New Sites for the Globally Threatened Yellow throated Bulbul Pycnonotus Xantholaemus (Jerdon) in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Southern India

2004·2.4 MB·

by  S Thejaswi

)
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
to the middle storey in the canopy along with the oriole and July29,2002 S. THEJASWI
fed moving along thin branches. 639,“SibiaHouse”, 16thCross,
The Ashy Minivet is probably a rare winter visitor to ‘B’Block,Vijayanagar3rdStage,
the Subcontinent (Grimmett et al. 1998, Thejaswi and Mysore570017,
Shivaprakash 2004) rather than “accidental winter vagrant” Karnataka, India.
(AliandRipley 1987).Therehavebeenrecordsfrom Madras Email:[email protected]
(now Chennai), in Tamil Nadu (regular in Guindy National
MANOHARA
Park)andSriharikotaintheNelloredistrictofAndhra Pradesh M.C.
(Santharam 1988, 1990), Periyar National Park (Robertson 114(1stFloor),2ndMain,
1992), Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary (Thejaswi and Opp. PandurangaTemple,
Shivaprakash2004)andTrivandrum(Kumar 1995)inKerala. Vivekanandanagar,
This is the first record ofthe bird from Karnataka state and Mysore570023,
hence ofinterest. Karnataka, India.
REFERENCES
Ali,S.&S.D. Ripley(1987):CompactHandbookoftheBirdsofIndia divaricatus(Raffles)in Kerala.J. BombayNat. Hist Soc. 88(3):
and Pakistan together with those ofBangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan 455-456.
andSriLanka.Secondedition.OxfordUniversityPress,NewDelhi. Santharam, V. (1988): OccurrenceoftheAshyMinivet(Pericrocotus
Grimmett, R., C. Inskipp & T. Inskipp (1998): Birds of the Indian divaricatus in Madras city (South India). J. Bombay Nat. Hist.
subcontinent. Christopher Helm, London. Soc. 85(2): 430-431.
Kazmierczak,K.(2000):AFieldGuidetotheBirdsofIndia,SriLanka, Santharam, V. (1990): The Ashy Minivet. Blackbuck 6(2): 10-11.
Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Maldives. Om Book Thejaswi,S.&A.Shivaprakash(2004):OccurrenceoftheAshyMinivet,
Service,NewDelhi. Pericrocotus divaricatus (Raffles) at Parambikulam Wildlife
Kumar, C.S. (1995): Unforgettable moments with theAshy Minivet. Sanctuary, Kerala. J. BombayNat. Hist. Soc. 101(3): 456-457.
NewsletterforBirdwatchers35(3):49. Zacharias, V.J. &A.J. Gaston(1993): ThebirdsofWynaad,southern
Robertson,A. (1992): Occurrence oftheAshy Minivet, Pericrocotus India. Forktail8(February): 11-23.
20. NEW SITES FOR THE GLOBALLY THREATENED YELLOW-THROATED BULBUL
PYCNONOTUS XANTHOLAEMUS (JERDON) IN KARNATAKA, KERALA AND
TAMIL NADU, SOUTHERN INDIA
TheYellow-throated BulbulPycnonotusxantholaemus TheYellow-throatedBulbulwaslocatedatArasanakatte
is a globally threatened, “Vulnerable” species (Collar et al. State Forest, Arsikere hills (Hirekal State Forest), Bandipur
1994,BirdLifeInternational2001),locallyoccurringoverparts NationalPark,Bettadapurahill,Chamundihill,MelkoteTemple
of eastern and southern Karnataka, south-western Andhra Wildlife Sanctuary, Nagamangala and Bettadahalli near
Pradesh, and northern and western Tamil Nadu with stony Somwarpet,all in Karnataka.
foothills scrub as its favoured habitat (Ali and Ripley 1987, Arasanakatte State Forest: The Arasanakatte State
BirdLifeInternational2001).Thisrarepeninsularendemichas Forest(12° 1TN, 76°28' E) isa reserveforestsituatedsome
recently been the subject of studies on status assessment 20 km southwest ofMysore city on the Mysore-H.D. Kote
andhabitatpreference(Subramanyaetal. 1995).Thebreeding road(Manandavadi road)in Mysoredistrict. Itissome20sq.
biology of the bird has been studied only recently km of dry deciduous scrub with Capparis divaricatus
,
(Venkataswamappa and Chaitra 1999) although much more Cadabafruticosa Dichrostachys cirterea Lantana camara
, ,
needstobeknown(BirdLife International2001). and Pterolobiumhexapetalumasthedominantspeciesalong
Most of the sites for the Yellow-throated Bulbul in with Canthium parviflorum Randia dumetorum Ziziphus
, ,
KarnatakaarelocatedintheBangaloreRuraldistrict(BirdLife oenoploea and a few trees of Acacia nilotica, Acacia
International2001).Alimitedsurveyconducted in2001-2002 leucophloea. Ficus bertghalensis and Atalantia sp. apart
of selected areas with suitable habitat in Chamarajanagar, fromagroveandscatteredtreesoftheubiquitousEucalyptus.
Hassan, Kodagu, Mysore and Mandya districts ofsouthern SixYellow-throatedBulbulswerelocatedonanisolated
Karnataka resulted in seven new localities for the species, rockyhillockknown as Bettadabeedu, located inthewestern
including the first from the Western Ghats of Karnataka. end ofthe forest, on June 19, 2002. The bulbuls were seen,
Opportunistic bird watching has added a site each at the separately, in the foothills ofthis hillock in dense scrub.
ChinnarWildlifeSanctuaryinKeralaandDimbuminTamilNadu. Arsikere Hills: The Maale KalluTirupati (Amaragiri)
458 J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 101 (3), Sep-Dec 2004
,-,
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
hillsarelocated intheHirekalState Forest,a250sq.kmscrub Acacia coccinea, Acacia suma, Atalantia sp.. Citrus sp.,
forest nearArsikere (13° 30' N, 76° 15' E), in north-eastern Schefflerasp.,Santalumalbum,Plectroniadidyma, Wrightia
Hassan district. They are an isolated chain of high rocky tinctoria. Ficus sp. and interspersed by bushes of
outcrops with a maximum height of 1,275 m. A thick scrub Stachytarpheta mutabilis and Cymbopogon grass on rocky
junglecoverstheslopesandwesternfoothills,but isdenuded slopes. The species, though encountered on most visits to
at several places. Vegetation is concentrated in relatively the area, is nevertheless uncommon when compared to the
inaccessible and steep valleys and ravines and is primarily Red-vented, Red-whiskered and White-browed Bulbulswith
Ziziphus, Capparis, Chomelia Pterolobium and Canthium an average sighting ofthree individuals per visit. It has been
,
interspersed with trees like Morinda Cochlospermum and observed feeding on the berries of Azadirachta indica,
,
Ficus. Scutiasp.,Flacourtiaindica,Lantanacamara,Erythroxylon
TheYellow-throatedBulbulwasnotedfairlyfrequently monogynum, Coccu/ushirsutus,PachygoneovataandAzmia
in thesejungles in December2001 and May 2002. Ten birds tetracantha.
were seen and three heard late in the afternoon, c. 1630- Melkote Temple Wildlife Sanctuary: The species is
1800hrsonMay27,2002. well-distributed overthis49.82 sq. kmSanctuary(12° 36'N,
Bandipur National Park: Several sightings in dry 77° 30' E), found in thickjungle around the three principal
deciduous scrub in the northern boundaries ofthe Band—ipur hills,Narayanadurga,KarikallguddaandMelkotebetta. Itwas
National Park (11° 20'-l 1° 40' N, 76° 20'-76° 32' E) in firstobservedinJune2000atKarikallgudda,wheretwobirds
—
November 1997(twoseen),June 1999(sixseen,oneheard) were seen and many more heard. Narayanadurga is the best
and inthe Moyargorgearea inthewestern end ofthe park in place to observe this species and up to twenty-five
June 2001 (seven seen, three heard) and January 2002 (two individuals have been observed in an hour ofbirding. It has
seen, four heard). The species has been recorded in the been recorded here sinceAugust2001. The vegetation in the
neighbouring Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary (Gokula and foothills is denuded scrub ofchiefly Dichrostachys cinerea
Vijayan 1997). andZiziphus sp. overrun by thickets ofLantanacamaraand
Bettadapurahill:TheBettadapurahill(12°28'N,76°5' interspersed with trees of Terminalia chebula, Strychnos
E),anisolated,conicalandsymmetricalrockypeak, islocated potatorum.Acaciasp., Plectroniadidymaand stunted Ficus
inthePeriyapatnatalukaonthewesternendofMysoredistrict. trees in rocky crevices. The bulbul was also observed in the
Only two sightings of single birds, one each in December Narayanadurga valley in fairly thick deciduous forest of
2000and200 inthehillprecincts,withmostofthefoothills Shorea roxburghii, Mallotus philippensis, Wrightia
1,
vegetation destroyed to a great extent. Surviving vegetation tinctoria, Schefflera sp., Gmelina arborea, Gardenia sp.,
include Ziziphus a few Canthium bushes, Erythroxylon climbers ofStephania sp. and Pachygone ovataand a dense
,
monogynum, EuphorbiaantiquorumandSynediniumgrantii undergrowth of Lantana camara and Securinega sp. The
the latter two bordering paths and agricultural fields in the vegetation at Karikallgudda is broadly similar to
immediateneighbourhood. Narayanadurga without as many trees, but that at Melkote
Chamundihill: TheYellow-throated Bulbul washeard betta is overrun by Lantana camara and afforested with
inthe Chamundi hill (12° 18'N, 76° 33' E) ofMysore city in Eucalyptussp. Birdswereseenfeedingon berriesofLantana
March 1992(S. SubramanyaperBirdLife International2001). camara, Cissus quadrangularis, Scutia sp., Stephania sp.
Regularsightingshavebeen alongafoothill road leading left and Cissampelos pariera. Isolated sightings ofsingle birds
fromnearthefootofthe 1000steps,alongthestepsatdifferent havebeen invegetation nearandoverhangingdrystreambeds
points, in the so-named “Horse-shoe valley” in the eastern and light forest in undulating areas away from the hills.
part ofthe hill, along the Uttanahalli road from the Nandi Nagamangala: Two birds were observed at Aalathi
monolith and evergreen scrub around Nandi. The sightings Betta,asmallhillc.2kmfromNagamangala(12°50'N,76°45'
have been in different vegetation types: the birds in the E)onApril3,2002(M.Mohan Kumar,pers. comm.)inLantana-
foothills and along the Uttanahalli road were seen in Pterolobium-Ziziphus-Scutia scrub.
Canthium-Capparis-Dichrostachys-Pterolobium-Dodonea- Bettadahalli,nearSomwarpet: This isthe firstrecord
Erythroxylon-Lantana-Scutia scrub with scattered trees of ofthespecies intheKarnatakaWesternGhatsand incidentally
Cassia siamia, Flacourtia montana, Plectronia didyma the first record ofthe species west of76° E. The species was
Boswelliaglabra, Cochlospermum religiosum Chloroxylon observed in scrub that separated a degraded coffee estate
,
swietenia, Morinda tinctoria, Azadirachta indica. Acacia from nearby rice-fieldssome20 km northwestofSomwarpet
auriculiformis, several Ficus sp. and Eucalyptus sp. Around and closetoasmall settlementcalled Bettadahalli in Kodagu
Nandi, individuals were seen in vegetation composed of (Coorg)districton March 16,2001. Onlyonebirdwasseen in
J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 101 (3), Sep-Dec 2004 459
)
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
theareawhich is intheWesternGhatsfoothillsandcomposed MelkotehillsandBettadapurahill istheabsenceofintervening
primarily of moist deciduous vegetation with some border hillsorsuitablehabitatfromthenearestrelativelycontiguous
scrub ofAcanthaceae and Rubiaceae species. habitatintheEasternGhatsofsouth-easternKarnataka. This
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary: The Yellow-throated could suggest that the species was once more widespread
Bulbul was observed in dry deciduous scrub in eastern and than it is today and could have been found in scrubjungles
north-easternpartsoftheChinnarWildlifeSanctuarysituated awayfrom hills.Thegradual conversionoftheplainsjungles
intheIdukkidistrictofKerala. Fourbirdswereseen inMarch into agricultural lands limited most relatively undisturbed
1998(B.R. Sheshagiri, comm.),threebirdseachinMarch scrub forests to the hilly areas and the bulbul could have
2000 (A. Shivaprakash,pers. comm.) and April 2002 (pers. thenbeenrestrictedtohillandfoothillsscrub. Birdsobserved
obs.). The species has been recorded once at Monkey falls away from hills at Melkote appear to support this premise,
area intheneighbouringAnnamalai hills (Kannan 1992) and butmore studies are requiredto prove it forcertain.
more frequently in Bodiyakanur, on the road to Munnar The bird observed near Somwarpet is indicative ofa
(BirdLifeInternational2001). relict, possiblyasmall population. Foothillsareaswith good
Dimbum: Eighteen birds were observed in degraded scrub were also surveyed in the vicinity in March 2001, but
dry deciduous forest near Dimbum on June 14, 2002 and 24 didnotyieldanybirdofthespecies. Moreover,withthegreat
birds were seen in evergreen scrub on the steep reduction in forest cover in the area and the subsequent
Satyamangalam Ghat downhill towards Satyamangalam on replanting with coffee to the lowest slopes has forced the
June 15, 2002. Dimbum (c. 1,250 m) isa settlement ofa few bird to vegetation bordering the coffee estates as in the
huts located on the southern end ofthe Biligirirangan hills Shevaroys(Karthikeyan 1995).
c. 10kmfromSatyamangalam(11°31'N,77° 15'E)inthePeriyar In the isolated and fragmented habitats like the
district of Tamil Nadu. The vegetation at Dimbum is the Arasanakatte State Forest, Arsikere hills, Bettadapura hill,
interface between a degraded dry deciduous forest ofteak Chamundi hill and Aalathi Betta, the pressure on foothills
(Tectona), bamboo (Dendrocalamus and Lantana thickets forest is immense and rising. While land in the formerthree
and evergreen scrub of Plectronia didyma, Schefflera sp., sites is being diverted foragriculture, the lattersite is facing
Canthium sp. and Ziziphns sp. The typical vegetation on the encroachmentsfromnearbyashramsandresidential localities.
Satyamangalam ghatslopescan be characterised asthe same Forests atall sites includingthe scrubjungles in the northern
evergreen scrub, but a few deciduous trees ofAilanthus boundaries ofthe BandipurNational Park facethedangerof
excelsa Boswelliciglabra Chloroxylon swietenia and other vegetation losstofuelwoodcollectionbyresidentsofnearby
, ,
species. At the foothills, most vegetation is Dodonea, villages. This reaches apeak in summerwhenthe vegetation
Erythroxylon,Lantana,Ziziphusetc.,rapidlyreplacedbythe is dry, just before the breeding season of the birds that
mesquite, Prosopisjulijloraaway from the hills. coincides with the onset of the monsoons. The Melkote
The bulbuls were fairly common both along and away Temple Wildlife Sanctuary, an importantsite forthespecies,
fromroadsidebushes inmiddleelevationandhigherelevation is severely affected by a shortage of staff for effective
ontheGhat,atamaximumofc. 1,250maroundDimbum.This monitoringand prevention ofencroachments and vegetation
is probably an altitudinal record for the species. The species loss. The bulbul survives in good numbers in the remote
has been previously documented from the northern parts of areasofthePark,relativelyawayfromhumanhabitationsand
theBiligiriranganhills(Karthikeyanetal. 1995) disturbances.
Discussion: Thespeciesappearstobecommon inonly
two ofthe nine sites listed here, parts ofthe MelkoteTemple July29,2002 S. THEJASWI
Wildlife Sanctuary and the Satyamangalam Ghat jungles, 639,“SibiaHouse”, 16thCross,
although regular surveys in the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary ‘B’Block,Vijayanagar3rdStage,
may result in more encounters. Mysore570017,
An interestingfeatureofisolatedpopulations likethose Karnataka, India.
ofChamundi hill, Arsikere hills, Arasanakatte State Forest, Email:[email protected]
REFERENCES
Ali,S.& S.D. Ripley(1987):CompactHandbookoftheBirdsofIndia BirdlifeInternational(2001):Threatened BirdsofAsia:theBirdLife
and Pakistan together with those ofBangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan International Red Data Book. BirdLifeInternational,Cambridge,
and Sri Lanka. Second edition. Oxford University Press, New pp. 1969-1973.
Delhi. Collar,N.J.,M.J.Crosby&A.J.Stattersfield(1994): BirdstoWatch
460 1 Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 101 (3), Sep-Dec 2004
.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
2-TheWorld ListofThreatened Birds. BirdLife International, Nadu.J. BombayNat. Hist. Soc. 92(2): 266-267
Cambridge. Karthikeyan,S.,J.N. Prasad&T.S.Srinivasa(1995):Yellow-throated
Gokula, V. & L. Vijayan (1997): Birds of the Dr. J. Jayalalitha Bulbul, Pycnonotusxantholaemus (Jerdon) at the Biligirirangan
(Mudumalai)WildlifeSanctuary,India.Forktciil12(Augusl): 107- hills, Karnataka. J. BombayNat. Hist. Soc. 92(1): 123-124.
117. Subramanya, S., J.N. Prasad & S. Karthikeyan (1995): In search of
Kannan, R. (1992): Yellowthroated Bulbul in the Anaimalai hills. theYellow-throated Bulbul. Sanctuary-Asia 15(5): 68-70.
NewsletterforBirdwatchers32(7-8): 19. Venkataswamappa, M. & M R. Chaitra (1999): Observations of
Karthikeyan,S.(1995):NotesontheoccurrenceoftheYellowthroated nestingYellow-throatedBulbuls. OrientalBirdClubBulletin30:
Bulbul Pycnonotusxantholaemus (Jerdon) at Shevaroys, Tamil 31-32.
OBSERVATIONS ON THE RUSTY-RUMPED GRASSHOPPER-WARBLER
21.
LOCUSTELLA CERTHIOLA (PALLAS) AT MYSORE, KARNATAKA
The Rusty-rumped Grasshopper-Warbler Locustella AliandRipley(1987),onthevocalizationofthespecies,
certhiola,formerlyknownasthePallas’GrasshopperWarbler, note “In winter only an occasional “chi-chirrr" is uttered.”
was observed at Lingambudhi lake (12° 16' N, 76° 37' E), in But the bird was noted to have three other calls; a low 'fit,
Mysore (12° 18'N, 76° 39' E), between November 1999 and tit” occasionally heard when feeding, a babbler-like chatter
March2000. ItwasfirstnotedonNovember 10, 1999 inatwo “katkatkatkaf’repeatedinafrenzywhenexcited,especially
acre plot oftall grass near the lake. The bird, an adult, was once when the bird was seen chasing a Indian Great Reed-
identified by the presence ofa rufous rump, a greyish crown Warbler Acrocephalus stentoreus and an occasional,
,
heavilystripedwithblack, adistinctivewhitesuperciliumand somewhat loud “chirr”. The second ofthese calls was heard
darkbrowntailwithwhite-tip. Bold,blackstreaksontheback towards mid-March when the bird was noticed to become
were restricted and did not extend to the rump which was somewhat territorial, chasing other large warblers and even
relatively clear ofmarks. Throat and underparts were white bushchats from the grass patch.
and unmarked, with a rufous wash on the flanks and vent. The Rusty-rumped Grasshopper-Warbler is recorded
TheStreakedGrasshopper-WarblerLocustellalanceolataand as a locally common winter visitor (Ali and Ripley 1987).
PaleGrasshopper-WarblerLocustellanaeviaarebothheavily It has been recorded only once from southern India, a
streakedonthechest, flanks, undertail covertsand rump,and specimennettedatKuttanad intheAlleppeydistrictofKerala
lackingtherufousrumpandwhite-tippedtail.Theformeralso in May 1963 (George and Matthew 1965). Sugathan and
differsinbeingsmallerandhavingstreaksonthroatwhilethe Varghese(1996)record itfromtheThattakad Bird Sanctuary
latter is more or less the same size, but much paler and less in Kerala, but see Santharam (2000). The Streaked
accentuated streaks. Grasshopper-Warbler is recorded as a scarce winter visitor
Overfivemonthsofsurveillanceresulted inthealmost frompartsofeasternandnorthern India(Aliand Ripley 1987)
daily observation of the bird in the same locality and we witharecentrecordfromSri Lanka(Hoffmann 1996),whilethe
familiarized ourselves with its activities. The bird was not PaleGrasshopper-WarblerisawidespreadwintervisitorinIndia,
difficult to observe in the early morning between 0700 hrs, especiallytheWesternGhatsandhasalsobeenobservedatthe
around when it would first appear, and 0830 hrs. It would same site as the Rusty-rumped in Mysore. This observation
move through the grasses during the rest ofthe day, seldom from Mysore is the second from southern India and provides
making an appearance on the top or elsewhere. It would be detailsofvocalization hitherto not recorded.
visible again inthe evenings, but fora short period, between
1715 to 1745 hrs that advanced further with the season and July27,2002 S. THEJASWI
daylight conditions. Although the Locustella warblers are 639,“Sibia House”, 16lhCross,
knownto be“great skulkers” (Ali and Ripley 1987),the bird ‘B’Block, Vijayanagar3rdStage,
wouldoftenrisetothetop oftall grassesand keepa look-out Mysore 570017, Karnataka, India.
for a few seconds before disappearing deep into the grass Emai dumaketu@rediftmai .com
1: I
again. It would do this quite often, and would sometimes
huntkeepingtothe top ofthe grasses. It wastwice observed A. SHIVAPRAKASH
to go up to c. 8 m on a Casuarinatree to feed, although this #478, 3rdCross Road, 8thMain Road,
was unusual and infrequent. On the whole, the bird could be ‘H’ Block, RamakrishnaNagar,
observed fairly well, once located, as it was restricted to a Mysore570022, Karnataka, India.
small area in the grassland. Email: [email protected]
J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 101 (3), Sep-Dec 2004 461