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MISCELLANEOUS NOTES SIGHT RECORD OF THE LITTLE PIED FLYCATCHER 26. FICEDULA WESTERMANNI SHARPE IN ANDHRA PRADESH Pittie (1986) reported the first sighting of wooded stream (Pittie pers. comm.). The the little pied flycatcher Ficedula westermanni individual I sighted was on a teak (Tectona N & Sharpe from the Narsapur forest (17° 45' grandis) tree near the Forest Rest Flouse about 78° 17' E) in Andhra Pradesh. On Nov. 10, 1997, 150 m from the Gundlakama river that originates while birding on the Gundla Brahmeshwaram a short distance away. m Plateau (Eastern Ghats, at 775 above msl) in Prabhakar et al. (1994) reported its the Gundla Brahmeshwaram Metta Wildlife presence in the Western Ghats, particularly from Sanctuary located south of the Nagarjunasagar- the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The bird recorded Srisailam Tiger Reserve (15° 53-16° 42' N; 78° by me was most likely a winter vagrant and a 30'-79° 28' E), I saw a small bird with black upper new record ofthe species for the Eastern Ghats plumage and white underparts, white wing patch, in Andhra Pradesh. a long, broad, white supercilium and the sides thank Mr. Aasheesh Pittie of the I of tail white near the base. The bird was later Birdwatchers Society of Andhra Pradesh for identified as the little pied flycatcher. The encouragement and the CSIR, New Delhi for a specimen could not be photographed as my fellowship. colleague with the camera was some distance away and by the time he reached the site the bird July 5, 2000 C. SRINIVASULU had disappeared! Wildlife Biology Section, According to Ali and Ripley (1983), this Department ofZoology’, species winters up to Surguja and is a frequent Osmania University, visitor along well-wooded streams. Earlier Hyderabad 500 007, records in Andhra Pradesh are also along a well- Andhra Pradesh,India. References & Ali, S. S.D. Ripley (1983): Handbook ofthe Birds of District, AndhraPradesh.J. Bombaynat. Hist. Soc. India and Pakistan (Compact Edition). Oxford 83(3): 665-666. UniversityPress,New Delhi. Prabhakar, A., V. Gokula& G. Umapathy (1994): A new Pittie, A. (1986): Occurrence ofthe little pied flycatcher recordoflittlepiedflycatcherfromNilgiri Biosphere (Muscicapa westermanni) in Narsapur, Medak Reserve. N.L.B. W. 34(3): 33. BLUE-THROATED FLYCATCHER CYORNIS RUBECULOIDES 27. VIGORS IN THE THAR DESERT On October 6, 1999 at Kishangarh, observed and photographed it over a period of Jaisalmer district near the Indo-Pak border, we two hours from 1450 to 1700 his. noticed a flycatcher in a Prosopis chilensis tree The bird was an adult male with dark blue at the Border Security Force (BSF) outpost. The upperparts including exposed portions of wings m A bird (not more than 3 away) was immediately and tail. contrasting azure patch was quite recognized as a male blue-throated flycatcher prominent on the lesser wing-coverts. The Cyornis rubeculoides Vigors. It wfas making forecrown, ear coverts andthroat were dark blue. typical at ial sorties to swoop on insects, The throat looked almost black when the bird returning each time to a different perch. We was perched in the shade. Demarcation of the 534 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 99(3), DEC. 2002 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES blue throat from the orange-rufous breast and desert and Rajasthan. However, there is one pectoral region was distinct. The belly and vent recent record from Rajasthan (Robson 1997). A were white, washed with buff. The bill was black blue-throated flycatcher was recorded by Paul with visible rectal bristles. Holt at Bharatpur in February 1996. Our sighting According to Ali and Ripley (1996) it at Kishangarh constitutes the first record of the winters in scattered areas, in the hills ofsouthern species from the Thar desert and the second from India to Belgaum southwards to Kerala, Tamil Rajasthan. Nadu, the Eastern Ghats, Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal, the plains and foothills of Bangladesh June 9, 2000 HARKIRAT SINGH SANGHA and southern parts of Sri Lanka. Grimmett et al. B-27, Gautam Marg, (1998) describe the distribution and status as Hanuman Nagar, breeding in the Himalayan foothills from Jaipur 302 021, Pakistan (Margalla hills) east to Arunachal Rajasthan, India. Pradesh, and northeast India, wintering in East RISHAD NAOROJI Himalayan foothills, south to Bangladesh, Godrej Bhavan, southwest India and Sri Lanka, with scattered 4-A, Home Street, Fort, records from elsewhere in India. Both these Mumbai 400 001, works do not record the species from the Thar Maharashtra, India. References Ali, S. & S.D. Ripley (1996): Handbook ofthe Birds ofIndia and Pakistan, Vol. 8, Second Edn. Oxford University New Press, Delhi. & Grimmett, R., C. Inskipp T. Inskipp (1998): Birds ofthe Indian Subcontinent. Christopher Helm, London. Robson, C. (1997): From the Field. India. OrientalBirdClub Bull. 25: 63-64. 28. UNUSUAL BEHAVIOUR OF PURPLE SUNBIRD NECTARIN1A ASIATICA On a routine visit to the Lingambudhi lake now showed its unhappiness by turning its head and its surroundings, I happened to witness towards the sunbird and opening its beak as if unusual activity ofthe purple sunbird Nectarinia to scare it away. This action prompted the asiatica (Latham). sunbird to move offthe branch, but it continued The purple sunbird, in breeding plumage, pulling at the tail feathers by hovering over the was perched on an Acacia leucophloea tree. On bee-eater. the same branch, a small bee-eater Merops The bee-eater changed its position to avoid orientalis Latham was also present at a distance this annoyance, but the sunbird would not relent. ofabout halfa metre. Both were simultaneously Unable to withstand the continued disturbance, taking off, presumably after invisible insects, and the bee-eater chased the sunbird out of my occupying the same place after every sortie. After view. some sorties, the sunbird sat by the side of the bee-eater and started picking up something from July 10, 2000 A. SHIVAPRAKASH RMP the rump and under tail ofthe bee-eater. I could 48, Hemavathi, Colony, not make out what the sunbird was pecking at. Kuvempunagar, This continued for 5-6 minutes. Mysore 570 023, Then the sunbird started pulling the tail Tamil Nadu, feathers ofthe bee-eater. The disturbed bee-eater India. JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 99(3), DEC. 2002 535