Breeding site records of three sympatric vultures in a mountainous cliff in Kahara-Thathri, Jammu & Kashmir, India
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The current communication deals with the breeding records of three sympatric vultures, viz., Himalayan Vulture Gyps himalayensis, Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus, and Bearded vulture Gypaetus barbatus from a mountain cliff in Kahara, Thathri, a part of upper Chenab catchment in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Made of twigs and lined by dry grass, the nests mostly east-facing, were built on the ledges or in cavities and small caves on cliffs well protected from predators. The inaccessibility, rugged topography (for nesting) and the abundant food base (gorals, monkeys, langurs, pikas, and rodents) make it an ideal nesting location for the vultures. Authors suggested that intensive studies are required to be taken up on the resource apportionment and influence of habitat variables (climate, terrain, disturbance) on the nest site characteristics in such rugged landscapes.
Article Details
Authors own the copyright to the articles published in JoTT. This is indicated explicitly in each publication. The authors grant permission to the publisher Wildlife Information Liaison Development (WILD) Society to publish the article in the Journal of Threatened Taxa. The authors recognize WILD as the original publisher, and to sell hard copies of the Journal and article to any buyer. JoTT is registered under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY), which allows authors to retain copyright ownership. Under this license the authors allow anyone to download, cite, use the data, modify, reprint, copy and distribute provided the authors and source of publication are credited through appropriate citations (e.g., Son et al. (2016). Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the southeastern Truong Son Mountains, Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam. Journal of Threatened Taxa 8(7): 8953–8969. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2785.8.7.8953-8969). Users of the data do not require specific permission from the authors or the publisher.
References
Ali, S. & S.D. Ripley (1968). Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Vol. I. Oxford University Press, Bombay.
Aykurt, A. & C.O. Kiraç (2001). Apparent predation attempt by a Lammergeier Gypaetus barbatus on Black Vulture Aegypius monachus chick in Turkey. Sandgrouse 23: 140.
Bertran, J. & A. Margalida (2002). Territorial behavior of Bearded Vultures in response to Griffon Vultures. Journal of Field Ornithology 73: 86–90.
BirdLife International (2006). Livelihoods and the environment at Important Bird Areas: listening to local voices. Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International, 40pp.
BirdLife International (2008). Understanding local needs: the role of Important Bird Areas in peoples livelihoods. http://www.birdlife.org. Downloaded on 15 June 2020
BirdLife International (2017a). Gyps himalayensis (amended version of 2017 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22695215A118594518. Downloaded on 16 June 2020. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN. UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22695215A118594518.en
BirdLife International (2017b). Gypaetus barbatus. (amended version of 2017 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22695174A118590506. Downloaded on 23 June 2020. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22695174A118590506.en DOI: https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22695174A118590506.en
BirdLife International (2019). Neophron percnopterus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22695180A90559652. Downloaded on 21 June 2020. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22695180A90559652.en DOI: https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22695180A90559652.en
BirdLife International (2020). IUCN Red List for birds. http://www.birdlife.org. Downloaded on 14 June 2020.
Blanco, G., J.M. Traverso, J. Marchamalo & F. Martinez (1997). Interspecific and intraspecific aggression among Griffon and Cinereous Vultures at nesting and foraging sites. Journal of Raptor Research 31: 77–79.
Cuthbert, R.J., M.A. Taggart, V. Prakash, M. Saini, D. Swarup, S. Upreti, R. Mateo, S.S. Chakraborty, P. Deori & R.E. Green (2011a). Effectiveness of action in India to reduce exposure of Gyps vultures to the toxic veterinary drug Diclofenac. PLoS ONE 6(5): e19069. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0019069. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0019069
Cuthbert R.J., D. Ruchi, S.S. Chakraborty, S. Kumar, S. Prakash, S.P. Ranade & V. Prakash (2011b). Assessing the ongoing threat from veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to Critically Endangered Gyps vultures in India. Oryx 45: 420–426. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605311000135 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605311000135
eBird (2020). https://ebird.org/region/IN-JK. Electronic version accessed on 14 June 2020.
Ferguson-Lees, J. & D.A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the world. Christopher Helm, London, 872pp.
Fernández, C. & J.A. Donázar (1991). Griffon Vultures Gyps fulvus occupying eyries of other cliff-nesting raptors. Bird Study 38: 42–44.
Grimmett R., C. Inskipp & T. Inskipp (2011). Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. Helm Field Guides. Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm, London, 528pp.
Hertel, F. (1994). Diversity in body size and feeding morphology within past and present vulture assemblages. Ecology 75: 1074–1084.
Konig, C. (1983). Interspecific and intraspecific competition for food among old world vultures, pp. 153–171. In: Wilbur, S.R. & J.A. Jackson (eds.). Vulture Biology and Management. University of California Press, Berkeley, USA, xxii+550pp.
Margalida, A. & D. Garcia (1999). Nest use, interspecific relationships and competition for nests in the Bearded Vulture Gypaetus barbatus in the Pyrenees: influence on breeding success. Bird Study 46: 224–229.
Mundy, P., D. Butchart, J. Ledger & S. Piper (1992). The vultures of Africa. Acorn Books and Russel Friedman Books: Randburg and Halfway House (South Africa), 460pp.
Naoroji, R. (2006). Birds of Prey of the Indian Subcontinent. Om Books International, India, 692pp.
Pascual, J. & J.M. Santiago (1991). Egyptian Vultures steal food from nestling Griffon Vultures. Journal of Raptor Research 25: 96–97.
Petrides, G.A. (1959). Competition for food between five species of East African vultures. Auk 76: 104–106.
Prakash, V., R.E. Green, D.J. Pain, S.P. Ranade, S. Saravanan, N. Prakash, R. Venkitachalam, R. Cuthbert, A.R. Rahmani & A.A. Cunningham (2007). Recent changes in populations of resident Gyps vultures in India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 104(2): 128–135.
Prakash V., M.C. Bishwakarma, A. Chaudhary, R. Cuthbert, R. Dave, M. Kulkarni, S. Kumar, K. Paudel, S. Ranade, R. Shringarpure & R.E. Green (2012). The Population Decline of Gyps Vultures in India and Nepal Has Slowed since Veterinary Use of Diclofenac was Banned. PLoS ONE 7(11): e49118. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0049118 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0049118
Prakash, V., T.H. Galligan, S.S. Chakraborty, R. Dave, M.D. Kulkarni, N. Prakash, R.N. Shringarpure, S.P. Ranade & R.E. Green (2019). Recent changes in populations of Critically Endangered Gyps vultures in India. Bird Conservation International 29(1): 55–70. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270917000545 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270917000545
Praveen, J., R. Jayapal, & A. Pittie (2016). A checklist of the birds of India. Indian Birds 11(5&6): 113–172.
Sharma, N., S.K. Rana, P. Raina, R. Amir & M.A. Kichloo (2018). An annotated checklist of the birds of upper Chenab catchment, Jammu & Kashmir, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 10(7): 11869–11894. http://doi.org/10.11609/jot.3464.10.7.11869-11894
Steenhof, K. & M.N. Kochert (1988). Dietary responses of three raptor species to changing prey densities in a natural environment. Journal of Animal Ecology 57: 37–48.
Swan G., V. Naidoo, R. Cuthbert, R.E. Green, D.J. Pain, D. Swarup, V. Prakash, M. Taggart, L. Bekker, D. Das, J. Diekmann, M. Diekmann, E. Killian, A. Meharg, R.C. Patra, M. Saini & K. Wolter (2006). Removing the threat of Diclofenac to Critically Endangered Asian vultures. PLoS Biol 4(3): e66. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0040066 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0040066
Wiens, J.A. (1977). Competition and variable environments. American Science 65: 590–597.