Table Of ContentMISCELLANEOUS NOTES
REFERENCES
Ali, S. & S.D. Ripley (1986): Handbook ofthe Birds of India and Press, Karachi, pp. 449-451.
Pakistan. Vol. 5., 2nd Edn. Oxford University Press, Delhi, Skarphedinsson, K.H., O.K. Nielsen, S. Thorion, S. Thorstensen &
pp. 262-264. S.A. Temple (1990): Breeding biology, movements
Cramp, S. & C. Perrins (eds) (1994): The Birds of the Western andpersecutionofRavens in Iceland. Acta. Nat. Islandica 33:
Palaearctic. 8. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 206-223. 1-45.
Grimmett, R., C. Inskipp & T. Inskipp (1998): Birds of the Indian Steenhof, K.,M.N. Kochert&J.A. Roppe(1993): Nestingbyraptors
Subcontinent. Christopher Helm, London, pp. 599. and Common Ravens on electrical transmission line towers.
Eates, K.R. (1939;: The distribution and nidification ofthe Indian J. Wildl. Manage. 57: 271-281.
(Punjab) Raven (Corvus corax laurencei Hume) in Sind. J Stiehl, R.B. (1985): Broodchronologyofthe Raven. WilsonBull. 97:
BombayNat Hist. Soc. 40(4): 747-750. 78-87.
.
Ratcliffe, D. (1997): The Raven. Poyser, London, pp. 295. Whistler, H. (1938): The ornithological survey of Jodhpur state.
Roberts,T.J. (1992):TheBirdsofPakistan. Vol. 2. OxfordUniversity J. BombayNat. Hist. Soc. 40: 213-235.
UNUSUAL NUMBERS OF BLACK-HEADED CUCKOO-SHRIKE
20.
CORACINA MELANOPTERA AT POINT CALIMERE, TAMIL NADU
An unusual congregation of c. 25 Black-headed This sighting is significant, as the Black-headed
Cuckoo-ShrikeCoracinamelanopterawaswitnessedduring Cuckoo-Shrike isnotknown tocongregate in large numbers.
abirdwatchingsessiononDecember21,2001 atPt. Calimere. Ali and Ripley(compacthandbook, 1987)donotrecordsuch
This was our first day ofthe ten-day BNHS Bird-banding behaviour forthe species. The group appeared like apre- or
Training Programme and we were being guided by Dr. S. post-migration flock, butthere is no evidencetothisaccount
Balachandran, Scientist,BNHS. At 1745 hrs,afteraneventful excepttheirrestlessbehaviour. These birdsarenot knownto
evening with birds, we approached the fringes of the congregate even during the breeding period. According to
Kodikaduvillageand passedthrough some open areawith a Dr. Balachandran,theBlack-headedCuckoo-Shrikeisacommon
few Thespesia populnea trees where we saw three Black- localmigranttoPt. Calimere,arrivinginwinterfromthenearby
headed Cuckoo-Shrikes in flight, and two in a nearby areas, but the numbers seen on this particular occasion were
Thespesiatree. Suddenly,several morecuckoo-shrikesbegan unprecedented. Thecoastal areaatthetimeofobservation was
to leave the tree, and as we approached they moved to a underthe effect ofacyclonic depression inthe BayofBengal.
Prosopisjaliflora shrub on the other side of the road.
We noticed a flight of more than 15 cuckoo-shrikes in a March 19,2002 S.THEJASWI
follow-the-leader fashion. They were restless, and flying Mysore AmateurNaturalists,
between the ThespesiaandMoringatrees in a backyard. Of 227,3rdMain,A-l Block,Vijayanagar3rdstage,
the twenty-five birds, about six were males and the rest Mysore570017, Karnataka, India.
females. E-mail:[email protected]
21. ON THE BEHAVIOUR AND HABITAT PREFERENCE
OF STOLICZKA’S BUSHCHAT SAXICOLA MACRORHYNCHA (STOLICZKA)
Ali and Ripley (1973) described the endemic species had seen a pair of bushchats, which they thought was
Stoliczka’s Bushchat or Whinchat as ‘rare and very local’. Stoliczka’s Bushchat, I went to Naliya in Western Kutch on
Presently it is not seen in its former haunts, though it is not January4, 2002. Accompanied by Jadeja and Tejpal Shah, 1
uncommon in the Desert National Park, Rajasthan. This wenttothe location wherethey had seen the birds. We came
specieswas first discovered in Kutch in the 19th Century by across the male in the morning and saw the female in the
Dr. Ferdinand Stoliczka, who collected two specimens, one evening.
nearBhuj andtheotherfrom Rapar. Hedescribedthespecies The male was in winter plumage and in both the birds
andpublished itintheJournaloftheAsiaticSocietyofBengal the common features were the prominent long supercilium
in 1872.Sincethen, itwasnotsightedbytheearlierchroniclers extending from the forecrown to behind the ear coverts and
oftheBirdsofKutch HughPallin andCapt. Lester. Dr. Salim the distinct whiteness oftheir chins and throats. While the
Ali and others who followed in their surveys ofKutch or in general behaviour of this species was similar to other
birdringingprogrammesfailedtorecordS. macrorhyncha. bushchats, in the manner of gathering food one dissimilar
Onreceivinginformation from Mr. R.D.Jadeja(Range featureobservedconformstowhat isstatedbyRoberts(1992)
ForestOfficer,Naliya)thathe,alongwith Mr.Tejpal D. Shah, quoting Grimmetfs personal communication, that after
J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 101 (2), May-Aug 2004 323
.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
alighting on the ground after espying some insect, the bird planted vegetation and thick cover of grass. Stoliczka’s
wouldpuffoutitsbreastandstartswayingitfromonesideto BushchatperchedonthebaretwigsofP. chilensisrepeatedly,
theotherandthenpickupan itemoffood. Aftermovingona but scrupulously avoided entering the area ofthick ground
little,theperformancewouldberepeatedonceortwice. This cover. After every foray for food, whether aerial or on the
behaviourwasperformed byboth sexes. Theyalso launched ground, these birds generallyreturnedtothe same perch. As
aerialsalliesonce inawhiletocatchsomeflyinginsectandat describedbyAliandRipley(1973),thehabitsofthisBushchat
timesdartedverticallyupwards. Thepuffingoutofthebreast aresimilartotheothermembersofthegenus. However,owing
feathers and the swaying motion on the ground give the to itsextremerarity, ithasperhapsnotbeen possibletostudy
appearanceofathreatdisplay,but it ismore likelythatthis is all aspects in this regard. The very fact that the species was
aresorttoflushouttheinsectsfromtheirsparsegrassground observed inKutchaftera lapseofoveracenturyandaquarter
cover.Thehabitatpreferredbythisspeciesconsistsofground proves its rarity.
sparsely covered by short grass and dotted about by stunted
bushes ofProsopis chilensis (=juliflora), Ziziphus sp. etc. March20,2002 M.K. HlMMATSfNHJI
To the north of the area under observation was a closely JubileeGround, Bhuj,
planted rowofP. chilensis,beyondwhichweresome closely Kutch,Gujarat, India.
REFERENCES
Ali, Salim& S.D. Ripley(1973): Handbookofthe BirdsofIndiaand Roberts, T.J. (1992): The Birds of Pakistan. Vol. 2, pp. 131-132.
Pakistan, Vol. 9, pp. 23-24. Oxford University Press, Bombay. Oxford University Press, Karachi.
22. OCCURRENCE OF THE GREY BUSHCHAT SAXICOLA FERREA (GRAY)
NEAR NANJANAGUD, MYSORE DISTRICT, KARNATAKA
A male Saxicola ferrea was observed close to The Grey Bushchat is “a common resident, subject to
Narasambudhi lake, a large irrigation tankwith a 2000 acre altitudinal and short-range seasonal movements. The
waterspreadnearNanjanagudtown(12°5'N,76°43'E;20km Himalayas from NWFP to Arunachal Pradesh, thence south
southofMysorecity), onDecember9,2001 throughNagaland (?), Manipur, Meghalayaand Mizoram...
The bird had a striking white supercilium and a black Winters from.... into the Gangetic plain southto the Yamuna
‘mask’ around the eyes, ears and cheeks, whitish throat and riverandthroughoutAssamandBangladesh”(Ali and Ripley
a light grey wash on the underparts. Crown and back were a 1987). It has been subsequently recorded from the Kanha
very dark grey, appearing almost black from a distance, but National Park (Newton et al. 1986), Bandhavgarh National
with faint brownish-white vertical striations at close range. Park(Tyabji 1990)andKareraBustardSanctuary,allinMadhya
The tail was black with faintly visible white edges. A white Pradesh, and Bharatpur in Rajasthan (Kannan 1993). These
shoulder patch was distinct in flight, scarcely visible when representthesouthernmostrecordedextensionofthisspecies.
alight. Billandlegswereblackish. Therecord fromNanjanagud is thefirstfrom southern India.
Thebirdwasobservedat0745hrs,huntingfromaperch The intensecoldwaveinnorthernIndiaatthetimeofsighting
on an Acacia leucophloeatree beside the outlet canal ofthe might have been the cause for the flight ofthe bird so far
lake, amid open area and close to a coconut grove. The south, where it is usually not found.
surrounding area was open, partially irrigated land. The
behaviour was characteristic ofbushchats, but it was twice March 19,2002 S.THEJASWI1
noted, unusually, to venture intothetreecrown and feed like A.SH1VAPRAKASH
awarbler.Thisbehaviourisatypicalofbushchatsandperhaps Mysore Amateur Naturalists,
not common in this species, but we have observed it on two 227,3rdMain,A-1 Block,Vijayanagar3rdStage,
separate occasions previously in the Pied BushchatSaxicola Mysore570017, Karnataka, India.
caprata. E-mail:[email protected]
REFERENCES
Ali, S. & S.D. Ripley (1987): A Compact Handbook of the Newton, Paul N., Stanley Breeden & Guy J. Norman (1986): The
Birds of India and Pakistan. Oxford University Press, birdsofKanhaTigerReserve,MadhyaPradesh,India.J Bombay
Bombay. Nat. Hist. Soc. 83(3): 477-498.
Kannan, R. (1993): Dark Grey Bushchat, Saxicolaferrea (Gray) in Tyabji,H.N.(1990): RecordofsomebirdsfromBandhavgarhNational
RajasthanandMadhyaPradesh.J. BombayNat.Hist.Soc. 90(1): Park previously unrecorded in this area. Newsletterfor
98. Birdwatchers 30(5-6): 12.
324 J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 101 (2), May-Aug 2004
