Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 December 2021 | 13(14): 20201–20208
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6329.13.14.20201-20208
#6329 | Received 24 June 2020 | Final
received 19 December 2021 | Finally accepted 21 December 2021
Observations on the foraging behavior of Tricoloured Munia Lonchura
malacca (Linnaeus, 1766) and its interaction with
pearl millet fields in Villupuram District, Tamil Nadu, India
M. Pandian
No. F1901, Taisha, Natesan Nagar West, Virugambakkam,
Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600092, India.
pandian.m14@gmail.com
Editor: M. Zafar-ul
Islam, Prince Saud Al Faisal Wildlife Research Center,
Taif, Saudi Arabia. Date
of publication: 26 December 2021 (online & print)
Citation: Pandian, M. (2021). Observations on the foraging behavior of Tricoloured Munia Lonchura
malacca (Linnaeus, 1766) and its interaction with
pearl millet fields in Villupuram District, Tamil Nadu, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 13(14): 20201–20208. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6329.13.14.20201-20208
Copyright: © Pandian 2021. Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: None.
Competing interests: The author
declares no competing interests.
Author details: M. Pandian has completed MSc., PhD., in
Botany and BLIS from University of Madras and Bachelor of Education (BEd) from Annamalai University, Chidambaram and now serves
in Tamil Nadu Police Department. His area of interest is ecology and nesting
biology of birds and published a few papers on House Sparrows, Baya Weavers, Munias, Ring-necked Parakeets, and Indian
Flying Fox.
Acknowledgements: I thank D. Balaji (Villupuram),
S. Kamarajan (Minnal), and
V. Sumathi (Chennai) for assistance in data collection, S. Suresh, Assistant
Professor (University of Madras), and A. Giridharan (Minnal) for help with data analysis and photography.
Abstract: Study of foraging behaviour of
Tricoloured Munia Lonchura malacca and its interaction in pearl millet crop fields
was conducted in six villages of Tindivanam taluk,
Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu from April to June 2020. A total of six flocks
containing 1,640 birds of Tricoloured Munia were enumerated. The number of birds
per flock varied from 60 to 800. They never split into small flocks and
maintained the same flock size throughout the day. Tricoloured Munias used nine
plant species for roosting. Twelve quadrats (0.3 ha) each of 5 m x 5 m size
were laid in the pearl millet fields covering six villages. A total of 10,295
spikes were counted in these plots, and of these 3,785 spikes (36.7%) were
found damaged by foraging munias. The maximum damage of 99.6% was observed in Thenputhur village. Along with Tricoloured Munia, five
other granivorous birds, such as Baya Weaver Ploceus philippinus,
Indian Silverbill Euodice
malabarica, Common Babbler Turdoides
caudata, Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula
krameri, and White-rumped
Munia Lonchura striata
were also found foraging without any inter-specific competition. Farmers
adopted various traditional bird repellent techniques such as beating utensils,
throwing pebbles/soil on the crop, placing scarecrows, tying multi-coloured
ribbons, and hanging bottles to chase the birds away.
Keywords: Bird repellent, flocking behaviour, granivorous birds, inter-specific competition,
roosting plants.
INTRODUCTION
The Tricoloured Munia Lonchura malacca
(Aves: Passeriformes: Estrildidae) is a small,
finch-like, granivorous bird. It is native to India and Sri Lanka and was
introduced into Costa Rica, Haiti, Venezuela, Japan, Jamaica, and Portugal (BirdLife International 2018). This species is considered
endemic to the Indian subcontinent and distributed in the Peninsula from
Gujarat to Sri Lanka (Ali & Ripley 1987; Grimmet
et al. 1999; Rasmussen & Anderton 2005). Tricoloured Munia population is
adaptable to a wide range of habitats such as open agricultural lands,
woodlands, grasslands, and scrub lands. The global population size of this
species has not been quantified by BirdLife
International. The IUCN Red List classified this species as ‘Least Concern’ (BirdLife International 2018). Though this species is widely
distributed in the dry plains of India, only a few authors have recorded the
presence of this species in Carnatic region (Cole & Brown 1840), and recent
records of the species is from Karur (Salahudeen et
al. 2013; Deepan et al. 2017), Coimbatore (Daniel 2017), Villupuram districts,
and a few records are from Rajasthan as well (Jamdar
1998; Sharma 1999; Bhatnagar 2013) (https://ebird.org/species/trimun).
India is a major producer of
pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) and 83% of the country’s
production occurs in Rajasthan, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Haryana
(www.millets.dactw.nic.in). In Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu is the major
producer of pearl millet (Agricultural Times 2016).
Incidents of flocks of L. malacca gleaning grains in paddy fields were reported
in Colombia (Cubillos et al. 2010),
Philippines (Llaguno 1975; Reidinger
& Libay 1979), and Rajasthan (Bhatnagar et al.
2013). Literature survey revealed that studies are not available on the
foraging behaviors of L. malacca
and its interaction with pearl millet crop fields. Hence, to fill this gap,
I decided to take up a study on foraging and roosting behaviors
of L. malacca and its interaction with pearl
millet crop fields in Tindivanam taluk, Villupuram
district, Tamil Nadu.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study Area
The present study was carried out
in six villages viz., Thenputhur, Pathirapuliyur,
Elayandapattu, Veedur, Mozhiyanur, and Nedi in Tindivanam taluk in Villupuram district (11.939 N, 79.492
E) of northeastern Tamil Nadu (Figure 1). The
district spreads over 3,715 km2, with a human population of c.
20,90,000 (Figure 1; www.viluppuram.nic.in). Agriculture is the primary
occupation of the people. The major crops of the area are paddy Oryza sativa
L., jowar Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench., pearl millet Pennisetum
glaucum (L.) R.Br., finger millet Eleusine coracana Gaertn., sugarcane Saccharum
officinarum L., groundnut Arachis
hypogaea L., and green gram Vigna radiata
(L.) R.Wilczek. The maximum and minimum temperatures
in the district are 36oC and 20oC, respectively and the
average annual rainfall is 1,060 mm (www.viluppuram.nic.in).
Methods
Based on
information from two persons, suitable habitats were identified, where
significant population of Tricoloured Munia persists in six villages of Tindivanam taluk of Villupuram district. These habitats
were surveyed from April to June 2020 between 0545 and 1000 h, and again
between 1500 and 1800 h, when the birds are usually active during pearl millet
cultivation in Villupuram district usually commences, i.e., Chithiraipattam
every year sowing in March—April and harvest in May—June. Hence, I have
selected this period for study. The number of individual birds on foraging and
roosting sites was determined using total count method (Bibby et al. 2000). A
total count of individuals of this species was taken when the birds were in
foraging and roosting sites. Tricoloured Munia usually live as a flock, roost
on nearby vegetation in croplands during night, and move immediately after
sunrise around adjacent croplands searching for food. Hence, the number of
birds in each flock was counted when they were roosting and foraging. The
foraging behaviors, movements of each flock and
inter-specific relationships with other granivorous birds were observed in each
village continuously for three days using binoculars without causing any
disturbance to the birds. The types of trees/shrubs/herbs used by birds for
roosting were ascertained. An extent of two-acres of pearl millet crop fields
was randomly selected in each of the six villages. A total of twelve acres of
pearl millet crop fields were selected for random sampling. Two 5 m x 5 m size
quadrats / plots were laid in the selected sites, i.e., two plots per village.
Out of the two plots, one was along the edge of crop field and while the other
was in the interior of the field. The number of spikes and the number of
damaged spikes in each quadrat were manually counted. The time spent by each
flock on crop while foraging was measured using the stopwatch feature in smart
phones. The exact locations of the croplands where foraging activities of birds
occurred were noted using Garmin Etrex 20x GPS
device. Photographs and videos were taken using Nikon P1000 digital camera. The
bird repellent techniques were recorded by direct observations in the crop
fields in six villages. No questionnaire survey was done in this regard. The
collected data were tabulated, analyzed and shown as
graphical representation.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A total of six flocks of
Tricoloured Munia, one each in each village were identified. A total of 1,640
individuals of Tricoloured Munia were enumerated (Table 1). In addition to
flocks of Tricoloured Munia, other granivorous species, such as Baya Weaver (240), Indian Silverbill
(26), Common Babbler (19), Rose-ringed Parakeet (11), and White-rumped Munia (8) were also found foraging in pearl millet
crop fields. The smallest flock size was 60 birds in Nedi
village, while the largest of 800 birds was recorded in Thenputhur
village (Table 1).
The study on the behavior of the flocks reveals that the individuals of
Tricoloured Munia strictly followed communal roosting and foraging. During the
entire study period, the existing flocks never split into many smaller groups.
They moved as flocks from morning to evening and maintained the flock size
throughout the day. The flock size varies from village to village (Table 2).
The flocking behavior varies and the birds took
various complicated formations to reach pearl millet crops as well as roosting
sites. It was observed that the flocks fly in close formations by performing
different manoeuvres. They commence their daily foraging between 0545 h and
0615 h and conclude their foraging before 1800 h. No foraging activities were
observed between 1130 h and 1500 h, when the flocks moved to adjacent
vegetations for roosting. Continuous observations on the movements of the flock
in each village consecutively for three days revealed that the birds never go
beyond a 2-km radius from the targeted two-acres pearl millet crop. A total of
104 foraging visits of flocks were studied in the six villages. The mean number
of visits to pearl millet crop was 10 in the forenoon (0545–1000 h), and seven
in the afternoon (1500–1800 h). The total number of foraging visits to crops
per day varies from a minimum of 11 to a maximum of 21. In each foraging visit,
they stay on the spikes from 10 sec to 80 sec, glean millets and take sudden
flight to adjacent places for temporary roosting. Analysis of the duration over
the 104 foraging visits showed that the maximum number of visits fell between
two duration segments: 41 to 50, and 51 to 60 sec, which accounted for 43.6% of
the total visits. This indicates that the optimum time the birds preferred to spend
and forage on the crop fields was around 50 seconds (Table 2; Figure 2).
The foraging flocks roost
temporarily on powerline cables that cross the crop fields. During non-foraging
periods and nights, they use nearby vegetations as roosting sites. This bird
uses nine species of plants for roosting. They are: Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC., Lantana camara
L., Canthium coromandelicum L., Pithecellobium
dulce (Roxb.) Benth.,
Abutilon indicum (Link) Sweet., Azadirachta indica A.Juss., Vachellia nilotica (L.) P.J.H.Hurter & Mabb., Saccharum officinarum
L., and Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. The duration of stay of this bird on spikes is
short as compared to the duration spent roosting on trees / shrubs / herbs. The
reason could be that being habituated to disturbance caused by farmers by
banging utensils or other means to chase them away from crops, the birds avoid
stay on the crops for long duration while foraging. Threat of prolonged
exposure to predators while foraging on open crop fields could be another reason.
According to eBird India (www.ebird.org), about 21
avian predators occur in Villupuram district. But the common predators observed
during the present study in six villages were House Crow Corvus
splendens, Large-billed Crow Corvus
macrorhynchos, Shikra Accipiter
badius, Sparrowhawk Accipiter
nisus, White-eyed Buzzard Butastur teesa, and Rufous Treepie Dendrocitta
vagabunda. Gadgil &
Ali (1975) stated that the habit of communal roosting helps them to communicate
information about source of food and protection from predators. The present
observation of huge flock size, communal roosting pattern and foraging enmasse on pearl millet crops probably helps to
exchange information about source of food and approach of predators as stated
by Gadgil & Ali (1975).
Pearl millet is a 90-day crop and
maturing kernels start after 60 days of sowing. The study reveals that the
flocks started to visit the spikes after the 65th day when the
grains were in milky stage and continued their visit to the crop till
harvesting. Frequent attacks on the crops and gleaning of the grains leave the
spikes devoid of grains (Image 1). In order to assess the extent of damage to
grains in the spikes, a total of 10,295 spikes were sampled in all the 12
quadrats (0.3 ha) in six villages and among them, 36.7% spikes (n= 3,785) were
found damaged by Tricoloured Munia. Out of 12 quadrats, six quadrats were laid
towards the margin of the field and another six quadrats were laid in inner
side of the field. Analysis reveals that out of a total 36.7% damages to spikes
(3,785), more damages to spikes (1,960 spikes; 19%) were found in the inner
side and less damages were reported to spikes (1,825 spikes;17.7%) occurred
towards the peripheral region. It indicates that the birds avoid perching and
foraging on the peripheral parts of the field. The reason could be the frequent
visits of farmers along the bunds and roads and chasing the birds using
traditional bird repellent techniques. The maximum damage was observed in Thenputhur (99.6%), followed by Veedur
(28.8%), Nedi (28.6), Mozhiyanur
(28.1%), Elayandapattu (26.7%), and Pathirapuliyur (16.1). Out of the 1,596 spikes counted in
two quadrats (total 50m2area) in this village, 1,564 spikes (99.6%)
were found damaged. Reason for the greater percentage of damage could be the
availability of sugarcane crops in the adjacent land which provide conducive
habitat to the flock for roosting during non-foraging periods and to hide when
the farmers chase them away from pearl millet crop. On the 90th day,
almost all the spikes in the two-acre land in Thenputhur
village were found devoid of any grains and hence, the land holder ploughed the
land without harvesting the empty spikes. Hence, foraging was found to cause
nearly 100% losses of grains in the two-acre crop. According to the Directorate
of Millets Development, the yield of pearl millet grains per acre (rainfed
land) in India is c.485 to 600 kg (www.millets.dactv.nic.in). The loss of
grains in two-acre crop in Thenputhur village would
be 1,942 kg to 2,428 kg. But in the remaining five villages the damage to
spikes was found to be only between 16.1% and 28.8%. This could be because of
the small flock size consisting of birds ranging in number from 60 to 300. Kale
et al. (2012) had stated that in India, the damage to pearl millet and sorghum
crops by birds is a major concern. The present study on loss of pearl millet
grains by granivorous birds matches the findings of Kale et al. (2012) that the
loss of pearl millet crop by birds is a major concern.
The study reveals that among the
foraging flocks of Tricoloured Munia, a few individuals of other granivorous
birds such as Baya Weaver Ploceus
philippinus, Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri,
Common Babbler Turdoides caudata, White-rumped Munia Lonchura striata,
and Indian Silverbill Euodice
malabarica were also observed in the pearl millet
crops (Image 2a,b,c). Inter-specific competition between Tricoloured Munia and
other species during foraging on pearl millet crops was not observed during the
study period (Table 2). Rao & Dubey (2006) had stated that Rose-ringed
Parakeet, Baya Weaver, Indian Silverbill,
Common Babbler, Common Myna (Acridotheres
tristis), and Lonchura
spp had caused considerable damage to the pearl
millet crops in Gujarat (0.3% to 40%), Andhra Pradesh (1.5% to 9%), Punjab (4%
to 5%), and Delhi (60%). In the present study also, it was observed that along
with flocks of Tricoloured Munia, other granivorous species such as Baya Weaver (240), Indian Silverbill
(26), Common Babbler (19), Rose-ringed Parakeet (11), and White-rumped Munia (8) were also foraging on pearl millet crops
and hence this matches the findings of Rao & Dubey (2006). It indicates
that all these granivorous species co-exist and forage on targeted crops in the
agricultural ecosystem without any inter-specific competitions between them
over sharing of food. Further quantitative study in a wider area is required to
estimate the exact extent of damage caused to grain production per hectare by
these granivorous birds (Image 1; Image
2a,b,c).
Bird repelling techniques adopted
by farmers
Techniques used to repel birds
from crops in the six villages reveals that farmers had uniformly adopted the
practices of beating utensils / iron barrels and throwing pebbles / soil
randomly on the crops to chase the birds from morning to evening except the
period from 1200 h to 1500 h when the birds were usually non-active. In Nedi village, the farmers tied reflective multi-coloured
pieces of cloth on dry twigs and erected them in the fields. In Thenputhur village, empty bottles were hung by strings to
make noises when wind causes them to collide with each other. Two scarecrow
structures each in the shape of human figures were found fixed in the crop
fields in Veedur and Nedi
villages. Subramanya (1982) had stated that farmers in India use shining
ribbons, noise making devices, and scarecrows to repel birds from crop lands.
The present observation of farmers using scarecrows, multi-coloured ribbons,
and making noise by beating utensils / iron barrels as bird repellent
techniques matches with the observations of Subramanya (1982). Even after
adoption of these traditional techniques by farmers, the flocks containing
Tricoloured Munia and other granivorous birds had attacked the crops and caused
loss of grain productions in the study area (Image 2c,d,e). Hence, a detailed
study is required on the impact of various traditional bird repellent
techniques on the flocks. No incidents of killing of birds or use of any lethal
techniques against granivorous birds were observed in the study area. This
shows that even after undergoing economic loss due to the birds, the farmers
had eco-friendly attitude by not harming the birds.
CONCLUSION
A total of 1,640 individuals of
Tricoloured Munia were counted in six flocks covering six villages. Tricoloured
Munia caused damages to the spikes ranging from 16.1% to 99.6% resulting in
economic loss to the farmers. Other granivorous birds such as Baya Weaver, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Common Babbler, White-rumped Munia, and Indian Silverbill
were also found foraging along with Tricoloured Munia. This indicates that the
region provides a suitable habitat to diverse avifauna. Further quantitative
study in a wider area is required to estimate the exact extent of damage caused
to grain production per hectare by these granivorous birds. Based on my
observations, the following measures are proposed:
Local community, particularly
land holders, and agricultural workers should be sensitized to understand the
need to preserve the precious populations of avifauna.
A detailed systematic survey on the population
status, behavior of flocks and impact of these birds
on the pearl millet crops covering the entire state may be carried out to help
in drafting an action plan to conserve the avifauna of agro-ecosystem.
Eco-friendly approaches by using
traditional and non-lethal techniques have to be adopted for protecting pearl
millet crops from depredatory birds.
Efforts must be taken to study
birds’ habitat and formulate policies to reduce bird-farmer conflicts and
promote biodiversity conservation.
Table 1. Details of quadrats,
number of flocks, number of birds per flock, and damages to spikes of pearl
millet in the study area.
|
Name of the village |
Total Cultivated area (acres)
studied |
No. of quadrats laid (5m x 5m) |
No. of flocks |
No. of birds in a flock |
Total no. spikes counted |
Total no of spikes damaged |
Percentage of damaged spikes |
1 |
Thenputhur |
2 |
2 |
1 |
800 |
1596 |
1564 |
99.6% |
2 |
Pathirapuliyur |
2 |
2 |
1 |
180 |
1850 |
298 |
16.1% |
3 |
Elayandapattu |
2 |
2 |
1 |
300 |
1810 |
485 |
26.7% |
4 |
Veedur |
2 |
2 |
1 |
200 |
1560 |
450 |
28.8% |
5 |
Mozhiyanur |
2 |
2 |
1 |
100 |
1680 |
473 |
28.1% |
6 |
Nedi |
2 |
2 |
1 |
60 |
1795 |
515 |
28.6% |
Total |
12 |
12 |
6 |
1640 |
10291 |
3785 |
36.7% |
Table 2. Details of different
species of birds, numbers, mean visits and duration of foraging in the study
area.
|
Name of the village |
No. of flock |
No. of Tricoloured
Munia in the flock |
Other granivorous birds |
Mean no. of visits to crop per
day |
Duration of foraging in each
visit (seconds) |
||||
No. of White-rumped Munia |
No. of Baya
Weaver |
No. of Rose-ringed Parakeet |
No. of Yellow Common Babbler |
Indian Silver bill |
||||||
1 |
Thenputhur |
1 |
800 |
3 |
40 |
6 |
8 |
7 |
18 |
10-70 |
2 |
Pathirapuliyur |
1 |
180 |
2 |
30 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
21 |
10-70 |
3 |
Elayandapattu |
1 |
300 |
0 |
50 |
2 |
5 |
11 |
19 |
20-60 |
4 |
Veedur |
1 |
200 |
0 |
30 |
1 |
6 |
2 |
18 |
20-60 |
5 |
Mozhiyanur |
1 |
100 |
0 |
60 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
18 |
10-60 |
6 |
Nedi |
1 |
60 |
3 |
30 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
11 |
20-80 |
Total |
6 |
1640 |
8 |
240 |
11 |
19 |
26 |
- |
|
For
figures & images - - click here
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