Wintering range and time extension of Hodgson's bush chat Saxicola insignis Gray in India

2 Pages·1997·1.4 MB·

by  Goutam Narayan

572 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST SOCIETY, Vol. 94 (1997)
WINTERING RANGE AND TIME EXTENSION OF HODGSON BUSH
20. S
CHAT SAX1COLA INSIGNIS GRAY IN INDIA
(With one text-figure)
The Hodgson’sbushchatSaxicola insignis Mumbai).
Gray is a rare and little known winter visitor to During our stay at the Manas Wildlife
N
India occurring mostly in the Gangetic plains of Sanctuary 26° 40' to 26° 50' lat. and 90° 50' to
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, ranging from Ambala 91° 25' E long, inthe Barpeta dist. ofAssam, we
in the west to northern Bengal in the east. Also sawthis migratorybird everyyearbetween 1986
A
found in the Nepal terai and Sikkim foothills, it and 1989. few ofthesebirds were first seen in
has not been recorded east of Jalpaiguri duars March 1986 at the Kasimdaha grasslands near
(which extends to 89° 50' E long.). S. insignis is Basbari. The collared bush chat S. torquata is
reported to arrive in October and leave in March the most common chat of these vast open
or early April for its breeding grounds in the grasslands dominated by Saccharum narenga
mountains ofKazakhstan and Mongolia (Salim and Imperata cylindrica, interspersed with tall
Ali and S.D. Ripley, 1983 handbook of the birds elephant grass and very few trees, where we were
of India and Pakistan. Oxford University Press, studying the Bengal florican Houbaropsis
Fig. 1 Range extension of Hodgson's bush chat Saxicola insignis
.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
573
bengalensis. This isthe firstrecord ofS. insignis not see the birds in that area till the third week
for northeastern India and the state ofAssam. of April when a few were also seen in similar
S. insignis, though similar in appearance grasslands at Kapurpora on the Manas river. In
to S. torquata, can be distinguished from the 1989 too, they were first sighted in April and
latter by its bigger size, larger white wing-patch disappeared within a couple ofweeks. Since the
and white throat contra black; in the males the bird is quite rare, it is possible that we could
black ofthe head tapers to avery thinblack line have missed some individualswintering inareas
on the nape in insignis, whereas the whole not frequented by us in the last two seasons.
breadth ofthe nape in torquata is black. With a Our sightings indicate that S. insignis are
littlepracticewe were abletotell eventhefemales passage migrants through Manas Wildlife
ofthe two species apart. They kept singly or in Sanctuary on their way back to the breeding
loose pairs, perching on the top of low (c. 75 - grounds. Unlike S. torquata, they do not appear
150 cm) grass or shrubs and often going to the here in September-October. However, a few
groundto feed. The same patch ofgrasslandwas individuals stay in Manasbetween end February
occupied by them for days and they defended and April during the spring migration.
these small territories by chasing away any This note was prepared while working
intruding torquata. Photographs of these birds underthe BNHS Endangered Species (Florican)
were taken. Project. We wish to thank Ms. Joanna van
In 1986, the last bird was seen on 24th Gruissen who helped us at Manas in 1986.
April, which is a wintering time extension for
GOUTAM NARAYAN
S. insignis inIndia as Ali andRipley (1982) have July 10, 1996
LIMA ROSALIND
recorded 10th April as the previous last date. In
1987, the firstbird was seen on 28thFebruary in Bombay Natural History Society,
the same area and they remained there till the Hornbill House, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road,
fourth week ofApril. However, in 1988, we did Mumbai-400 023.
21 HERPETOFAUNA OF PHULWARI KI NAL WILDLIFE SANCTUARY,
.
RAJASTHAN STATE
Phulwari Ki Nal Wildlife Sanctuary is During rainy season, it sometimes becomes
situated in Udaipur district at the southernmost visible in the receding water. At present their
end of the state. The flora of the sanctuary is nearest known habitat is Jhadol Dam. Perhaps
mainly deciduous. Phulwari kiNal is among the they also breed there. I saw three in and around
lesser known sanctuaries of India, but it is rich the sanctuary area from July 1993 to July
infloral and faunal diversity. Except for Sharma 1995,
(1995), we have little knowledge about the Family: EMYDIDAE
herpetofauna ofthis sanctuary. McCann (1946) (2) Kachuga tecta (Gray): Seen in the
has recorded nearly 17 reptilian species from Mansi-Wakalriver. Very common inlakes ofthe
Mt. Abu, Phulwari ki Nal. In the present paper, district. It likes to sit on emergent outcrops
the reptiles seen from 1986 to August 1995 in specially during winter.
this sanctuary are listed below: Family TRIONYCHIDAE
Family: CROCODYLEDAE (3) Lissemyspunctata Lacepede: Uncom-
Crocodylus palustris Lesson: Once mon, seen in wells and ponds. Flesh
(1)
verycommon intheMansi-Wakal river, themain is consumed by tribals for treatment of
and principal river of the sanctuary, now rare. tuberculosis.