status of chestnut-tailed starling sturnia malabarica in...

The Chestnut-tailed Starling Sturnia malabarica is a resident in the north-eastern part of the Indian Subcontinent and parts of Odisha, and a summer visitor to the Western and

Central Himalayas (Grimmett et al. 2011; Rasmussen & Anderton 2012). It also occurs as a winter migrant to most of southern India (Grimmett et al. 2011; Rasmussen & Anderton 2012). However, Kazmierczak (2000), and Grimmett et al. (2011) also showed two isolated records/locations of the Chestnut-tailed Starling from Rajasthan. A. O. Hume called the species a specialty of Mount Abu, in Rajasthan, and noted that it had not been observed anywhere else in the region (Bultler 1875). Since then, however, it has been found in other parts of Rajasthan.Here, we present the status of Chestnut-tailed Starling in Rajasthan.

MethodsWe searched for confirmed records of the Chestnut-tailed Starling from Rajasthan on eBird (2018). Further, we perused photographs of Chestnut-tailed Starlings on on various websites, such as, India Nature Watch (www.indianaturewatch.net), Oriental Bird Images (www.orientalbirdimages.org), Internet Bird Collection (www.hbw.com/ibc), and on Facebook groups such as ‘Ask ID for Indian Birds’, ‘Indian Birds’, and ‘Rajasthan Biodiversity.’ We also conducted a literature search using Pittie (2018). Finally, we corresponded with the birders of Rajasthan about observations that may not have been uploaded to any of the above digital sources.

Personal observations from Sawai MadhopurOn 23 March 2015, at 0905 h, MG was watching birds under a flowering silk cotton Bombax ceiba tree inside ‘Khem Villas’ eco-lodge (26.06°N, 76.43°E; c.100 m asl). The lodge is situated on the outskirts of Ranthambhore National Park in Sawai Madhopur District, Rajasthan. While she was watching Rose-ringed Parakeets Psittacula krameri feeding on the flowers, a bird flew in and buried its head into a flower, probably for nectar. The bird was pale rufous overall with pale grey wings and orange legs. Since the profile resembled a starling she initially thought it was a juvenile Brahminy Starling S. pagodarum, which is a common bird in that area. However, it lacked the grey-brown cap, white wing sides, and tail tip of the latter. Since she could not identify the individual by using the illustrations in Grimmett et al. (2011), she examined photographs of starlings found in that area on Oriental Bird Images and confirmed it as an adult female Chestnut-tailed Starling S. malabarica. MG managed to take a few photographs before the bird flew away [58].

After Gala’s sighting in 2015, three more sightings occurred in April and June 2018. All observations, including photographs, were uploaded to eBird (Gala & Ongole 2018; Rathore 2018; Rathore & Gala 2018).

Results & DiscussionOur research revealed a total of 35 observations (including ours) of Chestnut-tailed Starling from Rajasthan (Table 1, Fig 1). Of these, 12 were from eBird, and the rest, from photography websites, Facebook groups, published works, and communications with birders. The species has been observed in nine out of 12 months in Rajasthan [59], and across a range of habitats [60]. In cases where an observation did not make note of the habitat in which the bird had been observed, we considered the habitat of the larger landscape surrounding the location.

The wide temporal spread of observations of Chestnut-tailed Starlings in Rajasthan indicates that it may be uncommon, but is, perhaps, not a migrant to the state. The species has been observed in 13 out of its 33 districts (~40%) showing that it is also widespread, particularly in eastern Rajasthan. However, it is possible that suitable habitats are present in drier parts of Rajasthan, as evidenced by the observation from Bikaner. It has been recorded often on flowering or fruiting trees (Sangha & Devarshi 2006; Gala 2015; Rathore 2018), which is consistent with its known diet. Observations from different habitats (urban, grassland, or forest) spread across the state indicate that the

Status of Chestnut-tailed Starling Sturnia malabarica in Rajasthan, IndiaMittal Gala, Shasank Ongole & Anil Tripathi

Gala, M., Ongole, S., & Tripathi, A., 2019. Status of Chestnut-tailed Starling Sturnia malabarica in Rajasthan, India. Indian BIRDS 15 (2): 53–57.Mittal Gala, Khem Villas, Kutulpura Malliyan, Sherpur-Khiljipur, Sawai Madhopur 322001, Rajasthan, India. E-mail: [email protected] [MG]Shasank Ongole, Dream Nivas, Sector-1, MVP Colony, Visakhapatnam 530017, Andhra Pradesh. E-mail: [email protected] Tripathi, Aquatic Ecology and Biodiversity Research Lab, MLV Government College, Bhilwara. E-mail: [email protected] received on 07 May 2018.

58. Chestnut-tailed Starling on a blooming Silk-cotton tree. Pic: Mittal Gala.

53Gala et al.: Chestnut-tailed Starling

Table 1. Observations of Chestnut-tailed Starlings in Rajasthan between 1984 and 2018

S. No. Place District Date Number Habitat description Habitat category

Remarks Source/s

1 Mount Abu Sirohi Undated Varies from subtropical thorn forest in foothills to subtropical evergreen at higher altitudes

Forest Congregate in considerable numbers in May and June

Butler (1875)

2 Keoladeo Ghana National Park

Bharatpur 14 November 1984

7 Wetland interspersed with woodland patches

Wetland - Kannan (1984)

3 Sariska Tiger Reserve

Alwar November 1986–February 1992

- Tropical dry deciduous and thorn forest1

Forest Abundant from July to October and otherwise rare

Sankar et al. (1993)

4 - Dungarpur 2000-2001 - Human settlements Others Found near human settlements Saxena M (2003)

5 Phulwari Wildlife Sanctuary

Udaipur 2001-2004 11 Tropical dry deciduous and mixed deciduous forest2

Forest Small flocks during flowering of Butea monosperma (February-March)

Sharma (2007)

6 Kumbalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary

Rajsamand 2002 - Tropical dry deciduous and mixed deciduous forest3

Forest - Shantanu Kumar in Sangha & Devarshi (2006)

7 Bharatpur-Keoladeo Ghana National Park

Bharatpur 2005 1 Wetland interspersed with woodland patches

Wetland Seen along with Common Myna Acridotheres tristis and Bank Myna A. ginginianus in an Acacia nilotica tree

Mundkur et al. (2007)*

8 Tal Chappar Churu 14 October 2012

- Grassland with scattered trees

Savannah Adult Savithri Singh *

9 Outskirts of Rawatbhata, near Bhainsrorgarh Wildlife Sanctuary

Chittorgarh June 2014 6 Tropical dry deciduous and thorn forest4

Forest Adults Mannan Arya*

10 Ummedganj Wetland

Kota 09 September 2014

- Wetland Wetland Adult Ishwar Malav*

11 Khem Villas Lodge Sawai Madhopur

23 March 2015 1 Mixed habitat -dry deciduous forest, grassland, agriculture, water bodies

Others Adult Gala (2015)*

12 Rawatbhata Chittorgarh 30 September 2015

1 NA NA Adult Rajib Maji*

13 Sawai Madhopur Railway Station

Sawai Madhopur

01 October 2016

1 Urban (with fruiting trees) Urban Adult Radadia (2016)*

14 Jorbeer Bikaner 22 January 2017

- Open grassland - Large grazed lands (short grass) interspersed with trees

Savannah Adult feeding on Salvadora persicam, Prosopis cineraria, and Tecomella undulata fruits

Devendra Bhardwaj*

15 Mukundra Hills Kota 18 May 2017 - Deep gorges with well wooded and broad leaf forest, hills belong to Vidhyan range5

Forest Adult Sunil Singal*

16 Menal Bhilwara 31 May 2017 - Deep Vindyan gorges with riparian vegetation

Riparian forest

Adult, seen in a tree cavity with Salvadora persica twig in its beak

Anil Tripathi*

17 Bharatpur-Keoladeo Ghana National Park

Bharatpur 31 October 2017

1 Wetland interspersed with woodland patches

Wetland - Shah et al. (2017)

18 Ranthambhore National Park

Sawai Madhopur

15 April 2018 3 Tropical dry deciduous forest

Forest Seen along with Yellow-throated Sparrows Gymnoris xanthocollis and Brahminy Starlings S. pagodarum; in.litt.,e-mail from Harkirat Singh Sangha on 30 June 2018

Sahdev Singh


30 April 2018 2 Mixed habitat -dry deciduous forest, grassland, agriculture, water bodies

Others Adult Gala & Ongole (2018)*

20 Menal Bhilwara 11 May 2018 1 Deep Vindhyan gorges with riparian vegetation

Riparian forest

Adult, seen flying across a gorge with a twig in its mouth

Anil Tripathi*

21 Menal Bhilwara 11 May 2018 2 Deep Vindhyan gorges with riparian vegetation

Riparian forest

Birds seen in a nest cavity but chased by a pair of Common Mynas

Anil Tripathi*

22 Kevda ki Naal Udaipur 13 May 2018 - Riparian vegetation and woodland6

Riparian forest

Adult Devendra Singh Rathore*

54 Indian BIRDS Vol. 15 No. 2 (Publ. 15 JuNe 2019)

species may be capable of exploiting resources in different environments. Around Mukundra Tiger Reserve, it has been seen in both, winter and summer, suggesting that it might even breed there (Mannan Arya, verbally, dated 19 January 2019). On multiple occasions, Arya has seen them in pairs and small parties of 10 to 12 birds on fruiting trees [2].

In May 2017, near Menal Waterfall (Chittorgarh), a Chestnut-tailed Starling was observed entering a tree cavity with a Salvadora persica twig in its beak (see Table 1 for AT’s observation) [61]. In May 2018, in the same region, AT observed a Chestnut-tailed Starling with a twig in its beak, but it quickly flew out of sight. Chestnut-tailed Starlings are known to nest in tree cavities and use twigs and soft vegetation as nesting material (Ali & Ripley 1987). On the same day, AT also observed a pair of Chestnut-tailed Starlings being chased away from the same cavity by a pair of Common Mynas [62, 63]. Nath (2009) documented a

similar interaction between Chestnut-tailed Starlings and Jungle Mynas A. fuscus, which ultimately resulted in the nest being taken over by the mynas. All three species are hole-nesters and such interactions may be common, indicating that the Chestnut-tailed Starlings may nest in the region.

Overall, we believe that the Chestnut-tailed Starling may be more widespread in Rajasthan than the above observations suggest; more attention needs to be paid to the movements of these birds to ascertain their presence or absence, or commonality in various regions. It will be interesting to conclusively know if they do indeed breed in Rajasthan.

At the time of the observation near Ranthambore National Park in 2015, there had been no records of this species from the park (Andheria 2000; Reddy 1999 unpublished). An online checklist of the birds of Ranthambore (www.wildlywise.com/rnp_birds_compl_list.htm), which had listed the Chestnut-tailed

Table 1. Observations of Chestnut-tailed Starlings in Rajasthan between 1984 and 2018

S. No. Place District Date Number Habitat description Habitat category

Remarks Source/s

23 Mukundra Tiger Reserve

Kota 13 May 2018 - Deep gorges with well wooded and broad leaf forest, hills belong to Vidhyan range







Forest Adult Ishwar Malav*

26 Baran Baran 30 May 2018 2 Degraded forest with some Butea monosperma trees flowering7

Forest Seen with Brahminy Starlings; in.litt.,e-mail dated 17 July 2018

Harkirat Singh Sangha

27 Fateh’s Retreat Homestay

Sawai Madhopur

08 June 2018 4 Garden with fruiting trees Others Adult feeding on Azadirachta indica fruits

Rathore (2018)*


Sawai Madhopur

09 June 2018 4 Tropical dry deciduous forest

Forest - Aryan et al. (2018)


Sawai Madhopur

29 June 2018 1 Tropical dry deciduous forest

Forest - Khurana (2018)


04 August 2018 4 Mixed habitat -dry deciduous forest, grassland, agriculture, water bodies

Others Adult Rathore & Gala (2018)*

31 Jhoomer Baori Sawai Madhopur

05 September 2018

7 Tropical dry deciduous forest

Forest Seen with Brahminy Starlings in small flocks

Jayaramaiah (2018a)


08 September 2018


Forest - Jayaramaiah (2018b)


10 September 2018


Forest - Jayaramaiah (2018c)

34 Kheri mod Dungarpur 06 January 2019

2 Urban Urban Birds seen feeding on unripe lantana berries on the roadside

Sundar & Tiwari (2019)*

35 Banswara Undated - NA NA - Sangha & Devarshi (2006)

36 Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary

Pratapgarh Undated - Tropical dry deciduous forest9

Forest - Shantanu Kumar in Sangha & Devarshi (2006)

*Bird photographed.1Kidwai (2013); 2Kumar (2017); 3Pandey & Singh (1999); 4,5,6Dharmendra Khandal, verbally, dated 13 January 2019; 7Harkirat Singh Sangha, in litt., e-mail dated 18 January 2019; 8Anil Tripathi, 18 January 2019; 9Jain et al. (2005).


Fig. 1. Locations of Chestnut-tailed sightings in Rajasthan (Location with a * indicates historical records, prior to 1984)

59. Chestnut-tailed Starlings perched with Red-vented Bulbul.

60. Chestnut-tailed Starling in a tree cavity holding a Salvadora persica twig.

Mann Arya

Anil Tripathi

47%

5%14%

11%

6%6%

11%

Habitats associated with Chestnut-tailed Starling observations

Forest

NA

Others

Riparian forest

Savannah

Urban

Wetland

Fig. 3. Habitats where Chestnut-tailed Starling has been observed in Rajasthan. “Others” includes man-made areas like gardens or mixture of different habitats like Khem Villas lodge in Sawai Madhopur. “NA” means Not Available. Savannahs are areas with continuous grass cover and a discontinuous tree cover.

J F M A M J J A S O N D

Fig. 2. Month-wise temporal spread of Chestnut-tailed Starling observations in Rajasthan between 1984 and 2018. One observation in a month is considered adequate for this chart.

56 Indian BIRDS Vol. 15 No. 2 (Publ. 15 JuNe 2019)

Starling, could not be substantiated. Experienced birders, familiar with the bird fauna of Ranthambhore, also confirmed not having seen, heard, or even read reports of Chestnut-tailed Starlings in that region (Dharmendra Khandal, verbally, dated 28 April 2018). MG’s observation, therefore, appears to be one of the first documentations of the species from Sawai Madhopur District.

AcknowledgementsWe would like to thank Nirav Bhat for discussions and, Praveen J for advice that substantially improved the manuscript; Suhel Quader and Aditi Murlidhar for providing relevant material; Mannan Arya for their photographs and information; Digvijay Singh Rathore, Harkirat Sangha, Satish Kumar Sharma, Ishwar Malav, and Harsha Jayaramaiah for sharing their observations; Dharmendra Khandal for his inputs on birds of Ranthambhore; and Hotel Khem Villas for logistic support.

ReferencesAli, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1987. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with

those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Cuckoo-shrikes to babaxes. 2nd (Hardback) ed. Delhi: (Sponsored by Bombay Natural History Society.) Oxford University Press. Vol. 5 of 10 vols. Pp. i–xvi, 1–278+2+8 ll.

Andheria, A. P., 2000. Birds of Ranthambhore National Park, Rajasthan. Newsletter for Birdwatchers 40 (4): 51–53.

Aryan, A., Goel, A., Jha, J., 2018. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S46409900. [Accessed on 01 January 2019.]

Butler, E. A., 1875. Notes on the avifauna of Mount Aboo and Northern Guzerat. Stray Feathers 3 (6): 437–500.

eBird. 2018. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird, Ithaca, New York. Available: http://www.ebird.org. [Accessed on 03 January 2019.]

Gala, M., 2015. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S44656875. [Accessed on 01 January 2019.]

Gala, M., Ongole, S., 2018. Website URL: https://ebird.org/india/view/checklist/S47039022. [Accessed on 01 January 2019.]

Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528.

Jain, A., Katewa, S. S., Galav, P. K., & Sharma, P., 2005. Medicinal plant diversity of Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary, Rajasthan, India. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 102: 143–157.

Jayaramaiah, H., 2018a. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S48318777 [Accessed on 01 January 2019.]

Jayaramaiah, H., 2018b. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S48358510 [Accessed on 01 January 2019.]

Jayaramaiah, H., 2018c. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S48409007 [Accessed on 01 January 2019.]

Kannan, R., 1984. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S22285034 [Accessed on 01 January 2019.]

Kazmierczak, K., 2000. A field guide to the birds of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. 1st ed. London: Pica Press / Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–352.

Khurana, D., 2018. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S46867253. [Accessed on 01 January 2019.]

Kidwai, Z., 2013. Vegetation structure and composition in core area of Sariska National Park, Rajasthan. Indian Forester 139 (7): 636–644.

Kumar, R.S. 2017. Identifying sites for promoting ecotourism in Phulwari-ki-Nal Wildlife Sanctuary (PWLS), Southern Aravalli Hills of India. IIOABJournal 8 (1): 15–21.

Mundkur, T., Mudgal, L., & Martin, A., 2007. Addition of Grey-headed Starling Sturnus malabaricus to the avifauna of Keoladeo National Park, India. Indian Birds 2 (6): 175–176 (2006).

Nath, N. K., 2009. Jungle Myna Acridotheres fuscus usurping the nest hole of Grey-headed Starling Sturnus malabaricus. Indian Birds 4 (3): 115–116 (2008).

Pandey, R. P., & Singh, N. P., 1999. Studies on the vegetation of Kumbalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Rajasthan. Indian Forester 125 (11): 1105–1116.

Pittie, A., 2018. Bibliography of South Asian Ornithology. Website URL: http://www.southasiaornith.in. [Accessed on 20 December 2018.]

Radadia, H., 2016. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S32324092. [Accessed on 01 January 2019.]

Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide: attributes and status. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. Vol. 2 of 2 vols. Pp. 1–683.

Rathore, D. S., 2018. Website URL: https://ebird.org/india/view/checklist/S44592089. [Accessed on 01 January 2019.]

Rathore, D. S., & Gala, M., 2018. Website URL: https://ebird.org/india/view/checklist/S44487658 [Accessed on 01 January 2019.]

Reddy, G. V., 1999. Checklist of birds of Ranthambhore. Unpublished MS.Sangha, H. S., & Devarshi, D., 2006. Birds of Mount Abu Wildlife Sanctuary, Rajasthan,

India. Indian Birds 2 (2): 26–32. Sankar, K., Mohan, D., & Pandey, S., 1993. Birds of Sariska Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India.

Forktail 8 (February): 133–141. Saxena, M. M., 2003. Birds of tribal and hilly district of Dungarpur. Newsletter for

Birdwatchers 43 (4): 54–55. Shah, D., Shah, K., Shah, T., & Joshi, A., 2017. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/

S40276839. [Accessed on 01 January 2019.]Sharma, S. K., 2007. Study of biodiversity and ethnobiology of Phulwari Wildlife Sanctuary,

Udaipur (Rajasthan) (Vol. II). PhD Thesis.Sundar, G., & Tiwari, S., 2019. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S51365897.

[Accessed on 12 January 2019.]

61. Chestnut-tailed Starling; another individual with a twig in its beak.

62. Chestnut-tailed Starling visiting a tree cavity.

63. Common Mynas taking over the tree cavity after chasing away Chestnut-tailed Starling.

All:

Anil

Trip

athi


status of chestnut-tailed starling sturnia malabarica in...

Documents