Nesting habits of Baya Weaver Ploceus philippinus (Linnaeus, 1766) on power and television cables in the agricultural landscape of Kallakurichi district, Tamil Nadu, India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8323.16.6.25345-25359Keywords:
Abnormal nests, associated birds, clay deposits, communal roosting, nest material, nest predation, threatsAbstract
The nesting habits of Baya Weaver Ploceus philippinus with nesting site (e.g., power and television cables), source of nest materials, various developmental stages of nests, abnormal nests, number of individuals and their association with other bird species, and threats to their nests were studied between March and September 2021 in the agrarian landscapes of 42 villages in Kallakurichi District, Tamil Nadu. A total of 155 nest colonies containing 1,725 nests of various developmental stages and 1,993 adult birds were counted on power/television cables. The number of nests per colony found varied from one to 57. The average number of nests per colony was eleven. Baya Weaver had preferred power/television cables as nesting sites in the study area in spite of availability of potential nest-supporting trees, such as Cocos nucifera and Borassus flabellifer within 500 m radii from cables bearing nests. Birds used fibres of sugarcane leaves (Saccharum officinarum) for the construction of nests. Out of 778 helmet stage nests observed, 90% (n = 716) helmet stage nests had clay deposits on their inner walls and no clay deposits were found in the remaining 10% (n = 62) helmet stage nests. Eleven types of abnormal nests constituted 17% (n = 286) of the total nests. Sixteen other bird species (e.g., birds of order: Passeriformes, Coraciiformes, Piciformes, Cuculiformes and Columbiformes) were found associated with the individuals of Baya Weaver. These bird species strictly shared similar roosting and foraging grounds. The avian predators such as House Crow Corvus splendens, Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos, Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus, Rufous Treepie Dendrocitta vagabunda, Coucal Centropus senegalensis, and Shikra Accipiter badius had damaged the nests, eggs and chicks. The study revealed that about 1.1% nests (n = 197) were probably damaged by these avian predators. Power cables in the study sites had provided suitable nesting sites for Baya Weavers. The causes for utilization of power cables as nesting sites in larger geographical areas require further studies.
References
Ali, S. (1931). The nesting habits of the Baya (Ploceus philippinus). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 4 (4): 947–964.
Ali, S., Vijayakumar & C.V. Ambedkar (1956): Notes on the Baya weaver Bird. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 53(3): 381–389.
Ambedkar, V.C. (1958). Notes on the Baya breeding season. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 55(1): 100–106.
Ambedkar, V.C. (1964). Some Indian weaver birds: a contribution to their breeding biology. University of Bombay, Bombay, pp. 75.
Ambedkar, V.C. (1969). Notes on the Baya, “Ploceus philippinus” (Linnaeus) on telegraph wires. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 66(3): 624.
Bhargava, R. (2017). Status of Finn’s Weaver in India: Past & Present. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, pp. 1–124.
BirdLife International (2016). Ploceus philippinus: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016:eT22719005A94606190. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22719005A94606190.en. Accessed on 05 August 2021.
Blyth (1845). Notices and descriptions of various new or little known species of birds. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 16(1): 553.
Borkar, M.R. & N. Komarpant (2003). Observations on the nesting ecology of Baya Weaver bird (Ploceus philippinus Linn.) in South Goa, with notes on aberrant nest designs. Ecology, Environment and Conservation 9(2): 217–227.
Chace, J.F. & J.J. Walsh (2006). Urban efforts on native avifauna: a review. Landscape Urban Planning 74(1): 46–69. https://doi.10.10.1016/j.landurbplan.2004.08.007
Collias, N.E. & E.C. Collias (1962). An Experimental Study of the Mechanisms of Nest Building in a Weaverbird. The Auk 79(4): 568–595. https://doi.org/10.2307/4082640
Crook, J.H. (1963). A Comparative Analysis of Nest Structure in the Weaver Birds (Ploceidae). IBIS international Journal of Avian Science 105(2): 238–262. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-7998.919X.1963.tb024980.x
Crook, J.H. (1964). Field experiments on the nest construction and repair behaviour of certain Weaver birds. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 142(2): 217–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1964.tb04624.x
Davis, T.A. (1973). “Mud and dung plastering in Baya nests”. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 70(1): 57–71.
Davis, T.A. (1976). Selection of nesting trees and the frequency of nest visits by Baya weaver birds. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 71(3): 356–366.
Delacour, J. (1947). Birds of Malasia. The Macmillan Company, New York, 382 pp.
Dewar, D. (1909). The nesting habits of Baya. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 19(3): 627–634.
Gadgil, M. (1972). The functions of communal roosts: relevance of mixed roosts. Ibis 114: 531–533. https://doi/10.1111/j.1474-919X.1972.tb00855.x
Gadgil, M. & S. Ali (1975). Communal Roosting habits of Indian Birds. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 72(3): 716–727.
Kallakurichi (2021). www.kallakurichi.nic.in. Government of Tamil Nadu, Kallakurichi district profile. Accessed on 20 November 2021.
Kirkpatrick, K.M. (1952). Baya (Ploceus philippinus Linn.) nests on telegraph wires. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 52: 657.
Mathew, G. (1976). A Sporadic Bird Pest, Ploceus philippinus (Linnaeus) attacking paddy plants at Mannuthy, Kerala. Research Journal of Kerala 15(1): 96.
Mishra, N. (2004). Abnormal nest of the Black-breasted weaver Ploceus benghalensis. Newsletter for Ornithologists 1(3): 45.
Pandian, M. (2018). Baya Weaver Bird: Nest colonies and abnormal nests of Ploceus philippinus in Tindivanam Taluk, Villupuram District, Tamil Nadu, India. Bird-o-soar 24. In: Zoo’s Print 33(12): 15–27.
Pandian, M. (2021). Nesting habits of Baya Weaver Ploceus philippinus (Linnaeus, 1776) in rural Arakkonam Taluk, Vellore district, Tamil Nadu, India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 118: 03–17. https://doi.org/10.17084/jbnhs/2021/v118/144638
Pandian, M. (2023). Nest construction and repairing habits of Baya Weaver Ploceus philippinus (Aves: Passeriformes: Ploceidae) in the agricultural landscape of Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 15(9): 23843–23856. https://10.11609/jott.8149.15.9.23843-23856
Pandian, M. & S. Natarajan (2018). Studies on the habitats of Baya Weaver Bird, Ploceus philippinus (Linnaeus) (Aves: Passeriformes: Poceidae) in an agrarian landscape in Vellore district, Tamil Nadu, India. Asia Pacific Journal of Research 87(1): 196–201.
Sharma, S.K. (1985). A study on qualitative aspects of abnormal nesting in Baya Weaver Bird Ploceus philippinus Linn. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 60: 50–54.
Sharma, S.K. (1988). Buttressed nest of Baya Weaver Bird Ploceus philippinus (Linn.). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 85(2): 432.
Sharma, S.K. (1989). Host plants used by Baya Weaver Bird Ploceus philippinus (L.) for nesting in Udaipur district, Rajasthan. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 86: 453–454.
Sharma, S.K. (1995). A study of abnormal nests of Baya Weaver bird Ploceus philippinus (L.) in Rajasthan. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 92: 1205–1211.
Subramanya, S. (1982). Baya nests on telegraph wires Newsletter for Birdwatchers 22(6): 3–4.
Toland, B. (1990). Use of power ploes for nesting by Red-Tailed Hawks in SC Florida. Florida Field Naturalist 18(2): 52–55. https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/ffn/vol18/iss3/2
Ulman, Y. (2020). Weaver birds coexisting with humans. Science Reporter 57(9): 60–16.
Ward, P. & A. Zahavi (1973). The importance of certain assemblages of birds as “information for food finding”. Ibis 115: 517–534.
Wood, C.A. (1926). The nest of the Baya Weaver bird. The Auk 43(3): 295–302.
Zahavi, A. (1971). The function of pre-roost gatherings and communal roosts. Ibis 115: 106–109.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 M. Pandian
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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.
