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) MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 10. ALBINISM IN WHITE-BREASTED KINGFISHER HALCYON SMYRNENSIS (LINNE) FROM INDIA On August 7, 1999, my attention was drawn and KeoladeoNational Park,Bharatpur(Rahmani,A.R. towards a white bird that flew past our speedingjeep pers. comm.). This is the second report of the same between Sambajiguda and Jamini villages in Jainur from India. mandal, Adilabad district ofAndhra Pradesh, north of Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary (19° 05'-19° 20' N and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 78° 32'-79° 12' E). A thorough search of the area resulted in the sighting of an albino White-breasted I thank Dr. V. Nagulu and the Head, Department Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis (Linne) that was of Zoology, for encouragement and facilities; Chief observed from 1218 to 1226 hrs. It was frequently Wildlife Warden (Andhra Pradesh Forest Department) chasinganotherindividual ofthesamespecieswith loud for permission; Divisional Forest Officer and other cackling calls. The birds remained in the vicinity ofa staff of Kawal Wildlife Sanctuary for hospitality small stream flowing between fallow fields and scrub. and help; and Aasheesh Pittie forvaluablediscussions. Alarmed at being followed constantly, the birds flew Fellowshipgrant byCSIR,NewDelhi isacknowledged. towards a nearby hillock where they could not be located. Photographs taken are notofprintable quality, June 5, 2002 C. SRINIVASULU butfortunatelythe bird was successfullyvideographed. WildlifeBiologySection, Albinismamongaviansisnotan uncommonfeature DepartmentofZoology, OsmaniaUniversity, and hasbeen reported formany species earlier(Pittie, A. Hyderabad 500 007, pers. comm.). Albinism in White-breasted Kingfisher Andhra Pradesh, India. hasbeen reported from Sri Lanka(Gunawardana 1993) Email: [email protected] REFERENCE Gunawardana, J. (1993): Description of an albino white-breasted kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis). Ceylon Bird Club Notes, June: 56-57. DUETTING CALLS OF THE HEART-SPOTTED WOODPECKERS 11. HEMIC1RCUS CANENTE (LESSON) Thevariouscallsofthe Heart-spotted Woodpecker duettingcalls on at least 32 different dates. These calls (Hemicircus canente have been summarized by Short are a fast repeated series of “twee twee twee”, quite (1982),andAli andRipley(1983). In boththesestandard loud and sharp, and audible at fairly considerable references, there is no mention ofa duetting call-note, distances from the birds (c. 200-250 m). These duets which I have heard frequently during my study of go on for anything between 5-6 seconds to about a woodpeckers atthe Peechi-Vazhani Wildlife Sanctuary minute, non-stop. Often, both birds of the pair are in Kerala. Both these works mention a “twee twee present next to one another or are within a few metres twee” call-note (originally described by Betts 1934), of each other when the calls are uttered. Most often, which is sometimes “extended into a trill ofseven or the calls are given from a perch, but they are also eight notes.” Short (1982) has interpreted this call as occasionallyheard whenoneofthe birdsfliestojoin its beingequivalenttotheaggressivetrill call oftherelated mate from a nearbytreeorbranch. I have seen duetting H Gray and Buff Woodpecker ( . concretus), which is birdsoften sittingnexttooneanother. Thebirdsassume found in Southeast Asia. This call of H. concretus an uprightposturewith theirwingsslightlydroopedand contains a series of fast-repeated “pit” call-notes. He often face each otherwhilecalling. also commented that the “twee twee twee” call-note is Duetting calls were heard mostly between similartothethin, plaintive“su-sie”, acall given with a September and December (59%), and rarely after short bow, repeated up to 10-12 times. February (13%). I have heard the birds duet near their I would describe the “twee twee twee” notes nests. On one occasion, a male which came to relieve referred to by Betts, as the “duetting” notes and these its incubating mate, called from a nearby tree. The are quite different from the “su-sie” call-notes. During female promptly responded by flying out ofthe nest- my study at Peechi (1991-1993), I have recorded the hole, and they duetted for 5-6 seconds. After this, the J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 101 (1), Jan.-Apr. 2004 157 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES male entered the nest-hole and the female flew away. inaudible. The duetcalls mayactas asubstituteforthe In contrast, the “su-sie” calls are uttered even drumming and may serve to announce the occupation when the birds are alone and they are accompanied by ofa territory. bows and cocking the head. Though several such calls are repeated, this is done slowly, one at a time with an ACKNOWLEDGEMENT interval ofone or two seconds each. Inmyopinion,theduettingcallsoftheheart-spotted This study was supported by the Wildlife woodpecker could serve two purposes: the first, as a Conservation Society,New York, USA. recognitioncall, perhapsalsotomaintainthepairbond, SANTHARAM and second, being loud and sharp, as a territorial call. March 21, 2002 V. This species, as well as the related Gray and Buff InstituteofBird StudiesandNatural History, Woodpecker, are known to drum uncommonly (Short RishiValley517532, 1982). 1 too heard the Heart-spotted Woodpecker Chittoordistrict, drummingonlyontwooccasionsintheentirestudyperiod Andhra Pradesh, India. of 18 months. The drumming was weak and rather Emai1: [email protected] REFER NCES Ali, S. & S. D. Ripley (1983): A Handbook ofBirds ofIndiaand Soc. 37: 197-203. Pakistan.CompactEdition,OxfordUniversityPress,Bombay. Short,L.L.(1982): Woodpeckersoftheworld.DelwareMuseumof Betts,F.N.(1934): SouthIndianwoodpeckers.J Bombaynat Hist Natural History, Greenville, Delware, U.S.A. WOODPECKER HOLES USEDFORNESTING BY SECONDARY CAVITY- 12. NESTERS IN THE WESTERN GHATS, INDIA The useofwoodpeckerholes bysecondarycavity- nested in the nest-holes ofthe Greater Golden-backed nestingbirdsiswellknown(Short 1979).Yetnospecific Woodpecker, whose mean nest-hole diameter was information exists forthe WesternGhats,India. During 12.7 cm, while the smallest bird (Yellow-throated astudyofwoodpeckers atthe Peechi-Vazhani Wildlife Sparrow)nestedmorefrequently inthenest-cavitiesof Sanctuary, Kerala, I came across eight species of theBrown-cappedPygmyWoodpecker.Thischoicemay secondary cavity-nesting birds using old holes offive be related to competition. Birds nesting in large cavities woodpecker species (Table 1). stand a greaterchance ofevictionbya largercompetitor. There was a close relation between the size In addition, bees were seen occupying two nests (weight) ofthe bird and the diameter ofthe nest hole ofthe Greater Golden-backed Woodpeckerand one of entrance. All the birds weighing more than 100 gm theLesserGolden-backed Woodpecker.Yellow-throated Table 1 Details of secondary cavity-nesters occupying woodpecker nests : Woodpecker species Secondary cavity-nesters MG SB YN MA PY (12.7)* (7.4)* (6.8)* (4.7)* (3.4)* n = 19 n = 6 n = 3 n = 9 n = 10 Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis) (169 gm)" 2 - - - - ( “ Spotted Owlet (Athene brama) (114 gm) 1 - - - - Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis) (110 gm)“ 3 - - - - " Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri) (104 gm) 1 - - - - Jungle Myna (Acridotheres fuscus) (83 gm)" - 1 - - - ” Grey-headed Starling (Sturnus malabaricus) (40 gm) - - 1 - - “ Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis) (35 gm) - 1 - - - Yellow-throated Sparrow (Petronia xanthocollis) (18 gm)" - - - 1 4 MG = Chrysocolapteslucidus (GreaterGolden-backed Woodpecker), SB = Picusxanthopygaeus (Little Scaly-bellied Green Woodpecker), YN = Picuschlorolophus(Small Yellow-napedWoodpecker), MA= Dendrocoposmahrattensis(Yellow-fronted Pied Woodpecker), PY = Dendrocopos nanus (Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker), *Nest entrance diameter estimate in cm (Santharam 1995), **Body-weight ofthe bird (Ali and Ripley 1983). 158 J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 101 (1), Jan.-Apr. 2004