Diet of three insectivorous birds in Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu, India – a preliminary study

 

S. Asokan 1, A. Mohamed Samsoor Ali 2 & R. Manikannan3

 

1Reader & 3 Ph.D. Research Scholar, Department of Zoology & Division of Wildlife Biology, A.V.C. College (Autonomous), Mannampandal, Mayiladuthurai, Tamil Nadu 609305, India

2 Senior Research Fellow, Owl Research Project, Department of Zoology, Saraswathi Narayanan College (Autonomous), Perungudi, Madurai, Tamil Nadu 625022, India

Email: beeasokan@yahoo.co.in  1; amsamsoor@yahoo.co.in  2 (corresponding author); manikannanr@yahoo.co.in  3

 

 

 

Date of online publication 26 June 2009

ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)

 

Editor: C. Srinivasulu

 

Manuscript details:

Ms # o2145

Received 13 February 2009

Final received 08 May 2009

Finally accepted 30 May 2009

 

Citation: Asokan, S., A.M.S. Ali & R. Manikannan(2009). Diet of three insectivorous birds in Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu, India – a preliminary study. Journal of Threatened Taxa 1(6): 327-330.

 

Author Details: Dr. S. Asokanis currently teaching students, undertaking and supervising various research activities. He has produced 7 PhD and 40 MPhilstudents in various field of Wildlife Biology and Zoology. He has published more than 30 research papers in leading national and international journals.  A. Mohamed Samsoor is currently working as a Senior Research Fellow (SRF) in the Owl Research Project (funded by MoEF, Govt. of India) at SaraswathiNarayanan College (Autonomous), Madurai. He graduated with a Master of Science in Wildlife Biology from the A.V.C. College (Autonomous), Mayiladuthuraiin 2003 and has been working on the various filed of ornithology since 2004. R. Manikannan is working on diversity of wetland birds in Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary for a PhD degree. 

 

Author Contribution: The field study was conducted AMSA and RM under the supervision of Dr. S.A.  AMSA analyzed data and wrote the manuscript and Dr. S.A. provided necessary suggestions during manuscript preparation.

 

Copyright: © S. Asokan, A. Mohamed Samsoor Ali & R. Manikannan 2009. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTTallows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.

 

Acknowledgements: We are highly grateful to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India for their financial support (14/14/2001/ERS/RE) to carry out the above work in Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu.  We wish to express our sincere thanks to the HOD and other staff members of zoology and the Principal and Management of A.V.C. College (Autonomous), Mannampandal for having rendered facilities and encouragement. We are thankful to M/s. P. Radhakrishnan and M. Chakravarthifor their field help.

 

 

Abstract: The dietary composition of the White-breasted Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis, the Small Bee-eater Merops orientalis and the Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercuswas studied between 2005 and 2006 in NagapattinamDistrict, Tamil Nadu, India by analyzing regurgitated pellets. The analysis revealed that the White-breasted Kingfisher preys mainly on arthropods (83.40%) and less on vertebrates; seven orders of insects were identified, with Coleoptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera and Orthoptera predominant. The small bee-eater diet is composed of Coleoptera (22.3%), Hymenoptera (20.8%), Hemiptera (14.1%), Orthoptera(12.6%), Odonata (10.7%), Lepidoptera (10.4%) and Diptera (8.6%). Beetles were also found to be the most frequent prey (23.7%) in the diet of black drongos, followed by Hemiptera (21.6%), Orthoptera(19.3%), Hymenoptera (14.4%), Lepidoptera (7.5%), Diptera(6.8%) and Odonata (6.0%).

 

Keywords: Bio-control, birds, Coleoptera, diet, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Insectivory

 

 

For Tables – Click here

 

Introduction

 

Agricultural ecosystem provides a concentrated and highly predictable source of food to many birds in the form of grain, seeds, insects and rodents.  A large number of birds directly or indirectly depend upon crop fields, making them integral parts of agro-ecosystems. Insectivorous birds are beneficial to agriculturists since they keep a check on populations of various insect pests of crops.  As enemies of insects, birds stand supreme among vertebrates because they are highly mobile and are able to congregate quickly in large numbers when sudden outbreaks of insect pests occur (Dhindsa & Saini 1994).  Thus birds are highly motivated, efficient and cost-effective insect pest controllers.

Detailed analysis of food and feeding behaviour of insectivorous birds is fundamental to assessments of their economic importance.  However, information on the feeding ecology of Indian birds is limited, being largely based on the findings of Beresford (1944), Mukherjee (1975), Mathew et al. (1978) and Ali & Ripley (1983).  In southern India, reports on the food and feeding ecology of insectivorous birds are few and scanty (Mathew et al. 1978; Natarajan 1993; Asokan 1998; Sivakumaran & Thiyagesan 2003; Asokan et al. 2008).  The present paper deals with the diets of three common insectivorous birds: the White-breasted Kingfisher Halcyonsmyrnensis, Small Bee-eater Merops orientalis and Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercusin Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu, India.  Beyond general observations on their distribution and breeding seasons, our knowledge on feeding ecology of these three species is limited.

 

Materials and Methods

 

The present study was conducted in two village’s viz., Thiruvalanagadu and Manakudi (18018”N & 79050”E) of Cauvery Delta in Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu, India between 2005 and 2006.  The study area is a portion of the granary of southern India because of extensive cultivation of paddy, sugarcane, cotton, groundnut, banana, pulses and other cereals.  The river Cauvery and its tributaries, namely, Kollidam, Uppanar, Vellar, Manjalar and Arasalarare the major perennial water sources in the study area. The north-east monsoon brings rain between October and December (amounting to 65% of the total rainfall in a year).

Analysis of regurgitated pellets is a reliable, non-invasive method for studying food habits of insectivorous birds (Ralph et al. 1985).  The regurgitated pellets were collected opportunistically at perch and roost-sites around the agricultural lands.  The collected pellets were bagged, labeled and dried in a hot air oven at 600C for identification of prey remains (Herrera & Ramirez 1974; Ralph et al. 1985).  The prey fragments were identified using a dissecting microscope and reference books.  We identified the prey taxaby means of analyzing various body-parts in the remains of the diets as follows: Coleoptera (mandibles, elytra and leg fragments), Hemiptera (H-shaped tergalplates, mouthparts and leg fragments), Hymenoptera (mouthparts, leg fragments and wing fragments), Orthoptera (raptorial leg fragments and mandibles), Diptera (antennae, eyes and wings), Odonata (wings, leg fragments and head capsules), Lepidoptera (wing scales and proboscis), crabs (pedipalpsand shell fragments), fish (cartilage bones and scales), amphibians (mandibles and pelvic girdle) and reptiles (mandibles).

 

Results and Discussion

 

Analysis of the diet of the White-breasted Kingfisher based on 638 regurgitated pellets reveals that it preys primarily on arthropods (83.40 %). Among the insects Coleoptera (21.95 %), Hemiptera (17.17 %), Hymenoptera (14.74 %) and Orthoptera (13.72 %) occur most frequently in its diet (Table 1).  In addition, crabs, fishes, amphibians and reptiles comprise about 16.60% of the total diet (Table 1).  Our findings are consistent with the results of some of the earlier studies (e.g., Sen 1944; Mukherjee 1975; Yahya 2001).  In another study carried out in Malaysia (Burton 1998), insects - mostly grasshoppers, ants and beetles - and lizards were observed to be the main diet of White-breasted Kingfisher.  A similar trend was found in terms of prey composition, with as many as 613 of the total 638 pellets (96%) having remains of insects belonging to order Coleoptera, followed byHemiptera (93%), Orthoptera(91%) and Hymenoptera (89%).  Other prey remains were found in less than 50% of the total pellets analyzed (Table 2).  The remains of fishes, mostly restricted to rainy season, were detected in 103 pellets.  During the rainy season (September to January) when the water level is much higher and the river and ponds largely inundated, the birds fed more on aquatic animals like fish and frogs, while during the drier months from February to August they consumed more terrestrial organisms.

The remains of 8757 insect prey items were found in the regurgitated pellets of Small Bee-eaters. The most dominant prey were Coleoptera (22.3%), Hymenoptera (20.8%), Hemiptera (14.1%), Orthoptera(12.6%), Odonata (10.7%), Lepidoptera (10.4%) and Diptera (8.6%) (Table 3). Earlier,Asokan (1998) found that beetles and Hymenoptera were the principal food items of Small Bee-eaters in NagapattinamDistrict.  Mathew et al. (1978) reported that they consumed almost equal proportions of Hymenoptera, Coleoptera,Odonata and Lepidoptera. However, Fry (1984) who studied the Little Bee-eater Merops pusillus in Africa, reported that Hymenoptera formed the major diet. The percentage occurrence of Hymenoptera in the study area in the diet of Small Bee-eaters could be attributed to less numbers of bee-hives in the study area.  In terms of prey composition, most pellets had remains of insects belonging to order Coleoptera (96%) followed by Hymenoptera (93%), Orthoptera (81%) and Odonata (72%). The other prey remains such as Hemiptera, Diptera and Lepidoptera were found in less than 60% of pellets (Table 4).

The analysis of 676 pellets of Black Drongo indicated the high frequency occurrence of insects belonging to order Coleoptera (23.7%) followed by Hemiptera (21.6%), Orthoptera(19.3%), Hymenoptera (14.4%), Lepidoptera (7.5%), Diptera(6.8%) and Odonata (6.0%) (Table 5).  Mathew et al. (1978) reported that Coleoptera, Hemipteraand Orthoptera as major food of Black Drongos, and the present study showed a similar trend. Hussain & Bhalla (1937) found that Black Drongos feed largely on grasshoppers and locusts.  In terms of prey composition totally 676 regurgitated pellets were analyzed, of these 92% of the pellets contained Coleopteran remains, 83% contained Hemipteranremains, 76% contained Orthopteran remains and 72% contained Hymenopteran remains.  The Diptera, Odonata and lepidoptera were found  in 368 (54%), 389 (58%) and 413 (61%) pellets respectively (Table 6).

White-breasted Kingfishers, Small Bee-eaters and Black Drongos consumed almost similar proportions of Coleopterans, Hemipterans, Hymenopterans and Orthopterans in our study. These three species were predominantly found in agricultural lands and the above insect prey formed principal food items due to their greater availability.  Moorman et al. (2007) reported that Coleopterans and Hemipterans formed the major diet of foliage-gleaning and ground-gleaning insectivorous birds. Many other investigators also have determined Coleopterans, Hemipteransand Hymenopterans (Mason & Maxwell-Lefroy 1912; Sodhi 1986; Kaspari & Joern 1993; Parasharya et al. 1994; Sivakumaran & Thiyagesan2003; Yard et al. 2004; Asokan et al. 2008) as primary food resource of insectivorous birds.

The findings of the present study revealed that a wide variety of insects are consumed by the three birds showed and hence they act as very active bio-control agents against agricultural insects pests.  Nathan & Rajendran (1982) reported that Black Drongos destroying injurious insects like stem-borer, skippers and leaf rollers in enormous numbers in the rice ecosystem of Pondicherry region.  Parasharya et al. (1994) also stated that White-breasted Kingfishers, Small Bee-eaters and Black Drongos are important bio-control agents against white grub (Holotricha sp.), an important subterranean pest damaging root system of several crops.

Interestingly, the local farmers are aware of the beneficial role of these insectivorous birds in bio-control of crop pests. Farmers can encourage these birds in agricultural fields by providing perching sites, by keeping dried tree stumps in different localities in the rice fields, and also by planting plantain along the farm boundaries.  

 

References

 

Ali, S. & S.D. Ripley (1983). The Book of Indian Birds. Oxford University Press, London.

Asokan, S. (1998). Food and feeding habits of the Small Green Bee-eater Merops orientalisin Mayiladuthurai. Journal of Ecobiology 10(3): 199-204.

Asokan, S., A.M.S Ali, R. Manikannan & P. Radhakrishnan (2008). Studies on insect composition in the diet of Common Myna Acridotheres tristisL. Trends in Kalis Research 3(1): 72-79.

Beresford, G. (1944). The winter food of birds in Kashmir. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 45: 86-88.

Burton, N.H.K. (1998). Notes on the diet of nestling White-throated Kingfishers Halcyon smyrnensisin Malaysia. Forktail 14: 79-80.

Dhindsa, M.S. & H.K. Saini (1994). Agricultural ornithology: an Indian perspective. Journal of Bioscience 19: 391-402.

Fry, C.H. (1984). The bee-eaters. T.and A.D. Poyser, Carlton, UK.

Herrera, C.M. & A. Ramirez (1974). Food of Bee-eaters in Southern Span. British Birds 67: 159-164.

Hussain, M.A. & H.R. Bhalla (1937). The bird enemies of the cotton roller Svlepta degogata at Khanewal Multan (Punjab). Indian Journal of Agricultural Science 7: 785-792.

Kaspari, M. & A. Joern (1993). Prey choice by three insectivorous grassland birds: reevaluating opportunism. Oikos68: 414-430.

Mason, C.W. & H. Maxwell-Lefroy (1912). The food of birds in India. Memoris Department of Agriculture in India, Entomological series, Vol. 3.

Mathew, D.N., T.C. Narendran & V.J. Zacharias (1978). A comparative study of the feeding habits of certain species of Indian birds affecting agriculture. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society75(2): 1178-1197.

Moorman, C.E., L.T. Bowen, J.C. Kilgo, C.E. Sorenson, J.L. Hanula, S. Horn & M.D. Ulyshen(2007).Seasonal diets of insectivorous birds using canopy gaps in a bottomland forest.Journal of Field Ornithology 78: 11-20.

Mukherjee, A.K. (1975). Food-habits of water-birds of the Sundarban, 24 Paraganas District, West Bengal. India – V.Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 72: 85-109.

Natarajan, V. (1993).Food and feeding habits of Southern Crow-pheasant Centropus sinensis parrotiStresemann (Aves: Cuculidae) at Point Calimere, Tamil Nadu. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 90: 11-16.

Nathan, S.P.C. & B. Rajendran (1982). Bird fauna of the rice crop ecosystem in Pondicherry region. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 79: 204-205.

Parasharya, B.M., J.F. Dodia, K.L. Mathew & D.N. Yadav (1994). Natural regulation of white grub (Holotricha sp.Scarabidae) by birds in agro-ecosystem. Journal of Bioscience 19: 381-390.

Ralph, C.P., S.E. Nagata & C.J. Ralph (1985). Analysis of droppings to describe diets of small birds. Journal of Field Ornithology 56 (2): 165-174.

Sen, S.N. (1944). Food of the White-breasted Kingfisher Halcyonsmyrnensis. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society 44:475.

Sivakumaran, N. & K. Thiyagesan (2003). Population, diurnal activity patterns and feeding ecology of the Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis. Zoos’Print Journal 18(5): 1091-1095.

Sodhi, N.S. (1986). Feeding ecology of Indian Pond Heron and its comparison with that of Little Egret. Pavo 24: 97-116.

Yahya, H.S. (2001). Feeding habits of the White-breasted Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis(Linn.) Family Alcedinidae. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 98:450-451.

Yard, H.K., C. Van Riper III, B.T. Brown & M.J. Kearsley (2004). Diets of insectivorous birds along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona. Condor 106: 106-115.