting on a
building?
-'
Thomas Gay.
.-•#.-- * * *
"Birdwatching (or Searching) in Mizoram'J by Ishwar Prakash,
appeared in- tho June, 1975 issue, makes interesting reading.
This is'-raally surprising that such an efficient and' experi-
enced Bird Watcher, could not locate many birds. The major
factor that could bo attributed to the detrement of the avi-
fauna, is the"'*omni-non-vogotarian diet 1 of tho Mizos. Dr.
Ishwar Prakash has also indicated three other reasons, viz*
i) seasonal altitudinol migration, ii) Bamboos covered aree
and iii) Jhum-paddy cropping pattern. I would, like to add
another one to the list, it is the presence of a large number
of armed personnel in the area (Army personnel have been res-
ponsible for killing a large number of animal population when-
ever stationed in on area with their sophisticated weapons).
I have also an experience of working in Tripura where Shifting
Cultivation is a common practice. The Jhum areas are not Bird
desert by any staae of imagination. A large number of birds
-have y been seen- from time to time in Jhum areas including Jampui
hills of Tripura {which ire adjacent to Mizoram). Quite a good
number of - birds were seen by mo about a decade back ifi'Jhum
areas. Some of your other readers who have worked or are working
in that area would'bcar me out that areas' effected by Jhum cul-
tivation and bamboo forests, are not very poor in bird popu-
lation. Hombills, Jungle fowl, Kaliz pheasant were not un-
common in Jampui hills. Hombills were common and were hunted
for hombill fat.
H;N. Mathur. /
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Forgive my ignorance. What is Jhum cultivation?
- Ed. .
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Newsletter for Birdwatchers August-Sept, 1975
10
Shape of Bill and Its Sign&ft&ttMttt
Regarding the okiliful adaptation of the upcurved bill of
TEREK SANDPIPER flMWffl JPffH 1 1 a note of my ODse *va tion
has been published in July < 75 issue of the Newsletter
(Vol* XV, No. 6, page 4).
In this connection I have come across a passage - in rospect
of this bird - occurring at page 270 Vol. 2, of the renowned
work - "Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan" by Salim
Ali and Ripley.
The passage runs as follows t-
"Whether the peculiar upturned shape of the bill has any
special adaptive significance remains to be studied."
Now, it may be suggested that my observation published in
the above note may throw light on tpe adaptive significance
of the bill of TEREK SANDPIPER. _
Ananta Mltra.
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Olfaction in Birds:
-.
A news item entitled HOMING PIGEONS SMELL THEIR WAY has
appeared on page 10 of Science Today of Juno, 1975. It is
interesting to note that to the list of several nagivational
aids birds are supposed to make use of, one more is added
by a resear'jh team of" the" University of Pisa, Italy, headed
by Prof. Flcriano Papi. This is olfaction, "....their experi-
ments showed that the birds were able to pick up smells seve-
ral kilometers away. They detected pine scent in wind blowing
from Amino, Northern Italy, and olive scent from the breeze
blowing from Micro, 45 km south of Amino. By following the
smells, the birds could perhaps plat a north-south course."
Olfaction in bird's is a matter of dispute. At any rate some
birds are apparently lacking --his faculty altogether.
T.V. Jose.
S.V. Nilakanta
Editor, Newsletter for Birdwatchers
CD. Barflwala Marg
Andheri (West), BOMBAY 400 058.
—
Kunvar Shri Lavkumar,
Rajkot.
Prof. K. K. Neelakantan.
Trivandrum.
Cr. A. S. Mahajan,
Bombay.
Br. A Navarro,
Bombay.
Editor |
S. V. Nilakanta,
32A, C. D. Barfiwala Marg
Anil fieri,
Bombay-400 058.
Annual Subscription Rs. 10/-
Students Rs. 5/-
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EDITORIAL BOARD :
Dr. Salim Ali,
Bombay.
Zafar Futehally,
Dodda-Gubbi Post,
(Via) Vidyanagar,
Bangalore-562 134. *
Mrs. Jamal Ara,
Ranchk
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Newsletter For
Birdwatchers
VOL. XV NO. 8 OCT., 1975
!
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NEWSLETTER FOR
BIRDWITCH ERS
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Volume 15, Number 8. October 1975.
CONTENTS :
The Ghana Bird Sanctuary - Bharatpur,
Mrs. D.E. Aranha. 1
usefulness of Newsletter, 5.R. Shah* 3
Birds on Elatod Termite Swarm in Airport
Areas — A Hazard to Aircraft,
R.K; Bhatnagar. 4
Editorial Noto. 6
CORRESPONDENCE:
What is Jhum Cultivation? - H;N; Hathur 7
Briaf Observation at the Ballabhgarh
Community Health Centre - A. Mangalik. 7
Porchinq Birds carrying things in their claws -
T.V. Jose 7
Namin g of Birds - Winston Creado. 8
THE GHANA BIRD SANCTUART - BHARATPUR.
Mrs. D.E; Aranha.
Ever since reading E.P; Gee-«s chapter on "The Breeding Birds
of Bharatpur" in WILD Ll^E OF INDIA, I have longed to visit
the Ghana Bird Sanctuary. Recently an opportunity arose and my
husband and I spent a very pleasant two days there in beauti-
ful surroundings. The Wild Life Warden, Mr. B.S. Chandra, en-
sured that we had a coRrftirtablB and snjayabla stay and we were
given the services of the very knowledgeable guide, Hukam Singh
face our boat trip around the lake. |
Hukam informed us that the area of the lake (which is not mors
than 5 feet deop and monr like a marsh) is about 6 miles. None
of the migratory birds except a few duck had arrived but as it
was the nesting season ( the- residential birds ware present In
great numbers. Wd were most impressed with the Painted Storks
which we had never aeon before. These majestic birds co— exist-
ed peacefully with small and large egrets, white ibisse, cor-
morants, grey herens and spoor bills. We also saw a fow darters
and all tho acacia trees, with the exception of those growing
too near the shore, wore full of nests and fledglings. The
surface of the lake was dotted with lotuses, tiny yellow and
white flowers and duckweed. Wo got a glimpse of a coot and two
I
Newsletter for Birdwatchers October 1975
2
jacanae and also found 4 jacana eggs on e floating leaf* On
aome trees nearer the shore the weaver birds had built thair
nests and wo found the turtle doves alighting on trees where
the waterbirds had congregated. The whitebroasted kingfisher
was the only species seen though wo ware told the pied one is
also a visitor*
The sanctuary is criss-crossed with several good roads and
pathways and a walk along any of these is very rewarding*
Throughout the day the cooing of the turtle doves mingled
with the harsher call of the ring doves. The chattering to
the common babblers, the screeahihg of the roseringed para-
keets and the calls of the pied mynas, brahminy mynas (very
much in evidence), red-vented bulbuls (very few in number)
and the koels added to the chorus* Indian robins, magpie
robins and porky tailor birds wore also seen and we wore con-
stantly amused by the hoopoes whose curious gait and pecking
at the ground reminded me of old busybodies. In some cases
we spotted only a single bird of a species such as e fishing
eagle, a Hahratta woodpecker and a tree pie. Since the marshy
area abuts the roadside, wo often disturbed the sentinel^like
pond herons or en occasional large egret or cormorant waiting
patiently to catch their dinner. Overhead we would hear the
whoosh of wings and see the largo painted storks wending
their way to their nests with long strands of grass dangling
from their beaks. I was surprised to note that they also keep
circling in flocks high in the sky rather like vultures and
that during the heat of the day they spread their wings like
open umbrellas to shield tho young ones from the sun. Flocks
of cotton toal, ducks and cormorants would fly by. in forma-
tion but wc found it rather difficult to distinguish the
ducks from tho cormorants.
At the entrance to "Shanti Kutir", the guest houss, there is
a largo tree and on the lower branch □ nighjar is in resid-
ence. We enjoyed seeing him morning and early evening blend-
ing perfectly with his perch and always in the some position
as though he had been glued an.
*
There were several birds I could not identify. In the surrounds
I Saw a black and white bird which looked like a magpie robin
but on closer inspection found it had a white ohin and breast
and resemblod tho pied flycatcher shrike to a certain -extent.
There was a beautiful flowerpecker too which did not rosemblo
tho ones in tho Book of Indian Birds. On one of our walks wo saw
two birds - ono blackish groy with practically no toil and a
very red beak. On describing it to Hukam he was certain it was
tho Indian Moorhen and it tallied with the picture in the Bird
Book. The sBcond was black with bronze wings and two white
Newsletter for Birdwatcher* October 1975
3
r ■ r -_
streaks near the eye. It did resemble the brt7W>*W>oa<J Jacana
j somewhat ,but, we are not too certairi* On a solitary walk I saw
a dove—like bird but though shape end colour were the same it
* hacj- no markings except far a chock er-board back* Another bird
I mistook for a young crow pheasant as it was black with rod-
dishspecke on the wings but it lacked the long tail and red
'eyes. However* it hopped into a bush on which an adult crow
pheasant was perched. I carl only hope that among the specimens
at the BNHS I will be able to identify some cf them*
Wo were sorry when it was time to leave the sanctuary but that
evening a't. the railway station 3aw something memorable* A flock
of egrets suddenly wheeled into sight and after taking a half
circlo,Vthc whole*'.. flock, as ore. paused in flight as though they
had' suddenly applied brakes* and settled on a largo tree at the
end of tFie platform* Presumably they were small egrets since
we had not sighted any cattle egrets. I have seen cattle egrets
approach their resting place either singly or in pairs but
never a whole flock settle down together sa. to me it wa3 a
remarkable sight*
I would recommend the Ghana Bird Sanctuary to any bird lover*
A new tourist bungalow is under construction and from its
terrace wo viewed two nilgai, a spotted door and o wild pig.
We also saw several jackals and hares but on account of the
heavy rains, few animals were to be seen* Last but not least,
apart from comfortable lodgings and a warm welcome from the
Warden for a genuine nature lover, the 5anctuary has a rather
eccentric but exceptionally capable cook.
* # ' * * *
USEFULNESS OF NEWSLETTER
S.R. Shah.
At Gaurikund (Kedarnath trek), just at The foot of "Baba kali
Kamliwala" Dhormshala, a sulphur spring joins the swift flaw-
ing icy waters of Mandakini river. We went there to wash
clothes*. I took out my alarm wrist watch and put it on a near
by stone. Then I was busy washing clothes. At 5 P.M. the time
of our second dose of aftBrnoon tea, the alarm rang. The dis-
traction was god-sent because we saw throe milk white birds
flying towards us from downstream* At the first glimpse my
wife shouted "Paradise flycatchers" I but as soon as they
settled on a muddy and grassy boulder on the apposite bank
wo made out that they were fork tails oven though we saw them
for the first time in our lives. That was on 18-10-73, we
went to- kedarnath and returned on 20th. This time we went to
the same spot for bird watching because besides forktaila
we had seen dippers, white capped and plumbeous redstarts,
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Newsletter for Birdwatchers " October 1975
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Xaat time. Again we saw the farktails arriving seconds after
the alarm wont off. But the conclusion did not strike my tube-
lignt ralno. he soon as \ xvoA tt>a article "CbxnftalAg&a&I tiwfi
eense in birds" by Dr. Salim Ali, the October observation "
flashed in my mind. I felt a feeling of gratitude to the news-
letter.
•"
The Lake Gajnor story should impress the contributors to
Plewsletter the importance of mentioning the month, time end
spot in caeo of rare and extraordinary sightings s.g. if Shri
Lavkumar (An appeal - in the soma issus) had mentioned the
date e~.d timo, it would have helped a birdwatcher in planning
the month when he should visit The Lake Chilka and what time
he should be near the island in the middle of the lake for
watching the string of falconiformes.
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BIRDS ON ELATED TERMITE SWARM IN AIRPORT AREAS
- A HAZARD TO AIRCRAFT .
R.K. Bhatnagax.
While returning from Palam Airport here, in early morning of 20th
July, 75, the intermittent 'drizzle of past 2-3 days had stop-
ped. There wag a mild breeze but the sky was still overcast.
There I happened to witness wide scale predation of elated
termite (specific identification pending) by a flying congre-
gation of birds. In recent years I had not seen such a fly-
ing congregation of birds and the sight of bird3 showing
multifarious flying manoevours appeared very interesting
when they were busy predating an the termites flying in ths
sky with wind direction (E")» Naturally I had to 3top to
watch and the observations revealed some points of applied
significance, I put forth these as I find that information
on certain aspects is lacking in Indian literature.
The termite swarm was on both sidas of Gurgaon Road loading
to Palam Airport, over ground area .of about 1 mile x 1 mile.
Location was roughly 30 NE of Palam Airport on open land.
Thus ownrming of termites was considerable in size and cover-
age* It could have been from moro than one subterranean ter-
mite colony for a trek in the area did not reveal any mound.
Swarming of elated termites is reported to bo a phenomena
connected with spread of colonies when high humidity and per-
colation of rain water activates the elated forms to escape.
It usually commences in lato evening and continues upto early
morning hours and casually during mid-dayw
Newsletter for Birdwatchers October 1975
The congregation af birds comprised Common KitesyjULyus
migrans ) I some Blackwingod Kito3 ( Ejlgnus caorulaus ) Common
Crows ( Corvus macrorhynchua ) ; (C» splendons ) ; few Mynas ( Acri -
doth ores tristj^s ) ; few Drongos (Dicrurus odsimilis) and few
Sparrows ( Passer domeeticUB ). Most dominant group of birds,
in the congregation was ^heol' (upfcg 60 on one side of road)
fallowed by Jungle Crow. To my surprise I did not see any
Roller ( Coracias ben^halensis ) , Elsewhere too within Delhi
region those appear scarce. If I corcctly remember, sometime
back there was a report that population of Milvus mi gran s is
getting reduced in country, side. This does not seem so in Delhi
region. Hay be that only in congregation one gets reasonable
sound assessment of their number as in this case. However, if
the total population had been attracted (as in this case),
then population of roughly 60 plus 60 definitely appears very
low considering the area of Delhi.
In airports, elated termites might bo gotting attracted to
runway lights too as in our homes these are attracted to lights
There, presence of nocturnal predators like ineoctivoro mam-
mals, including bats; birds and reptiles can-not be over-
ruled. This may poso hazards like skidding collision with oir-
crafts on runways. Literaturo on Indian termites does not
reveal any information on responses of termites to coloured
lights of yellow, amber, gxeen, red &. blue (as on runways).
Similarly colour responses, if any, in nocturnal predatory
avos, reptiles and other vertebrates on availability of food
/be at light, remains tq^scertainod by workers in India. However,
recent American literature show that bird strikee an high
cooling towers can be averted during rough weathers &. other-
wise by guiding the swarming birds away from the towers by
putting red lights on top. This shows that response exists
and hence likelyhaod of attraction of birds on termites at
runway lights or on other food material exists.
Obviously, solution to the problem lies in the control of sub-
terranean termites. In these it is difficult to locate the
actual colony. So chemical control by direct application of ti
toxic chemical appears difficult. However, Peshwoni K;Mi (un
pub.) observed that 5% BHC dust can be sprBad on newspaper
under lamp posts, under which the de— elated termites will
drop and get killed. This reduces the hazards due to attrac-
tion of diurnal predatory bird papulation (at termite swarm)
as their population is higher than nocturnal birds.
Here it appears reasonably correct to point out that in all
airports vast land tracts ere maintained barren. Theso are
gradually covered with grasses which in tum gradually start
supporting a chain af insects and other faunal groups and
finally the vertebrate groups, contributing various factors,
Newsletter fox Birdwatchers October 1975
of which food and shelter are the main. It was the food
(-forage) that seems to have attracted 4-5 Blue bulls
sometimes back in the Palam Airport. It is the shelter that
attracts feral pigeons to hangers in urban situations. Ob-
viously solution to this problem is that either we do not
disturb natural sheltors of animals or we provide shelters
to them in suitable places where they do not conflict with
our interests and it is high time that engineers take up
designing bird proof architecture.
So this natural predation of termite (winged/elated) is
alright as a natural biological control. But in airport
areas it; deserves attention. I suggest that it be included in
control and maintenance duty schedule. It should not bo a
simple matter of blaming the birds os hazards to aircrafts
but the cause should be investigated.
EDITORIAL NOTE ;
Recently when an aeroplane from India to Europe was delayed
on route for some repairs the entire consignment of live
bird-cargo perished. The birds died of thirst. Nobody cored
to attend to them.
According to the papers vast numbers of birds are trapped
by ^professional trappers operating from the Varanasi region.
These birds ore trussed up or caged in miserable conditions
and sold to buyers who in turn sell ta exporters. In the
course of trapping and handling or rather mishandling at
various stages nine out of ten birds must perish. Meanwhile
one presumes that haggling over prices and waiting for trans-
portation will go on endlessly. The only reason for giving
water or food during this process is the sordid fact that a
dead bird will not fetch any price.
It is also to be noted that many of the birds that are
exported are winter visitors to India. This means that -the
mass slaughter of birds not only affects the natural balance
in the region of trapping but also in the breeding grounds
of the birds. Therefore, not only the Government of India
but those who are in charge of the breeding grounds of these
birds should exercise some control so that live birds ore
colloctod only by authorised people and sent only to properly
managed zoos.
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Newsletter for Birdwatchers. October 1975
7
CORRESPONDENCE *
What is Jhum Cultivation?
i
Jhum Cultivation is a method of cultivation in which natural
vegetation consisting of shrubs, trees, bamboos etc., is cut,
dried and burnt before crops are sown in the area. The crops
sown may include Paddy or hill paddy usually of coarse typo,
minor millets, maize, cash crops liko Til, cotton, vegetables
and other crops. This, is mostly practiced by tribals in back-
ward areas. The English equivalent of Jhum Cultivation is
Shifting Cultivation. This cultivation is practisad in Assam
where it is known as Jhum Cultivation! in Orissa it is known
as Podu Cultivation and in South India as Kumri.
(This is in reply to Editor , s comments on Pago 9
of the Newsletter of August-Sept. 1975 - "Forgivo
my ignorance. What is Jhum Cultivation?")
H;N. Mathux.
Brief Observation at the Ballabhgarh
Community Health Centre.
I would like to present a brief observation at the Ballabhgarh
Community Health Centre. There is a pure white babbler which
has been mixing easily with the other babblers and is seen
frequently around the area. I do not know how common the
albino babblers are, but I thought this would be of interest
to members of the Society. Dx. Lalit Nath of the IBWL showed
me this bird.
A. Mangalik,
Perching Birds Carrying things in their Claws.
I have seon common house crows scooping fish (about the sizi
of a finger) floating on water with their feat. The fish
that is thus grabbedmay b« passed from the feet to the beak
while flying; if this is not dons, the fish falls off from
its grip before long. The entire activity is marked by
sheer clumsiness and frequent failure.
I have never seon a jungle crow doing the same feat. Also,
I have not seen a house crow carrying a bigger object or
any living thing in its feet.
T;V. Joss.
.•'
>»s: October 1 975
Naming of Birds
In reply to Mr. Gay's question, I would like to assure him
that the "Yellow-Eyed Babbler" has indeed a very red iris.
But, (as Seleneucus the elder so perceptibly remarked in
about 225 B.C.), "Ornithologists are notoriously colour-
blind"!! The only other reasonable and lucid explanations
I can offer for the naming of this bird, are as follows
and those interested may have their choice of a reason t*-
1) The term "yellow-eyed" refers to the shape of the
, bird's eye, and not to the colour of its iris.
2) The eye of the bird undergoes a seasonal or alti-
tudinal variation in colour.
3) The term "yellow-eyed" refers to the white ring
around the Iris," and' which ' white ' ring is gene-
rally obscured by the bird's eyelashes.
4) That the taxonomist who undertook to christen the
bird, had jaundice at the time.
If Mr. Gay is still mystified, I may draw his attention to
the analogous cass of the 'American Compass-tailed Cuckoo 1
of which two races occur. The northern race has the tail
painting northwards, and the southern race has the tail
pointing southwards. And now, if Mr. Gay may consider himself
sufficiently anlightoned upon the point, I have a few ques-
tions to ask myself :-
Can anyone acquaint me with the present day status of what
many consider to be the most beautiful parrot in all the
world, i.e. Gould's Paradise Parrot (Psephotus pulcherrimus)?
One can only glean thB most cryptic references to this bird,
such as, believed to have become extinct in the early nine-
teenth century, rediscovered in the 1900*3. Since then,
isolated pairs recorded. In a very recent issue of "WildlLfe*
featuring the related Golden-shouldered parrot (Psephotus
chrysoptoregius) , the Paradise Parrot was regarded as lost.
The Red Data Book is even more vague and indefinite regarding
this bird. The Golden-shouldered and the Paradise Parrots
breed in termite mounds in Australia's semi-desert country
and the Golden-shouldered Parrot has now been induced to
breed in artificial termite mounds as it is also a gravely
threatened species. Sir Edward Hallstrom has also succeeded
in breeding this bird at his Famous Mondugl Sanctuary in New
Guinea. The Golden-shouldered and the Paradise Parrot (which
has a crimson shoulder) seem to hove been wiped out by tha
pet bird trade earlier in this century. Magnificent illus-
ions of both birds may be found in John^u^s^ropical
•-
EDITORIAL BOARD :
Dr. Salim Ali,
Bombay.
Zafar Futehally.
Dodda-Gubbi Post,
(Via) Vrdyanagar,
Bangalore-562 134.
Mrs. Jamal Ara.
Ranch f.
Kunvar Shri Lavkumar,
Rajkot.
Prof. K. K. Neelakantan, *
Trivandrum. *
Cr. A. S. Mnhajan,
Bombay.
Br. A Navarro.
Bombay.
Editor :
S. V. Nilakanta,
32A, C. D. 8artiwa1a Marg
Andheri,
Bombay-400 058
Annual Subscription Rs. 10/-
--
Students Rs. 5/-
Newsletter For
Birdwatchers
VOL. XV NO. 9 NOV./DEC, 1975
I
N E'W 5 L E T T E~R F H
BIRDWATCHERS
Volume 15, Number 9.
.
November-December 1 9T5
->
CONTENTS :
Random Notes - Zafar Futehally.
Chilka Lake - Ananta Mitra.
Warding off Danger - J.S. Serrao.
Editorial Note,
*
• 1
3
5
56
CORRESPONDENCE:
The Painted Partridge Tn. Grassland
round Nagp.ur Airport - Mrs. R,W. Ghate.
An Appeal - Partha P. Majumdar.
A Point to. Wonder? - Partha i 1 . Majumdar
......
Comments on R.K. Bhatnagar'a article on
"Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary in 5ummsr"
published, in July issue. - HiN: Mathur.
7
6
RANDOM NOTES
fr
Zafar Futehally. .
If I remember right I sent a note to the Newsletter some n-.onthe
ago when we were at 269, Rajmanal Vilas Extn.» Bangalore, We
have now moved into our new house at Dodda-Gubbi, eight miles
away from Bangalore City. Our plot of land is about 5 acres,
but for miles around there are no ugly structures as yet, and
the view of the sky and the agricultural lands next door has
turned us into "lotus enters ". We gaze at the sunrise and the
sunsets and in between have some rest to keep our aesthetic
antennas in good order.
I .am writing this from tha S.E. Railway Hotel in Ranchi at 7-15
a.m. on 29.10.1975. Sirce I have a couple of hours before the
business- of the aay commences, I thought I might write a few
lines about the birds of Ranchi and Bangalore. The hotel garden
4s very pie-sing, with wide well tended lawns and plenty of
large trees: Jacaranda, Jack Fruit, hango, Cassia, Eucalyptus,
In a half hour nund this morning I saw Grey headed Mynas, Pied
Mynas- Common Mynas, Spotted Doves. There was a sunbird celling.-
but I could not make out whether it was Purple or Purple-rumpcd.
White-eyes are always around hero, and their jolly sibilant call3
are a pleasure to hear. I understand from Jamal Ara that Wagtails
Newsletter for Birdwatchers. November-December 1975.
2
and Willow Warblors have arrived, but I have not seen any.
On a dead tree, without any loaves, .but just the branches
there werp 49 crows [yes I counted them!) and they were all
positioned to see a Shikra on a neighbouring treo. From time
to time a crow would attack the Shikra, but apart from ducking
its head, the hunter took no notice of the lessor breeds. Thig ^
bird was very heavily cross barred with brown on its russet-
cream plumage on the undexsido. The colouration of Shikras is 4
often very deceptive. " '
We have a couple of pairs of Shikras in and around our garden
in Bangalore. They are noisy birds and the Blank Drongos are
always ready to fly up at them. Incidentally the trees on our
small estate in Bangalore are still very young. There aro
about 150 trees, a mixturo of mango, chikoo and guavas, but -
none are above 10» in height as yet. It will bo interesting
to watch the changing complex of bird life as the trees grow
and provide more shade and cover. The permanent residents on
our land are i Redvented Bulbuls, Black Drongos, Spotted
Hunias, Whitethroated Munias, Roseringod Parakeets, Pied Bushw
chats, flocks of Ashycrowned Finch Larks, Large Piod Wagtails
(Motocilla madarajpatensis ) . Spatted Doves, Common Green Boe*
eaters, Whitcheadod Kingfisher, Blue Jay, Common and Jungle
Mynas, Grey Partridgo and Bustard Quail ( Turnix suscjtatorl .
The female quails keop drumming at all hours of the day, I
think there aro two females of this polyandrous species hoW»
ing territories in different areas.
Salim AH says in the Handbook that tho breeding habits of
these quails would make a good subject for detailed study,
I thought that all these birds would bo able to keep down
the insect pests on the land. But they seem to bo no match
for the hairy caterpillars which multiply by the thousands
on the mango trees. Much against my will, wo have had to use - j
BHC to keep them down. It is of course unfair to expect that
birds would be able to deal with the largo quantities of pests
which result from tho monoculture practices of man. Tho stable
lity of nature depends on variety, but this is against human
practices of uniformity and standardisation.
About a mile to tho East of our house there is. the Dodda-Gubbi
tank. It is very full this year and I am hoping that it wi'U
be fall of duck after a month or two. Last weak I saw four
Spot-bills, Painted Storks, Rodwattlad Lapwings, and several
Whistling teal. The only migrants which I have seen this season
are Common Swallows, White Wagtails, Grey Wagtail, and the
Little Brown Shrike.
Newsletter fcr Birdwr.tchera* ' November-December 1975.
3
Finally this note is sunt in the hopu that something is
better then nothing*
CHILKA LAKE
An onto Mxtra, Calcutta,
The rain was slaw to depart this year. Air was moist and
warm. With scattered hillocks in its vast bed and tho hover-
ing rlouds above, still and pUtc Chilka, was fascinating.
In the late afternoon on 21,10.75, w? wore at Rorobha, observ-
ing birds from the bank of tho lake.
In the evening sky a flock of ducks mode their appearance.
Thoy seamed to be Lesser Whistling teals ( Dcndrocygna javanica ]
Wo counted 24 cf them. Following them thor3 appeared a second
.flock .of 46 birds. Soon thereafter the third flock sailed in,
with about 150 birds. With extend ad necks and flapping of
wings they flow in formation.
-^ Wo
„» detected one peculiarity in their movement. Maintaining
the speed and direction of flight, they were altering their
formation from moment to moment. The wedgo formation changed
shapo in the air from right angle to acute anglo and vico
versa, Tho phenomenon invites closer examination.
In tho meadows wo discovered Small Indian skylarks ( Alauda
gulgula ) ■ Rising high in the sky they wore pouring songs
and wore sharply swooping down to disappear in the grasses.
As dusk set in, a pair of Spotted Owlet (Athene " brama ) silently
moved in, B and took their perch on the telegraph wires, At
nightfall we hoard thoix screeches piercing the silence of the
night. , .
r ^. :■'
On the next morr.i'ig - after e colourful sunrise - we took
boats to cruise In tho lake. Our boatmen were Dandapani Bera
and his young son Be joy. Our observation started with o flock
of cattle egret (Bubulcug ibis) . With tucked up necka they
wero flying north in formation.
As we movod on, o large predator whirled round to our sight.
It was a white-bellied sea eagle (Haliaeotus lou c o qa st er ) ,
hunting for prey. Dandapani named it as 'KURUBALA 1 and said
that sometimes they prey upon the floating ducks, coming
Newsletter fox Birdwatchers. November-December 1975
On occasions wound ad ducks
upon them with Ughtning speed. On occasions wound ad d
which slipped out "of the eagles' grip are picked up oy
fisherman. Last year Dandapani was fortunate to bag one
such duck.
On this morning too, wc found several flocks of toals moving
fast in formation. Our boatman said that the local name of
this bird is "GENDI HANSA«* '
Our next oncountar was with Uttle tame (Sterna albifrorH,).
With rapid twists and turns they wore scanning tho water
and wore making occasional d^veo. For moments they disappear-
ed in water and showed up the next moment in sharp ascent.
Other birds which came to our view wore Little Cormorants,
Brown-headed Gulls, Common Sandpipers, Red-wattled Lapwings,
Brahminy Kites and Pariah Kites. A Pariah Kite secured a
fish in its claws and took it to a nearby rock.
After two hours* pleasant boating we drew near our destination
the 'CHARAI PAHARI' - the Bird Island. It is just a largo
hillock about 150 feet high, encircled in water # and covered
with trees. Dandapani informed us that during winter, migra-
tory ducks, geese and other birds perch and roost here in
thousands.
Incidentally wo learnt that in other islands of the laka
like NALABANA, NUAPARA, SATAPARA, etc. varieties of birds T
from flamingos to plovers are found in abundance.
We moored our boat and landed on the Bird island. Loud calls
of coucals wore coming from the forest. Some birds already
listed wore found there. Among bamboos and other flora in tho
island, we discovered a number of Thaepnaia populnaa tParas
Pipal) adorning the hills with their protty blossoms.
Circurmavigating the island wo started back. Juriiig the
return wo encountered tho Gull-billed Toms (.GolpcheJ^doa,
nilotica ) •
At Rambha wo put up at the state-ownod guest h™ 30 ' ^°"" fl
as Pantha Niwas, situated on the bank of the laka in charming
surroundings. Birds with their songs, coos and call© Rapt OUS
hours in enchantment. Crowning them there were the booming
calls of a group of langi.rs who had taken up residence in a
largo banyan tree near tiie lodge.
-
.■
Newsletter for* Birdwatchers. November-December 1 975.
5
Chilka Lake_~"1;fco,_ biggest, in our country - has on area of
450 5q. miles ~Tl ,165 Sq. K'.H. ). It holds a number of big
and large rocky islands cbverod with foliage. Its saline, water
contains varieties of marine— food loved by birds.
i— ■ *
From time immemorial different orders of avifauna - resident
and migratory - have found their happy homes in these sheltered
lonely islands.
They await proper exploration by the ornithologist.
WARDING OFF DANGER
'- • ■
m
J.S. Sorrao.. \" '-'-^
That parakeets can rally round to ward off a marauder from
nest vicinity long before the latter attacks their oggs-.or •„
young was witnossed by me on 25th October in the florivli -, r _
National Park.' I was watching a pair at a nest-hole in a dead
palmyra — sne of the pair inside the hols and the other nling-
ing. at the entrance. A Brahminy Kite which was quartering
the area low over tree.«tops happened to stumble over the palm
thc^poir _wa3 on. With a screech the bird clinging to the nest-
hole t'ook off and winged on nscending flight to meet the kite,
swearing as it did so. 5oon it was joined by the individual
inside the nest hole, and both started mobbing the kite:, keep-
ing up all the while a noisy screeching. This ottractod six
other Rcseringed Parakeets which joined in the meloe, flying
all round the kite, swearing nil the while, and jabbing it en
its unguarded sides. Thus harried on all sides the kite started
flying "off from the area, the parakeets rtill swearing and
following it until it was quite some distance from the nest
tree.
And as I witnessed this co-operation and foresight nf the
parakeets E.H.N; Lowther's passage extolling the virtues of ^
this most maligned bird flashed across my mind, which reads:
"Poor parrotsl the sahib and the x-y^ t have no love for you
(|w owing to the damage you do in the garden and to the crops in
the fields. And yet, in spits of the awful noise you made every
evening, and every morning long before it was dawn - except
in your nesting season when you scarcely visited me; in spite
too of thB havoc you* wrought amongst my fruit trees, I have
a very tender spot in my heart for you and wish you a Ic^g and
happy innings in the dear old compound. I wa3 always delighted
when towards the and of February or in early March I found you
had appreciated my hospitality and you and your wife had decided
to bring up your family in a hole of one of my tress. Nowhere
r-
Newsletter for Birdwatchers
November-December 1975
were your three or four white eggs, or young, safer. Our sex
has often been accused of paying" too little attention to the
nursery, but you were ever a model husband, taking turns' with
your Bettor Half in incubating the eggs, and later working ■
like a slave to faed your young. Farewell, and Good Luck to
yot:!* ;j. Sombay nat. Hist. Soc. 40: 424; 1938).
EDITORIAL .NOTE:
The time has come to inject new life into the Newsletter
and the activities of the Fibld Club.
Members will recall that the existence of the Newsletter : >■
is entirely due to its founder Mr. Zafar Futehally and to
the sustained efforts he had put into it to keep it going.
Therefore, when he left Bombay and migrated to Bangalore
a sort of vacuum was created at the very apex of the organisa-
tion. My efforts to fill in this, vacuum has been, it must be
admitted, only partially successful.
Z.F. is a dedicated and renown conservationist and' nature lover
and recognised as such throughout the world and awarded a Padma
Shree by our country. Moreover, he is a writer and correspondent
nf considerable skill.'. After peruain g through a simple account
of a morning's outing by Zafar Futehally the reader feels that
he has actually been present and participated in that outing.
This seems to be a sort of gift which cannot be* acauirori hu
mere copying or imitation.
cannot be' acquired by
Therefore it will bo readily seen that a mechanical engineer
like me cannot be anything but a poor substitute especially
when hamperod by a chronic power shortage which compels mo
to work every wook end and have an "off" in the middle of
the week when no one else i3 available to do a sport of
bird watching*
Now for the great nows which is that once again Mr. Zafar
Futehally is taking over the production of the Newsletter,
His address i& :••
Dodda Gubbi Post,
Via Viriyanagar,
BANGALORE 562 134.
Therefore from now onwards all pending articles and notes
will be forwarded to him.
re ■*
.■
Newsletter for Birdwatchers. Navember-Docember 1975,
7 _ .
In the next Annual General Meeting Df the Field Club it is
proposed that this transfer will bo formally ratified.
- ■ * *• * *
CORRESPONDENCE ;
Tho Painted Partridge on Grassland round Nagpur Airport.
Mr. R.K. Bhatnagar (October Newsletter) points out that tho
largo areas of scrub and grassland round airports provide
spociol conditions of wildlife.
I have noticed for tho last few years that the land round
Nagpur Airport has attracted increasing number of Painted
Partridge, and this year they wore extremely vocal from about
the middle, of tho monaoon till the end of October. From an
hour or two before" dork till woll after sunset they took up
positions on shrubs or the posts of tho airport boundary fence
and kept up a chorus* of what sounded to me like a plaintive
"What to do? What to do?" repeated regularly every 10 or 12
seconds.;
In spite, of many attempts to approach them no" bird lot mo got
nqare;r'ih,an 40 or 50 yards without flying off, but otherwise
they "remained put till the end of the performance. They did
not saem to mind tho jeep which patrols the runway, ' R
According to tho Handbook of Indian Birds it is uncertain
whether the female, which usually has white on tho front of
the neck, also calls. One of the birds I sow definitely had
a white "throat, and several others apparently had.
(Mrs.) R.W. Ghato.
An Appeal.
I would like to convey my gratitude to Mr. Mangalik for his
briof observation (NL f October 1975). I hereby raoko on appeal
to other birdwatchers to report on similar observations which
will help to estimate the frequencies of various mutant genes
in avian papulations. In fact, a large-scalo ornithological
survey should be conductod to estimate the rote of spontane-
ous mutations in avian populations which will throw consider-
able light on the genie variation in theso populations and^
'help in the understanding of the process of Natural Selection.
Partho P. Majumdor.
Newsletter for Birdwatchers- November-December 1975,
8
A Point to Wonder?
On the verandah of my house, a mirror is hung on the wall
which is used for shaving purposes. Two common sparrows
( Passer domesticus ) have built a nest on one of the ventila-
tors of a room adjoining the verandah. These two sparrows
spend long hours of the day pecking the mirror. I hava been
watching them perform this feat for over a month now. The
obvious explanation for this performance of theirs is fight-
ing against the •enemy 1 (■intruder 1 ?) visible on the mirror.
I often wonder why it takes thorn so long to learn that they
are wasting their energy for nothing!
Portha P. Mojumder.
"Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary in 5ummcr" by R.K. Bhatnagar,
publishod in July issue, roads more like an "Inspection"
note by an officer visiting a work site. He has written
the least about birds and more about other items.
I have not visited the Sanctuary but it is difficult to
imagine a situation in a Bird Sanctuary where only 1 Sparrow
Small flocks 2, Brahminy myna's 3 and 17 crested .Larks and 5
common babblers wero seen in April. Probably, the time' was
also' restive. I had an opportunity of travelling in Bhiwanl &
Mahendragarh Dist. (comparatively rainfall areas and where
no protection is provided), for 2 days during late Juno,
1974 wherein I could easily sea a large number of birds,
most prominent amongst them was the "Dove".
Mr. Bhatnagar's comment about the sign boards is very
relevant — these should bo very prominent.
I would agree with Mr. Bhatnagar on his comments about the
■Out of context' design of watch towers, rest houses and
lodges in many* of our national porks and sanctuaries. It is
heartening to note that tho towers in this sanctuary are
beautifully designed.
Coming back to the birds, I am suro that there is a Rho'ck
list of birds in this sanctuary with the Game Warden,
Divisional Forost Officer, Gurgaon, Conservator of Forest,
Southern Circle I.F.S., .Conservator of Forest, is an enthu- •
siastic Bird Watcher and would certainly help in tho prepa-
ration of such a list, foiling which the Newsletter could
request its readers in tho region to proparo p monthly or
seasonal list to holp Bird Watchers, visiting the sanetuary.
It would be dosireablo that Shri Bhatnagar f s comments arc for-
warded- to D.F.O., Gurgaon and Conservator of Forest, Southern
Circle, Hissar far their attention. ,, ,, ....
H;N, Mathur.
EDITORIAL BOARD :
Dr. Salim AM,
Bombay.
Zafar Futehally,
Oodda-Gubbi Post,
(Via) Vidyanagar.
Bangalore-562 134.
Mrs. Jamal Ara.
Ranchi. \
Kunvar Shrl Lavkumar,
Rajkot.
Prof. K. K. Neelakantan,
Trivandrum.
Dr. A. S. Mahajan,
Bombay.
Br. A, Navarro,
Bombay.
i
Editor :
S. V. Nilakanta,
32A, C. D. Barfiwala Marg.
Andheri,
Bombay-4G0 058.
Annual Subscription Rs. 10/-
Students Rs. 5/-
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