Nesting patterns of some terrestrial birds in Danta Forest Range, northern Gujarat, India
Nikunj Gajera 1, S.M. Dave 2 & N.A. Dharaiya3
1-3 Department of
Life Sciences, Hemchandracharya North Gujarat
University, Patan, Gujarat 384265, India
Email: 1 gajeranikunj@gmail.com;
3 adinishi@gmail.com
Date
of publication 26 March 2009
ISSN 0974-7907
(online) | 0974-7893 (print)
Editor: Rajah Jayapal
Manuscript
details:
Ms # o1757
Received 07
April 2007
Final received
05 January 2009
Finally accepted
13 January 2009
Citation: Gajera, N., S.M. Dave & N.A. Dharaiya(2009). Nesting patterns of some terrestrial birds in DantaForest Range, northern Gujarat, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 1(3): 170-173.
Copyright: © Nikunj Gajera, S.M. Dave &
N.A. Dharaiya 2009. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows
unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction
and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of
publication.
Acknowledgement:One of the authors is thankful to the Director, Gujarat Forest Research
Institute, Gandhinagar for financial assistance. Thanks are also due to the Range Forest
Officer, Danta Range for permission and all necessary
help during the fieldwork.
For
Tables, Figures & Image – click here
The nesting of
terrestrial birds in Gujarat has not been documented in detail, and information
for northern Gujarat (71059’-73058’E & 23026’-24039’N) is especially
scattered. The few reports that exist
(Ali 1945; Abdulali 1962; Himmatsinhji1968; 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., Soniet 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 region’s 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 2401’24’’-24037’30’’N
& 72015’45’’-7301’30’’E 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 Jessoreand Balaram Ambaji wildlife
sanctuaries makes it an important site for long-term conservation of the
region’s wildlife. The dry deciduous and
thorn forest (Sub type: 5A/C3 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 biogeographicclassification 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 400C), 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 90C. 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 nest-sites 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. BayaWeaver 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, whileCelastrus paniculatus,Butea monosperma andAcacia 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 typhoidesand Typha angustifoliawere the predominant hosts of Plain Prinia and
Black-breasted Weaver, respectively. Bank Myna, which usually nest in burrows excavated in earth-cuttings, 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 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.
References
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Bombay Natural History Society 59: 655-658.
Ali, S. (1945). The Birds of Kutch. Oxford University Press, Bombay,
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Ali, S. (1996). The Book of Indian Birds. Bombay Natural History
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Himmatsinhji, M.K. (1968). Some interesting migrants in the Kutch. Journal of Bombay
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Palmes, P. & C.
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