Impact of Warblers with Special Reference to Indian Wrenwarbler, prinia Subflava sykes on Insect Pests of Ragi

Insectivorous warblers, namely, Indian wren-warbler, Prinia subflava Sykes (IWW), streaked fantail warbler, Cisticola juncidis (Franklin) (SFW) and ashy wren-warbler, Prinia socialis Sykes (AWW) were found to frequent ragi fields. Indian wren-warbler was the most abundant and dominant species found in ragi fields when compared to other two species. Several insect pests infest ragi crop during various stages of the crop stand. Sampling of insects in ragi fields revealed a total of 23 insect taxa. The food items consumed by theses insectivorous warblers were mostly from within the ragi field itself. Seven species of insects were consumed by the nesting warblers. The food of Indian wren-warbler consisted of mainly insects (98.44%) and spiders (1.56%). The proportion of beneficial insect was only 6.29 per cent of insect pest species. The food of streaked fantail warbler consisted of insects alone (100%).