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Newsletter for
Birdwatchers

VOL. XXXI

No. 1 & 2 January-February 1991

WETLAND AND WATERFOWL

CONSERVATION IN ASIA

KARACHI, PAKISTAN,14 - 21, December 1991

Convened by

The International Waterfowl and

Wetlands Research Bureau

and

National Council for the Conservation of

Wildlife, Pakistan

At the Invitation of
The Government of Pakistan

Cooperating Organizations :

Asian Wetland Bureau

IUCN-Pakistan

WWF-Pakistan

Bonn Convention Secretariat
Ramsar Convention Bureau

FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT
Introduction

The conference will address the current satus of wetlands
and waterfowl in West and South Asia and develop strategies
for their conservation.

The general aims of the conference are :

• To evaluate the status of and threats to, wetlands and
waterfowl in West and South Asia, and to develop an
Action Plan to implement future conservation
priorities;

• To promote regional and international cooperation for
wetland and waterfowl conservation in the region, by
providing an international forum for considering the
conservation of wetlands and migratory species;

• To promoteawaieness of, and adherance to, the Ramsar
Convention, and to prepare for the forthcoming
meeting of Ramsar Contracting Parties in Japan, 1993;

• To investigate the need and potential for the
development of an Agreement under the Bonn
Convention, for the conservation of migratory
waterfowl in Asia.

• To develop a strategy for action, taking into account
information derived from the Directory of Asian
Wetlands and the Asiar. Waterfc -•%-". Cersu;.

Audience
is specifically aimed at the folowing groups:

The meeting

• Government conservation,
management agencies

• Non-governmental conservation-.

• Wetland managers and researchers

• Waterfowl managers and researchers

• Water resource managers and researchers

: :-:_:-;

Venue

The meeting will be held at the Beach Luxury Hotel,
Karachi, purpose built for large scale conferences. The venue
provides excellent conference facilities as well as on site
accommodation and meals.

Provisional Programme

The programme will consist of invited and contributed
papers and posters, addressing the following topics :

• The status of wetlands and waterfowl in West and South
Asia;

• Conservation and management of wetlands and
waterfowl in West and South Asia;

• Research needs for wetland and waterfowl
conservation in West and South Asia;

• Management and administrtive procedures for wetland
and waterfowl conservation in West and South Asia;

• The conference will be preceeded by a training course
for wetland managers in West and South Asia.

Call for Papers

Submitted papers and posters on the above topics are
welcomed. Those wishing to present a paper or poster should
send an English Language abstract of not more than 400
words. Deadline for receipt of abstracts is 30 April 1991.

Expression of Interest

If you are interested in receiving the second announcement
and registration form for this symposium please write to
IWRB no later than 30 April 1991.

IWRB

IWRB was established in 1954 to stimulate international
cooperation for the conservation of migratory waterfowl and
their wetlands habitats. The major activities of IWRB fall into
three categories :

Survey and monitoring of waterfowl populations and
wetland habitats, to identify conservation priorites, plan
conseration actions and raise awareness of problems.

Research into the wise use of wetlands and waterfowl, to
ensure that management and conservation actions are based
on sound scientific principles.

Transfer of information between research workers
through symposia, workshops and publications; and from
research workers to waterfowl and wetland managers and
government agencies through workshops training
programmes and publications .

Mtional Information on the Scientfic or Administrative
* the conference please contact the persons listed below:-

iristian Penenou and Tim Jones (Scientific),

Simon Nash (Administrative),

IWRB, Slimbridge, Gloucester,

GL2 7BX, United Kingdom.

VOL. XXXI

No. 1 & 2

Januaiy-February 1991

CONTENTS

Editorial

• Bird Flight

• Bird Ringing
•Checklists of Birds

• Bound Volumes of the Newsletter

• The Forktail Leica Conservation Award

• Asian Midwinter Waterfowl Census-India, January,
4-21, 1991

• Banal Experiments
Articles

• ICBP National Report, India, by S.A. Hussain

• Bird Life around Kakachi, by T. Ganesh

• Birds of Mandi District, by Anil Mahabal and Ratin
Mukherjee

• Checklist of the birds of Mangalore, by Dr. A. Kumar
and V.K. Bose

Correspondence

• Greater Adjutant Stork in Upper Assam, by Dr. D.
r Barooah

• Large Green Barbet in Bangalore, by J.N. Prasad

• Greater Flamingo in Kutch, by Navin N. Bapat

• Barheaded and Greylag Geese, by Dr. J.C. Uttangi

• Plumage of the Grey Wagtail, by K. Sathasivam

• Identifying Birds of Prey, by William S. Clark

• Accacia seeds for Birds, by S. Devasahayam and
J. Rema

• Crows with a White Shoulder, by Dr. Y.S. Parmar

• Siberian Crane in Kutch, by Dhanraj Malik

• New Paradise for Peregrine Falcons, by Aamir Ali

• Bird News from Rajkot, by Anvar Babi

• Cannibalism in Birds, from Free Press Journal 22 Dec.
90

• Request for Information. Ranjit Daniels

• Cooing of Spotted Doves, by Zafer Futehally

• Tigers and Elephants, a Review, by Laeeq Futehally

EDITORIAL

Bird Flight

In the Nov/Dec issue of 1990 we published the
Introduction to Professor S. Dhawan's Raman Memorial
Lecture on Bird Flight. Rather than continue with
reproducing the text and the illustrations of the subsequent

chapters we will carry an abstract of the entire lecture in a
later issue. But those who wish, could attempt to get a copy
from the Raman Research Insstitute, Bangalore.

Bird Ringing

I have a great admiration for bird ringers, because I
experienced the difficulties involved, during my
participation in the bird ringing camps in the Rann of Kutch
with the Salim Ali (BNHS) camps. Putting -up the nets in
windy conditions, and locating them along, likely bird
flyways, removing the birds from the nets without being
bitten and clawed, and without damaging the bird, and the
subsequent operations of weighing, measuring, de-ticking,
etc, requires skill and patience. I recall that Nightjars were
the easiest birds to handle because neither their beaks nor
their claws were capable of hurting. The birds only open
their gapes wide and expect insects to stream in.

L A Hill (64 North Parade, Grantham, Lincolnshire, N
G318 AN U.K.) in his annual Christmas Greetng says : "I
got out a little booklet... on our House Martin operations
this year and enclose a copy which you might find of some
interest. I went off again to the Coto Donana at the end of

September, returning on 1st. November We ringed

every day during October except for three which were lost
due to wind and rain and ringed 567 birds of 44 species
which was quite good going. There is a large colony of
House Martin nests on the "Town Hall" El Rocio (about
450). The birds were just on the point of leaving for Africa
by the time I got permission to catch any, but we got a
dozen or so. The interesting thing was they were all in full
moult, their primaries being almost fully replaced: here,
ours don't start moulting before they leave. Also they had
no bugs. I am doing a bit of de-bugging for a friend in
Leicester University who got his Ph.D on House Martin
fleas. Nearly all ours here have fleas (3 species) and flat flies
(Hippoboscids). Perhaps the weather is not humid enough
down there in Andalusia".

The Report of the House Martin Study Group may be of
interest to some of our readers and I will be glad to send a
copy for the cost of xeroxing which may be about Rs.12/-.
The Objects of the Exercise listed in the Report are to learn
about:

I. The number of birds returning to the breeding site
of the previous year. Are males more loyal to the site
than females? What about the juveniles?

II. The movement between villages from one year to
another

III. The numbers that perish while on migration

IV. The bird's life span

V. Fidelity between mates from one year to the next.

Newsletter for Birdwatchers

Checklists of Birds

I recall having discouraged the submission of checklists
of birds from different areas and having suggested that the
NLBW would prefer to have observations of selected
species, of their behaviour and of the environment i n which
they are found. But I concede that checklists are a great help
to visitors in a new area and three are included in this issue.
I was glad to see that in the note on Mangalore the Malabar
Trogon has been included. I have seen this bird only once
in the Bori vili National Park in Bombay and that must have
been 40 years ago. But I remember the brilliant colour of the
male. The name of the species has been changed to the
Southern Trogon. I find that no cuckoos have been
mentioned in the 76 species of the Mangalore list and I
wonder if they have been overlooked.

The Checklist on Kakachi by T Ganesh refers to 94
species and there appear to be far more birds of prey in
Pondicherry than in Malabar. In the Checklist of Mandi
District of Himachal Pradesh the author has marked with
an asterisk the "bird species found in the Himalayan
Ecosystem" So, all in all, checklists are not to be decried.

Bound Volumes of the Newsletter

At the modest price of Rs.25/- hard bound issues of
Volume XXIX and XXX are available. Please send your
order to S. Sridhar.

The Forktail Leica Conservation Award

The award which goes to the best conservation-based
study of an Oriental bird species or habitat is worth £500/-.
The Oriental Bird Club (The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire
SG 19 2DL U.K.) announces that Zhang Yum-Sun and He

Fen-Qui of Beijing have won the award. They will study the
breeding ecology of the Relict Gull Larws relictus. This bird
was recognised as a distinct species only in 1971 and the
birds breed in inner Mongolia. I see that in the New
Dictionary of Birds by Sir Landsborough Thompson, there
is a reference to Saunders Gull Larus saundersi "an inland
species of Mongolia and Northern China" This is
presumably the bird which is the subject of the proposed
study and whose name is appropriately changed to relictus.

Asian Midwinter Waterfowl Census - India, January,
4-211991

How quickly the "Januarys come and go. I believe that
those of you who have shown an interest in the census must
be in touch with S.A. Hussain of the BNHS. For those who
have missed out of the Principal Dates January 12/13
Hussain said in his circular of November 21, 1990 that "you
may send any data collected between December 90 and
February 91." The count form is printed in Sept.-Oct.-1990
issue of the Newsletter.

Banal Experiments

We seem to have a penchant for carrying out totally
meaningless experiments involving animals, principally
with the object of drawing attention to the "researcher".
Asad Rahmani of the BNHS drew my attention to the
report in the Free Press Journal of 22-12-90 relating to
Cannibalism in Birds. The report is reproduced in this
issue. If birds or mice or any form of life is subjected to
artifical conditions they will behave in an unnatural
manner. Does it need heartless experiments of this kind to
prove the obvious.

ICBP NATIONAL REPORT - INDIA

S.A. HUSSAIN, Bombay Natural History Society, Hornbill House, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road, Bombay 400 023

Introduction & Background

India with its variety of habitats ranging from marine
littoral forests, both of the plains and hills ranging from dry
thorn to evergreen and temperate, grasslands of the arid
zone to swamps and alpine pastures up to the snowline,
has one of the richest bird fauna in the world both in
diversity of species and numbers of individuals.

Protection : The general conservation situation in the
Country is satisfactory. As of 1990, there were 48 National
Parks and 372 Sanctuaries in India and proposals were
being processed to increase the number of National Parks
to 54 and Sanctuaries to 503. Though the majority are not
specifically meant for birds, the National Parks and
Sanctuaries protect the best available habitats in the Indian

Biogeographic Zones thereby preserve the birds species of
such Zones.

However, the cause for concern is that the protected
areas form only a small percentage of the total bird habitat.
Habitat loss owing to human interference is the major
reason for apprehension. Human encroachment on
habitats for cultivation, monoculture plantations,
submergence under impoundments for hydro-electric and
agriculture, urbanization are some of the continuing causes
for anxiety.

The effect of large scale change in habitats on the smaller
Passerine migrants with precise habitat requirements have
not been so far examined. Migrants, among which the
Siberian Crane, is a classic example, face multiple threats
both in their breeding and wintering habitats.

Newsletter for Birdwatchers

Increasing population, new settlements on the fringe
areas of these forests and the non-availability of fuel and
fodder due to devastation of unprotected forest areas
however meant that despite this approach, pressures on the
wildlife sanctuaries kept mounting in the last decade.

In several cases, prominently among them the
Ranthambhore National Park, the Dudhwa National Park,
or even the Bhimashankar Sanctuary in Maharashtra, the
local people have actively opposed granting sanctuary or
national park status to the forests.

No outlay for new-projects in 8th five year plan - The
Planning Commission, which is the policy making body
advising the Government of India, has decided to halve the
outlay of the Department of Power for the forthcoming 8th
five year plan. This is expected to have a serious impact on
the country's power development programme during the
plan period. The outlay which has been reduced to a mere
Rs.60,000 crore from Rs.120,000 crore, is said to be just
enough to fund ongoing schemes. This would perhaps be
the first time that no new power project will be initiated in
a five year plan period.

The pay off will be in terms of environment
conservation and protection of habitat. Most habitat loss on
a widespread basis has been due to the several
power-projects that have resulted in largescale submersion
leading to dam building and devastating mining. This
decision is however incumbent on there being no policy
change due to the fluctuating political situation.

Endangered Species

The status of the Endangered Species acts as monitor of
the general conservation condition of the bird fauna. In
India the endangered species have received particular
attention from the Governments, both the Central and the
States and from Non Governmental Organisations. It
should also be noted that endangered species in the Indian
Avifauna of 2060 is only about 5%. The majority of
t endangered species are those which used to be what is
known as Game birds among Anatidae, Phasianidae.
Gruidae and Otididae.

Recent researches on the Ecology of Endangered
Species have been undertaken largely by the Bombay
Natural History Society through Projects sponsored by the
Government of India and funded from rupee funds held by
the Fish and Wildlife Services of the United States
Government

Raptors : Altogether 104 forms, including 63 species of
raptors are reported from the Indian subcontinent.
Information on the breeding biology, taxonomy, food and
feeding habits of raptors have only been scantily studied
though many excellent species-specific studies are
available. The only species of raptors which are studied in
some detail in India are White-backed Vultures, Spotted
Owlet, raptor communities in Bharatpur and the Pariah
Kite.

The Bombay Natural History Society has initiated a five
year research project titled 'Ecology and Behaviour of
Resident Raptors with special reference to endangered
species'. The Principal Investigator is Mr. J.C Daniel with
Dr. Vibhu Prakash as the Sdentist-in-charge. The project
aims to obtain information on the distribution and
numbers of resident raptors considered endangered or of
specific indicator value. This will enable assessment of the
conservation status of these populations including threats,
identification of key areas and factors for their,
conservation. This will later result in assessment of what
proportion of the species' distribution is covered under the
existing protected areas of the country and to identify
additional areas which need to be established for their
conservation. The project will also try to organise a captive
breeding program, if on the basis of data collected on the
species, such an exercisers necessary for the rehabilitation
of any particular species.

Of the 63 species and 41 subspecies of raptors reported
from the subcontinent, 22 are common-resident, 12
uncommon-resident, five rare-residents, 3 vagrants, 4
uncommon-migrant, one rare-migratory, 5
common-migratory, 5 common-migratory/resident, 5
uncommon-migratory/resident and one rare-migratory/
resident.

Storks : The Greater Adjutant Stork is one of the world's
rarest storks. The species has traditionally been abundant
throughout its range in southeast Asia. The increasing
destruction of the feeding, breeding and roosting habitat
and loss of productivity of the wetlands, especially those
nearby nesting areas, has led to a severe decline in the total
population. An important population of the species still
exists in the state of Assam in India. Prasanta Saikia and
P.C Bhattacharjee have conducted a preliminary study of
the nesting of the species in Assam. The Bombay Natural
History Society has presented a research proposal for
studying the endangered storks in India and will soon have
it ongoing.

Bustards : The Bombay Natural History Society studied
the ecology of the Great Indian Bustard, Lesser Florican and
the Bengal Horican during a long-term research project on
the bustards. The projects' have since been completed and
it has now been possible to determine the status of the three
species of Indian Bustards under this programme.

Great Indian Bustard - The project on this species
obtained data on the present distribution and examined
habitats presently holding populations of the same. Such
studies helped determine whether in such habitats the
bustards are transient or resident. In the breeding areas,
studies focussed on recording the constraints on such areas,
and prepared management plans for their complete
protection. The breeding success of the species in different
areas of its distribution was studied and investigations,
were made on the parameters required for breeding
success. Dispersal and seasonal movements of the bustard

Newsletter for Birdwatchers

helped prepare, on the basis of the data obtained, a
management p\an lot the conservation of the bustard.

Lesser and Bengal Floricans - The project on these species
obtained data on the present distribution of the floricans
and other endangered birds by field surveys and
questionnaires. They later examined habitats presently
holding these endangered species. The studies helped
determine the exact breeding areas of these birds.
Parameters on ecology and behaviour of the floricans were
studied in great detail and on the basis of the data obtained,
a conservation management plan was prepared.

Cranes - The status of the Black Necked Crane in Ladakh
has been ascertained in a collaborative programme
between the BNHS and the Government of Jammu and
Kashmir. The Society also monitors the alarming decline in
the numbers of the Siberian Cranes wintering in India
primarily at Bharatpur. We had some anxious moments
about the status of Wintering Siberian Cranes. Only 17
arrived last year to their traditional wintering quarters in
the Keoladeo National Park. Unfortunately due to drastic
changes in the habitat in the park, some of the birds left the
park to unknown destinations in other partsof the Country
causing an alarm amongst all bird enthusiasts.

One lone individual wandered off to about 200 km
South of Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur and spent the
entire 1988 winter at Dihaila Jheel, in the State of Madhya
Pradesh. In the following year (1989), this particular lake
was dry due to the failure of monsoon and no birds
wintered there. Dwindled number of Siberian Cranes and
their wandering off to unknown and potentially unsafe
areas in wintering ground has created ah alarming
situation. This year (16 November 1990) four birds have
arrived in Keoladeo National park so far, and we hope
some more will come. In the meantime, BNHS along with
other NGOs and birdwatchers have spread an alert to look
out for Siberian Cranes this winter. The main problem of
the Cranes however remains unresolved and that is the loss
suffered by the population in transit between the breeding
and wintering grounds. The Government of India in the
Ministry of Environment and Forest is now considering
how best to involve adjoining countries in the monitoring
of the population in transit. BNHS in collaboration with the
Indian Space Research Organisation, ICF and Wildbird
Society of Japan is planning tO' satellite track Common
Cranes, as an experiment to see how best this method can
be used to monitor the movement of Siberian Cranes in
future. ; cii.r!

Jerdon's Courser - A major ornithological event was the
rediscovery of the Jerdon'S Courser under the Endangered
Species collaborative project of the BNHS and the FWS,
USA. The species was rediscovered in 1986, 80 years after
it was last reported. Since the rediscovery, the species has
been seen and photographed. The area where it was
discovered has now been turned into a Sanctuary, the
Lankamalai Sanctuary, specifically for the species. An
extensive survey of the known habitat is likely to identify

more areas of occurrence. This possibility is now being
investigated.

There were five additional sightings in the Lankamalai
area during 1987. Two Jerdon's Coursers were seen in the
Thurupukonda reserve forest areas in October 1988. This
area is about 30 km south of the Lankamalai area. Recently,
in February 1990, two individual coursers were sighted at
the 1986 plot by Mx.S.A.Hussain along with the tribal who
rediscovered it. Later this year, a sighting record has been
added in the Penchalakona reserve forest, 100 km south of
Lankamalai. This area has since been proposed as a wildlife
sanctuary. Since the rediscovery, one national park and two
sanctuaries are demarcated, totalling nearly 2300 sq km in
area under protection.

Other endangered species which acquire urgent
attention are the Nicobar Megapodes, the Narcondam
Hornbill in Andaman. These, particularly the single
population of the first two species, needs to have long term
conservation programmes designed for their survival:

Bird Migration

The movement of birds to the Country and within the
country has been examined for the last two decades and
valuable information has been obtained on the migratory
movements between India and the USSR in the study of the
migratory avifauna as envisaged under the convention on
migratory Waterfowl which has been signed between the
two Countries. Since 1987 an annual bird count on Wetland
in collaboration with the IWRB has provided useful data
on the Waterfowl status in the Country.

The Bombay Natural History Society is planning to
conduct a Bird Banding workshop for participants from

SAARC Countries.
I
Critical Habitats

Bharatpur : A major bird habitat that has been under
continuous study since 1980 is the Keoladeo Ghana
National Park at Bharatpur. The BNHS and the FWS, USA,
have collaborated to set up a Field Station to study in detail
the Ecology of the Ghana Bird Sanctuary Ecosystem. Two
major reports have been published and the information
obtained is now being analysed in depth particularly with
regards to habitat availability, food resources and breeding
success of. resident Waterfowl.

The ornithological studies conducted at Bharatpur
include (1) Population studies of aquatic birds, (2) Ecology
of migratory waterfowl, (3) Comparative ecology of the
resident ducks, (4) Comparative ecology of the piscivorous
birds, (5) Ecology of the Siberian Crane, : (6) Ecology of the
Sarus Crane> (7) Ecology of the Pheasant-tailed and the
Bronzewinged Jacana, (8) Landbird communities and (9)
Raptors.

Grasslands : Due to a huge livestock population, the
Indian grasslands are under tremendous grazing pressure
and most of the so-called grasslands are at present in

Newsletter for Birdwatchers

various stages of degradation. Destruction of grasslands
has resulted in rarity or local extinction of a large number
of species like the Great Indian Bustard, floricans,
blackbuck, wolf, quails, partridges, certain snakes and
lizards; Floral composition has also changed, adversely
affecting the most palatable species.

The Bombay Natural History Society has recently
initiated a 5-year research project titled 'A Study of the
Ecology of Grasslands of Indian Plains with particular
reference to their endangered fauna' with Dr. Asad
Rahmani as the Principal Investigator.

The Project aims to survey and evaluate the status of the
subtropical grasslands of the Indian plains. The study will
make an inventory of the major grasslands, both private
and governmental, and to identify some for long-term
conservation strategy. Later, this will help identify
important grasslands from the view point of endangered
biotic communities, both floral and faunal.

Networking

An encouraging development in recent years is the
number of Bird Watcher's Society and groups which have
been established all over the country. These
Non-Governmental Organisations take the lead in the
conservation of bird life throughout the Country.

Two Conferences conducted by regional birdwatching
groups, the Pakshi Mitra Sammelan and the Decennial
seminar of the Birdwatchers Society of Andhra Pradesh
brought together many birdwatchers concerned with avian
conservation of the regions.

The Bombay Natural History Society is also planning to
initiate and conduct the Indian Ornithological Congress.

ICBP National Section

Realising the need to revive the National section of the
ICBP a circular was sent to 108 addresses in India (which
included Individuals, Government Officials/
Departments, Universities, NGOs, institutions and others)
earlier this year. These target-groups were mainly NGOs
involved in birdwatching and nature conservation,
University departments with active intiatives in field
biology and environmental sciences, national-level
institutions focusing on natural history, WWF regional
sections, Forest Departments and known individuals with
proven leadership abilities in conservation action. These
groups would be most suitable in developing the ICBP
National Section owing to their continued growing
interests in bird conservation.

Majority of respondees would prefer to have a NGO
operated action plan for the ICBP National Section. See

Till

Table 1.

Management and Conservation

Proposed Amendments to the Wildlife (Protection) Act,
1972.

Table 1. Response to Circular

ICBP National Section

NGO's Govt Both Don't

should should should know

___ operate operate operate

NGO (44) 29

Universities (3) 1
Institutes (4) 2

1 12 7

■

WWF (2) 1 - - 1

Forest Dept.(l) 1

Individuals (2) 2

! 1 — i

In a move described by most Indian environmentalists
as 'calamitous', the union cabinet of the Government of
India has been reported to have given its approval to a
proposed amendment in the Indian Wildlife (Protection)
Act making hunting of protected animals legal if they stray
outside wildlife sanctuaries or national parks.

The need to preserve the country's natural heritage, on
the one hand, and of satisfying the fuel and fodder needs
of the populations dependent on the forests, on the other,
have led to an inevitable conflict between man and animals.
While increasing attacks of leopards and at times even
tigers (especially in the Sundarbans area) have led to an
occasional human casualty, grazing and felling pressures
have devastated large parts of the wildlife sanctuaries.

So far, successive governments have adopted a
multipronged strategy to tackle the problem. This
consisted of shifting human settlements from core areas of
the parks to buffer zones, of giving rights for collection of
minor forest produce to villagers and compensating them
for any cattle or crop losses incurred due to wildlife attacks.
The entire thrust of the strategy was to try and reduce
human interference in the wilderness. It was this strategy
which was largely responsible for the significant gains in
the protection of wildlife in the last three decades,
including the now famous 'Project Tiger 7 .

The Proposed amendment making hunting of protected
animals legal if they stray outside wildlife sanctuaries and
national parks would in effect nullify the good work done
in wildlife protection over the last two decades. Such an
amendment if enforced could lead to increased poaching,
since an animal could easily be killed inside the park and
its carcass dragged outside the national park boundary.
Such a retrogade step would in effect abrogate the wildlife
Act. It would serve as a license to any would-be poacher.
The birds immediately under threat would naturally be the
large grassland-dwelling bustards.

The controversial amendments to the Wildlife Act,
which were approved by the Union Cabinet despite strong
opposition from the environment ministry, have been

Newsletter for Birdwatchers

referred back to the law ministry. Besides the controversy
over the proposed amendments to section 11(2) of the 1972
Act, the matter is now pending with the law ministry for
interpretation of the existing legislation also.

The commercial exploitation of birds have also been
strictly controlled, trade being restricted to species which
are abundant as crop pests and have multiplied in numbers
with easy availability of food.

Loss of Habitat

Habitat destruction remains the main cause for concern
to the conservation of bird life in the Indian Sub-Continent.

Narmada : A major cause for concern has been the
multipurpose proposed series of dams on Narmada River
in Central India. If implemented as envisaged, the
multipurpose project will involve building 30 major and
135 medium and 3000 minor dams resulting in as many

major and minor reservoirs and a vast network of Canal
systems and approach roads. The four major dams, namely
Sardar Sarovar, Narmada Sagar, Omkareshwar and
Maheshwar located in three States of the Country will
destroy about 56547 hectares of natural forests through
submergence alone. This will not only practically change
the ecology of the area but also a large number of forest bird
species will suffer due to loss of habitat. The concerned
Governments have given assurances for implementing
massive reforestation plans, as required by the stipulations
laid down by the funding agency - World Bank in this case
- it is doubtful whether this exercise will actually
compensate even a fraction of the loss of original forests.
The Voluntary Organisations have strongly protested
against the implementation of these projects but the
political and other pressures appear to be too great to be
countered by the voluntary groups.

SOME ASPECTS OF BIRD LIFE AROUND KARACHI
IN KALAKAD WILD LIFE SANCTUARY (T.N.)

T. GANESH >
Salim Ali School of Ecology, Pondkherry University, Pondicherry 605 001

Kakachi is at one extreme of the Kalakad wild life
sanctuary bordering the Bombay Burma tea estates.
Situated at an altitude of c.1200 m, it experiences a cold and
wet climatic regime most of the year with an annual
average rainfall of about 3000 mm. The vegetation is of
evergreen forest type dominated by Cullenia exarillata
whose flowers are a great food source for many arboreal
mammals including the liontailed macaque Macacasilenus.
There are a few disturbed patches especially along the
roads and some abandoned coffee and cardamom
plantations which are over grown with secondary tree and
scrub growth. Tea, coffee and other plantations cover most
of the area around Manjolai (c.900 m) but below this moist
to dry decidous forest extend till the plains of Manimuthar.
Higher up towards the upper Kodayar dam site a disturbed
forest mostly of secondary growth can be seen. This area is
more frequented by terrestrial mammals including
elephants and gaur.

I had the opportunity to visit this place during the
summer of 1990 for a period of two months. Though this
was not a migrant season a fair number of birds was seen
in the area including the Pied Hornbill below the Manjolai
estates. Bird diversity tended to be more in disturbed areas
and at elevations below 900 m. This was especially true for
frugivore diversity at Kakachi which comprised of three
species of bulbuls, one sp of barbet, trogons and Imperial
pigeons. The abundance of these except the bulbuls are
definitely low. In the two months, I could see the pigeons
only four times and the trogons three times. Bulbuls were
more abundant but the Black bulbuls seem to be seasonal

and appear only when fruits were readily available.
Similarly Lorikeets appeared only when the tree tulip came
into flower.

During the summer many of the resident birds were
breeding including all the bulbuls, babblers, flycatchers,
trogons (on a dead tree stump 10' high), spider hunters,
small sunbirds, whistling thrush, Racket-tailed drongos
and possibly other birds.

Most of the bird life is encountered in one mixed flock
in the evergreen forest followed by a lull which could last
for many hours. The number of species comprising a mixed
flock usually varied from eight to twelve species but
number of individuals reached enormous levels ranging
from 40 to 100 specially the smaller birds like white eye and
sunbirds. It is one of those moments which every bird
watcher would cherish especially after long hours of
silence amidst the giants.

The checklist accompanying this article is for only the
areas above 900 m and therefore does not include hornbills
and parakeets which were not seen around Kakachi and
Kodayar during my visit.

Checklist of Birds Around Kakachi

Family : Phalacrocoracidae
Little cormorant
Large cormorant

Family : Ardeidae
Pond heron

Phalacrocorax niger
P. carbo

Ardeola bacchus

Newsletter for Birdwatchers

Night heron
Little egret

Family : Accipitridae

Black winged Kite

Honey buzzard

Pariah Kite

Brahminy Kite

Shikra

Crested Goshawk

Crested hawk-eagle

Rufous bellied hawk-eagle

Black eagle

Crested serpent eagle

Osprey

Marsh harrier'
Family : Falconidae

Shaheen falcon

Kestrel

Family : Phasianidae
Grey Jungle fowl

Family : Rallidae

Whitebreasted waterhen

Family : Charadriidae
Red wattled lapwing
Common sandpiper
Woodcock

Family : Columbidae
Imperial pigeon
Blue rock pigeon
Nilgiri wood pigeon
Emerald dove

Family : Pisttacidae
Indian lorikeet

Family : Cuculidae
Common hawk-cuckoo
Indian banded bay cuckoo

Family : Strigidae
Forest eagle-owl
Brown fish owl

Family : Apodidae
Alpine swift
Whiterumped spine tail

Family : Trogonidae
Malabar Trogon

Family : Alcedinidae
Threetoed kingfisher
Common kingfisher
White breasted kingfisher

Family : Meropidae

Chestnutheaded bee-eater
Green bee-eater

Family : Capitonidae
Small green barbet
Large green barbet

Nycticorax nycticorax
Egrettagarzette

Elanus caeruleus
Pernis ptilorhyncus
Milvus migrans
Haliastur indus
Accipiter. badius
Accipiter trivirgatus
Spizaetus cirrhatus
Hieraaetus kienerii
Ictinaetus malayensis
SpUornis cheela
Pandion haliaetus
Circus aeruginosus

Falcoperegrinus
Falco tinnunculus

Gallussonneratii

Maurornis phoenicurus

Vandlus indicus
Tringa hypoleucos
Scolopax rusticola

Ducula badia
Columba livia
C. elpHnstonii
Chalcophaps indica

Loriculus vernalis

Cuculus varius
Cacomantis sonneratii

Bubo nipalensis
Bubo zeylonensis

Apus melba
Chaetura sylvatica

Harpactes fasciatus

Ceyx erithacus
Alcedo atthis
Halcyon smyrnensis

Merops leschenaulti
Merops orientalis

Megalaima viridis
Megalaima. zeylanica

Family : Picidae

Little scalybellied green woodpecker

Picus myrmecophoneus
Indian goldenbacked threetoed woodpecker

Dinopium javanense
Great black woodpecker
Rufous woodpecker

Dryocopus javensis
Micropternus brachyurus

Family : Pittidae

Indian pitta
Family : Hirundinidae

Swallow

House swallow
Family : Laniidae

Brown shrike

Pitta brachyura

Hirundo rustica
Hirundo tahitica

Lanius cristatus

Family : Dicruridae

Ashy drongo
Family : Sturnidae

Hill myna
Family : Corvidae

Whitebellied tree pie

Jungle crow

Family : Campephagidae

Pied flycatcher shrike

Scarlet minivet
Family : Irenidae

Goldenfronted chloropsis

Goldmantled chloropsis

Fairy blue bird

Family : Pycnonotidae
Red whiskered bulbul
Yellow browed bulbul
Black bulbul
Ruby throated bulbul

Family : Muscicapidae

Spotted babbler

Slatyheaded scimitar babbler

Blackheaded babbler

Quaker babbler

Whitebreasted laughing thrush

Garrulax jerdoni

Yellowbreasted laughing thrush

Garrulax delesserti
Sub Family : Muscicapinae

Brown flycatcher

Rufous tailed flycatcher

Redbreasted flycatcher

Whitebellied blue flycatcher

Nilgiiri flycatcher

Black and Orange flycatcher

Paradise flycatcher

Greyheaded flycatcher
Sub Family : Sylviinae

Blyths reed warbler

Dicrurus leucophaeus

Gracula religiosa

Dendrocitta leucogastra
Corvus macrorhynchos

Hemipus picatus
Pericrocotus flammeus

Chloropsis aurifrons
Chloropsis cochinchinesis
Irena puella

Pycnonotus jocosus
Hypsipetes indicus
Hypsipetes madagascariensis
Pycnonotus melanicterus

Pellorneum ruficeps
Pomatorhinus horsefieldii
Rhopocichla atriceps
Alcippe poioicephala

Sub Family

Blue chat

Turdinae

Muscicapa latirostris
Muscicapa ruficauda
Muscicapa parva
Muscicapa pallipes
Muscicapa albicaudata
Muscicapa nigrorufa
Terpsiphone paradisi
Culicicapa ceylonensis

Acrocephlus dumetorum
Hippolais spp
Phylloscopus spp

Erithacus brunneus

Newsletter for Birdwatchers

Malabar whistling thrush

Blackbird
Family : Paridae

Yellowcheeked tit
Family : Sittidae

Velvet fronted nuthatch

Family : Motacillidae
Nilgiri pipit

Forest wagtail
Grey wagtail
Large pied wagtail

Myiophoneus. horsfieldii

Turdus merula

Parusxanthogenys

Sittafontalis

Anthus nilghiriensis
Anthus sp
Motacilla indica
Motacilla cinerea

Motacilla maderaspatensis

___^_^_

Family : Dicaeidae
Nilgiri flowerpecker

Family : Nedariniidae
Small sunbird
Little spider hunter

Family : Zosteropidae
White eye

Family : Ploceidae,
Rufousbellied munia

caeumsp.

Nectarinia minima
Arachnothera longirostris

■
Zosteropspalpebrosa

Sub family :'Estrildinae
Lonchura kelaarti

BIRDS OF MANDI DISTRICT (Himachal Pradesh)

ANILMAhABAL and RATHIN MUKHERJEE
Zoological Survey of India, High Altitude Zoology Field Station, Solan, (H.P.) 173 212

sjai

A preliminary survey of the avifauna of Mandi district
was undertaken during March, 1990. This survey is part of
a study programme on distributional pattern of birds in the
Western Himalayan ecosystem, particularly in the various
districts of Himachal Pradesh.

District Mandi is situated, in Himachal Pradesh
(between 31 ° 13' & 32* 04' N latitude and 76' 37' & 77' 23'
E longitude). The main rivers Beas and Sutlej and their
tributaries form the river system in the district. The district
has a temperate climate. Some areas of the district get cut
off from other areas during heavy snow fall. The winter
snow often comes down to an altitude of 1330 meters. The
mean annual rainfall of the district is 1600 mm. The area
under forest is around 25 percent of the total area of the
district.

The district being mountaineous has various places
where altitude ranges from 800 meters to 4400 meters. The
survey of avifauna was undertaken in the areas of
Jogindernagar, Drang, Kamond, Sarkaghat, Bhambla,
Rewalser lake and Mandi town where altitudinal range is
upto 2200 meters. The birds were identified in the field with
the help of standard books such as Ali (1949) and Ali &
Ripley (1983).

In general, the birds like Himalayan Giffon,
Bluethroated Barbet, West Himalayan Greycrowned
pygmy Woodpecker, Western Yellowbilled Blue Magpie,
Himalayan Tree-Pie, Whitecheeked Bulbul, Straked
Laughing Thrush, Whitethroated Fantail Flycatcher,
Western Greenish Leaf Warbler, River Chat, Himalayan
Blue Whistling Thrush, Himalayan Tree-Creeper and
Cinnamon Tree-Sparrowwere commonly observed
throughout the district. The Indian Myna has a good
population in the district. Their communal roosts were
noticed in most of the towns and big villages.

Ali (1949) has described about 225 bird species
belonging to the Western Himalayas. This includes only
hill birds and excludes certain common birds. Altogether,

70 different bird species belonging to 32 families and
subfamilies are hereby recorded separately from district
Mandi. Of these, 21 bird species are surveys will be
undertaken in different seasons to know the total bird life
in this district.

Kererences

1. Ali, Salim (1949) Indian Hill Birds. '
University Press, Bombay.

2. Ali, Salim and Ripley Dillon S. (1983). A Pictorial
Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent.
Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

A Systematic list of Birds of Mandi District (H.P.)

(* - Bird Species confined to Himalayan Ecosystem)

Class : AVES

Order : Cicomiformes

Family : Ardeidae

1 . Egretta intermedia Median Egret

: Falconiformes

ord.

Order

Family : Accipitridae

2. Elanus caeruleus vociferus

3. MUvus migrans

4. Gyps himalayensis
SGypsbengalensis

6. Spilornis cheela

Family : Falconidae

7. Falco tinnunculus

Order : Galliformes

Family : Phasianidae

f 8. ArborophUa torqueola
Order :

Family :

9. Vanellus indicus
Order
Family :

Blackwinged Kite
Pariah kite

Himalayan Griffon Vulture
Indian Whitebacked Vulture
Crested Serpent Eagle

Kestrel

. .

Simla Hill Partridge

Charadriiformes
Charadriidae

Redwattled Lapwing

Columbiformes
Columbidae

Newsletter for Birdwatchers

10. Columba livia Blue Rock Pegion 39. Tephrodornis pondicerianus Common Wood Shrike

11. Streptopelia decaocta Ring Dove Family : Pycnonotidae

12. Streptopeliachinpnsis Sported Dove *40. Pycnonotus leucogenys Whitecheeked Bulbul

... . *41 Pn/"wn«nftjc rnfrrv

Order
Family

13. Psittacula krameri

14. Psittacula cyanocephala
*15. Psittacula himalayana

Order : Cuculiformes

Family : Cuculidae

16. CuculusvarM

Order : Apodiformes

Family : Apodidae

17. Apusmelba

18. Apusaffinis
Order ; Coraciiformes
Family :Alcedinidae

19. Halcyon smyrnensis
Family : Meropidae

20. Merops orientalis
Family : Upupidae

21. Upupaepops
Order : Piciformes
Family : Capitonidae

22. Megalaima zeylanica

*23. Megalaima asiatica asiatica
24. M.haemacephala indica
Family : Picidae

Subfamily : Picinae

*25. Picus canus

■,\

*26.Picoidescanicapillus

Order : Passeriformes

Family : Hirundinidae

27. Hirundosmiihiifilifera

28. Hirundo daurica
Family rLaniidae

: Psittaciformes

:Psittacidae

Roseringed Parakeet
Blossom-headed Parakeet
Slatyheaded Parakeet

Common Hawk-Cuckoo

Alpine Swift
House Swift

Ml. Pycnonotus cafer

: Muscicapidae

. ■

Whitebreasted Kingfisher
Small Green Bee-eater
Hoopoe

Northern Green Barbet
Blue-throated Barbet
Crimsonbreasted Barbet

29. Lamusvittatus

30. Lanius schach

Family : Dicruridae

31. Dicrurus adsimilis
Family : Sturnidae

32. Acridotheres tristis

33. Acridotheres fuscus
Family ; Corvidae

*34. Cissaflavirostris

35. Dendrocittavagabunda
*36. Dendrdcittaforrnosae

37. Corvus splendens '• '- 1 '■
*38. Corvus macrorhynchos

Indian Blacknaped Green
Woodpecker

W. Himalayan Greycrowned
Pygmy Woodpecker

■

Indian Wiretailed Swallow
Redrumped Swallow

Baybacked Shrike
Rufousbacked Shrike

North Indian Black Drongo

IndianMyna
Northern Jungle Myna

Western Yellow-biUed
Blue Magpie
Northwestern Tree Pie
West Himalayan Tree Pie
House Crow
HimalayanJungleCrow

Family : Campephagidae

■ .

■■:■-

Punjab Red vented Bulbul
Family : Muscicapidae

Subfamily :Timaliinae

42. Chrysomma sinense Western Yellow-eyed Babbler

43. Turdoides striatus ' Sind Jungle Babbler

*44. Garrulax lineatus Simla Streaked laughing thrush

Subfamily : Muscicapinae

45. Muscicapalatirostris Brown Flycatcher

46. Muscicapa mficauda Rufoustailed Flycatcher

Whitebrowed Blue Hycatcher

47. Muscicapa superciliaris

48. Culicicapaceylonensis Northern Greyheaded

Flycatcher
*49.Rhipiduraalbicollis Western Whitethroated

1-antail Hycatcher

'. ptthotomus sutorius
51. Phylloscopus trochiloides

Subfamily :Sylvi'inae

mus Tailor Bird

Western Greenish Leaf Warbler
*52. Seicercus xanthoschistos Western Greyheaded

Flycatcher- Warbler
Subfamily: Turdinae

53. Copsychus saularis
*54. Enicurus maculatus

55. Saxicola caprata

56. Saxicola ferrea

*57. Chaimarrornis leucocephalus

Magpie Robin

Western Spotted Forktail

Northern Pied Bush Chat

Dark-grey Bush Chat

Whitecapped

Redstart

58. Saxicoloidesfulicata Brownbacked Indian Robin

*59. Monticola rufiventris

*60. Myiophoneuscaeruleus

Family : Paridae

Subfamily : Parinae
61. Parus major

Family :Certhiidae

*62. CertHa himalayana

Family : Motacillidae

63. Anthus trivialis

64. Motacilla alba

Family ; Nectariniidae

65. Nectarinia asiatica

Family . : : Zosteropidae

66. Zosteropspalpebrosa
Family : Ploceidae
Subfamily :Passerinae

67. Passer domesticus
*68. Passer montanus
%9. Passer rutilans

Family : Emberizidae
70. Emberizastewarti

Chestnutbellied Rock
Thrush

Himalayan Blue
Whistling Thrush

■
Grey Tit

Himalayan Tree Creeper

European Tree Pipit
Pied or White Wagtail

■
Purple Sunbird

■

White-eye

House Sparrow
Tree Sparrow
Cinnamon Tree-Sparrow

Wh.te-ci

■

Newsletter for Birdwatchers

A CHECKLIST OF BIRDS OF MANGALORE CITY

DR. ARUNACHALAM KUMAR
Rotary Club of Mangalore/WWF-India, Karnataka -

Situated awash the Arabian Sea on the West Coast of
Peninsular India, wedged by the undulating ranges of the
Ghats to if s east, Mangalore (Lat : 12-50' N, Long : 74-53'
E) is today a burgeoning metropolis poised on the doors of
an industrial boom, that fast promises to change it's skyline
to grotesque proportions. Lashed by torrential downpour
between June and September by the South- West monsoon,
the city drenches itself with 100 - 150 inches of rain. Palm
fronds punctuate the narrow lanes, moss lined laterite
bricks lead to sinuous alleys with a mind boggling traffic
somehow meandering through both.

A rapid influx of commercial activity heralded by the
inflow of the omnipresent petrodollar, has wrought
irretrievable change to the green cover. The onslaught of
progress must be accepted as inevitable. However, before
the metamorphosis is complete, for the sake of record and
reference, this attempt to prepare and update a checklist of
birds found in the urban scenario is being made. The list, is
certainly not total or comprehensive, for it omits from its
gamut some estuarine and marine birds that populate the
beachfront and backwaters of the 73.64 square kilometer
city.

This log records sightings primarily from the Attavar
village sector of Mangalore and covers about 6 years of
sustained work. No bird was listed unless more than one
independent sighting was confirmed by the authors.

and VINAYK.BOSE

'Workshop on Avifauna' October 1990.

Little Cormorant

Phalacrocorax niger

Purple Heron

Ardea purpurea

Pond Heron

Ardeola grayii

Cattle Egret

Bubulcusibis

Little Egret

Egretta garzetta

Indian Reef Heron

Egretta gularis

Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

Chestnut Bittern

Jxobrychus cinrmmomeus

Pariah Kite

Milvus migrans govinda

10.

BrahminyKite

Haliastur indus

11.

Crested Serpent Eagle

Spilornis cheela

12.

Blackwinged Kite

Haliastur indus

13.

Shikra

Accipiter badius

14.

Kestrel

Falco tinnunculus

15.

Red Spurfowl

Galloperdix spadicea

16.

Whitebreasted Waterhen

Amaurornis phoenicurus

17.

Red Wattled Lapwing

Vanellus indicus

18.

Yellow Wattled Lapwing

Vanellus malabaricus

19.

Blackwinged Stilt

Himantopus himantopus

20.

Little Ringed Plover

Charadrius dubius

21.

Brownheaded Gull

Larus brunnicephalus

22.

Blue Rock Pigeon

Columba livia

23.

Spotted Dove

Slreptopelia chinensis

24.

Rose Ringed Parakeet

Psittacula krameri

25.

Blossomheaded Parakeet

Psittacula cyanocephala

26.

Indian Lorikeet

Loriculus vernalis

27.

Koel

Eudynamys scolopacea

28.

Crow Pheasant

Centropus sinensis

29.

Barn Owl

Ty to alba

30.

Collared Scops Owl

Of us bakkamoena

31.

Brown Hawk Owl

Ninox scutulata

32.

Spotted Owlet

Athene brama

33.

House Swift

Apus affinis

34.

Palm Swift

Cypsiurus parvus

35.

Malabar Trogon

Harpactes fasciatus

36.

Small Green Bee-Eater

Merops orientalis

37.

Lesser Pied Kingfisher

Ceryle rudis

38.

Common Kingfisher

Alcedoatthis

39.

Storkbilled Kingfisher

Pelargopsis capensis

40.

Indian Roller

Coracias benghalensis

41.

Large Green Barbet

Megalaima zeylanica

42.

Coppersmith Barbet

Megalaima haemacephala

43.

Goldenbacked Woodpecker

Dinopium benghalense

44.

Indian Pitta

Pitta brachyura

45.

Golden Oriole

Oriolus oriolus

46.

Blackheaded Oriole

Oriolus xanthornus

47.

Scarlet Minivet

Pericrocotus flammeus

48.

Common lora

Aegithina tiphia

49.

Redwhiskered Bulbul

Pycnonotus jocosus

50.

Red vented Bulbul

Pycnonotus cafer

51.

Black Drongo

Dicrurus adsimilis

52.

Ashy (grey) Drongo

Dicrurus leucophaeus

53.

Indian Tree Pie

Dendrocitta vagabunda

54.

House Crow

Corvus splendens

55.

Jungle Crow

Corvus macrorhynchos

56.

Jungle Babbler

Turdoides striatus

57.

Indian Robin

Saxicoloides fulicata

58.

Magpie Robin

Copsychus saularis

59.

Brown Leaf Warbler

Phylloscopus collybitta

60.

Tailor Bird

Orthotomus sutorius

61.

Rufousbacked Shrike

Lanius schach

62.

Brown Shrike

Lanius cristatus

63.

Paradise Hycatcher

Terpsiphone paradisi

64.

Grey Wagtail

Molacilla cinerea

65.

White (pied) WagtaU

Motacilla alba

66.

Greyheaded Myna

Stumus malabaricus

67.

Brahmini (blackheaded) Myna

Stumus pagodarum

68.

Common Myna

Acridotheres trislis

69.

Jungle Myna

Acridotheres fuscus

70.

Purplerumped Sunbird

Nectarinia zeylonica

71.

Loten'sSunbird

Nectarinia lotenia

72.

Tickell's Howerpecker

Dicaeum erythrorhynchos

73.

Whitebacked Munia

Lonchura Striata

74.

Spotted Munia

Lonchura punctulata

75.

House Sparrow

Passer domesticus

76.

Whitebreasted Kingfisher

Halcyon smyrnensis

Newsletter for Birdwatchers

References

A Checklist of birds in Attavar Village, Mangalore,
Keyemsee Annual, 1987-88 Kumar A and Bose K.V

CORRESPONDENCE

GREATER ADJUTANT STORK NESTING IN
UPPER ASSAM. DR. DIPTIMANTA BAROOAH,
Dass Pharmacy, Sibsagar 785 640, Assam

I read with great interest the article - "Discovery of Greater
Adjutant Stork Nesting Colonies outside the protected Areas of
Assam, India" - by P. Saikia and P.C.Bhattacharjee in vol XXX No.
7 & 8 of the Newsletter.

In Oct 1 990, nine nests of Greater Adjutant Stork were located
in a village just outskirt of Sibsagar (24"40'E X 27 "N) in Upper
Assam. The nests were situated at the height of 40-60 ft in the
topmost layers of Bombax ceiba and Alstonia scholaris trees. The
number of nests per tree was usually one, but on two occasions
two nests were found per tree. Five of these nests were placed
inside a nesting colony of 150 pairs of Openbill Storks and the
Adjutant nests were accidentally discovered during a
photographic expedition in the nesting colony of Openbill Storks.

The nesting colony of the Greater Adjutant Stork was situated
by the side of the river Dikhow (a major tributary of the
Brahmaputra), among healthy clumps of bamboos. It is the thick
bamboo groves which hide the nests from human eyes but the
birds get a panoramic view of the countryside for miles together.
Interestingly the 'bill-clattering sound' of the Great Adjutant Stork
is similar, to the rattling sound of bamboos moving to and fro in a
light breeze.

But the species has a very distinct call produced during the
early nesting period. It is a deep throated, low-pitched booming
sound; somewhat resembling the distant growl of a tiger. The
intensity of this low-pitched call is quite remarkable and it can be
heard from 200 mts in a sleepy village.

The most significant aspect of this nesting colony of Great
Adjutant Stork was its proximity to human settlements. The
distance between the nests and human dwelling places was found
to be around 30-150 mts. In the Dist. of Sibsagar two other smaller
colonies of Greater Adjutant Storks were discovered containing
three nests in each in the same type of habitat, i.e by the side of a
river, among bamboo groves and in proximity to human
settlements.

The site having nine nests was revisited on 9.12.90 and four
chicks were observed in four nests, but there could be more as
evident from two empty egg shells (diameter 5.9 cm in the smaller
axis) found below one nest where no chick could be seen because
of poor visibility.

ON OCCURRENCE OF LARGE GREEN
BARBET IN BANGALORE. J.N. PRASAD, 13, 8th
Cross, 30th Main, J.P.Nagar, Bangalore 560 078

It is quite intriguing to note that the Large Green Barbet (LBG)
Megalaima zeylancia (Gmelin), once considered to be common, is
now absent in Bangalore. I have been watching birds in Bangalore
since the last seven years, but have not come across the species.
Several of my senior colleagues share my opinion. Instead its

congeneric species, the Small Green Barbet(SGB) M.viridis
(Boddaert) is the most common and abundant bird in Bangalore.

Ghorpade and others, in their article on 'Birds of Nandi Hills'
[NLBW: 14(5) :1 -5, 1974] state that the "Occurrence of Large Green
Barbet and Small Green Barbet together (at Nandi) was held to be
very significant. The former species is very common in Bangalore
city as in New Delhi (Indian Handbook Vol.4:151) and is also fairly
abundant at Nandi Hills". Further, they indicate that "M.viridis is
also found in small numbers at Bangalore though it is supposed to
be confined to the peninsular hills according to the Handbook".
Interestingly, I have not come across LGB at Nandi Hills, about 60
km North of Bangalore (1 3 °22'N,77 '4' E) during my visit to the hills
on 19 October and 11 November 1990. To confirm the identity, I
tracked all the calling Barbets, to my surprise all of them turned
out tobeSGB's!

Even Mr. Futehally, in his "Random notes on the birds of
Bangalore [NLBW:14 (1):6,1974] remarks that "On 5 November
1974, observed a pair of Large Green Barbets feeding on Fig tree
in Palace Orchards". I have visited Place Orchards several times
but here too, only SGB is abundant, though Mr.Futehally
mentions them to be common in Bangalore
[NLBW:15(3):3-5,1975J.

With such a change of situation one does not fail to wonder as
to what really happened to LGB? Was it ousted by SGB over the
years? Though both the birdwatchers are reputed for their
authentic observations on birds, have they, by chance made an
error in their identification? This question has to be considered
because Dr.Salim AH during his 'Birds of Mysore' survey
(JBNHS:43:573- 595, 1943) mentions that the species (LGB) was not
met with in the entire Mysore State! except for a specimen
collected on 20 September 1934 at Sathyamangalam in the
Biligirirangana Hills range. He observes SGB to be common and v
has collected the specimen in several areas.

Could our senior birdwatchers please clarify their
observations and throw some light on the turn of situation with
respect to Green Barbets in Bangalore? It would help to solve the
puzzle that the present-day birdwatchers are faced with in
Bangalore.

GREATER FLAMINGO IN KUTCH . NAVIN. N.
BAP AT , Paburai Falia, Bhuj- Kachchh 370 001

The purpose of this letter is to inform you about the latest
position of the Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus in the Great
Rann of Kutch. Since the last few months the sighting of this
species had become almost nil in spite of regular bird- watching
trips by experts of the area. Hence presuming them to have
congregated somewhere for breeding, I took the initiative of
surveying the known breeding grounds in the Great Rann.

The survey was undertaken in the 2nd week of January (8th
to 10th January). I am extremely happy to inform you that I
discovered an active breeding colony of the Greater Flamingo.
There are about 25000 in the compact area of 'C 3000' x 300' and
they have one chick each. I could count 20000 chicks in this colony.
The chicks seem to be about 3 to 10 days old.

There are three more similar breeding colonies of this species
about 5 to 10 km from the previous one. My estimate is that there
are 500,000 flamingos in this area. The area is popularly known as
HANJBET and is presently 3 sq.m. in extent.

Newsletter for Birdwatchers

This interesting discovery was made on 9th January'91 at
about 14.30 hours. The breeding of this species in the Great Rann
has occurred after a gap of fifteen years. The entire survey was on
camel back and was sponsored by the Forest Department and the
B.S.F. authorities were also very helpful.

BARHEADED AND GREYLAG GEESE. DR. J.C.

UTTANGI, 36, Mission Compound, Dharwad 580 001

The only two species of goose known to visit our country in
large flocks today are : The Barheaded Goose, Anser indicus and
the Greylag, Anser anser. Both of them breed in Central Asia and
winter in the northern parts of India including Punjab, Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Gujarat, Madhyapradesh but, the
Barheaded goose prefers to move further down to south India and
today it occurs in Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Andra Pradesh and not
in Kerala and along the coastal regions. The distribution of this
species also needs study. The Greylag on the other hand is
confined to colder parts of Northern India and is not reported so
far from the south. This should be re-examined and confirmed.
Census programmes recently carried out on the 1 2th and 13th Jan.
1991 in the districts of Dharwad and Bellary revealed occurrence
of one large flock of 800 Barheaded goose roosting in Tungabadra
dam and another flock consisting of 1000 members was observed
in a large Jheel near Naregal in Dharwad district. Other adjoining
districts in Karnataka are also likely to attract these grainivorous
water birds and hence it is judicious to extend survey work to
these areas also. A rare association of 50 Brahminy ducks with
Barheaded goose in Naregal Taulk was quite interesting to
observe.

PLUMAGE OF THE GREY WAGTAIL.

KUMARAN SATHASIVAM, 29, Jadamuni Koil
Street, Madurai 625 001

I write regarding the Grey Wagtail Motacilla caspica. The
Handbook described the male bird in summer as having a black
throat and the rest of the underparts bright yellow, while in winter
it is said to have a buffish throat and paler yellowish underparts,
brighter yellow on the vent. The female which is indistinguishable
from the male in winter, has a buff throat and paler underparts.

I have observed this species in a plumage that does not match
the description either for summer or for winter. Seeing them in
October (19th to 21st) and November (24th to 26th) at Thekady
and in Kodaikanal on the 14th November, I noted that these birds
had a yellow chin and throat, and yellow ventral region. The
region in between was white. Could this be an intermediate stage
in the transition from summer to winter plumes? I felt it was
surprising that this has not been described, particularly as the
birds seem to be in this livery for at least a month. On a visit in
January to Thekady, I found the Grey wagtails to be in the winter
plumage described in the Book.

Incidentally, in November I found remarkably few Grey
Wagtails at Kodaikanal and on theGhat road too. On earlier visits,
I have seen these wagtails to be abundant both on the road and at
Kodai. Other birds I saw on a short birding walk at Kodaikanal
weie White-eyes, Pied Bush Chats, Rufousbacked Shrikes,
Scimitar Babblers, Laughing Thrushes, unidentifiable Tree
Warblers and Leaf Warblers and a Greyheaded' Bulbul. I
undersand that the last is rarely seen. The one I saw was in a tree
at the junction where a road branches off Lloyds Road towards
Bear Shola Falls (very close to Hotel Jai).

IDENTIFYING BIRDS OF PREY. WILLIAM S.
CLARK, BNHS, Bombay

I am writing regarding two instances concerning the
identification of Birds of Prey published in recent Newsletters. I am
in India as an US advisor for the BNHS's Birds of Prey survey. I
am particularly interested in the correct field identification of
birds of prey, especially here in India.

The first is two reports of sightings of Accipiter soloensis Grey
Frog Hawk (as the rest of the world knows this species) in
mainland India in nos 5-6 and 7-8. 1 have seen and photographed
several adult male Shikras A.badius in India that appear exactly as
the birds described by Hashim Tyabji and Asad Rahmani. I have
examined in detail a black and white print of the bird
photographed (at great distance) by Dr. Rahmani at Similipal NP.
Its wingshape and colour pattern conform exactly to adult male
Shikras I have photographed. Further, neither article mentions the
differences in back colour one would expect : Slaty grey for Shikra
or dark bluish-grey for Grey Frog Hawk. But the clincher is that
neither reporter mentioned the best field mark of the Grey Frog
Hawk - that is, its bright orange cere (See Handbook page 240). In
the future all bird watchers in eastern India should be on the
lookout for Grey Frog Hawks and should look carefully at hawks
having white underwings with black tips to note the back and cere
colours. I would love to see flight photographs of Grey Frog
Hawks if any are taken.

The second matter is the identification of the mystery raptor
in no. 5-6 as Crested Goshawk by Robert Sikora in no. 7-8. 1 fully .
concur with the identification but feel that the white "puffs" are
in reality the under tail coverts, not the uppertail ones. It is
common for some medium to large accipiters to use their long
white undertail coverts as part of their display flights. Two such
are the North American Cooper's Hawk (A.cooperi) and Northern
Goshawk (A. gentilis).

I enjoy reading the newsletter very much. Keep up the good
work.

ACACIA SEEDS - A NEW FOOD SOURCE FOR
BIRDS AT CALICUT. S. DEVASAHAYAM and ].
REMA, National Research Centre for Spices,
Marikunnu, Calicut 673 012

Acacia Acacia auriculiformis was introduced into our campus
at Calicut during 1984 mainly for afforesting barren hillocks. For
the pjst two years we have been observing flocks of.jungle crows
Corvus macrorhychos, greyheaded mynas Sturnus malabaricus and
redwhiskered bulbuls Pycnonotusjocosus feeeding on acacia seeds
that were exposed when the pods split during
November-January. The acacia seed has a fleshy funiclc bright
orangish yellow in colour and we presume that this was the main
attraction to the birds as a source of food. Generally the birds
swallowed the entire seed with the fleshy funicle; however on a
few occasions we observed greyheaded mynas swallowing the
funicle alone. The seeds may not get digested since the testa is very
hard and we could observe intact seeds in a few faecal samples.
The pods on the trees began to split by late November and reached
its peak during December and the activity of the birds was also
high during this period. By mid January most of the seeds had
fallen down and the birds stopped visiting the trees for seeds. We
are curious to know whether this type of activity has been

Newsletter for Birdwatchers

observed in other areas and whether other bird species were
attracted to the acacia seeds.

CROWS WITH A WHITE SHOULDER. Dr. ML.

NARANG, Associate Professor, Dr. YASHWANT
SINGH, Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry,
Solan 173 230

Sometime back I had visited a small village about 100km from
Solan in Himachal Pradesh. There I had observed some
Himalayan Jungle Crows Corpus macrorhynchos intermedins which
is a common species in Himachal Pradesh. The unusual thing
=ibout these Crows was that majority of them had a white shoulder
patch in their wings (Secondaries) similar to the red shoulder
patch in Himalayan Slaty-headed Parakeets Psittacula himalayana.
The description of this specis as given in the Handbook of Birds
by Ali & Ripley makes no mention of such white shoulder patches.
Very recently about fifteen days back, I saw one such crow at Solan
proper. It does not appear to be a case of albinism.

THE SIBERIAN CRANE IN THE LITTLE RANN
OF KUTCH. DHANRAJ MALIK, Camp Zainabad, Via
Dasada 382 751, Gujarat

While watching a flock of cranes in the Little Rann of Kutch
on the 04.01.91, 1 saw a fairly large crane with a white plumage.
But I thought that the sun was playing the trick, so to confirm this
I walked up to the cranes and looked through my 60x scope and
what did I see? The crane was a Siberian Crane Grus leucogeranus
and I immediately recognised it as I had seen 6 in Bharatpur in
1988. 1 could see the red face marking of the bird. But, I was still
not sure of my sighting as I had never thought of seeing this bird
here, so only to double check the sighting I made the flock fly and
the bird d id have the black primaries that a Siberian Crane should
have.

I hope this information is enough for confirming a sighting of
the Siberian Crane in the Little Rann of Kutch.

NEW PARADISE FOR PEREGRINE FALCONS.

AAMIR ALI, 14 ch. de la Tourelle, 1209 Geneva

■» "Peregrine falcons are increasing in New York, attracted by

the numbers of pigeons and sparrows and the sky scrapers which
remind them of their native cliffs.

There are at least 9 couples nesting in the city. In 3 years, the
peregrine falcons have adapted to the roofs of sky scrapers,
churches, hospitals, pillars of bridges.

Last spring 6 out of 13 young flacons survived long enough to
fly off, a rate better than the five in Yosemite, where there are 5
couples nesting.

Workers on bridges and buildings have been instructed not to
disturb the falcons during the nesting period, so the windows
round the nests are not washed and walls are not repainted.

The falcons, spoilt by human contact, tend to build their nests
rather shallow and these risk being blown away by a strong wind.
So, friends of the birds are placing boxes filled with gravel, in
strategic places such as the Pan Am building.

Sometimes, the falcons are fooled by the windows, and last
spring two were killed when they crashed into windows,
confused by their own reflection.

Some 15 years ago, DDT and other insecticides had reduced
the population of peregrine flacons to about 100 couples; today
there are some 500 in the US."

BIRD NEWS FROM RAJKOT. ANVAR KHAN
BABI, Fauzia Bungalow, Near Amrapali Cinema, Rajkot
360001

This week the temperatures in the field are near freezing point
and farmers are finding many dead birds particularly Brown
Doves, Pigeons and Sparrows. Many farmers have come across
slabs of ice in their water tanks.

I had a strange experience on the night of 9th January. On two
successive occasions within half an hour, two Brown Doves came
into the room where I was sitting and allowed me to warm them
up with my hands. One of these Doves had some Water-skater
like insects on them. Farmers believe many kinds of birds carry
parasites on themselves. I couldn't collect any samples of these
insects as I was busy trying to warm and save the doves.

On the 10th morning I came across another Brown Dove
frozen to death and a dying sub-adult pigeon. This was near a
village called Sindhevaka in Wonkoner Taluka. I spent two days
there telling friends what they could do to help the birds - putting
up drinking water in the sun in a sheltered place and feeding them
in the compounds and fields.

Around lakes and roadsides I must have seen at least a
thousand Demoiselle cranes and a hundred or so common cranes.
There was also one sub-adult common crane Grus grus
accompanied by its very vigilant parents (has to be).

I do not know if many people have seen sub-adult
Demoiselles. Personally I think common cranes show better
parental love. This is an interesting point. I should be glad to hear
of other such observations. It is common knowledge that
Saurashtra and environs have more Demoiselles than common.
The ratio varies from year to year. Demoiselle is most abundant
during good monsoon years and the common during lean
periods; although the Demoiselle always of course outnumbers
the common. I believe the common can do with scantily stocked
fields (Groundnut left unplucked) and can also du with very little
water around its roosting sites. I have seen vast flocks of cranes
(both) roosting miles away from any water in the day time in the
little Rann of Cutch round Dasada, though.

There are reports of sightings of the Houbara Bustard
Chlamydotis undulata around Odov and Zhizhwoda, also near
Dasada, although fewesthan usual. Normally we have 8 to 13 jurst
around Dasoda.

CANNIBALISM IN BIRDS. FREE PRESS
JOURNAL, Bombay, 22 December 1990

Interaction of common birds which live within human
habitation indicates not only a particular type of behaviour and
food habits but also determines which bird is more powerful than
the other; a study said.

The study conducted by noted ornithologist U.N. Dev at the
aviaries on 'project bihang' under aviary condition for different
birds, claims that whether out or inside an aviary, the animal
behaviour and their bisics remain the same after the species
overcomes the initial shyness.

Newsletter for Birdwatchers

According to Dev indication of cannibalism was found among
the pied mynas. This happened in his study when a new pair of
pied mynas were added to the existing four.

There was pandemonium and loud challenge calls among
them and within a few seconds one of the new pied mynas was
grounded by others and pecked to death. Most surprisingly the
dead bird was feasted upon by the killers.

Dev said on the other hand, when the new common mynas
were added to the existing stock of common mynas, there was no
cannibalism.

There were cases among the common mynas when if one of
them broke the discipline, it was always punished by the others
but never killed.

The ornithologist said one day a harrier and a black bittern kite
were found locked in a battle, talon to 'talon, for a chunk of meat.
Ultimately the harrier lost and was killed.

Similarly, on another occasion, while a black bittern "was
drinking water, a harrier launched an attack on its nape and
grounded it. This proved that the harrier could not kill a black
bittern face to face, Dev said.

In another study a common tree pie was released but after few
hours it started a fight with one of the pied mynas. Ultimately, the
pied myna was killed and eaten up by the tree pie, the
ornithologist added.

Dev cited an instance when a pair of red vented bulbul were
released inside the cage where they were found happy with the
large aviary and ripe bananas as their food.

Suddenly, the coucal caught hold of the bulbul and killed it
and finished off the carcass.

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION. R.J. RANJIT
DANIELS, Centre, for Ecological Sciences, Indian
Institute of Science, Bangalore 560 012

This letter is just to request you if you can help me with some
literature on the biographies of some of the old British
ornithologists in India such as Jerdon, Ferguson, Blyth, Hodgson,
Syke, Kelaart, etc. I need this information for the chapter on the
history of ornithology for the Western Ghats which is to go into
the book I am preparing for OUP. Our library here is poorly
equipped with old material on Indian ornithology.

COOING OF SPOTTED DOVES. ZAFAR
FUTEHALLY, 'MOITAKA', Bear Shola Road,
Kodaikanal 624 101

Spotted Doves are never known to coo for more than seven
times at a stretch. One rarely finds them cooing for more than 4 or

5 times. Kru kru kru kruuu coo coo coo coo is what one usually hears.
But this morning for the first time I heard a bird cooing for 7 times.
What was remarkable was that after the 6th coo there was a slight
hesitation, and then the 7th call was half-hearted and weak.

Review

TIGERS. PETER JACKSON, The Apple Press

London £ 8.95

ELEPHANTS. PETER JACKSON, The Apple Press

London £ 8.95

Reviewed by Mrs. Laeeq Futehally

Normally the Newsletter caters exclusively to birds and their
doings and even glamorous endangered species like tigers and
elephants are not allowed to be discussed in its pages. We make
an exception in this case not because we havea special relationship
with this tiger or that elephant, but because our Newsletter has a
special relationship with this particular author. Our old-time
readers may remember that some quarter century back, Peter
Jackson - then a resident of Delhi - used to write extremely
knowledgeable articles for us. His most well remembered piece
(in the Dec 71 issue) was about one full days birdwatching in
Delhi, and what he managed to see between dawn and dark on a
certain winters day

In a similar way, a chapter in his Tiger book was written after
he had followed a tiger for a whole day, carefully'recording all his
actions, movements, food, drink and sleep. Like the good birder
that he is, the text is made up of well organised factual details
adding up to a complete overall picture. There are no speculations
and no vague generalizations.

Both these books, then, are thorough, up-to-the-minute
accounts of these two top-of-the-pyramid animals which have
always been so much a part of our country's life. True, most of the
elephant material concerns the African elephant and its situation,
but our elephants too have been faithfully dealt with. Our
elephants are in a sense, part of our domestic economy (now
dwindling unfortunately) as well as our wildlife.

The tiger of course belongs only to the wild. And apart from
its natural history, Peter Jackson also describes soberly and
realistically the efforts made by various institutions to save it from
extinction. Both the books are "Stories told in Coloured Pictures"
for apart from the text, the photographs are informative,
il'ustrative and telling, apart from being highly decorative.

Cover: Yellow-eyed Babbler (Chrysomma sinense) is an elusive bird that forages through thick hedge, bush and bamboo
clump in search of insects. Now and then it clambers upto an exposed reed top and utters a strong pleasant whistling song
twee-twee-ta-whit-che and soon dives to thicket to resume its foraging. During the monsoon months, a beautiful deep cone
shaped nest is built amongst the reeds.

Photo by S. Sridhar

Editor .ZAFAR FUTEHALLY, 'Moitaka', Bear Shola Road, Kodaikanal 624 101

Printed and published by S. Sridhar at Navbharath Enterprises, Seshadripuram, Bangalore 560 020, for Private Circulation only

WORLD ROUND-UP

A STEPPE FORWARD?

Half the world's Great Bustards Otis
tarda are resident on the steppes of
Spain and Portugal. They depend on
traditional, extensive cereal and dry
grassland agriculture. With the approach
of the single European market, the
reduction of regional farm subsidies is
undermining this economy. ICBP, with
the help of the Spanish Ornithological
Society (SEO) and Portugal's Servicio
Nacional de Parques (SNPCN), is cur-
rently preparing a report for the EC
Environment Directorate that will
include proposals for the conservation of
Iberian bustard habitats.

ICBP's Guy Duke, who is conducting
the study, reports that the threats to
Iberia's bustards are all too apparent. In
Madrigal-Penaranda, on the northern
Castillian plain in Spain, private compa-
nies are erecting power lines to provide
electricity to farmers for the pumping of
irrigation water from the underlying
aquifer. New crops - maize, Sugar beet,

sunflowers and even strawberries - are
being introduced, with little regard for
the effect on the endangered wildlife,
the traditional landscape (now criss-
crossed by pylons and wires) and the
state of the aquifer (which may be
exhausted within a decade).

Elsewhere, equally critical threats exist,
including the much-documented prob-
lem of eucalyptus plantation, and the
parcelling of once open steppes into
small, fenced fields.

There is an existing EC regulation that
provides for the financial support of
the traditional extensive agriculture
on which the Great Bustard depends,
but its implementation depends largely
on. political will. The growing co-
operation between farmers and conser-
vationists gives cause for some opti-
mism, but steps must be taken immed-
iately if Spain and Portugal are to save
their irreplaceable Great Bustard
populations.

Strawberry fields in previously steppe
area of Madrigal-Penaranda, Spain. The
sign warns "no entry - poison" (Photo:
G. Duke)

SEABIRDS OF ASCENSION ISLAND

In March 1990, 16 ornithologists, includ-
ing three representatives of the Seabirds
on islands survey of ICBP's Seabird
Specialist group (Dr N.P. Ashmole, Mrs
M. Ashmole and Dr K.C.L. Simmons),
gathered on the remote British island of
Ascension. The main island, its 14
inshore stacks and especially the satellite
Boatswainbird Islet provide the sole
breeding site in thousands of miles of
the southern Atlantic Ocean for many
tropical seabirds, including four species
of tern, three boobies, two tropicbirds,
an endemic frigatebird and a storm
petrel. An increase in human use of the
island in recent years, particularly the
establishment of a permanent airforce
staging base, has caused renewed con-
cern for the wildlife.

The group conducted surveys ot
Ascension's birds and an assessment of
the problems they face. The main con-
cerns are the continued heavy predation

by a long-established population of feral
cats, mortality due to local sport fishing,
human disturbance (especially on Boat-
swainbird Islet, where most of the
seabirds nest), and the threat of
Japanese tuna-fishing. Since the majority
of the human population of the island is
transient, it is difficult to maintain
continuity in conservation attitudes or
action.

They did find cause for optimism,
however. The present Administrator of
the island has a positive attitude to
conservation; he has already stopped the
dumping of all waste into the sea and has
prohibited visits to Boatswainbird Islet,
which was officially declared a Site of
Special Scientific Interest and a bird
sanctuary in June. Much remains to be
done, but the possibility that a pro-
gramme for the total eradication of feral
cats on Ascension may at last be insti-
gated is particularly good news.

Three members of the Ascension island
survey with sacks of Sooty Tern Sterna
Fuscata killed by cats (Photo: J.
Walmsley)

WHAT FUTURE FOR THE

LESSER KESTREL?

i •

The Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni, for-
merly a common species in many towns
and villages of the Turkestanian-Mediter-
ranian area, has shown a major popul-

ation decline in large parts of its West
Palearctic breeding range, according to
an ICBP report published recently. The
report, The conservation of western
Lesser Kestrel populations (ICBP Study
Report no. 41) was prepared for the
Commission of the EC.

During the past 30 years, the Lesser
Kestrel has disappeared from six coun-
tries and is declining dramatically in ten
others. The main reasons for the decline
are thought to be loss of hunting habitat
and nesting sites. Open grassland and
shrub areas are increasingly built on or
converted to intensive agricultural use.
Dilapidated buildings, which provide

nesting sites, are being renovated or
pulled down, and the large-scale appli-
cation of pesticides reduces prey
populations.

The report lists the most important
Lesser Kestrel colonies and makes a
number of recommendations for their
conservation. It is hoped that a number
of other threatened species, such as
White Stork Ciconia ciconia, Great Bus-
tard Otis tarda, Little Bustard Tetrax
tetrax, Gull-billed Tern Celochelidon
nilotica, Pin-tailed Sandgrouse Pterocles
alchata, Hoopoe Upupa epops and Wry-
neck lynx torquilla would also benefit
from the proposed measures.

ON
OS

— *

•a

NEW ZEALAND -

by Rod Hay th e turning point

Perversely, New Zealanders used to be
able to boast one of the world's worst
records for threatened and extinct birds.
The probtems were symbolised by the
tiny Black Robin Petroica traversi in the
Chatham Islands, whose population in
1979 was only five strong, with just one
breeding female! Prospects looked
bleak.

Dramatic and imaginative intervention
by Don Merton and his team has resulted
in a population today of more than a
hundred Black Robins. In more ways
than one, the recovery of that species
represented a turning point in the man-
agement of New Zealand's endemic
birds and their habitats. At one time, it
was little more than some nature
reserves and a lot of hope that kept a
number of species alive. Quite recently it
became clear that reserves and hope
were not enough. Our birds were con-
tinuing to succumb to the effects of
habitat loss and the plague of foreign
animals that had been introduced to the
country.

Innovation

The innovative methods that brought
about the recovery of the Black Robin
have helped show the way in bird
conservation in New Zealand, and lateral
thinking now abounds. Island transfers
were an important first step in the
recovery of many species. Early success
with marooning the Saddleback Philes-
turnus carunculatus on some new island
homes has been followed by the estab-
lishment of populations of a number of
other species, including Kakapo Strigops
habroptilus and Kokako Callaeas cinerea.
But our islands are neither limitless nor
always the answer, and we must keep
some of our birds on the mainland.

Takahe (Painting: A. Robertson)

Juvenile Black Robins (Photo: D. Merton)

Predator and competitor control is
becoming ever more ambitious; for
example, in North Island an extensive
programme to control possum (which
compete with Kokako) and rats (which
prey on them) has been designed so that
the relative effect of each animal on
Kokako can be assessed. Last year, in
little over a week, a team from the
Department of Scientific and Industrial
Research and the Department of Conser-
vation eliminated Norway rats from the
rugged 170 ha of Breaksea Island in
Fiordland, thereby creating a new safe
bird haven.

Years of effort culminated recently in
the complete removal of possums from
the 2,000 ha Kapiti Islands. The recovery
in vegetation in the three to four years
since that operation has been remark-
able. Rats are still a problem on the
islands however, especially for Saddle-
backs that have been transferred from
rat-free islands. As part of the recovery
programme for the species, Tim Love-
grove is trying to get the population to
adapt to the rats by selecting for release
birds that naturally use safe sites on their
original island, and encouraging them to
use roost boxes in their new home. The
ultimate goal of the Saddleback pro-
gramme is reintroduction of the species
to the mainland, whilst after their suc-
cess on Breaksea Island, the eyes of the
rat-busters are now also turning to Kapiti.

There are several other initiatives in
progress too. In South Island, Black Stilt
Himantopus novaezelandiae eggs are
being hatched both artificially and by the
related Pied Stilt H. leucocephalus. The
Takahe Notomis mantelli is climbing out
of a trough in numbers because of highly
successful captive rearing and release

into habitat in which deer have been
controlled. On Little Barrier Island, Kak-
apo are being fed a smorgasbord of nuts,
dates, raisins and other high-value foods
in an attempt to bring them into breed-
ing condition more frequently than the
"once in a few years" that seems normal
for the species. Early results are very
encouraging.

Help for the habitat

Though recent progress in bird conser-
vation in New Zealand still depends on
dedicated individuals, be they students,
-amateurs, government or conservation
group employees, there are other things
happening in the country that are help-
ing. For example, the logging of native
forest on public land has ceased, and
logging on private land has been sev-
erely curtailed by heavy restrictions on
the export of indigenous timber. The
government recently announced a
several million dollar scheme to restore
6,000 ha of native forest at Pureora, the
central North Island home of the Kok-
ako, Kaka Nestor meridionalis, and other
rare birds.

Corporate conservation

A new feature in conservation in New
Zealand is large-scale corporate sponsor-
ship. Comalco Aluminium Company's
million doliars towards Kakapo research
and management follows a similarly
generous contribution of both habitat
and money towards Kokako protection
by Tasman Forestry.

Of course, not all news is good, and a
number of species remain to be
researched and protected. The Yellow-
eyed Penguin Megadyptes antipodes,
perhaps the rarest penguin in the world,
has suffered a catastrophic population
crash in the last few years. Safe breeding
habitat is now extremely limited, and
conditions at sea seem also to have
changed. Perhaps this is a portent of
global changes in climate?

There are still many problems facing
New Zealand's birds. However, the Black
Robin's return has taught us that inter-
vention and imagination can reap fine
rewards.

Rod Hay is Pacific Wildlife Specialist at
the Department of Conservation, Conser-
vation Sciences Centre, Wellington, New
Zealand.

•a
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