Nesting patterns of some terrestrial birds in Danta Forest Range, northern Gujarat, India

The nesting patterns of terrestrial birds in one of the dry deciduous forest in Northern Gujarat have been studied.

The nesting of terrestrial birds in Gujarat has not been documented in detail, and information for northern Gujarat (71 0 59-73 0 58E & 23 0 26-24 0 39N) is especially scattered. The few reports that exist (Ali 1945;Abdulali 1962;Himmatsinhji 1968;Parasharya 1984;Pailmes & Briggs 1986) are chiefly related to population and distribution of wetland birds in Gujarat. Barring a few observations on nesting of terrestrial birds (e.g., Soni et al. 2004 in Rajkot city), there are no reported attempts to study their nesting patterns in northern Gujarat. In fact, there is no detailed checklist of the regions avifauna. We present in this paper a concise account of our observations on distribution and nesting patterns of the terrestrial birds in Danta Forest Range in northern Gujarat.

Study Area
The Danta Forest Range is located between 24 0 124-24 0 3730N & 72 0 1545-73 0 130E in Danta taluka in Banaskantha district of Gujarat (Fig. 1). The fact that the Danta FR is situated at the tail end of the Aravalli range and connects both the Jessore and Balaram Ambaji wildlife sanctuaries makes it an important site for long-term conservation of the regions wildlife. The dry deciduous and thorn forest (Sub type: 5A/C 3 Southern Dry Mixed Deciduous Forest of Champion & Seth 1968) is spread over 47,941ha with hilly terrain and characterized by steep slopes. Most of the rivers are annual, originating from the Aravalli hills especially the Abu mountain. Notable among them are Banas, Sirinala, Arjuni, Saraswati, and Selvani. According to the biogeographic OPEN ACCESS | FREE DOWNLOAD classification of Rodgers & Panwar (1988), the forest range of Danta hills falls under the Aravalli biogeographic region of Province 4B of Gujarat Rajwara in the semi-arid zone.
The climate is typically tropical with three main seasons. Summer ranges from March to June (with mean maximum temperature of 40 0 C), followed by a rainy season heralded by the south-west monsoon between July and September. The cold season starts in December and may last until February, with a mean minimum temperature of 9 0 C. May is the hottest month and January is the coldest; relative humidity during the monsoon may range from 60% to 85%.

Methods
Fieldwork was carried out during the summer (i.e. March-June) 2006, when most land birds breed. Birds were observed using a pair of 10 x 50 binoculars, and were identified using standard field guides, e.g. The Book of Indian Birds (Ali 1996). Nests were located and data on nest characteristics and nestsites were collected using established methodologies (Soni et al. 2004). The plant species on which nests were placed were also identified and recorded.

Results and Discussion
In total, 103 terrestrial bird species belonging to 30 families were recorded during the study period (Table 1). Of these, 31 species belonging to 16 families were observed nesting in the area ( Table 2, 3). In total, 101 nests were recorded during the study period (Fig. 2). The highest number of nests were made by Baya Weavers (16), followed by House Crows (14) and Green Bee-eaters (12). Thirty-seven nests were of hole-nesting birds, while the remaining were of non-hole nesters. Baya Weaver nests were observed mainly along streams and around check dams. Green Bee-eaters made their nests on roadside burrows, allowing for easy observation and recorded during fieldwork. Table 4 lists nest host plant species. Of the 13 tree species recorded, Azadirachta indica was found to be used by four bird species, while Celastrus paniculatus, Butea monosperma and Acacia nilotica were each used by three species. A preliminary analysis of host-plant characteristics showed that tree species with either thorny branches or large, dense canopies were preferred by birds for placing their nests. Among the grasses and sedges, Pennisetum typhoides and Typha angustifolia were the predominant hosts of Plain Prinia and Black-breasted Weaver, respectively. Bank Myna, which usually nest in burrows excavated in earthcuttings, were often observed to appropriate old nests of Common Mynas placed in tree-holes.
With respect to nest location, 18 bird species were found nesting near human habitation and 13 species near water sources, while seven species were observed nesting near the road (Fig. 3). It was also found that 16 species placed their nests on trees and five were using tree-holes; in addition, five species were nesting in earth-burrows and two species built mud-nests either on rock crevices or on the wall just under the eaves of buildings. Rose-ringed Parakeet were observed nesting in both natural tree holes and crevices on walls of buildings. Nests of Blue Rock Pigeon and Rose-ringed Parakeet were generally found in human settlements, showing their association with humans. In general, the nesting behaviour of    4  18  Laniidae  3  19  Dicruridae  2  20  Oriolidae  2  21  Corvidae  3  22  Sturnidae  3  23  Irenidae  2  24  Pycnonotidae  3  25  Paridae  2  26  Muscicapidae  13  27  Zosteropidae  1  28  Nectariniidae  2  29  Passeridae  5  30  Motacillidae  2  31 Emberizidae 2  Prosopis juliflora (Gandobaval) 1 Baya Weaver 12 Pennisetum typhoides (Bajaro) 1 Plain Prinia 13 Typha angustifolia 1 Black-breasted Weaver the birds in the Danta FR indicates that most of the terrestrial birds prefer either large canopy trees or thorny bushes for nesting, probably to avoid predation.