Vultures: What ails them?

There about five species of vultures in India. Three of which are said to be critically endangered. These are the oriental white-backed vulture (Gyps bengalensis), long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus) and the slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris). Two other species - the red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvushave) and the Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus). The vulture population has declined by close to 99% in the last 20 years.

Why vultures are becoming extinct?

1) Diclofelnac

The main reason for the sudden and dramatic decline in vulture population is due to use of vertinary drug called as Dicloflenac. This is used in cattle as a pain reliever. Diclofenac is particularly lethal to vultures as it gets into vultures body when it consumes the carcasses of dead cattle which has been injected with diclofenac within 72 hours of its death. The Vultures stomachs are unable to breakdown this drug and it causes kidney failures and ultimately their death. In some cases, it affects their ability to reproduce. Since March 2005, the drug has been banned for vertinary use in India. However, it continues to be used as verterians use a human form of this drug on cattle. Another Non-steroidal anti inflammatory drug (NSAID), meloxicam, has been found to be harmless to vultures and should prove to be an acceptable substitute for diclofenac. When meloxicam production is increased, it is hoped that it will be as cheap as diclofenac. Another NSAID, Ketoprofen & aceclofenac has been proved equally dangerous for vultures but awareness regarding this hasn't yet increased.

2) Poisoning:

 In some cases, farmers wanting to protect their cattle from attacks from wild animals like tigers, lions, cheetahs and leopards, poison meat. The cats which feed on them die and the vultures which feed on the poisoned meat or the cat which died because of consuming poisoned meat also die as a result.

3) Starvation:

 Another reason for decline in Vulture population near villages and towns is Starvation. Villagers previously used to discard dead cattle at the edges of their villages are now selling the dead cattle to butchers for meat. Vultures which previously depended on dead meat for their subsistence are finding it increasingly hard to find food.

4) Wind turbines:

Wind turbines, heralded as an alternative source of power, has a dangerous side to it. It has been observed by ornithologists that Wind turbines can decapitate and slice vultures into two.

Other causes:

• Electrocution
• Malaria
• pesticides
• lack of nesting trees
• Pardhi community in Maharashtra (called as Wagris in Gujarat) eats vultures. They catch whole flocks and devour them.

Why vultures are important?

1) Decomposing of dead bodies in the wild take anywhere from 3 to 4 times longer in the absence of vultures
2) Decline of vultures contributes to raise of diseases like anthrax, rabies as feral dogs and crows take place of vultures when vultures drastically decline.

Further reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_vulture_crisis

http://www.ted.com/talks/munir_virani_why_i_love_vultures.html

http://cameronmccormick.blogspot.in/2009/07/on-importance-of-vultures.html

http://indiasendangered.com/six-reasons-why-vultures-may-be-dying-in-india/

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-25963100

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20007163

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Vulture-numbers-rise-up-for-first-time-in-20-years-study-shows/articleshow/17187819.cms

http://www.nature.com/news/the-trouble-with-turbines-an-ill-wind-1.10849

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3437583.stm

BNHS- Basic course in ornithology

Dear Friends,
            I haven't been posting as frequently as I would have liked. Well, I have been kept busy because of an online course that I have taken with BNHS (Bombay Natural History Society) entitled "Basic course in Ornithology". I have to say that the course has been quite demanding and has been a great learning opportunity for me. The entire course is managed online through a website called as lore.com and it is a year long in duration. Every month Chapters are posted online which can be read at our pace. There are also a variety of online and offline activities including a year long project work which augments the online course. However, for me, the star attraction has been the five proposed field camps located in the far flung corners of our country like point calimere, Thattekad, Bharatpur & Bigwan which are also the most important birding areas of the country. I suggest this course to anyone with a n interests in birds and also in travel. However, be forewarned, this course can end up costing quite a bit of money with all the travel, staying, accommodation and stuff. I have made an inaugural camp report for the project which I would like to share here for your information and use.

Introduction:

In This report, I have tried to summarise the various activities carried out during the introduction camp. The Introduction camp was held at Conservation education Center of BNHS on 28^th & 29^th of July 2014. I have had several key learnings in all the sessions conducted during the course of the camp and I also got to know a lot of people in the interactions during the activities and also during the breaks. I have also tried to list the key learnings of each activity.

Individual introductions:

Our first event in the introduction camp was the individual introductions we had. When I kept hearing from individual participants about what they do and how they took to birding, I was fascinated and felt quite happy in knowing that I was part of a diverse and well informed group. I look forward to our interactions and knowledge sharing opportunities.

Nature trail-1: with Saurabh

We were divided into two groups. One would be headed by experienced birder, Mr Saurabh and the other was to be headed by similarly experienced Mr. Adesh. I was to go with Mr. Saurabh. Though conventional wisdom tells us that the best time for birding is early in the morning, Saurabh made up for the lack of birds with his knowledge which he was quite happy to share with at various points on our trail (which was ominously called the leopard trail!) As we headed out into the forest area adjoining the CEC, we were told what to look out for when we were out birding. We were told how to identify various songs. We were also asked to come up with mnemonics for the bird calls we hear to help us identify the birds. He suggested some resources that we could use to come up mnemonics. We sighted / heard the following birds during the course of the trail:

1.    House Crow

2.    Jungle crow

3.    Tailor bird

4.    Common Iora

5.    Oriental dwarf king fisher

6.    Oriental magpie Robin

7.    Puff throated babbler

We also learned about the “edge effect” ie., we tend to find more birds along the roads by the sides of jungles than deep inside the jungle because birds which want to move from one part of the forest to the other tend to perch on the trees on the edge before crossing over to the other side of the road.

Introduction to birds: Presentation by Mr. Adesh Shivkar

This presentation was a basically a quick recap of the introduction chapter which was posted on lore.com.  However, it was not without new information. We learnt that Wilson’s storm petrel is the most numerous birds in the world and is sometimes referred to as a mutton bird because it is hunted by hungry sailors for meat. He also told us how the brown headed barbet and the copper smith barbet are expert ventriloquists as they can both throw their voices. He told us how, the once most numerous birds in the world, the passenger pigeons have now become extinct.

Presentation on Bird calls: by Ms. Ketki Marthak

Ms. Ketki had a short and fun presentation on bird calls which left me wanting more. We were first told how different birds make their sound and we also understood the difference between a call and a song. We also learned that by using some mneumonics, we can identify birds by their calls very soon. Some of the mnemonics that she told us is represented below:

S.No	Bird	Call Mneumonic
1	Indian cuckoo	One more bottle
2	Eurasian cuckoo	Cuck-coo
3	Hawk cuckoo	Brain Fever
4	Koel	Cou…  Cou…
5	Ashy Prinia	Jimmy, Jimmy,
6	Puff Throated babbler	I will beat you
7	Lapwing	Did he do it?
8	Grey frankolin	Patela, patella, Kapil dev, Kapil dev
9	Drongo cuckoo	1,2,3,4,5 (Rising crescendo)

 

We also came to know about the interesting phenomenon of mimicry of birds which makes it difficult to identify birds. Towards the end of the presentation, Ms. Ketki also shared a couple of Videos on the mimicry of superb lyre bird and also the American grey catbird. It was fascinating to watch the mimicry of the birds.

Nature trail-2: with Parvish Padya

We sighted the following birds:

1.    House Crow

2.    Jungle crow

3.    Tailor bird

4.    Common Iora

5.    Oriental dwarf king fisher

6.    Oriental magpie Robin

7.    Puff throated babbler

8.    Crimson sun bird

9.    Pale billed flower pecker

10.  Brown headed barbet

11.  Red vented bulbul

12.  Red whiskered bulbul

13.  Grey horn bill

14.  Coppersmith barbet

15.  Southern coucal

The highlight of the nature trial was perhaps our sighting of a bold brown headed barbet which was sitting conspicuously in an exposed branch. The brown headed barbet is an indicator species for a good canopy and we were happy to sight the bird in CEC campus. We came to know about the controversy surrounding the naming of the birds and the changes in recent years.

Presentation on Bird adaptation by Parvish Pandya:

After our late afternoon bird watching trip, we had a presentation by Mr Parvish Pandya. He told us about the various types of adaptations that we can find birds that have developed in an evolutionary timescale to respond to changing environments.

Bird quiz:

Bird quiz was a fun way to learn. The questions were drawn from the first chapter, from the presentations that we had earlier in the day and also from current affairs. I happened to be on the team that won the quiz (Trogan) but the quiz sure was a nice way to have recap on the introduction lesson. Especially fun was the dumb charades session towards the end of the quiz program.

Night walk inside CEC campus:

We had a night walk inside the conservation for the education centre campus. We were hoping to spot some nocturnal birds but we had no such luck. The neighbourhood woodland was alive with the sound of crickets. We understood that the daytime sounds were caused by cicadas and the night time sounds by crickets. We chanced upon a group of spotted deers grazing in the tickets nearby. We also sighted a group of bonnet macaques sleeping in a tree. The highlight however was sighting the chameleon fast asleep clinging on to a climber. Overall, the night trial helped us get a sense of the forest at the night time.

Nature Trail-3: with Adesh Shivkar

We started on the trail early in the morning on 29/06/14 (Sunday) around seven AM. We learnt that Mornings are generally the best times to sight birds as they would have woken up hungry and thirsty and would be out looking for food and water. We sighted the crimson sunbird, spotted dove, House crow, Jungle crow, Common myna, white browed bulbul, Red-vented bulbul, Red-whiskered bulbul, and Grey hornbills. We kept hearing the Puff throated babbler, Ashy Prinia, Tailor bird, fan tail flycatcher, common iora but we didn’t sight any. We were now developing a good sense of what we were hearing in the wild because of the repetitions of our activities in the previous day. Our Nature trail concluded at Salim Ali point, which was the highest point in CEC campus. We were frustrated by the number of jungle crows and house crows. These loud and rowdy birds were perhaps driving away the other birds which we could have otherwise sighted.

Introduction on Lore and grading system:

This session was conducted by Ms Priti Chogale, our course coordinator.  I was fascinated to learn that we were only the second batch to do this course in an online mode. I learnt how the lore.com website would be used throughout the duration of course and also the activities planned throughout the year. As an outstation participant, it would be difficult for me to participate in the field trips organised by CEC close to Mumbai. However, Thattekad and Point calimere camps seem to be close by and definitely doable.  I also look forward to the Bharatpur sanctuary visit. I learnt about the grading system of the program. While it seemed definitely doable. It does demand quite a bit of planning and organising. It does look like a busy year.

Bird survey: with Priti

After the short presentation by Mr. Kevin on the Point and Line transact survey methods by Mr Kevin , we were out on the field once again. We were given a datasheet which we had to fill based on our observations in the field at four different points in the trail. We had taken the stream trial along with the course coordinator Ms. Priti Chogole. It was definitely fruitful birding trip where were forced to record our observations on the sheet at our observations and ignore the others we might encounter along the way. We did find the scientific approach to be quite helpful in objectively recording our observations. In all we managed to locate 42 individual birds from ten species and eight families. We also had a few unidentified individuals. The highlight of this trail was perhaps our sighting of the white-rumped shama which was practising its song when it was being mobbed by two jungle crows.

Group Presentation:

Group presentation was again a fun time for us where we made a chart of all the observation sin the field and we had to present the same in from of an audience. It was a nice way to summarize and share our observations in a succinct manner.

Feedback session:

            We were asked to give a feedback on the different speakers and the introduction camp. Overall, I was happy about the camp but I felt that the camp premises can be maintained well. The Toilets and bathrooms were smelly and dirty. The paint was peeling off from several walls. The sleeping arrangements left a lot to be desired. The management can at least make arrangements for decent bedding and pillows. The lunch and dinner offered on both days were fine. I felt that the breakfast offered can include a few more items.

Conclusion:

            This camp has helped me understand how to keep my eyes and ears open when I go out for a bird watching trip. I also could see several new birds which I haven’t seen or heard before. I am happy that I am a part of a diverse group of people from several walks of life which would help me in learning from my peers as well.

 

 

How Wolves Change Rivers

Below is an amazing documentary on how wolves can be a keystone species. The Video shows how they can have a profound impact on the ecological diversity of the area and have the power to change the geography of the area.

How fast do birds fly?

Bird flight has been studied for some time now using Doppler guns and scientists have tried to estimate how fasts do birds fly and have tried to see if it has any relation to bird size.
based on research, scientists have found out the following:

1. In general, there is little correlation between the size of bird and the flight speed it is capable of. Humming birds and geese both are capable of the same maximum flight speeds.
2. Most birds fly in the range of 30-50 Km /hr.
3. There is usually a huge difference between how fast can fly and the speed at which they normally fly.
4. There is a huge difference between normal flight & when pursued by raptors.
5. It also appears that birds fly faster when assisted by wind.
6. The fastest migratory bird: The great snipe which covers 6,760 km non-stop journey at 97 Km/hr
7. The fastest level flying bird: The spine tailed swift at 171 Km/hr
8. The fastest gravity assisted flight: The peregrine falcon which can dive at speeds close to 320 Km/hr

By the way, the Guinness Book of World Records started as a result of an argument about the fastest game bird in Europe. In 1951, Sir Hugh Beaver, the managing director of Guinness Breweries, was in south-eastern Ireland with a group of friends, enjoying a day’s shooting. Failing to shoot a golden plover, Sir Hugh maintained that this must be the world’s fastest flying game bird. His companions disagreed. Sir Hugh used his own fortune to research the question, and that’s how the Guinness Book of World records got started.



Reference:

1. http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/How_Fast.html
2. http://www.thetravelalmanac.com/lists/birds-speed.htm
3. http://earthsky.org/earth/fastest-bird

The great snipe

Spine-tailed swift

Peregrine falcon

Poet, Lover, Birdwatcher

Just as Shakespeare puts 'the lunatic, the lover and the poet' at the same level, our very own Nissim Ezekeil puts the poet, the lover and the birdwatcher at the same level in this lovely poem.

Poet, Lover, Birdwatcher

To force peace and never be still

Is not the way of those who study birds
Or women. The best poets wait for words.
The hunt is not an exercise of will
         But patient love relaxing on a hill
To note the movement of a timid wing;
Until the one who knows that she is loved
No longer waits but risks surrendering-
In this the poet finds his moral proved,
      Who never spoke before his spirit moved?
The slow movement seems, somehow, to say much
        more

To watch rarer birds you have to go

Along deserted lanes and where rivers flow
In silence near the source, or by a shore
      Remote and thorny like the hearts dark floor
And there the women slowly turn around,
Not only flesh and bone but myths of light
With darkness at the core, and sense is found
By poets lost in crooked, restless flight,
      The deaf can hear, the blind recover sight

 

--Nissim Ezekiel, The exact name, 1965

Sighting Red-wattled lapwings in my village

I sighted a pair of red wattled lapwing sin my field which is overgrown with shrubs and acacia trees. I was surprised to locate these birds in my field as they are normally sighted in and in close proximity to ponds and water bodies. Our area is particularly bone dry and there is absolutely no water to be found anywhere in the radius of 15 kms. Red wattled lapwings are ground nesting birds and get extremely disturbed when it sights any threat to the nest. I was really surprised to see them in my village and I assumed that they must have got scattered owing to the drying of a lot of ponds because of failure of two consecutive monsoons.
Date of sighting 09/03/14 at around 5:00 pm

What are the objectives of bird watching?

While looking at birds, with experience, you should be able to do the following:

• Identify the bird accurately
• Identify the sex of the bird
• Identify whether the bird is adult/ immature/ juvenile
• Tell if a bird is a resident, local migrant or summer / winter migrant from other countries
• Tell how the bird ranks in the IUCN red list.
• Tell about its flying, perching, hunting, fighting, feeding, mating and nesting habits.
• Know about its taxonomy.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the best-known worldwide conservation status listing and ranking system. Species are classified by the IUCN Red List into nine groups set through criteria such as rate of decline, population size, area of geographic distribution, and degree of population and distribution fragmentation. Also included are species that have gone extinct since 500 AD. When discussing the IUCN Red List, the official term "threatened" is a grouping of three categories: Critically Endangered, Endangered, and Vulnerable.

• Extinct (EX) – No known individuals remaining.
• Extinct in the Wild (EW) – Known only to survive in captivity, or as a naturalized population outside its historic range.
• Critically Endangered (CR) – Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
• Endangered (EN) – High risk of extinction in the wild.
• Vulnerable (VU) – High risk of endangerment in the wild.
• Near Threatened (NT) – Likely to become endangered in the near future.
• Least Concern (LC) – Lowest risk. Does not qualify for a higher risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.
• Data Deficient (DD) – Not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction.
• Not Evaluated (NE) – Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria.

Reference:

1. Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iucn_redlist
2. IUCN Red list : www.iucnredlist.org

Common Indian birds & thier habitats

If you are going on a bird-watching trip or just happen too travel, it will be worthwhile to know what birds you can expect in a particular location. Your experience and knowledge will be vastly increased as a consequence

City, Town & Village dwellers:

• House crow
• House sparrow
• Pigeons
• Red-vented bulbul
• Red-whiskered bulbul (On higher altitudes)
• Common myna
• Black kites
• Oriental magpie robin (on Higher altitudes)
• Purple-rumped sunbird
• Purple sunbird
• Parakeets
• Asian Koel
• Spotted owlet

Scrub and jungle

• Babblers
• Indian robin
• Bee-eaters
• White-browed fantailed flycatcher
• Orioles
• Doves
• Shikra
• White-rumped Vulture
• Rosy starlings
• Buntings
• Baya weaver
• Rufous treepie

Farm land:

• Black drango
• Indian roller
• Grey Frankolin
• Quails
• Cattle egret
• Little egret
• Common kestrel
• Eurasian eagle owl

The village pond

• Common coot
• Little grebe
• Jacanas
• Herons
• Darter and
• Cormorant
• Black-winged stilt
• Snipe
• Sandpiper
• Storks
• Wild ducks
• King fishers
• Red-wattled lapwing

Coast line

• White-bellied sea eagle
• Ring-tailed fish eagle
• Reef heron
• Eurasian curlew
• Gull and
• Tern

Reference: Much of the above list was compiled with the help of the book "About Indian birds" by Salim Ali and Laeeq Futehally.

What ails the sparrow?

In the recent years, the common house sparrow, for unfortunate reasons, has become a flagship case for the bird conservation in India. The sparrows populations have declined in such alarming levels that most lay people are now acknowledging it. The once ubiquitous bird is now scarcely seen. The most alarming part about it is that nobody is really able to conclusively say why they are disappearing at such an alarming rate.

well, several reasons are being thrown about. Here are a few:

1. Use of pesticides in house compounds,
2. Lack of nesting sites due to the increasing number of concrete structures in urban areas
3. Absence of grains
4. Unavailability of water in summer months
5. Anecdotal evidence also points to the reduction of sparrow population close to
1. Mobile towers
2. Mast lamps 
6. Over-Hunting by humans who use it for mean and there is also a unfounded belief that the sparrow meat can increases the virility of men.

This blog post was written with the help of these article from "The Hindu" news paper articles whose links are given below

• Where are the sparrows?
• Where have all the sparrows gone?
• Sparrow meat, a delicacy in Karur bars

Books about Birds and Birdwatching

Here is a list of books that I have read which educates me about the different aspects of birds and bird-watching

1. About Indian birds by Salim Ali and Laeeq Futehally
2. Birds of India: A literary anthology by Abdul Jamil Urfi
3. Of Birds and birdsong by M. Krishnan
4. A Diary on the nesting behaviour of Indian birds by Chinna Sathan and Bal pandi
5. The fallow of a sparrow: Illustrated Salim Ali by Salim Ali
6. Sibley's Birding basics by David Allen Sibley

Field guides: (Which help in Identification of the birds)

1. Common birds of Indian subcontinent: A beginners field guide by Ananda Banarjee
2. Birds of the Indian subcontinent by Carol Inskipp, Richard Grimmitt, Ian Inskipp
3. The Book of Indian birds by Salim ali

The detailed review of the books will follow soon! Watch out this space!

Wetlands in and around Tiruppur

Listed below are the six prominent water bodies located in and around Tiruppur city:

1. Nanjarayan tank (37)
2. Orathupalayam Dam (32)
3. Semmandampalayam tank (28)
4. Kathanganni irrigation tank (15)
5. Samalapuram tank (16)
6. Andiapalayam irrigation tank (2)

Please note: The figures in braces are the number of bird species located in the tanks during February 2014 bird survey conducted by Nature society of Tiruppur for Bombay Natural History society

Documentary film on Chilika Lake in Odisha

Wildlife photographer and filmmaker, Mr. Shekar Dattatri has made an excellent documentary on Chilika lake restoration project carried out in early 2000's and the present challenges it faces. Play the video below.




Reference:
http://www.conservationindia.org/
http://www.conservationindia.org/videos/chilika
http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/hope-flows/article5750023.ece

Wetlands in coimbatore

 Wetlands provide us with great opportunities for bird watching. Wetlands with ample water provide sustenance for a variety of plants, insects, amphibians, mollusc fish and consequently for wetland birds which feed on them. Many wetlands are home to several resident birds and when they are full, they provide for local migrant species of birds and winter visitors from abroad. Here is alist of water bodies located in and around Coimbatore.

River Noyyal Basin Wetlands

System Tanks

There are 31 wetlands in the River Noyyal Basin fed by the river. They are also known as System Tanks in Public Works Department (PWD).

1. Ukkulam Lake
2. Sottaiyandi Kuttai Lake
3. Ganganarayananasamudharam Lake
4. Puttuvikki Lake (aka Sundakkamuttur Lake)
5. Senkulam (Kuniyamuthur Lake)
6. Kuniyamuthur Small Lake
7. Kurichi Lake
8. Coimbatore Big Lake
9. Valankulam
10. Pudukulam (Vedapatti Lake)
11. Kolarampathy Lake
12. Narasampathy Lake
13. Krishnampathy Lake
14. Selvampathy Lake
15. Muthannankulam (aka Kumarasamy Lake)
16. Selvachinthamani Lake
17. Vellalore Lake
18. Singanallur Lake
19. Pallapalayam Lake
20. Kannampalayam Lake
21. Irugur Lake
22. Achankulam (aka Neelambur Lake)
23. Sulur Big Lake
24. Sulur Small Lake
25. Samalapuram Lake
26. Semmandampalayam Lake
27. Andipalayam Lake
28. Mannarai Lake
29. Mudalipalayam Lake
30. Anaipalayam Lake
31. Kathanganni Lake

Non-System Tanks

 

There are 16 rain fed Non-system tanks in the River Noyyal Basin. Nine of them are given below.

1. Sarkarperiyapalayam Lake
2. Kunnathur Lake
3. Kavuthampalayam Lake
4. Velliraveli Lake
5. Mandrakkarai Lake
6. Athiyur Lake
7. Dhalavaipalayam Lake
8. Puthurpallapalayam Lake
9. Punjaipalatholuvu Lake

Information courtesy: http://www.coimbatorewetlands.org/

What should we do as individuals to conserve birds?

When talking about conservation, most people talk of it as something that they urge Government to do and absolve themselves of any responsibility in conservation of birds. However, there is a lot of things that individuals can do to help conserve birds. I have tried to list out a few things and I intend to expand the list as my knowledge also grows.

• Place a bowl of water outside for water. This is the simplest and most effective way people can help to save birds. Birds, particularly those living in cities and towns, find it very difficult to locate a source of water. However, one precaution you need to take while doing this is to make sure waterfowl  should be hung down or should be placed in such a way that cats can't access it to prey upon unsuspecting birds.
• Place a nest box with grains. This is yet another simple way to help birds. In fact, one of the reasons for decline in sparrow population is the inability of birds to find grains and also its inability to build nests in concrete structure which are devoid of niches and crevices previously found in tiled roof houses.
• Plant trees. Trees are essential as nesting, perching  and roosting grounds for a wide variety of bird species while also providing food by way of flowers, insects and fruits. It is also essentials to select the type of trees which are suitable for planting. Neermarathu (Terminalia arjuna or arjuna tree), Naaval (Syzygium cumini or Java plum or Jambul), and Aththi, (Ficus auriculata Lour or Elephant Ear Fig tree or Gaint Indian Fig)
• Avoid bursting crackers. Birds are very disturbed by sudden and loud noises and many abandon their nests and young ones if they are hear such noises.
• Avoid cats as pets. Feral cats which are pets or those which are abandoned, predate on the nests of many birds by destroying their eggs and eating their young chicks and in many cases preying on birds themselves. It is best to avoid cats as pets.
• Avoid caged birds. Many of the caged birds we use as pests have been hunted in the wild. Birds which are ubiquitous commonly called love birds are nothing but budgerigars of Australia. Macaws are also being overhunted in south America as they are very popular as pets world wide.

How to get started with bird wacthing?

If you are really interested in bird watching, here is how to get started. You need the following:

1. A good binoculars (I recommend 8 x 40) You will need a binocular to see the features of the bird and details about its plumage up-close.
2. A good field guide (Salim Ali's Birds of India or Birds of the Indian subcontinent by Carol Inskipp, Richard Grimmett, Tin Inskipp) This will help you in identifying the birds you are seeing by name.
3. A notebook and pen (to record your observation and make notes about the sightings)

For the initial few times, I suggest that you go with a group of birdwatchers. Their experience in birding is invaluable and can save you a lot of time and frustration in identifying birds and even in identifying birding hotspots where you have chances of spotting a lot of birds in a limited time frame. I suggest that you go bird watching in the early hours of the day (from 6-9) when it is cool and the birds are out to get the first meal of the day or to get a their first sip or dip for the day. In the afternoon hours, birds are usually resting and the activity is very low and birds can become quite difficult to spot. (This is not to mention the discomfort of the birdwatcher being out in the sun for long)
 

Critically endangered bird species in India

From about 1300 odd of birds found in India, approximately 82 species have been listed as threatened in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals (IUCN 2006). Given below is a list of the most endangered bird species of India, some of which are in a highly critical state:

• Pink-headed Duck (Rhodonessa caryophyllacea)
• Himalayan Quail (Ophrysia superciliosa)
• Siberian Crane (Grus leucogeranus)
• Sarus Crane (Grus antigone)
• Jerdon's Courser (Rhinoptilus bitorquatus)
• Forest Owlet (Athene blewitti)
• White-bellied Heron (Ardea insignis)
• Oriental Stork (Ciconia boyciana)
• Greater Adjutant (Leptoptilos dubius)
• White-headed Duck (Oxyura leucocephala)
• White-winged Duck (Cairina scutulata)
• Great Indian Bustard (Ardeotis nigriceps)
• Bengal Florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis)
• Lesser Florican (Sypheotides indica)
• Nordmann's Greenshank (Tringa guttifer)
• Rufous-breasted Laughingthr (Garrulax cachinnans)
• Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus)
• White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis)
• Long-billed Vulture (Gyps indicus)

Photo courtesy: www.kolkatabirds.com
Information courtesy: http://www.iucnredlist.org/

Why do male and female birds look so different?

Sexual dimorphism is a term used to explain the differences seen between male and female birds seen in the same species. There might be differences in size, plumage, colouration, physiological and in some cases, behavioural differences.  In general, male birds are bigger (this rule is not without exception as in Jacaunas, the females are bigger and in some hawks, the females are twice the size of males). Males in general are more colourful.

Nowhere is sexual dimorphism in birds more apparent than in Indian peacock and a pea fowl

Sexual dimorphism in a little understood phenomenon. In some cases, as in House finches, the male breeding plumage is an indication of the health of the bird. (In this case, darker the male, the healthier it is.) In some species, the male's contribution to reproduction ends at mating, while in other species the male takes care of the eggs and chicks.

Sexual dimorphism is maintained by the counteracting pressures of natural selection and sexual selection. In other words, the more colourful or conspicuous a bird is, the more prone it is to be attacked by birds of prey. Other than this, the exaggerated colours and plumages sometimes come at the cost of immunity.

Sexual Dimorphism may also influence differences in parental investment during times of food scarcity. For example, in the Blue-footed Booby, the female chicks grow faster than the males, resulting in booby parents producing the smaller sex, the males, during times of food shortage. This them results in the maximization of parental lifetime reproductive success.

Some extreme examples of sexual dimorphism in birds:

•  Huia (Heteralocha acutirostris), Now a an extinct bird of New zealand)  was remarkable for having the most pronounced sexual dimorphism in bill shape of any bird species in the world. The female's beak was long, thin and arched downward, while the male's was short and stout, like that of a crow. The sexes were otherwise similar, with orange wattles and predominantly black plumage with a green sheen.



Huia (Male) & Female (Below)

• The Great Bustard (Otis tarda) is one of the heaviest flying birds and the most sexually dimorphic living bird. Adult males weighed 2.48× more than females, and their linear measurements were 18–30% larger. 

Great Bustard Male (Above) and Female (below)

 References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_bustard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_dimorphism#Birds
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huia

How are birds becoming endangered?

A species becomes extinct or endangered because of any one or a combination of five human activities:

1. Over-harvesting
2. Introduction of Invasive species
3. Loss of habitat
4. Islandisation
5. Pollution

Over harvesting:

Over harvesting refers to the hunting of a species in a sustained manner beyond the natural regenerative capacity of the species. A recent case in point is the hunting of the Houbara bustard, a desert bird by the Arab royalty and sheiks. They believe that the bird is a aphrodisiac. The bird population has really declined alarmingly. A team of researchers found that, from 1998 to 2001, Houbara numbers dropped 63% in China, 60% in Kazakhstan, and 50% in Oman.

Introduction of Invasive species:

Some species of birds and animals become endangered and eventually become extinct when humans unintentionally introduce invasive species in their habitats. Island birds are particularly prone to this problem. After living and thriving on Islands without any natural enemies, some species of birds loose their capacity of flight. Over thousands of years, they also loose their fear of predators. Most of them nest in conspicuous locations. When humans arrive on the island, they unintentionally introduces mammals like mice, cats, monkeys and dogs. These animals hunt these defenceless birds and consume their eggs in such great numbers that after a point, it becomes difficult to save a species from brink of extinction. The dodos of Mauritius, the Moas & Kheas of Newzealand are all cases in point.

Loss of Habitat:

Most birds are dependant on the environment for their sustenance either for their food, finding mates, building of their nests and raising of their young. When the environment is disturbed in some manner, birds become threated as a consequence. In the recent years, many of the wetlands have been destroyed to make way for construction projects. Many forests have been felled to make way for agricultural lands. The great Indian bustard is endangered because of the decline in the extent of grasslands. It is also the case with Indian courser.

Islandisation:

This refers to the creation of islands or pockets of forests, wetlands in previously continuous stretches of habitats. Creating Islands is a big threat to birds because the populations become increasingly isolated from one another and in a drought year, one population can get completely destroyed in one area without being replenished from another. A simple act of laying a road across a forest can serve to create islands. Ant-eaters  in Brazil used to flying in the dark canopy do not cross over to the other side of the road and become increasingly isolated.


Pollution:

Many water bodies become the dumping ground for construction debris. The water bodies are also places where sewage water is let into. Many industries use rivers and lakes to dump their waste chemicals. These chemicals are extremely toxic to all forms of life and kills the fish, amphibians and other aquatic species. They also poison the birds which depend on the aquatic life for food. On a much larger scale, human activity causes global warming which increases the global temperatures that change some environments to such an extant that many species including plants shift their locations to a temperature zone that they are accustomed to and with it the birds. Sometimes it becomes difficult or impossible for forests to advance because of the cities, villages and towns which infringe upon them.

How long do birds live?

Surprisingly, this simple question is quite a difficult one to answer. Ornithologists usually ring or band the birds in the wild and collect them again using mistnets. Using the data they gather over a period of time, they try to estimate the life-span of the birds. This sort of bird life estimation studies have only been carried out in the last thirty years and it has been observed that some sea birds have survived throughout so their life spans are yet to be estimated.

From the data gathered so far, it appears that that the average life span is far lesser than the maximum life span of any one bird. for example, Robins have an average life span of 1.1 years but few birds have survived up to 20 years in the wild. Very few birds actually die of old age and a vast majority of the birds perish during the first few days of their lives.

In general, it has been observed that larger birds have longer lives compared to smaller ones. The birds living in tropics live longer compared to the birds living in temperate zones. It has also been observed that sea birds in general live longer than land living birds. Birds kept in captivity are also observed to have a longer life span compared to birds living in the wild. These generalisations are ofcourse are not without exceptions.


Reference:
Bird Life Expectancy: http://twootz.com/article/Bird-Life-Expectancy
Life span of birds: http://www.countrysideinfo.co.uk/bird_lifespan.htm
How long can birds live: http://www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/How_Long.html

Why are birds important?

For a conservation point of view, it is important to understand why birds are important in order to understand why it is imperative to conserve and protect them.

Birds are important for the following reasons:

1. They help propagate tress, shrubs and plants by distributing pollen and seeds
2. They keep in check insect & rodent populations which plunder agricultural crops (Locusts are kept in check by starlings. Rats and mice populations are kept in check by hawks and owls)
3. They keep the countryside clear of debris and also of carcasses by scavenging on them (Crows and vultures)
4. They are a valuable source of fertilizer (Fish eating birds produce a fertilizer called 'Guano' which is very valuable)
5. Birds have an aesthetic value
6. They act as gauges of the pollution levels in our water bodies.
7. The study of birds and their flight has lead to the discovery of Aeroplanes and helicopters

My thoughts on Bird watching

I have been bird-watching since the last few weeks and I feel I should share my thoughts on the same to a general reader. I went for the first bird watching session (On December 1st 2013) and when I returned I was quite bewildered and couldn't understand the point of the whole exercise. Frankly, I couldn't understand what made people come and do bird watching again. I had previously purchased a book "Birds of Kerala" by Salim Ali. I tried to read about the birds that we looked at in the bird watching session. However, it was not until I saw the documentary series "Life of birds" By David Attenbrough, did I realise the range of diversity that the birds and how they adapted themselves to various environments. I joined the facebook group of Coimbatore nature society and began following the posts of the various members. I became busy with my own personal life as my daughter was born on December 17th. I went with my friends on a trip to Wyanad armed with my Salim ali book and also another book by Anand Banerjee (A field guide of beginners, Common birds of India) which basically listed the commonly seen species of India.

I began to appreciate the birds and really began to enjoy bird watching. Every time, I sighted a new species, it was a moment of ecstasy. I was also able to feel very stress relieved and felt that watching birds helped me communicate with nature and Nature started revealing its secrets to me. It is the closest I have come to mediation. I am reminded of something a friend told me long ago. He said, when you listen to music, you will be able to enjoy it if it sounds good. But when you know the different musical instruments and you have studied about songs, you will be able to enjoy music at several different levels. I feel the same thing applies to life and about birds. You can live your entire lives not knowing about birds but if  you knew a little bit about them, you will enjoy life a bit more.

Once I started watching birds, I started to notice that there were a lot of species in my own back yard that I had never noticed before. I also started accumulating books about birds. The most enjoyable books I have read are those which didn't just described or helped in identifying birds but those which gave intimate portrayals of birds and how they related to man (About Indian birds by Salim Ali and Laeeq Fatehally) These books really helped me appreciate birds much better.

Unfortunately though, a vast majority of the bird watchers are content with looking at birds and knowing very little about them. Well, if they knew a little more, their observations will bring even greater happiness. However, as a novice myself, I feel, I have no right to pass judgement on others. I just have to learn to accept that each persons journey is unique and beautiful in its own way.

My Pinterest link on birdwatching

I have a pinterest account and I feel it is in someway a better way to organise information instead of organising it in lists as blogs normally do. Pinterest is the online equivalent of a scrap book of yester- years and the best thing is that you can add interesting news articles and you can share it with others instantly.

I have collected an assorted variety of newspaper articles which are related to bird watching and birds and I hope it is of some interest to you.

Here it is:
http://www.pinterest.com/pbblj/bird-watching/

Great Backyard bird count Feb 14-17th

The Great Back Yard Bird count is a annual event conducted by Cornell university of US. This event helps the scientists and ornithologists study the bird population. Though the GBBC is part of US tradition annually, this is the second year it has been made as a global event. It is extremely interesting to see India embracing this event so enthusiastically. This year India submitted in total 2419 bird lists. This is almost five times greater than 2013 lists. In 2013, India submitted some 460 lists. Tamilnadu topped the number of species sighted and Kerala topped in the number of lists submitted. However, several states did not have a single list submitted and even in the states where lists were submitted, some states had very few lists submitted. Lot of work needs to be done in this front. I participated in the same and submitted 2 lists with my sightings in Palladam Puliampatti and in Udumalpet. I sighted atleast four different lifers during GBBS: Brahminy starling, Whitebrowed wagtail, white wagtail and Tawny bellied babler.


Details of the event are given below:

The Great Backyard Bird Count--India is back! The dates are 14-17 February 2014. Join in this global birding event.

--Resources--
[New!] GBBC-India webpage: http://www.birdcount.in/events/gbbc/
Beginner's guide to eBird: http://bit.ly/1eIicDK...
Smartphone app for eBird: http://bit.ly/1b9xcZ4 (BirdLog Asia, free until 17 Feb)
--

WHAT
GBBC is a worldwide event. Last year birders from 111 countries took part, counting around 35 million individual birds of 4,000 species. Indian birders submitted 400+ lists of 500+ species. You can see a summary of the global results here
http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/science-stories/2013summary
and the India results here
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwpQkYOLo9ZdcjFKZXEtMmhLVlk/edit?usp=sharing

WHY
Most importantly, it's fun! More seriously, these annual snapshots of bird populations help to answer a variety of important questions, including how birds are affected by habitat changes and weather, and whether populations and distributions are changing. More details are here: www.birdsource.org/gbbc/whycount.html

WHEN
Any or all days between 14 and 17 February 2014

HOW
Go birding for at least 15 min, listing all the species you see, with rough count of each. It doesn't matter if you can't identify every single species -- what you can identify is good enough! Login to www.ebird.org and submit your species list.

More details at http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/howto.html

In brief:
1. Go to www.ebird.org and create an account (Do familiarise yourself).
2. Select your location on a map.
3. Choose kind of count you have made (e.g. travelling or stationary).
4. Give start time and duration.
5. Enter your list.
6. Share your list with others via email, Facebook or Twitter. Some examples of lists from 2013 are here:
http://ebird.org/ebird/gbbc/view/checklist?subID=S13006470
http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13006074
http://ebird.org/ebird/gbbc/view/checklist?subID=S12979749

As in 2013, this year again people all over India are participating. Some are also organizing small events at local parks or lakes for the public, including children, to take part in the count and learn more about birds.

If you are feeling ambitious, your local birder/naturalist group could use GBBC to carry out a more formal project. For example, you could ask "what is the importance of green/open spaces for urban birds?" To answer this, one could organise groups to go out and generate one set of lists from open/green spaces (eg, wetlands, parks); and another set of lists from from other kinds of city habitats: commercial areas, residential areas -- basically, highly built-up areas. Then one could ask how many and which species are restricted to open/green spaces, and how many appear to be adaptable and occur also in other city habitats. A possible conclusion could be "Green spaces are essential for the survival of 60% of [your city's] birds". With some planning and enough birders, such a project would be possible to do in the four days of the GBBC.

Regardless of what you plan, do consider joining this Google group:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/birdcountindia
which exists so that we can keep each other informed of our plans, as well share what we see with fellow birders during the days of the Count.

But, of course, you don't need to join this group to participate. Details given here are enough!