Newsletter for BirdwatchersVol.41 No.2 March - Api Editorial Ahmedabad Earthquake Eaitor out of Action Donation to Birclife Intesnatonal threugh ENHS IBA Programme Peter Jackson Prize escape Incla Proje Grow Project New Newsletters and Websites nooao0 ooo Living Prune! Repth Articles UW Winterina of Greyheaded Fiycatchersin Konken and Western Ghats cf Menareshtra, by Pr, Satish A. Pende end Amit P, Pawasre 1 Some Notes on Bird Behaviour, by Br. KG. Raghu 11 Some Aspects of he Developmental Biology at the Rodveniod Gu'bul oy Dr. UG. Mumriigat, Dr. R.N. Dosai and Sarayu De 1A Repott on Asian Waterfowl Census in wetlands of ‘Algath Dissat during Janua'y 2091, by Faiza Abbasi 1 Roosting Birds of Mysore City, by A. Shivaprakash 11 Birdwatcher’s Delcht, by Prof. H. Daniel Wesley Breeding Eeology of Spotted Munin at Dharwad, by Dr. J.C. Uttangi and $M, Pat = Review A Field Guide to the Birds of Incia, Sri Lanke, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Benglacesh & the Maldives, by Krys Kazmiorczak, Raview by Aasheesh Pitie Correspondence 1D _ Notas on Longosred Owl, Humes Short toed Lar ‘and Purple: & Grosn Gachoas in Mizoram, oy Harkire: ‘Singh Sangha Editorial Ahmedabad Earthquake We have been attamating to find cut if all our birdwatching fiends in Ahmedsoed and Kutch are safe and we! Cur _atternpts to each than by telepnone have failed, We can only hope that n spiteotthe devastaion around ther they conlinus tobe ingood heart, Our good wishes anddesoest sympathies to all their families. Ecitor Out of Action (on Zand December 2000 | had to undergo a by-oass near surgery andthe January/February issue cf the Newsletter vas, lbftir the hanes of 8. Sridhar and Joseph George. Nat het they have rot hslped me bofers, in fat Josoph Gorge dose the proul taading of every issue =a thankioss lash very wel performed, lam now tackin ths Edltorial Chair- evsn though the chair ts somewhat broke as my ight”and!s stil only panly tunctienal tnd esting isan exercise whion ceuses some pain and hence avoiced. So kindly overtook tne errore. My thanks again to the many Birdwatching friends whe 20 wilingy cterec to donate their blaod towares the six bottles which had ts supply +p Mel'ya Hospital before the surgeon commenced his ob, AS of today, 19 February 2001, Lam sil ether fragie, but | hope nat unlise many fragile areas of our world thare will be no extinction Donation to Birdlife Intemational through BNHS IBA Programme In the JaniTeb issue | suggested that the morey collected And pemmised for spnasariag a page af the Gltally Threatened Birds be handad ova’ to BNHS ‘er their IBA programme. Roaders wil recall that we had eriginally planned to colect Rs. 16,500/- for sponsoring a page for tne sarus crane. However, the book has already been published and elassed fh Octobar at the IUCN Carference in Jordan, The amount collected or promised so far amounts to about Rs. 8,500/- fag Itrustit isn order for tisto 0¢ handed over:o the BIKE, have spoken to trelr Director, Dr. Asad Rahman, and he welcomes the dea, (ll cf you who have net alresay sent the mongy, kinuly send lie amount to the “Newsletter for Birdwatchers", Cio, Navaharath Enterprises, No. 10, Sirur Park, 'B Strect, Soshadripuram, Bangalore - 530 C20. S. Stidha wil deal with the problern § 500 (approximately Rs. 25,0001) of Bill Selove May | fer to this parding matter again anc request readers to make their suggestions about using this amount for a \worhwhile conzoruation project. ed by Petes Jackson Prize Inthe Septe-rberiCcrcber issue of the Newsletter, Imac giver dtalso* the proposed Poter Jackson Prize of Re. 1,000) to bbe givat te the vereon iho ould eonfern sighting sha largest rhumbsr of birds during a single cay Gam, to 6 p.m. De'ore ‘Sisthlareh 2001. Everyone cerested was expeciecito reghser themselves with the Fditcr 5y Stst December 2000 Unfortunately, no enies have caine in, 60 we will postpone this axarcise by a lew montis, the registratn cate is now exterdedto dist December 2001, Furrer information wil be provided in the July/August or September/October 2901 Nowsotter. it could bo ar exciting oxercise end | trust that a {ow of our leading birewatchers wil partiisate n the event. Lifescape India Project, Under the auspices of the Indian Academy of Sciences, Frof. Mashav Gacgil has launched an imaginative project whereby there will be maruscriats writen on "500. fe forms of Incian fauna and flora. The first one on Eutterlies hasNewsletter tor Birdwatchors ready been published. This is a remarkable achievernent nr kay ta apreact an interest in natural history in a wide sactien of our people. Consequently, it wil also result in the conservation ofthe speces involvedinthe project. Presumably the fact that Salim Al's book on kndian Birds created euch an interest in our birds, persuaded Madhav to make en atempt ‘m similar linas for a wide nuumbar of spacias in India Tho Lifescaps series is meant not only to interest the average non- spectast ever, Lut i uso duit ed W otal expel to find out more and more about the species concemed. Altogetherit is a project whien may have a significant influence on saving the natural -escurcee af our country Crow Project Inthe context of the above, this note by Madhav Gecgll In ‘Hescnance (rep. ZUUI) on crows, inaicates now orcinary observations can lead to valuable conclusions. \dventages of Communal Roosting - Permit me t cite one example of how an apparently simple observation nay lead to interesting scientific inferences. In 1971-72, spent several ‘months observing a mixed communal roost of house crows, jungie orovio and indian mya on tha campus of the Fin and ‘Television Ineftute of fnaia in Pune. | was intrigued by tho Issue of wnat as the aavarsage of such communal roosting. has been suggested that an important advantage was ‘communication of information on gco¢ f2o sources. Thus inde which had diecavered a particulary ich food source the Previous day might rapid fly towards it the nex! moming. Other birds wha had encountered poorer sources ths previous Gay mightglow ham, But be dove not expat why epois vith very ferent codhabits such as. house crow and incan, rnyna should farm mixed roosts, Formation of mixed roosts may instead be favoured by the advantage of running a lower Falcot predation bosauae of = more cffiors aystom 3 warning in 2 larger group. During my observations on the mixed ‘communal roosts | noted trat the house and jungle crows ‘suddenly shifted the location of ther roost one day fo another ‘ump of trees about $00 m. away, leaving Indian mynas tchind, Four days Isterincien mynaetoa shifted and rejained the crows. This suggested that the mixed communal roosts ‘dd not ooour simply buuause diere wee jusl a few good foostng sigs netese, they seemed to gonuinly confor Edvantage through lowering risk of predation, Shice some oiantists had dismigcad tho latter possiblity, my smple ccbservations led oan interesting paper in the well-known Bird journal, 10k a New Newsletters and Websites Wien ove Mowalettor vias started in December 1950, Ide not recall the existance of any athors wich ware concerned wih promoting un intorastin bits. Today thors area kage mac ber bf Newsletters concemed with nature publised in various parts of fie county. Gne newcomer "Twitcher’ published oy the Green Peoples india, Prantapally, Malla 732101, coriains well researched accounts on birds, Similasly, the’ Samsad Nows puslished by the Pralai Samsad, 65, Golf Club Road, Calcutta 700 033, which has been inexistence for some tire, contains very worthwhile materal Today | received an e-mail rom Peter Jackean which may be of interest to some of you: “1 wender if you are aware of two interesting ists to which you pan abhennina One ia Nathiatina, and the nthar, racer esteblished, is Delhibird. It Is easy to subscribe - no money invelves. For Nathiet India send an cmall to ‘ end for Delhibied dethibira- Sowner@ yal woyroupe-curi> For ms reading the postings ie tantalizing. It eeame that Sultanpur has come back to ife now thet the Iigation Dept. fe pruviding water, uid deat wiullier jlmeel lw the wool, Bhindawas, 's proving very exciting. In an afternoon and foloningmoming, one birder gol 14species ‘Thee are some ‘eallhotbirdars in ie Delhi region now, as wellaselsewhere ‘The Newsleter shoul be i contact. bor. Ameen Anmed and nis inends nave created a website ror Kamalaka Living Planct Report vay Yor WF imation roo arg Pant Repo Information about tha status of various epecies and of thet habitats The repr ol the yeu 2000 makes daproselng toatdiny, Thoreie 2 vuisideialic Uovine ii kureol wyelono, ftesh waler epacies ard marine species. There is now a new Concept under the heading of Ecolegical Footprint. This isa conservative estimate of human pressure on ictal carystems, "it represents the biological productive area required to pradue the food ard wond people cansime, to giveroom forthe ifrestructure, and to absorb the CO, emitted ‘ram buming focal fuels" Like all other statistios this ono ie also very disturbing, “This excosds the existing biological procuotve sjave per person by about 20%" fs quite clear ‘thatthe main ecological problem before tie worldis to reduce ‘the human population. Without this al theother attempts being ‘made are not Iikely to prova werthwnile, = Wintering of Greyheaded Flycatchers in Konkan and Western Ghats of Maharashtra [resspees aere the mee. te tt ft of Pravin near tha tovm of Sasviad near Pune, we had spotted forthe fist ime, two pairs of geybeaded canary flycaichers (Cullicapa ceylonensts)n early Decamber 2000. The sacred Dr. SATISH A PANDE and AMIT P. PAWASHE (C-9, Bhosale Park, Shakar Nagar - 2, Pune 411 COS rove ie sintatan aap n the vallay atthe ungatatinn iamainly f large bamboe, tamarind and mango trees. Bamboo is, ‘abounding anc the cumes are viually impregnable. The ‘gradient here is almost 60 degiees.16 Noweletter tor Birdwatchors (On 17.02.2001, we rewisited this groove, whict has the temple of the local goddess Katuljal. We vers pleasantly surprised tofind the two pas ef oreyheaded canary fycatchers busily ‘etching the “nvialblo’ les andamail Insects fom the airand. ‘ves trunks respestivey. The pavadlsa flycatcher, redthroated liyeatcher, white epotted tanta, Lickel s leaf warbler, common chifchaftoraenish warble. a pair of blueheaded rock thrush, thickbilled warbler, lesser whitetirost, were also present. All theae were noted by us In the fret visit in Decambor alse While tying to photearaph the greyhesded flycatcher, we terteredthe bamboo clump. To cur surpiss a nightar suclsnly took to ning from very lose to Amis shoulder. twas roesting on the bamboo tunk ardit slently and rapidy disappeared Uphill. As we ascended the hil, we chanced to spot the same bicd resting on 2 horzontal bamboo stem. It was about 25 feat above us and in the middle of the thicket To get a good photo, Satish climbedthe hil, thereby Druising himself liberally, thanks to the bamboo thoms, but managed to reech a point Just above the reostirg, fast asoep rightar. We both inched ‘our way through the dense, thorny bushes ané bamboo undergrowth to reach three feet cr so from the nigtjar. Close ‘observation confirmed that it wes tho winter migrating Syk=' nightiar (Caprimulgus mabraitensis) Its the frst recocd ct this nignijar from Saswad regin, ‘Anon Important confrmaton that we could ebtain in this Second visit, was that the greyheaded canary flycatchers wintered n our ares forthe entre petiod. Last year (2000 AD Jan) my frlend Vishwas Joshi had obeerved the eame flycatcher wintering in Chiplun (not the sarre individual pai), itwas also accompanied by ine blushsaded rock thrush. We algo sighted the areyheaded fycetchers at Bhimashanker, In the Weetem Grete thie winter, andin the Konkan. near Dapolf, at the same time. These ids usually keep tc the cancpy, making sporadic selies to lover levels. They are fond of dark ‘arate and seldorn comm oul the open, makingpholography cificul. We eiso saw them fanning the tail in the fantail flycatcherlikemanner. Another important cbservation is their forked tal, which is even easily seen in the darkness of tha foliage, against the backight. The yellow breast nd grey head a1e appreciated in better lighting condifions and he fycather may therefore be overlooked. \Wintsring of gieyheaded flycatchers in patiss in Konkan and \Westemn Ghats appears to be ¢ hither unrecorded fact. Our {fiard and a keen bridwetcher, Ram Mone, hes elso cbserved this bird wintering a! Kalam, near Chip, Dist. Ratnagiri, for the past two years. F. Grimmett, © Inskipp end T. Inskipp have described that they wnter singly. (Birds of the Indian Subcontinent), Dutt stew vere | nat opperuntos observe /some interesting facets of bird behaviour. | wish to :aminioze upon ther. Many wae unique, strange & previously urveported. Let me desorite the evants in the hope thatit wil imvite responses from the readers. The observations ware made at various places at Wyned in Kerala. Some vere made cleewhere in Kerala state (as stated in the text). Most of the ‘observetions were made curing 1986-2000, Behaviour of Juvenile Crested Honey Buzzards (On June Sth 1983 at Kuppadt on @ heroughly rainy day with leeches galore, we Nimal (my sor), myself, Kran & Arun (ny nephens) sloaged through the bogay trails neer the stream lat Supeadi, We saw one et two flying lizards (Draco volans ‘with red ‘wirgs' if not many interesting bids. We were bored ‘enough to retum prematurely wnen we neard some Kees: Kee calls criginating from a pair of immature crested honey buzzards. One parentoird 00 was nearby apparenty feeding them, The young were almost e2 large as the adults and thoy were seen opening thelr beaks while making the calls as i begging for food. The young were palid ard ragged. We observed them fo atleast half an hour headlass ofthe atertion ofthe leeches, satisfiad about the cutcome cf the trip nthe monsoon. Some Notes on Bird Behaviour Ds, KG. RAGHU, M.D. DT. Hospital, Manstoddy, Wynad, Kerala Parental Behaviour of Greybacked Shrikes when offspring are threatened (On June t2th at Koiagappare, Wynad, | sighted greybacked shrike chick, coursing through the undergrowth ike a mcuse running ina Sinuous manner. Both ts parents were sttingin a hedge, making kre-4re lise calls, soreaulng heirtaile& waving theirwings. They ware atracing altenton towards themselves to distrac. obearvers from the chick. Dusky Crag Martins Nesting (On July 3d 198 while wating at the State ransoort bus slation atSullan’s Batioy, | sav dusky crag marins repeatedly carrying away mud churned up by the Sus tyres for nest- building, making ceative use of the mess made up by the Flowerpecks's maligned for more than thelr share? ‘Most people think flowerpeckers do feed upon Loranthus nectar & fut only, Sure they do, but on many an occasion | have seen them spending a lot o! me feeding on other flowers When Seimalia flowers abundantly in Decambar to March, | have observed Nilgirflowerpeckers feeding on their abundant nectar at Kolegappara in Wynad in January 99 & thick bles flewerpecsere, at Vazachal (n Trichur Dtin Deo. 88). Ieuppace thay dont hold the Leranthus berries in much esteem when ‘tne ood is avalaaie tothem in plenty. Bafore oranaing themNewsletter for Birdwatchers entiraly 28 “Loranthus Spreaders” the role of other birds ike suntirds who alo partake meals from Lorerthus has to be studied. | have also noted white-eyes feeding on Loranthus tru False nest holes by Woodpeckers Some woodpeckers namely, Malherve's Matvatia & The Black were observed at various excasions to make party excavaled holes. After excavating for sometimethey abandon these holes land begin new ones. in he case of Malherbe's woodpecker neat vertical ows of holes may be seen, one of them may be an actual nest hole. [have seen 4-5 such holesin a vertical row. Mahralta woodpeckers tco ware reted to make 1 of 2 addtional nost helee. Black woodpacker tos were obearved to make such false nest heles but were in an irregular zigzag vertioal row, 4 in number. Sony & Associated Dispiay By Spotted Babblers While doing the Chinnar Bird Suney with Mr. Sathyan, an avidbirdwatcher & photographer in Jan 1998 hada pleasant Surprise of saeing a group of spoted batlers. | nave enly rarely seen them in groupe of more than 3. Bur here there Wasa group of 6 inlviduals and they ware hopping in a tine. And they were singing | The member who was geing in the foremost postion was observedto have partly spreac its wings ‘and kesping it depressed and was vitrating them. Also its breast feathers were seen flufied and vibrating, The tall too waskep! depressed and was being wagzed or raher vibrated side to sde. The cthess were fsllowing he ‘leader’ ina loose Indian fio. I canrot say whether the ‘sade’ only made the ‘song. Tha song was a multinoted one that lasted upto one ‘minute or s0, They were like school boys who were let out of ‘school a few hours earlier than the scheduled ime. Later | ‘observed sirilar tehaviour with song, gong ina tne dispiaying with wings & tall ate et. Kyopadi in Wynad whers | regulary {90 for btdwatchirg. Itis worth a closer study but he birds are vvery sulky. This call may not belts breacing cal sos this call isheardduring al the months. The oreedina ceil! sunposs is the Pives-ni-Pinee-nicallheard, during the breeding season, the bird ealling niding in undergrows, the call heving & ventriloquist quality. By the way the birds seen at Chinnar hadtheircrowns more ruc in colour wich was not suprising because spatted babblere found south ef Palghat gap have ‘more chestnut in theirerowns than in birds foundin north tke at places like Wynad. Even so they have similar customs! oF ‘¢ put it nto jarcenese - social behaviour. Altzulstic parental behaviour by Spotted Babbler ‘An instence of perental concem of birds when thelr offspring fare putin risky situations was noted by the author wlan a ‘spotted babblar chlex was seen. Itwas noted only because its parent very unnaturally moved to one side uttering a particular - kre, which made me move towards the o:igin ots tush. I thought that It might have been threatened by some predator, whan | became aware that it was | who wae being distracted by the parent Hire by exnasing ill - the usually ‘sulky bird, This heppenad in March 1998 n my poppergarden at Kolagappara in Wynad. The young bird was a ragged and z rutiedone. A single chick alone vas saen. | sawit around the ‘Same spot wo crthree times more. Itwas vary wary and when iRsenead the presaros of man tied to go and hide sil inthe ‘base of popper plants where there is Some thick growth of roots, Protective self-oxposure of parent Bulbuls Trl sort of protective behaviour Le. exposure of the parent (for axamale broken wing display) was saen by the author corce by a parent red-vhiskered bulbul. Wnen approached very case to its nestin a meter hich hibiscus plant to exami the nestlings, tho parent bird ran away drapgingits wing partly folded as ifit was broken. To prove whether the behaviour is ‘accidental the author approached 45 mos, olidtadthe same behaviour and verfed it. Thistoo wes et Kolagappars, Wynad. Mimicking of Shikra calls by Bronzed Drongos. InMarah-April 1998 at the same place bronzed dronge was eon nesting ina eral jack irae (ri 1008 = pak -? the came was seen nesting in the same tree - unfortunately the nest was dssttoyad by workers who wars regulaling shade by lopping off branches of tees). Nearby there was the nesting actviy of shikras. One day the author was astounded by the call of shitra coming fiom very neer the nest of bronzed dango. It was just the bronzed drange mimicking. Was it just for the fun of i Gust as racket failed dronges mimic eats mewirg) or does it do intentionally to repel intruders ? Some observations on the breeding of Mahratta Wood- peckers Mahratta woodpeckers were observed twice byme nesting in. ‘my pepper garden et Kelagappara in Wynad. Once it was in 1683, Dut the nest was not completes before i! was usurped by yelow throsted sparows. On 7th February 2000 in the evening, at the seme area, my attention was crawn by the 4 nected call of a mals Mahrata woodpecker ChislieChiclip~ (Chisip~Chiip. tes later o2servedito enter @ round hole in a drieg up srecanut ree trunk. During the rext week themele and fenile were seen in the vicinity frequently. For the next weeks | was unable to visit the place. | visited the place on 21st March & saw a fomale Mahratta woocpecker taking an yellow coloured crickst to the above nest hole. It alighted (on a neerby tres It wes very hesitant to enter the hole. Only ‘after waiting for about S minutes entered the hele. It totally disapresred into the hole and returned after a minute. Cn the next day the female was seen to enter the nest with 2 smal black spider. This time twas nat so wary. On 28th marring, | ‘sew the male feeding from the nectar cf Enythrina lthosperme. ‘Ater some time | sav & entering the nesthole. | could nat makeout whether it carried ary food. All the foregoing observations exwepttne fret cne was made during my meming Walks from about 7.20 0 6.30 am. andhencethe hasty ané bservations - | had to resch the hospital bafore However on 29%h momingit was my day off and I could watch thase bitds for a few hours ata sireten. | could observe that 1. The female visited the nest more often with food.8 2. The visits with food are atthe intervals of 20-00 minutes, 8. AS te bird flies in to feed the chicks it makes a click like cal. “The bitd then aights on the branch ofa nearby eo, cbvorves ‘tha nest and abruptly enters the nest. After that week Icould nl follow up my observations tor a week and when | noat visted the nest a week lair It was deserted, Territorial? / Courtship display of Malabar Trogon (On tytMay 1999 at Kuppadl in Wynad, Nirmal (ny son) and myself observed the Tertitria!’Gourtshp displey of Malaber trogon. The female was heard making 'KCyor like calis at intervals of 5-8 seconds. Il was seen itingits il up 30 degrees (app) hen dropping it down, al each cal. After flicking down the tailit was spreadiiaterally so thet the whits margins were prominent. Tha sama activity was ooserved in Kuppadi in February 1989 but by & male trogon, however without the “yor like call. On 2nd Septersber 2000 alea such behaviour was noted at Kuppad. Increase in the prevalence of Koels in Wynad Some 3-4 years back koels were rather uncommon in Mecnengady, Kuppadl & Kolagappara, alin Wynad, Homever ‘now during the summer months, keels are very vocal in the shove places. 16years back whet | rst reached Meenargadsy, keels were absent. Duringthis pericd, humanhabltatiors and subsequenily the number of crows (mainy jungle cows) have Increased. The increase of hest species may have caused the proiferation of the parasitic species. Finding of Blue Chat at the same place at Kuppadi for several years ‘There is a small rullah 2 or 3 meters wide In tne evergreen patch of forest just near the entrance of the Kuppadi forest in ‘wynad, There is @ place where you ford the small sveam- soine half 10 + meter wice, but alvays with flowng water ‘even during the peak of summer. The intl protuse bird ectviy inthe moring by the roadside patere out towarde the noon, Then the bids ere to be found near the shady benks of the nulla. There is a Myristica sp. tree with exposed roots, festencing nto the nullah which one uses to ald himself to (08 the nullan. In the summer months of 1997, 98, £9 and 2000, | was always able to nd a pair of blue chets here, oF hear ¢ swampy patsh of land nearby. Earlier too & was ‘cemmenly found here during the summer, Usually beth male and female wore found. Bul last year enly the femal was ‘seen, Was it the same pair aliays | wonder | Moulting of Racket Tailed Drongo Inthe third week of July, z0v0 | had been to Arippa in Quilon Di. some 50 kms away fram Trivandrum, a favourite birding place of Trivancrum-based oiciwatchers. I went there along with ober birdwatchore, Wo had about 19 sightings of the racketalled drongos. Of these 6 birds were lacking beth the steamers of thettail, The other birds hed one streamer each, “The next week at Kuppadi anc Kolageopara in Wynad we could see the same pheencmencn, Birds sean in Wynadl in August-September had 2 streamers each for thei 1 Newsletter for Bircwatchers ‘(However a bird seen at Kuspaci on 27th November 2000 had ¢ single streamer) It ecoms to me that the birds [ose streemer of ore side first then cf the other side and regains: the streamers in the same order viz. one side frst and tien the other side, Soll-eating behaviour of Yellow Legged Green Pigeons, at Dasnaghatta Dasenaghatta is a plaoe in the Hogur range 0) the Wynad Wildife Sanctuary. There is a waterhole and adjacent protectedwatch tower from whicn wildlife coming ta dink and bathe canbe watchod. Br. Ahmod, Mr. Salyat & nycolf pont 2 days there in Apri last week, 2000. Ihad 9eento tis place some 3-4 times during the last 10 years and | have always seen yellow-lecgad green pigeons in the vicinity. of \waterhole. Thia time I was able to watch them vary closely. and | could find out that they are ‘eeding on the soil found in the area, Icollectedthe materal which Tey wore ‘2ecing upon but tt was unfortunately lost. Pecple have reported pigeons feeding upon crumbled whitewash flakes trom walls just as chicken eat bioken eqcshells probably to supplement thelr calcium intake for egg laying. But! wencer whethar al these: birds wete females # In humans. during pregnancy, while suffering from some menial jiness, anaemia and iron deficiency estng day, earth anc limo from whitewash has. been observed. The meckanism for this has not been completely explained but lack of some nutient's suggested and the sama may be relevant here, Roosting behaviour of Tickell's Blue Flycatcher Tickell's blue flycatcher was abeerved on mary occasions wile roasting, makes a “chek-ahoX call al tha inervals of few soconds wagging Its tall et each call t jumps from one. branch to another in the sams tes for at least a quarter of an hur, uttering the same cals befere lacing rest 1s Grey Jungle Fowl monogamous ? Grey jungle fou! is considered to be mainly a monogamous bird by SA ane others (vide HB of Birds of Indie and Pakistan by SA/and DR. Bur the author has met many a group of sey jungls fowls at various cecasions comaricing ona male ard a number of femaies mostly 1 4o 3in number. And hon you Consider the behaviour ofits cicse relative, the domestic fowl, there is ample reason to consider it to be polygamous. Blackbird making’sitent’ calls (On 26th February 7999 at Kuppadi | caw ablactbird opering ite mouth widely, raigingite tongue tha mainimprossion tothe observer being i's making & song, But svangely no sound was neerd coring forth by the author. This behaviour was observed later a's0, During the winter sojourn in Wynd the blackbird esp. inthe lowtands of Wynad is slont-oa ata height of 700 motors. (The aulbor has heard the fll song of blackbied in the heights cf Brahmaaii hils at ‘about the height of 1000 meters In June 1992). The bire may be making ultrasonic orinfrasonic sounds inaudible fornumans by the way of alarm calls which ray be audio to tsfellows, (On 26th Decernber 2000 | observed such beheviow (silent song) by 2 whitethrosted grouncihvusn at Kolagappara.Nowslcttor for Brewis Display of Black Eagle (On Sth April 1999 at Kotagappara |saw'the dislay ofa blocs ‘cagle. Fits, t dived down from app. 1000 meters, butat app. 500 mater it stopped diving and started to climb, tie ‘momentum of the dive helping itt rise high. After cimbing ‘some 300 metersit led to one side, cved again end repeated the whole pertormanca, This Was repeated abcut¢ or mes. No other black eagle was seen in the vicinity at this tine. Breeding activity of Monarch Blue Flycatchers ‘When it comes ‘9 nest building monarex blue lyeaichers are ‘very careless, Almost all he nesta abaervedby me in Wrest ‘wore at about 1.5 meters hich Le. exactly at the eye ‘evel ard pathetically neu paths where psople walk. Sointerererca by humans Is quite rampant - anc conssquently destuction. Jn-1996 May, | saw one nest with eggs iva small coffee Eush atKolagappara beside a footpath in my pepper gardon. | took seme pictures of i. 5 days later wher | visited the spot all signs of the nest were missing, In 1888 June another nest ‘was sean vith the male and female constructing he nest end later incuneting ? eggs with brown splotches in a buil back= ground, Ths nest was beside fostzath and very prominent nd osly at a heght of 1.2 meters fom ground. Someone sserrlac away tho eggs & week alle the brooding was started, ‘The sama year jpostibly the serne pairmads #) another nest was seen, tis tme forunately hidden i yroup of Mulbeny, bushes. But this nest too was unsuccessful as the birds ‘somehow abandonad the nest Courtship of Pygmy Woodpeckers “The ccurtship behavicur af the pygmy woodpeckers reminds cone ofa song & dance sequence from an old ballyweod fim. | saw one pair engaged in courtstip eatvily In Mar 1988 at kolageppara, The male chased aroundthe fomalo which tron ‘alghted on a tree trunk at a helght of some 2 meters in the typical wocdpecker fashion. It cocked its head to ons sde spread its winge at he same tima prassing ts tll tothe tree ‘unk 2nd making ‘ch - ‘oh calls. The mele then flew et he ‘famale making similar cals whereupon the temas flew away ‘to ancthar tree and repeated its act, This was enacted 3-4 ‘times before the pakflew off Feeding of chicks by Spotted tuni 4 spotted mura chicks wore olsaived at Kolagappara {in March 1998} beng fed hy 2 adul bits, The cuicks were alroost {ullgrown. The insides of thei gaping mous while begging {er food with mutos ‘kro kre calls ware seer to be yellow in colour Arrival of Pittas This year (2000) the Pitta's calls were first heard at Wananioddy, Wynad in the second week of October. Their arrival is characterised by the 'VW/ee-wit like call | was ‘astounded by another raptorike call which | had not heard 19 Lbulure. Somewhat ike ‘Yves! The strange thing thet dirds| lice bulbuis, tailor birds & magpie robins acted as Ifa raptor was at large, serambling beneath the bushy undergrowth asit te cs0p0 attention fran tia “raptor In the evenings the pitas made only tha usual weowit galls: Dusing the fist wook of the anival of the birds they were sagn to chase each other {may be establishing feir territories) Also the calls during’ first 5 woeks were at 7 2m, thait clocks running only 5-6 minutes butind ot bulore the exact time. Later, tre morning falls were neard wihout the rapior-Ike component. The frequency and number of cals as well as their chronicity beoamo loner as weeks passed. By tho Sr week ct November, only one a two calla were heard in tie evening ‘and occasicrally in te momings. Even then usualy the 2 rotad calls were heard. Only ari rare eezasions the single- noted ‘raptor lke gall was head. The calls were more aptto be hes ifs shy was ovateast, Roosting Behaviour of Brown Shrike At Manantoddy in Wynad itself, this yezr, the roosting behaviour o! brown shrikes was observed, Atabout 6.30 p.m. they start their chek - ‘chek’ ~ ‘chet ~ lle calla ating upon ‘en exposed stump or bush. Some 19 to 4 ‘chelé are made at fa stretch these sequences being mada by one bird. As if lanawers, another bird some 59 meters away starts similar sequence of calle, After calling for some 15 minutes or 30 the bids tre outand heircalls cease, These ‘cues! were common around the ‘ime of thair arivalin September - October. Like pittas' cals thase too diminished ater a few weoks. Displacement Activity by Jungle Nightjar (Observed jungle nightiar making cariclorstic kubrwokul roocallat Salim Al Bird Sanctuary et Thattokad in Emakulam Dt, Katala en 7th Decemter 2000 at about 9p.m.in a moonlit right. Vine aonempanied by Mr. Jje an exgert birdwatchor ‘eased at Thaltekad and some ether gartcipants atthe butterfly survey, conducted there from 8th to 10th December 2000. Tre calls were answatedby anotherindividualsome 30 meters away forming & duot. We Hashed a powerful torch atthe source ‘of he calle anc found the eyes cf the bird. The outline of the bird could te made out by binoculars and the bid Kdentiled asa night, Woen light was shown at frst, the bid stared at itfor a few seconds, then started pecking with its bank at the ‘ground making motions of foeding. This Behaviour wae repeated many times. ft should have deen rercting to the stimulus of strong light wih pecking motions - an instance of sisplacemert activity ike poopie fidgeting when stared youn. Reference: 4. Solim A & Dillon Piplay -Handbook of Birds f nda & Pakistan (compact exten). 2 Salm Ali-Bids of Kerala ‘ Ghmmet, nskip> & nskiap» Tre Birds of Insen Subcontinent. se 4 Space, Bld Behaviour20 Newslaer for Biewatchers Some Aspects of the Developmental Biology of the Red Vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer: The Nestling’s Food and Feeding Pattern, and the Feeding Behaviour of their Parents Dy, UG. MUMMIGATTI, Dr. R.N DESAI" and SARAYU DESAI“ *Department af Zoology, Kamaiak Science College, Dhanvad 580 001 “2nd Cross, 4th Main, Vivekanand Naeger " Dharwad 580 004 ***KRY.P. Sd. & Tech. Centre, D.C, Compound, Dharwad 580 001 Imroduction ‘The red vantad bulbul Pyenonetus eafey, primary a bed of sorubby jungle, is encroaching upon various rural and urban habitats eluding Auman dwellings in recent years wh concomitant proximate accuainiance wit man, This i tum has clven opportunities to study qute 2 fev aspects of is reproductive Biology. (Dellary and Desai, 2000; Dessi, 1993, 1995 a & b and 1997; and Viayan, 1980). In this paper the food of the nestings of P. cefernc feeding behaviour of thelr parerts have been described. Materials & Nethods “The food and fzoding patterns ofthe nestlings ofthe passerine bird Pycnonotus cafer(Passeritormes : Pycrionotidas) at two tos No. #-2 during Aptil- May, 1888andMay 1996 from day (ne tothe last day of nesting phase nave been studied, The bsewatiens were made uninterruptedly from 5.00 am. ill dusk whan the parent birds stopped feeding the nestings and themseives retired for foostng. The movements cf the birds te-andi-ro the nest could be easily oaserved from a distance cf 5-4 m without dlsturbing the birds. The number of visits 10 the nests were recorded every nour on each day. “The data was épllt into two halves wale platting the graph to find out, 1] there were any similarities inne feeding pattems between the frst and eacond halves ofthe nesting phase et each ste; and 2) @ there was any unfomity in the feacing patteins at both the nesting sites. The data has also been satisically processed 19 ascertain ifthe differences beween the maximum and minimum hourly feeding rates were sSignifeant.ar not. \Whila the feecing birds were artving at the neet, the tyae of food in their veak was ascertaines with the help of a field binocular (PENTAX 19 x50), itt was fut pu, 2 seed or an Insect Meeting he water cemang tthe nestings by the parert bbrds ' also an equally importart cuty ofthe later. From tis polat It was alse closely observed if the parent birds ever foturrod to the neato with their feathers wet to provide water to the neetings Observations and Discussions ‘The nestling phasa of Pyananows cafor was often to Wwelve days. Durvig thie phase tha nestinge wers fadby the paranie from dawn fo dusk. In the inital stage the food consisted of mainly the succulent pulp of the ‘ruts of Sapota |ram. Sapotaceae) and Phyllanthus distychus (Fam. Euphorbiaceae); duringthe mid-phasa they were fed withpup ofthe ruts o! Santaium aiea (Fam, Santalaosas) and Sapot andi he inal stage, hey were aleo fedwith small and freshiy killed nympts of grasshoppers of Chrotagonus sp. On one. occasion a small fingering of he fish Gamousie sp. was foc so @ chick. During the nesting phase.at both: the sites the feeding actvity Commenced around 6.00 a.m, it rapidy increased to reach the peck by midday, this was folowed by a dacline winin two o three hours. A slignt rise was again noticed between 4,00 pam. and 6.00 p.m. By 7.00 p.m. tha feeding activity was ‘complataly stopped (Gran. The hourly rales of feeding on ‘each day dizing the fist and secend halves of the nesting ahese were 2.65 + 029 end 5.94 + 0.72 respectively at site No. t. Though the feeding ratas were almost double dung the eoand ahate than Moco during the fit, the general pattern of feeding remained alos! the eame througout the nesting phase (Graph), At site No.2 these values were &.66 4037 and 618 = 0.62 respectvely Values are expressed as mean # standerd error. The differences between he maximum land minimum values at each of the sites are stxstically signficent (At site No. + P<0.001; and at cite No. 2 P<0.01), ta i “The hourly rates of fesding of P. cafer as observed by usare somewhat comparabe wih thoss for a few other passerine bires such as American gold firch (2.0), Americsn crow (3.0) humming bit (5.0) and seisser-taled fy-catche (6.7), while ‘they arefar insigificant when compared with these for have ‘wren (77.3) and 25,0 0 37.5 ... or 400 9 £60 times @ Gay for various other passerine birds (Wing, 1956). During the couree of feeding the paront ords arrive at the rests ard depart iromshem by a partioular path, Vihilerieatnng the nesis in tush they land on a few branches, from the lowsr sice, check the surrounding for safety and thon onlyNewsletter for Bcwachiers each he nests, The same path is tracted while leaving. As lore patent is engaged in feeding thechicks, the otheris siting oh a nearby tree anc keeps a viel aqainst intucers. Quite 2 ‘ew times the parenis arrve 2t the nesting site with empty beak. On such cecasions they just haveraround the bush but never go to the nest. Such visits mght bs to keep vigiance ‘agains prodalors, Dany be course of feeding nehelper was tics assisting the parent birds. While eriving at*he nest tor feeding, the parent bird gives loud and sharp call. Immediately ths Is responded to ty the chicks by their feeble calls. Absence of any resgonse from ‘Pe cricks isan indication tat they 2’ fast asleep, “he parert bite fies off the nas: without disturting tham The feedinc act by the parents absolutey nonselective. The ticks show 2 competition for ‘oud. Yet we have never ‘observed threughout our stucy any starvaion deaths of chicks. Nestings of passerine birds are reported to have abifly to withstand siarveton for or ortwe days (Shilo, 1273), ‘Throuchoutthe nestling phascin beth the cates etude, the parent birds never arvived at tne nests in wet conciton to provide water forthe nestings. Probably the succulent pulp of tha tits fed to the chicks could meet their water demand also. Barthoomew and Cade (1956) made simiar observations in sholr stusioe on the American scarlat crossbeale whch ie also a passartrebitd (vide Shiov. 1973). at References : Belly, SV. anc Desai, FIN. (2000) = Urusual nesting activity of he "eal vrted bulbu! Pyenononus cater (Li: Twe necul ar features, Newsletter for Birdwatchars, 40 (6), 3334. Dees, PLA. (1069): Two unusual nesting sites of io rod vantae bulgul Pyenenatus eater (L), First National Seminar “Changi ‘seutnata ol Bid Evology ard Conservator”, Sangalo-e,p. 160 Desai F.N. (1265 8}: Incubation patern inthe red verted bubul ‘Pyonrotus cafer(L) in relation to amospnore temporaure and tha phase of evelopment of ages. Newsletter for Biainatches, 35 (2), 35-96. Decal, RLM. (1006 b} : Rouzu of an old nos of by the ros vontod bbulbul Pyenensius cafer (L), Ervtonimant and Bids, Biannal Gort. Gmithok Sos. ind. 14-16, Nev. 1935, pO Dosal, LN. (1997): case ofan unusuelcelayed breeding aciity (Of the fed vented bulbul Pysronclus cafe (L}. lewaler far Biwaichers, 87), 27. Shit, LA. (1973) : “Heat Regulation hn Birés, An Eco-chysioloaal itn’. Arrarind Pubehing Company Pa. ts New Det Borsbay. Calsuta & New Vor Woayan, V3. (41960) . Breeding Liclogy of bulbule Pycronous cater ‘2nd P,kteclis with special reterenve to thle ecoloica isolation Seombay Nat Hist Sec, 12, 108111 ‘Wing, LW. (1958): Natural History cl ids, A Guide te Omnihsloay. ‘The Ronald PrassCo,, New York rosh water sreame, lexes and swamps all over nonhern Incia ate flocked witn migratory watar birds curing the winters. It was just te right time to count them in the last vwaek of January and the frst week of February lo monitor their population. A combinad effort in the rire sub-continent such as the Asian Waterfowl Census is very hels‘ul in ‘aintaining the recerd of the number of spacies and the ‘species number ofthese winged visors.in every saason Net. withstanding anything else the long-term census data give a excallent idea of population Lens of these bitds. Mornings ana cold and wirdry and fog relusweie diesivate but ‘ako full swing and 20 doce the avien life ‘Surface oF tx pon, nie hace atte rect OF ‘water tooming with birds ousy in the act of survival fils the wildesess with a sense o' life. A gaggle of barheaded gsese elegantly resting on a mound, a flock of common teal taking (ff to a nearby ofop field and an occasional carr hurling from ne and fo the ather invite even the mundane viseor to have a closa’ look A group of stucents fem the Departnentof Widlife Sciences, ‘AMU conducted a curvoy of three wetlands in and aroune ‘Alger District on three efferent days, The team members ‘were Sangeeta Singh, Shweia Singh, Shweta Sharawal, A Report on Asian Waterfowl Census in Wetlands of Aligarh District during January 2001 Departmentof Wildlife Sciences, AM.U., Aligarh 202 002 Usham Somerancro, Amit Sharma, Sharad Kumar, Mr, Jeseem Bakhsh and mysalt.Dr. Salim Javed supervisod the work, (On 15 lar 2001 we visited the Patna Fird Sanetuary which is a rain-fed fresh wate lake. Wtn a maximum depth of 2m and apresd in an ores of 10D hectare. The Sanctuary is able to attract as many as 100,000 bircs. However dus to scanty rain and possiole dait.ing out of water ‘or iigation, ts year there was very litle water in the lake and oving to this thee were: Just about three thousand birds. Locals traditionally protect the st cince iti adjacent to 3 tomplo. It ie a pormanent lake that is half covered with free floating arc submerged vegeiatton. On ine Danks there is growin of ipemea spp. (On 25th January 2001, we visted Sheikha Jheel. Itis a large: wetlend dvided n two parts by the Upper Ganga Canal, The source of Water {0 this Welland is the seepage of the canal water andrain, Because ofthis thslakeis hardly aver shortof water and it is almost a permaner: waler body. ts tol arsa je 25 hociares and flaaing and cubmarges vogstorion and reeds on the ban’ cover one third of tha water sratch The third site covered was the Ashoan, which is the ash- dumping sto ofthe nearby Kesimpur Thermal Power Station,2 Noweiette for Birewatohers itis a man-made depression segregated rom adjoining crop flekés by rleges. The source of water i the indust-al Tetuse that comes with the ash. Again this is also a perernial water body with atotalexpanse cf one square klometer. One fourth ff this welland’ te aleo covered with aquatic vegetation ‘comprising Eichomia crassipes, Hella valisneriaand Jpomes. Atul. In Palga Jako tho portion with a lla water was crammed to ccepacty by all the water birds. So wa had a chance to walk fon the dry and parched earth of the lake which fe generally Under water. On the contrary Sheikha was fauntng ample Water and the group had to wade through knee deep waier to reach the mound in the mddle so as to have a full view, ‘The Ashpan wes ripoling in full glory safely ensconced by ridges that sport thorny teas of Prosopis julfora lke guards agalnst intriders, Nevertheless they could not differentiate between poachers and bicwalchers and a spiny bush that nearly escaped her eye hurt a group mombcr. Howover the ‘antire experiance Was pasked with exctement, passion anc ‘asanco of rosponsibility. together it wae nol Wordsworth’s ‘country revisitac but no less. ‘The observations ahew that asit was a crought yeer in Patna there were more species of waders dua to low water level ‘and most ofthe birds crowded the Sheikha lake. The highest ‘varsty ard numiber of watertovis was recorded in Sheikha bout along with birds it also attracts poachers znd llega shooting of ducks is ramgantly going on, much to the egony Gli jovals, However this is not the case with Ashpan cue to its difficult accosstbilly, Nevertheless there was enough water ln Ashpan supporting a large numberof birds. Itis desirable that water levelsin these wetlands eve renulated and sheoling (of birés ie prevented. Considering the semi arid status of ‘Agar region these watar bodies are also very heleful In ‘maintaining the water table ofthe area, This gives consstent water suppy for agriculture, ‘The following table shows the bird counts of the different sites TaD a a ST CITE BREE acme fe 0 a GRnECOMOMAT Plasworacs 9 OMEKTAL DARIEN armga corer, 3a EURPOND HEREN arouse a 8 0 UTLEEGRET Eyota crete saat IKILHMLOMTE Gener agem emote 2D SREATEGRET Eyeta cba seg thas?) PURPLE HERON Ardoe purpurea D 4 0 SREY HERON As areroe . 2 0 iseS& Se0ONsLLS WRITE SPODNBIL Pies muro a 0 © GREVAG GOOSE Arweraneer es me aRNEARED COOSE Arsar news © gh i8l RUDDY SHELDUCK Tacbna frugiea 98 (CORIO SHELDUCK Traor agen 3} (CON@DLICK Sarkchoniemelanctoe 03s EGRASIAN WIGEON Anas porlopa 4 2 0 GADWALL Aras stepere 0 1m 0 CCOUMDN TEAL Anas czeca 75 25 WaLLI7 fava peyeyeonoe paMapaittg SPOTBILLED CUCK Ams pecciomyrcha 0D NORTICAN PINTAL Aras aca 7m 9) NORTHERN SHOVELLER Aras clreata 000130 ‘COUMON TOCIIAND Asti ena oa 2D aos: a waLTuaES VARS! HARFIER Crs sanghosus a) ‘cranes SARUS CRANE Gus argon yom oa ii WATE BREASTED WATERHEN Anaurais iphceneune o & COFHEN Salina chbvosus 00 2m PURPLE SMIAMPHEN Farpnync poptyro «08 COMBIGN GOOF Fue ae 0 100 a0 PHEASANT TAILED JACANA Hiephasinas ‘angus o 2 8 suoasaians wapess BLACK WINGED STLT Himartopushimantopus 18 217 AVOOET Resin svsces 3 00 NORTHERN LAPWING Janene vareius 3 9 6 RenWaTTie® | APWING Varna douse = «8 OMT EDSHANK Tings fotaror oe GREEN SANDPIPER Tonga oohepur owe AUPE Phionactus pug oo 0 4 UUs Teas ssnnaes INDIAN RIVER TERN Some surat eee UTTLE TERN Stara asirone 1 04 2 cveristeass TESSr PED NOREEN Canna nets Awe WRITEBREASTED KINGFISHEP rayon ‘snymantie o> 4 8 5a hee Lekas of Mysore City, Karanil, Kukkarahalt and Lingambuahi have small idands where geod numbars of ‘ye9s are found, These groves efford roasting space for the rrigrants and residents. Come September, aggregalion of diferent species greduely increasss and reaches peak by ‘he ond of December. End of February indicates the days of roosting are finishing. Dispersal and arrival ofthese bids in Roosting Birds of Mysore City A. SHIVAPRAKASH 48, Hemavathi, RMP Colony, Kuvempunagar, Mysore §70 023 mornings and evenings en mnessismarvelious to watch duting peak days, In Karanil Lake in less rainfall years, recuced water level exposes these islands and roosting dosen't take place. However, in Kukkerahati Lake, water level doesn't recsde: Decause’of continuous replenishinent with sewage waterNewsleter fr Biniwatchers Nevertheless, in Lingamoudhi Lake roosting place shits between east, nerthwest and north bane ensuring minimum levels of water even thaugh sland isbared, Prebably the watar shield othese islands provides safety theeahy tn hime’ as ‘Sodium vacour street light focures provided In Karanji and Kuekarahalli Lakes lis up dimly the portion of the recsting place aa twilight This hasnot daturbed the birds, “These birds can roost jt any one of the lakes instead of spreacing over to three lakes. Indiv’dualy, these lakes have ‘suf cient! toesting space fo accommroceteall birds. Then why do all birds don'tgaggle at a place ? a Rlovsting birds take diferent routes forage every day. But the came species of the respective lakes choose almost the ‘same toute, sit corneident or well tought of ? These bires ‘gabole enough Eefore they disperse methodically. Mynes gabble first, followed by rosy statlings and then egrets, combined effect atiains peak level before dispersal. By the time mynas start making noise early In the moring rosy statings and egrets will be getting ready for day's faht by ‘essing thor feathers. The momere they’ take off the nolse immediately ceases. Uster silence tolowed bynoise indicates birds ara on their wings. Ros rds of city lakes Lollows. Rosy starlings ater take off split into many groupe, fly n Kiltsaiall [Unganbudhi] —diferert cirestions but sore groups chenge their mind arc Tie somone zg 7!) 31 | devate nstentyin oppositedretion Some calc egrets have fran sagan coment G-| 18? | atencencyto land back imandiatalyattertakeott en theese miraial xmerat 21° | 8. | focatng canny wherens some mynas an¢ strings rest & é cev| 345] wnte ona neatby:ree.and procead aftr brief hal. Swalons | Nar eroniseck enone Clspefsl takes pace on very diy it esry rcming alms amen B io s an hour befcre sun‘se. Brahminy stings em always active pale = | 18 | ahh | imandercundrocsing aren ory Lege = 1 TE) The tees in Mysora cty's busiest place Seyyaf Res road oxi Bi | a1 | antet oie huncton isthe roostelinrumertblerosetnged Sesey bs zor | patakocts, ingle andhouse crv. oy pesostsy ding = | a fein pati ean 2 lames Sryheated ny ferenc ‘Chestnut taled sarling “ 00 Ls any sw | leo |) ma cadg - snus deabanoe an effctve protctan ir degenfe ao | 00 ‘omnmural ooding of brse? NLEW, 12 (11): 1979 ease ‘a % | Prakash Golo- Bins gov rst, NLEM!, 19 (I: 1979 Genmensclow = | gp | TrelanrS, shivaprakas A, 8 Stivanandapp, -Miatoy i [aera | al Lingamb.ch Lake in Wrsore, NLEWY, «0 (2000 Fa Birdwatcher’s Delight vy Pror, H. DANIEL WESLEY Bits ts slg see and wate oF aa, on ia roneoicus of the natural world around onasalf. It's hard {or ona to cigesthow any human coulé not ce touched by the ever-appening nature, To 80 In th> focing of being = par. of the onvirarment that man has not yet manhandled is creat Inseea, | would like 10 make use of the manhanded environment (co to my advantage - watch the feathered cemponent Recently I had a chuncu of buing al = serole ooasial evoa about 99 km from Mayl aduthural 111° N79.7"E sre 7 ‘nth Gl Poraiyar 10.9°N /3.8°E - at Thirukkadaiyur. A vary thinly populates area with a few scattcred hamlets, generally desertlke, dry, here were standing green paddy and gtound- ruterops, A few klometer's walk wouldtake one 1 the beach. In was the 16th day of January 2091. A smallish bird in emparisor wi tho kiss and eagles, a lita bigyer -stouter 21125, Ramalinganage’ South, Truchirapsli $20 O17 lund longer - han a big sizad crongo, settled on & eeven-feot tallsupport-gole about 20! fest from me. Was it ahawk? Two hawk-szed apters had been theresbout for a couple of days defyingmy stiemots ar watching them. One hadbeen identified ‘as a shikra, anyway. The other was perhaps the present incivicual. The 7 x 35 binoculars ceuldn't resolve the fu to perfection, But what a delight! The raptor was considerate ‘enough fo say putalowing melo progress coser, binoculars con the eyes. Hawks and theirs are a group ftaurting kinds dls ‘eather-cloeks that vary tather porplexingly in the colour patterns, equiugles, bars atid streaks, beards and mousteches; the wings and the ‘ail sport bold or subtle rmaridngs, Wel, of which tind wae hie ‘hawk [wae peorin? “The sun was tright overhead at the meridian and hence the plumage colour could'nt ne made out easily the binoculars