Current Science

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Wintering Harriers in a Rapidly Changing Landscape in Southern Tamil Nadu, India


Affiliations
1 Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Royal Enclave, Srirampura, Jakkur Post, Bangaluru 560 064, India
 

Wintering ecology of many migrant bird species, especially migrant raptors is poorly studied. The semi-arid regions of southern Tamil Nadu (TN), India are a major wintering area and the southern limit for many migrant species. Historically there has been a loss of several grassland species from the area and currently, the natural grasslands are completely transformed. There are no studies on grassland birds in the region, especially on migrant harriers, which are grassland species and show a declining trend in most parts of the country. The present study is an effort to identify harrier roosts and record their numbers at the roost sites, during four winters from 2015 to 2019 in the districts of Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi in TN. Three species of harriers were recorded from 16 roost sites and roost counts at these sites varied from 75 to 2. The total number of harriers declined over the survey period and this was consistent across sites. Majority of the roosts were on private land and loss of roost sites to various land-use transformations is a major driver of harrier numbers in the area. Innovative approaches to protect and conserve grasslands are the need of the hour for the future of grassland species in the region.

Keywords

Grasslands, Harriers, Migration, Roosts, Wintering Ecology.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • Ruegg, K. C. et al., Mapping migration in a songbird using high‐resolution genetic markers. Mol. Ecol., 2014, 23(23), 5726– 5739.

  • Thiollay, J. M., The decline of raptors in West Africa: long-term assessment and the role of protected areas. Ibis, 2006, 148, 240– 254.

  • Mundkur, T., Conserving birds and their habitats along the Central Asian Flyway, Hornbill, 2017, 4–11.

  • Rappole, J. H. and McDonald, M. V., Cause and effect in population declines of migratory birds. Auk, 1994, 111(3), 652– 660.

  • Somveille, M., Rodrigues, A. S. and Manica, A., Why do birds migrate? A macroecological perspective. Global Ecol. Biogeogr., 2015, 24(6), 664–674.

  • Sillett, T. S. and Holmes, R. T., Variation in survivorship of a migratory songbird throughout its annual cycle. J. Anim. Ecol., 2002, 71(2), 296–308.

  • Loss, S. R., Will, T. and Marra, P. P., Refining estimates of bird collision and electrocution mortality at power lines in the United States. PLoS ONE, 2014, 9(7), p.e101565; doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0101565.

  • Manville, A. M., Impacts to birds and bats due to collisions and electrocutions from some tall structures in the United States: wires, towers, turbines, and solar arrays – state-of-the-art in addressing the problems. In Problematic Wildlife: A Cross – Disciplinary Approach, Springer, Switzerland, 2016, 1st edn, pp.415–442.

  • Beauchamp, G., Long-distance migrating species of birds travel in larger groups. Biol. Lett., 2011, 7(5), 692–694.

  • Anon., India’s national action plan for migratory birds and their habitats along the Central Asian Flyway, 2018; http://envfor.nic.in/sites/default/files/press-releases/CAF_NAP_Final%20with%20CL.pdf (accessed in January 2019).

  • Naoroji, R., Birds of Prey of the Indian Subcontinent, Christopher Helm, 2006.

  • Narayan, G. and Rosalind, L., New record of the pied harrier Circus melanoleucos (Pennant) breeding in Assam Duars, with a brief review of its distribution. J. Bombay Nat. Hist., Soc., 1991, 88(1), 30–34.

  • Thiollay, J. M., Severe decline of large birds in the Northern Sahel of West Africa: a long-term assessment. Bird Conserv. Int., 2006, 16, 353–365.

  • Trierweiler, C. and Koks, B. J., Living on the Edge: Wetlands and Birds in a Changing Sahel (eds Zwarts, L. et al.), KNVV Publishing, Zeist, The Netherlands, 2009, pp. 312–327.

  • Zwarts, L., Bijlsma, R. G., Van der Kamp, J. and Wymenga, E., Living on the Edge: Wetlands and Birds in a Changing Sahel, KNVV Publishing, Zeist, The Netherlands, 2009.

  • Harrison, J. A. and Cherry, M., The atlas of southern African birds, Johannesburg: BirdLife SA, 1997, 1, 708–709.

  • Ganesh, T. and Prashanth, M. B., A first compilation of harrier roost counts from India suggests population declines of wintering birds over 30 years. Ardea, 2018, 106(1), 19–30.

  • Ganesh, T. and Prashanth. M. B., How the decline in India’s harrier population hurts its farmers, 2017; https://scroll.in/article/830513/indias-depleting-grasslands-are-leading-to-a-drop-in-the-population-of-birds-that-aid-crop-growth

  • Thejaswi, S., Shivaprakash, A. and Mohan Kumar, M., A note on harrier roosts in the Mysore area. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 2004, 101(3), 450–451.

  • Johnsingh, A. J. T., Field days: a naturalist’s journey through South and Southeast Asia, Universities Press, Hyderabad, 2006.

  • Rangarajan, M. and Sivaramakrishnan, K., India’s Environmental History: From Ancient Times to the Colonial Period, Permanent Black, Ranikhet, 2011, pp. 1–34.

  • Rahmani, A. R. and Manakadan, R., The Great Indian Bustard and Lesser Florican in Tamil Nadu, Blackbuck, 1988, 4(3), 3–8.

  • Prashanth, M. B., Saravanan, A., Mathivanan, M. and Ganesh, T., Conservation of a fragmented population of blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra). Curr. Sci., 2016, 111(3), 543–549.

  • Prashanth, M. B., Saravanan, A., Mathivanan, M., Shenbagamorthy, S. and Ganesh, T., Distribution patterns and habitat requirements of blackbuck in Vallanadu Blackbuck Sanctuary: implications for conservation and management. Indian For., 2014, 140(10), 1005–1013.

  • Vijayan, V. S., Inland wetlands of India: conservation priorities. Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore, 2004.

  • Subramanya, S., Heronries of Tamil Nadu. Indian Birds, 2005, 1(6), 126–140.

  • Abhisheka, K., Patrick David, J., Prashanth, M. B., Seshadri, K. S. and Ganesh, T., First detailed survey of waterbirds in Tirunelveli and Tuticorin districts, Tamil Nadu, India. J. Threat. Taxa, 2013, 5(12), 4641–4652.

  • Prashanth, M. B., Seshadri, K. S., Mathivannan, M. and Ganesh, T., The good and bad of drought to waterbirds in a river basin. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Indian Ornithology, SACON, 2013.

  • India Meterological Department, 2015–2019; http://www.imd.gov.in

  • Champion, S. H. and Seth, S. K., A Revised Survey of the Forest Types of India, Government. of India Press, New Delhi, 1968.

  • Gorelick, N., Google Earth Engine, In EGU General Assembly Conference Abst., 2013, vol. 15, p. 11997.

  • Ganesh, T. and Kanniah, P., Roost counts of harriers Circus spanning seven winters in Andhra Pradesh, India. Forktail, 2000, 16, 1–4.

  • Forsman, D., The Raptors of Europe and the Middle East: A Handbook of Field Identification, T&AD Poyser, London, UK, 1999.

  • Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C. and Inskipp, T., Birds of the Indian Subcontinent: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives, Bloomsbury Publishing, New Delhi, 2013; https://www.bloomsbury.com/in/birds-of-the-indian-subcontinent-9788193315095/

  • Sutherland, W. J. (ed.), Ecological Census Techniques: A Handbook, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2006; http://www.ecolab.bas.bg/main/Members/snikolov/Sutherland_ 2006_Ecological_Census_Techniques.pdf

  • IUCN, The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 20202, 2020; https://www.iucnredlist.org (accessed on 3 December 2020).

  • Trierweiler, C. et al., A Palaearctic migratory raptor species tracks shifting prey availability within its wintering range in the Sahel. J. Anim. Ecol., 2013, 82(1), 107–120; https://doi.org/(...)652656.2012.02036.x.

  • Thorup, K. et al., Resource tracking within and across continents in long-distance bird migrants. Sci. Adv., 2017, 3(1), e1601360.

  • Casagrande, D. G. and Beissinger, S. R., Evaluation of four methods for estimating parrot population size. Condor, 1997, 99(2), 445–457.

  • Barlow, K. E. et al., Citizen science reveals trends in bat populations: the National Bat Monitoring Programme in Great Britain. Biol. Conserv., 2015, 182, 14–26.

  • Simmons, R., Harriers of the World. Their Behaviour and Ecology, Oxford University Press, New York, USA, 2000, p. 368.


Abstract Views: 347

PDF Views: 124




  • Wintering Harriers in a Rapidly Changing Landscape in Southern Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract Views: 347  |  PDF Views: 124

Authors

A. Saravanan
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Royal Enclave, Srirampura, Jakkur Post, Bangaluru 560 064, India
M. B. Prashanth
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Royal Enclave, Srirampura, Jakkur Post, Bangaluru 560 064, India
T. Ganesh
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Royal Enclave, Srirampura, Jakkur Post, Bangaluru 560 064, India

Abstract


Wintering ecology of many migrant bird species, especially migrant raptors is poorly studied. The semi-arid regions of southern Tamil Nadu (TN), India are a major wintering area and the southern limit for many migrant species. Historically there has been a loss of several grassland species from the area and currently, the natural grasslands are completely transformed. There are no studies on grassland birds in the region, especially on migrant harriers, which are grassland species and show a declining trend in most parts of the country. The present study is an effort to identify harrier roosts and record their numbers at the roost sites, during four winters from 2015 to 2019 in the districts of Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi in TN. Three species of harriers were recorded from 16 roost sites and roost counts at these sites varied from 75 to 2. The total number of harriers declined over the survey period and this was consistent across sites. Majority of the roosts were on private land and loss of roost sites to various land-use transformations is a major driver of harrier numbers in the area. Innovative approaches to protect and conserve grasslands are the need of the hour for the future of grassland species in the region.

Keywords


Grasslands, Harriers, Migration, Roosts, Wintering Ecology.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv120%2Fi3%2F553-561