Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 June
2021 | 13(7): 18752–18780
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6259.13.7.18752-18780
#6259 | Received 03 June 2020 | Final received 02 April 2021
| Finally accepted 08 May 2021
Birds of Surat-Dangs: a consolidated checklist of 75 years (1944–2020)
with special emphasis on noteworthy bird records and bird hotspots from
northern Western Ghats of Gujarat, India
Nikunj Jambu 1 & Kaushal G. Patel 2
1 A/5, Sainath Society, B/h Yash complex, Gotri
Road, Vadodara, Gujarat 390021, India.
1 Division of Avian Biology and Wildlife
Biology, Department of Zoology, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda,
Pratapgunj, Vadodara, Gujarat 390002, India.
2 07, Shiv Shakti Co-operative Housing Society,
Deshara-Bhatha Road, Bilimora, Gujarat 396321, India.
2 Current affiliation: Wildlife Conservation
Society - India, Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, 2 Phase, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560097,
India.
1 jambu.nikunj@gmail.com, 2 kaushalgpatel4@gmail.com
(corresponding author)
Editor: P.A. Azeez, Salim Ali Centre for
Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Coimbatore, India. Date of
publication: 26 June 2021 (online & print)
Citation: Jambu, N. & K. Patel (2021). Birds of Surat-Dangs: a consolidated checklist of 75 years (1944–2020)
with special emphasis on noteworthy bird records and bird hotspots from
northern Western Ghats of Gujarat, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 13(7): 18752–18780. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6259.13.7.18752-18780
Copyright: © Jambu & Patel 2021. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
License. JoTT allows unrestricted use,
reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium by providing
adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: This work was supported by Rufford Small Grant, UK
(Project number 17768-1) to author NJ and by Mohamed bin Zayed Species, Abu
Dhabi (Project number 152510567) & IDEA WILD (equipment grant) to
author KP.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing
interests.
Author details: Nikunj
Jambu is a Zoologist with more than a decade’s work experience spanning avian,
mammalian and herpetology field research. He holds a zoology master’s degree
from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, with a specialisation in
avian biology. Over the years, he has worked on various aspects of avifaunal
research and wildlife species conservation in various protected areas spread
across India. His special interests are breeding ecology of birds, GIS, and
remote sensing in wildlife conservation. Kaushal
Patel is currently part of the carnivore and herbivore ecology and
conservation team at Wildlife Conservation Society-India, and in the past has
worked with National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore. His research
interests lie in diversity and distribution of mammalian and avian fauna and in
landscape conservation.
Author contributions: Data collection and
manuscript preparation done by NJ and KP. Maps are prepared by KP.
Acknowledgements: An initial big thanks to
Dr. Suchindra Busi (IFS), without whom, none of these would have been
possible. We are thankful to Shri Jamal
Khan (IFS), then PCCF-Wildlife, Gujarat for providing necessary permissions
(WLP/28/C/1085-86/2015-16 and WLP/28/C/118-20/2016-1) for our field work. We sincerely thank Shri. Anand Kumar (IFS),
then DCF of North Dang Division, Ahwa-Dang, Gujarat for giving us the freedom
to instate an event called “Dangs Bird festival” in 2016 and to Shri.
Agnesshwar Vyas (IFS), DCF, North Dang Division, Ahwa-Dang, Gujarat for
continuing this event as well as for providing us with logistic support during
the field work. No field work is possible
with the support of field staff. We are
also thankful to the forest rangers, watchers, volunteers, and all the
participants of Dangs Bird Festival (2016–2018) as well as in Dangs Vulture
Census 2016. We like to extend our
gratitude to Ms. Vandana Viswanath for helping with language of the manuscipt.
Also, thanks to Ms. Avani Kulkarni and Hareendra Baraiya for translating the
abstract in Gujarati.
Abstract: Surat-Dangs, historically
known as a Bhil State, is the northernmost tip of Western Ghats in the state of
Gujarat. Despite being a part of an
endemic bird area and global biodiversity hotspot, avifaunal diversity has been
less documented in the landscape. Two
protected areas, Purna Wildlife Sanctuary and Vansda National Park, are
designated in the landscape. A handful of studies on birds have been
conducted after Dr. Salim Ali’s collection in 1944–48. We surveyed the landscape (both protected and
non-protected areas) in 2012–13 and 2015–2018 for documentation of the
avifaunal diversity. We present a
consolidated checklist of birds from our surveys as primary data and all
published literature and eBird checklists as secondary data. We have reported a total of 297 bird species
belonging to 70 families and 21 orders including the first record of Nilgiri
Wood-Pigeon Columba elphinstonii for the State as well as Purna Wildlife
Sanctuary. Here, we have re-reported
various species, which was suspected to be locally extinct from the protected
area or landscape among other noteworthy bird records. We have identified bird-rich localities outside
the protected areas based on the survey done by Salim Ali (1944–48) that can be
used for future surveys. We also propose
the landscape to be declared as an Important Bird Area (IBA) as per Global IBA
criteria (A1, A2, & A3), which will pave the milestone for future
conservation endeavors in the landscape.
Keywords: Avian diversity, eBird,
Important Bird Area, Gujarat Forest Department, Nilgiri Wood-Pigeon.
Introduction
Gujarat State occupies the northern extremity of the
western seaboard of India. Its natural
ecosystems range from marine and wetlands to deserts, grasslands, moist
deciduous forests, and a coastline of 1,650km, with two gulfs (Gulf of Khambhat
and Gulf of Kachchh), the longest in India.
The State is home to nearly 582 species of birds (Ganpule 2017). Gujarat falls on the Indus Flyway that makes
it an important place on the ornithological map of India (Jambu 2013).
The Dangs District (20.550–21.083 0N,
73.450–73.950 0E; 105–1,317 m; 1,764km2) lies in the
southern part of Gujarat State bordering Maharashtra. It forms the northernmost tip of the Western
Ghats (hereafter referred to as WG) and is endowed with closed-canopy forest
with trees of 30m height or more. WG has
been identified as a global biodiversity hotspot and endemic bird area
(Stattersfield et al. 1998; Myers et al. 2000); however, only a few avifaunal
studies have been undertaken in the Dangs District in the past (Ali 1954–55;
Shull 1962; Worah 1991; Singh et al. 2000; Trivedi 2003).
The landscape starts from the rugged mountain chains
of Sahyadri Hills in the east and descends in the west to the plains of
Gujarat. Most of the region of the Dangs
District is endowed with hilly terrain.
With elevation ranging from 105m in the west to 1,317m in the eastern
border, with some hills in the east and south, the region is chained with a
series of flat-topped low hills. Along
with forest patches in Surat District, the landscape was noted as “Surat-Dangs”,
a tribal country since British time. The
Dangs District is divided mainly into four valleys of Gira, Purna, Khapri, and
Ambika rivers, arising from the hills and flowing down towards the west into
the Arabian Sea. These are perennial
rivers retaining some water even in the dry hot summer season.
Forests of the Dangs are known to be the richest in
diversity and density in Gujarat State.
The district has a forest cover of 77.16%, with 440–550 plant species,
of which, 120 species are medicinal and economically valuable timber species
(Jain 1963; Patel 1971; Shah & Yadav 1979; Singh et al. 2000; Kumar
et al. 2007). Two protected areas
(hereafter referred to as PAs) designated in the Surat-Dangs landscape are
Purna Wildlife Sanctuary (160km2) (hereafter referred to as PWS) and
Vansda National Park (24km2) (hereafter referred to as VNP, Image
1). The entire forest area of the VNP
falls under the following subtypes: 3B/C2 southern moist mixed deciduous
forest, 5/E9 dry bamboo brakes, 5/IS1 tropical riverine forest (Champion &
Seth 1968). The PWS forest is under
eight sub-types: 3B/C1 a very moist teak forest, 3B/C1b moist teak forest,
3B/C1c slightly moist teak forest, 3B/C2 southern moist mixed deciduous forest,
5A/C1b dry teak forests, 5A/C3 dry mixed deciduous forests, 5E9 dry bamboo brakes,
and 5/IS1 dry tropical riverine forest (Champion & Seth 1968).
Dangs forest has a long history of timber exploitation
and systematic forestry since 1840 (Worah 1991), and selective felling had
eliminated almost all large trees (mostly teak with a girth of 90cm) since 1897
(Khanchandani 1970). In addition,
forestry operations of thinning and climber-cutting remove lianas as well as
several species of low timber value associated with teak (Anonymous 2001). Worah (1991) had documented the negative
impact of forest fragmentation on the avian community in the Dangs
forests. In Dangs, mass flowering of Bambusa
arudinacea (Retz.) Willd., a species widespread in the area, happened in
2007. Owing to its ecology, all the
bamboos dried up post-flowering, forest fires became frequent. Hence, as per bamboo management, harvesting
license was given for three years.
During these years, most of the bamboo in the sanctuary was harvested,
altering the habitat into an open and sparse forest (Jambu 2013).
After the bamboo flowering of 2007 and subsequent
harvesting, a 30-day survey, spanning various months and seasons of the year
(2012–2013), was done by Nikunj Jambu (hereafter referred to as NJ) in PWS and
surrounding areas to document the avifaunal species present therein. After the survey, various sporadic field
trips were made by NJ and Kaushal Patel (hereafter referred to as KP) covering
various localities of Dangs District.
Another year-long survey was carried out by NJ and KP during 2015–2016,
covering various regions of the district, with special focus on PWS. A vulture census was also carried out in
April 2016, in collaboration with the local forest department, to estimate the
vulture population in the Gadad region of Dangs. For the endangered and endemic species,
Forest Owlet, KP carried out special status and distribution surveys in
2015–2016 in the district. Also, a
citizen science initiative called Dangs Bird Festival (hereafter referred to as
DBF) was initiated by NJ and KP in collaboration with the local forest
department for three consecutive years from 2016 to 2018. Data collected through DBFs is also mentioned
here. Lastly, previous surveys by Ali
(1954–1955), Shull (1962), Worah (1991), Singh et al. (2000), Trivedi
(2003), earlier published records, reports and eBird sightings are incorporated
here to prepare a consolidated checklist of the last 75 years (1944–2020).
Methods
The methodology used (for example, direct sightings,
call recording, call playback, survey timings) for bird surveys were different
with different time series. These are mentioned in detailed year-wise
descriptions in the following section.
NJ surveyed 18 different trails across PWS in winter
and summer seasons from December 2012 to April 2013 (referred to as NJ
2012–2013), multiple times, both during day and evening, once each between
06.45–10.00 h and 16.00–18.45 h. The
trails were selected in such a way that different types of habitats are
covered. Call playback and call
recording methods were not used during this study period. Ad libitum data collection was also done at
random locations in PWS. Also, different
habitats were thoroughly and intensively surveyed for selective bird species.
During the study of 2015–2016, we surveyed 23 random
trails, covering various habitats (dense forest, open forest, moist deciduous
forest, dry deciduous forest, mixed deciduous forest, agricultural fields near
the edge of the PA boundary) of PWS.
These trails were covered in winter and summer seasons during day and
evening times. Call play-back method and
opportunistic surveys were done to cover reserve forests and agricultural
fields, in addition to the PAs, in the Dangs District (referred to as NJ and KP
2015–16). The call play-back method was
used to identify nocturnal bird species (owlets, owls and nightjars). Pre-recorded calls were obtained from www.xeno-canto.org/asia
for use in call play-back method in locations where the species were expected
to occur.
As a part of a citizen science and outreach program,
during DBF, the participants were divided into five teams and each team walked
different forest trails varying 2–8 km to cover all the types of habitats in and
around the PWS. Volunteers and forest
staff also accompanied each team on all three days at 06.30–11.00 h. All the sightings were verified by volunteers
as well as confirmed with the bird photographs taken during the walk. DBF was conducted for three consecutive
years: 5–7 February 2016, 3–5 February 2017 and 9–11 February 2018. No call play-back, call recording or
nocturnal surveys were done during these events (referred to as DBF 2016, DBF
2017, and DBF 2018).
For the confirmation records of the Forest Owlet, KP
used the knowledge of locals. KP
conducted interviews using both audio and visual clues. Confirmation was further made by playing
pre-recorded call of the species. Calls
were played from October 2015 to May 2016, known to be its breeding season
(Mehta et al. 2008). The species
is vocal during this season and easy to detect using the call play-back
method. As the species is diurnal, the
call was played in the morning (07.00–11.00 h) and afternoon (13.00–18.00 h) in
teak-dominated open dry-deciduous forests or seasonal agricultural fields. After selecting a site, the pre-recorded call
was broadcast for 1 minute, followed by 5 minutes of pause. The presence/absence record of the species
was confirmed by direct sighting, call response, or both by visiting all 111
sites thrice.
A census (total count) of Gyps indicus (Long-billed
Vulture) was carried out on 2 and 3 April 2016 at Gadad Village, Piplai Devi
range by NJ and KP, in collaboration with the forest department - North Dangs
division, Ahwa. Around 20 volunteers
accompanied with the forest department staff participated in this activity.
eBird (www.ebird.org) is an online platform, where
bird-watchers around the world share their sightings and checklists. Verified data from such open-source platforms
is used as secondary data by many researchers in preparing consolidated
checklists. We have also incorporated
certain eBird checklists from seasoned birders in our consolidated checklist
(Referred to as eBird- The Dangs County, Gujarat India and Vansda NP).
Finally, data collected by the authors (NJ 2012–13, NJ
and KP 2015–16, DBF 2016, DBF 2017, and DBF 2018) as primary data and previous
bird surveys (Ali (1954–1955), Shull (1962), Worah (1991), Singh et al. (2000),
Trivedi (2003), ebird records, and other published article on new bird
sightings from the landscape) as secondary data are incorporated in preparing a
consolidated checklist for the last 75 years (1944–48 to 2020) from Surat-Dangs
landscape. Lastly, bird hotspots and
localities have been identified from the surveys done by Ali (1954–55) and
Shull (1962).
Results
In total 297 species (Table 1, Figure 1) belonging to
21 orders and 70 families (Figure 2) has been recorded from the Surat-Dangs
landscape representing 51.03% of the avifauna recorded from the Gujarat State
(Ganpule 2017) and 22.85% of India’s Bird species (Rahmani et al. 2016). Both the protected areas are home to 77.44 %
(PWS) and 65.32 % (VNP) of the 297 species recorded from the district. The high diversity could be due to intense
alterations in habitat fidelity over the past 125 years (1897–2020). Local Dangi names for some of the bird
species have also been provided here.
Order Passeriformes dominated the avifauna with 141
species belonging to 37 families (see Figure 2). Family Accipitridae exhibited the highest
richness with 25 species, followed by Muscicapidae and Strigidae with 18 and 13
species, respectively. The birds of Surat-Dangs
belong to seven basic foraging guilds (Figure 3). Insectivores (133 spp, 44.78 %) dominated the
birds’ assemblages followed by carnivores (45 spp, 15.15%) and omnivores (48
spp, 16.16%); 42 species (14.14%) are aquatic; granivore (15 spp, 5.05%),
frugivore (11 spp, 3.70%), and nectarivore (3 spp, 1.01%) are least represented
(Figure 3). We have re-reported the
following species: Red Spurfowl Galloperdix spadicea (J.F. Gmelin,
1789), Jungle Bush Quail Perdicula asiatica (Latham, 1790), White-spotted
Fantail Rhipidura (albicollis) albogularis (Lesson, 1832),
and Indian Yellow Tit Parus (xanthogenys) aplonotus (Blyth,
1847), which were suspected to be locally extinct from PWS (Trivedi
& Soni 2006).
Nineteen species fall under various categories as per
the IUCN Red List. Seven species were
categorized as Near Threatened, seven Vulnerable, two each Critically
Endangered and Endangered, while one as Data Deficient (Table 2). Record of WG endemic Nilgiri Wood Pigeon Columba
elphinstonii (Sykes, 1832) from Surat-Dangs is an addition to the bird list
of the State. Surat-Dangs is home to
four range-restricted species to WG (15.38%, 4 out of 26) and one
range-restricted species (Forest Owlet Athene blewitti) to
central Indian forests (Rehmani et al. 2016), 17 country endemic birds (22.67%,
17 out of 75) (Birdlife International 2020) and 49 Biome restricted species
(AS07 Sino-Himalayan Temperate Forest- 1 out of 183= 0.55%, AS08 Sino-Himalayan
temperate forest- 1 out of 169= 0.59%, AS10 Indian peninsula tropical moist
forest: 8 out of 55= 14.54%, Indio-Malayan tropical dry zone- 37 out of 78=
47.44%, AS13 Saharo-Sindian desert- 2 out of 20= 10%) (Chan et al. 2004)
(See Table 2 for details).
Probable first record for
Gujarat State
Nilgiri Wood-Pigeon Columba elphinstonii (Sykes,
1832)
On 3 March 2016, during a forest walk in conservation
plot (a part of PWS), KP observed a bird similar to Turtle Dove on a teak tree
of about 15m height. After close
inspection with binocular (Steiner Predator Pro 8×42), KP observed that the
bird had darker maroon-brown under-parts, darker under-wing and uniform
slate-grey tail, a black and white chequered pattern on the hindneck and
purple-green gloss on the mantle, foreneck and breast. After a thorough inspection, the individual
was identified to be a WG endemic Columba elphinstonii (Nilgiri Wood
Pigeon), normally found in moist deciduous and shola forests (Grimmett et al.
2014). It is listed under the
‘Vulnerable’ category by IUCN (Birdlife International 2017a). This is probably the first record from PWS
and Gujarat State, as the species has not been listed in the ‘Birds of Gujarat
State Checklist’ by Ganpule (2016). The
species can be confused with the common and similar appearing species of Turtle
Dove and thereby could be easily ignored.
The closest record of this species is from the adjoining Nashik District
in Maharashtra (Gaidhani 2019). KP was
not able to photograph the individual, owing to not having a camera, but had
satisfactorily confirmed the species using binocular and Grimmett et al. (2014)
as the field guide. The species could be
a rare resident in the landscape.
Further surveys are required to understand the population status and
distribution of this species in Surat-Dangs.
Noteworthy first records from
the Surat-Dangs forests
Western Reef-Egret Egretta gularis (Bosc, 1792)
Western Reef-Egret Egretta gularis is usually
found around seashores, estuaries, mangroves and tidal creeks, but occasionally
in freshwater (Grimmett et al. 2014).
One of the team spotted an individual during the DBF 2016 in a river
near Duldha Village on 7 February 2016.
This sighting record from Dangs is more than 100km away from the nearest
coastline. NJ and KP photographed and
reconfirmed the sighting, along with five other members of the DBF at the same
location on 8 February 2016.
Taiga Flycatcher Ficedula albicilla (Pallas,
1811)
Taiga Flycatcher Ficedula albicilla can be
easily mistaken with the recently split subspecies Red-breasted Flycatcher F.
Parva (Rasmussen & Anderton 2005).
It is a winter migrant to India and its distribution is mainly in
northeastern, eastern, and central India, the Eastern Ghats (hereafter referred
to as EG) reaching up to western Maharashtra and Goa (Rasmussen & Anderton
2005; Grimmett et al. 2014). No
sightings were recorded from Gujarat State until 2011 from the Saurashtra
region (Ganpule 2013). On 13 January
2013, NJ photographed the species in PWS from a trail near the Mahal
campsite. Records in 2014, 2017, and
2018 from PWS during the winter suggest that the Taiga Flycatcher is a common
winter visitor in Dangs forests. Apart
from Dangs, the species has been recorded from Gir NP, Sagai, Rajpipla, Morbi,
Rajkot, Thol WS, and Girnar WS from October to March in the state (Ganpule
2014a).
Large-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus macrurus
Horsfield, 1821
On 6 April 2013, after surveying the trail in
compartment 7 of PWS, while resting at Waghdarda checkpost, a call of Nightjar
was heard by NJ around 20.15h. The call
was typical ‘Chaunk Chaunk Chaunk….’.
Immediately the call was tallied with the pre-recorded call and
confirmed as a call of Large-tailed Nightjar.
The sighting of Trivedi & Soni (2006) in Ratanmahal WS was the first
record for the state; however, the species was not recorded by Trivedi &
Soni (2006) from PWS. This record
substantiated the range extension of Large-tailed Nightjar further south by
approximately 90km. It is also a new
record for PWS. Also, eight individuals
of this species have been sighted by Mishra & Singh (2010) from the Phot
Mahadev thorn forest in Kutch District.
Ganpule (2016) mentioned this species as a rare winter visitor.
Streak-throated Woodpecker Picus xanthopygaeus (J.E.
& G.R. Gray, 1847)
On 6 April 2013, while walking a trail in compartment
56 of the Bardipada range, a green woodpecker foraging in bamboo thickets was
observed by NJ. Knowing that it is not
among the commonly found woodpeckers, photographs of the bird were taken
immediately and identified as Streak-throated Woodpecker. This species was recorded from Shoolpaneshwar
Wildlife Sanctuary, which delimits its southernmost range (Desai et al.
1993). Our record extends its range
approximately by 40km towards the south, and it is also a new record for
PWS. According to Ganpule (2016), the
species is uncommon to a rare resident in the north to south forests of Gujarat
but is not recorded elsewhere in the state.
Rusty-tailed Flycatcher Ficedula ruficauda Swainson,
1838
One individual of Ficedula ruficauda was
photographed by Shailesh Gupta on 4 February 2017 during DBF
2017. This sighting is the first record
from Dangs. Besides this, one sighting
from Morbi (Ganpule 2014b) and few from Girnar Mountains had been reported from
Gujarat (Bagda 2017, 2019; Ghervada 2019; Vachhani 2019).
Lesser Whistling Duck Dendrocygna javanica (Horsfield,
1821)
On 15 June 2012, NJ observed 10 individuals of Lesser
Whistling Duck swimming in the Purna River near Mahal campsite, which is the
first record from Dangs. Ali (1954–55)
had noted this species as resident fairly common locally, but not abundant in
Gujarat. Worah (1991) and Trivedi (2003)
also did not report the species from Dangs.
Recently this species has been recorded from areas surrounding Dangs,
viz., Doswada (Songadh), Maya Lake (near Raghipura), Rangavali Dam (Nandurbar,
Maharashtra), Vyara and Vansda NP (Chaudhari 2014; Tembhekar 2015; Patel 2015;
Patel 2016; Jamadar 2019).
Rosy Minivet Pericrocotus roseus (Vieillot,
1818)
Rosy Minivet is mainly found (breeding) in the
Himalaya from west to east up to Arunachal Pradesh and hills of Manipur, and
winter-visitor to peninsular India (Birdlife International 2018b). Globally, the species is found in
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, and
Vietnam. The species was not listed in
the Gujarat bird checklist (Ganpule 2016, 2017). First photographic evidence of this species
was confirmed by Patel (2017a) from VNP.
Another record was from VNP (Prakash 2017) and a closest photographic
evidence was found on eBird platform from Tansa Wildlife Sanctuary (in
Maharashtra State) in 2016 (Kasare 2016).
White-bellied Minivet Pericrocotus erythropygius (Jerdon,
1840)
Two individuals were sighted by one of the
participants of DBF 2017 from the Bheskatri Trail team led by NJ. Ganpule (2016) mentions the species as
uncommon to a rare resident. The species
has been reported from the thorn and scrub forests of Kutch, Gir National Park
and Hingolgadh in Saurashtra (Ganpule 2016).
There has been no other record of the species from Dangs landscape till
date and further investigation on the distribution of species in the landscape
is necessary.
Threatened species to local
extinction
Long-billed Vulture Gyps indicus (Scopoli,
1786)
In March 2016, 43 individuals of Long-billed Vulture
were observed during the ‘Dangs Vulture Census’ with nesting and egg
hatchling activity at Gadad Village, Piplai Devi range, Dangs. The state level vulture census was also
conducted by the GEER foundation on 28 and 29 May 2016 from Dangs District
(Kamboj et al. 2016). Since 2007,
the Long-billed Vulture is the only vulture species reported from the
Dangs. Its population is becoming stable
now: eight individuals in 2005, 43 in 2007, 58 in 2010, 67 in 2012, and 43 in
2016 (Kamboj et al. 2016). Within
the Gujarat State, the Gyps Vulture population has undergone a drastic
decline to complete extirpation from many localities, including the nearest
population from the Surat District (Kamboj et al. 2016). The nesting population of 43 Long-billed
Vulture in Dangs needs immediate conservation attention to prevent its local
extinction from the district. The same
locality (Gadad) has seen local extinction of Gyps bengalensis (White-rumped
Vulture) recently. Although, one
sighting of Gyps bengalensis has been recorded from Dangs in flight
(Patel 2016; Andharia 2019), possibly a passer-by from the neighboring
population in Valsad (Gujarat) and Nashik (Maharashtra) districts (Kamboj et
al. 2016).
Indian Peafowl Pavo cristatus Linnaeus, 1758
The species is common and highly abundant in many
protected areas and metro city parks or human-dominated areas. The species is also part of the diet of large
carnivores like Tiger, Leopard, and Dhole (Arviazhagan et al. 2007). In Dangs, the species is heavily poached for
its meat due to its large body size and tasteful flesh. There are very few records of the species
from Dangs. It is a rare resident in the
landscape.
Red Junglefowl Gallus gallus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Ali (1954–55) had not mentioned about Red Junglefowl Gallus
gallus during his field-trips to Gujarat State. Ali (1954–55) had collected G. spadicea
and G. Sonneratii (but not G. gallus) from Dangs; however,
Ganpule (2016) mentioned that the species could be vagrant or rare resident
with probable occurrence (“?”) in the forest belt of southern Gujarat. The species was once spotted on 6 February
2016 on Girmal track by one of the DBF 2016 team. Two individuals were also recorded from
Girmal, carrying nesting material on 26 July 2017 (Theba 2017a).
Grey Junglefowl Gallus sonneratii Temminck,
1813
Grey Junglefowl Gallus sonneratii was observed
in 2012–13 from the Mahal waterfall trail, in 2016 from Girmal, Bardipada,
conservation plot, Koshmal, and Bheskatri.
During DBF 2018, on 10 and 11 February 2018, it was observed by two
different teams in Mahal track. The
species can be easily heard in the early mornings near the Mahal campsite and
relatively common among two other members (G. spadicea and G. gallus);
however, the species is also susceptible to habitat change as well as hunting.
White-bellied Woodpecker Dryocopus javensis (Horsfield,
1821)
Surat-Dangs is the northernmost site for the
White-bellied Woodpecker in India and the westernmost limit of its global range
(Grimmett et al. 2014). The
species is found only in Surat-Dangs forests of Gujarat State (Ganpule
2016). It is the largest woodpecker of
peninsular India and is a bird of primary moist deciduous forest and secondary
forest. It is also seen in tropical
evergreen and semi-evergreen forest, while it nests in large dead trees (Ali
& Ripley 1983; Grimmett et al. 1998). In Gujarat, primary moist deciduous forest is
the preferred habitat of species. The
conversion of primary moist deciduous forests to either secondary forests or plantations
has resulted in reduced availability of suitable nesting trees (Worah 1991;
Santharam 2003). The population of this
species is patchy and not connected. Ali
(1954–1955) reported that tribal people hunt the species in Dangs
District. The species is highly
susceptible to local extinction due to hunting and less availability of nesting
trees. It is comparatively easy to find
the species in Conservation plot in PWS and VNP, but is rare in other parts of
the landscape. Evaluation of its
distribution and immediate conservation action is needed to prevent the local
extinction of the species in the landscape.
Endemic bird species
Forest Owlet Athene blewitti Hume, 1873
Existence of this rare and endemic species has been
doubtful in Dangs District of Gujarat State for many years (Khacher 1996). The first unconfirmed record was noted during
the biodiversity survey of VNP on 30.12.1998 from Kevdi locality (Singh et al.
2000). The first confirmed record
with photographic evidence was reported from PWS in 2015 (Patel et al. 2015). The survey by KP (2015–2016) has revealed
that the species is not restricted to PAs, but widely distributed throughout
the Dangs District (Figure 4) and is fairly common in the agricultural fields,
along with the teak dominated forest patches.
The Dangs forest holds the second largest population with a total of at
least 51 individuals, next only to Melghat, Maharashtra. Also, the population size could be much
higher than what has been observed in the landscape; however, the positive
locations outside the protected area are highly vulnerable to forest fire,
habitat destruction, poaching and hunting, use of its body parts in religious
rituals as well as illegal wildlife trade.
The species is listed under the Endangered category of IUCN (Birdlife
International 2018a). Dangs forests
possess one of the highly suitable sites for the species and negligible use of
rodenticide in the landscape (Worah 1991; Trivedi & Soni 2006) could provide
sufficient prey species to the diet of Forest Owlet. The Dangs forests are one of the strongholds
for the species and can support its long-term conservation.
Grey-fronted Green Pigeon Treron affinis (Jerdon,
1840)
Grey-fronted Green Pigeon is a bird species endemic to
WG and southern EG (Grimmett et al. 2014). It was recorded for the first time from VNP
(Singh et al. 2000) and also mentioned earlier by Parasharya et al.
(2004). Ganpule (2016) mentioned that it
is a rare resident from Dangs forests.
Vigor’s Sunbird Aethopyga vigorsii (Sykes,
1832)
Rasmussen & Anderton (2005) have upgraded the WG
subspecies to species rank Aethopyga vigorsii based on morphological
differences. Vigor’s sunbird is endemic
to WG from south of Narmada up to Goa and in western Satpura, Khandesh
(Grimmett et al. 2014). The
species is fairly common in moist deciduous and woodlands of Dangs
forests.
Malabar Trogon Harpactes fasciatus (Pennant,
1769)
Malabar Trogon is endemic to Indian sub-continent- WG,
EG, and Sri Lanka (Grimmett et al. 2014). Ali (1954–55) had collected 11 specimens of
Malabar trogon from five different localities of the Dangs forests and
considered it common. Today, it is
uncommon resident found in moist deciduous forest with bamboo and secondary growth
in protected areas of PWS and VNP (Singh
et al. 2000; Trivedi & Soni 2006), where human disturbance is
minimal. The species has been found
sensitive to forest fragmentation (Trivedi & Soni 2006) in the Dangs
forests as is the case in southern WG (Raman 2001). The species is common in conservation plot,
Mahal trail and Dhuldha in PWS and undisturbed forests in VNP; however, the
species is uncommon or infrequent in other parts of the landscape.
Malabar Whistling-thrush Myophonus horsfieldii Vigors,
1831
Malabar Whistling-Thrush is resident to WG and
associated hills of peninsular India (central India and parts of EG) (Grimmett
et al. 2014). This species is
post-monsoon and winter visitor in the Dangs forests, mainly near stream banks
and moist deciduous forests. Ali (1954–55) recorded it as a resident in
Surat-Dangs forests, but it becomes rare in summer season. It is known for its melodious songs and the
species is an indicator for change in hydrology (Trivedi & Soni 2006). The species is relatively common throughout
the Dangs forests, but easy to find in undisturbed areas in PAs.
White-cheeked Barbet Psilopogon viridis (Boddaert,
1783)
White-cheeked Barbet is endemic to and found across WG
and associated ranges, southern EG, while Surat-Dangs being the northernmost
extent for the species (Grimmett et al. 2014). The species is restricted to moist deciduous
forests and is not common. The species
is accompanied by common and highly vocal species Brown-headed Barbet M.
zeylanica, locally known as “Kukroos” owing to its call. Surat-Dangs is the only place to find this
species in the Gujarat State (Trivedi & Soni 2006; Ganpule 2016).
Malabar Woodshrike Tephrodornis sylvicola Jerdon,
1839
Malabar Woodshrike is endemic to WGs and found in
Surat-Dangs and south-west of WG from south Goa mostly at lower elevations
(Birdlife International 2017c). There is
a lot of discrepancy in the historical records of this species. Ali (1954–55) had collected a specimen from
Waghai, Dangs; and described about its range extension from Gujarat State (page
377), where he had mentioned its name as Large Woodshrike Tephrodornis
gularis, while on page 738, the species was mentioned as The Large Malabar
Wood Shrike Tephrodornis virgatus sylvicola Jerdon. He had collected one male individual in
breeding plumage, evidently in mating phase.
The collected specimen and vocalization pattern positively matched with
specimens collected from Travancore and were of sylvicola race (full
species rank now). Worah (1991) had
mentioned both Common Woodshrike and Large Woodshrike in her list, but used Tephrodornis
virgatus for both the species.
Trivedi & Soni (2006) had mentioned Large Woodshrike (Tephrodornis)
gularis but did not report the species from PWS and suggested the species
to be locally extinct from the area. It
is interesting to note here that sylvicola was designated as a separate
species by Rasmussen & Anderton (2005).
Ganpule (2016) mentioned that the species is a rare vagrant in
Gujarat. We believe that the species is still
found in the landscape and is probably overlooked and dismissed as the more
common Tephrodornis pondicerianus.
Indian Scimitar Babbler Pomatorhinus horsfieldii Sykes,
1832
Indian Scimitar Babbler is fairly common in the
forests of Surat-Dangs, often foraging in parties of two to seven, hunting with
mixed-species flock in the bamboo and mixed deciduous forests. The species is endemic to peninsular India
(Grimmett et al. 2014).
Undisturbed dense mixed deciduous forests in PAs are the best place to
find the species.
White-naped Tit Machlolophus nuchalis (Jerdon,
1845)
White-naped tit is found in two (disjunct)
populations: northwest peninsula (west and north Gujarat and southeastern
Rajasthan) and southern peninsula (northwestern Karnataka to northwestern Tamil
Nadu) (Jathar & Rehmani 2006). It is
globally ‘Vulnerable’, due to natural scarcity and habitat degradation and can
be used as an indicator of human disturbance and clearing forests (Birdlife
International 2017b). The species is
recorded from Girmal locality in PWS by Patel (2017b).
Other noteworthy bird records
Here, we give details of the species referred as
forest-interior species and most of which show a documented vulnerability to
forest fragmentation, alteration (Worah 1991; Trivedi & Soni 2006).
Brown Wood Owl Strix leptogrammica Temminck,
1832
Brown Wood Owl is widely distributed in the Himalaya,
northeastern India, WG and EG (Grimmett et al. 1998); however, the
species is noteworthy because it is only found in the forests of southern
Gujarat State (Ganpule 2016). The
species is fairly common, but tends to be missed due to its nocturnal and
skulking nature. We (NJ 2012–2013, NJ
and KP 2015–16) have confirmed the presence of the species from Roopgard Fort,
Bardipada, Bheskatri, Kalibel, Ahwa, Malegaon and localities across the Dangs
landscape by using call play-back method.
There have been a few organic sightings (NJ 2012–2013) of this species
too.
Black Eagle Ictinaetus malaiensis (Temminck,
1822)
There have been very few sightings of Black Eagle from
Dangs. In 1995, two individuals were
reported from VNP (Santharam 1995). In
2001, the species was spotted twice from PWS (Trivedi 2006). NJ photographed one individual from a forest
near Mahal village on 19 December 2012 (Jambu 2013). No other sighting has been reported from the
district. It is a rare resident of the
district and more data is needed to understand its population trend.
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo Dicrurus paradiseus (Linnaeus,
1766)
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo is a widely distributed
species (Grimmett et al. 2014); however, it is noteworthy because it is
fairly common in the Dangs forests and plays a very critical role in
mixed-species flocks (Trivedi & Soni 2006).
The species is very active and mimic various bird calls to join hunting
parties. The species plays a key role in
maintaining avian diversity and controlling insect populations by forming
mixed-species flocks.
Rufous Woodpecker Micropternus brachyurus (Vieillot,
1818)
Rufous Woodpecker is known for its peculiar habit of
nesting in the nests of Crematogaster ants (Ali 1969). It was reported previously from Dangs (Ali
1954–1955; Worah 1991; Trivedi 2003; Bhatt 2004) but not elsewhere from
Gujarat. The species can be found in
bamboos with mixed deciduous forests and sometimes in a mixed-species flock. This is another species, which is likely to
go locally extinct as it is sensitive to habitat degradation. Its distribution is very patchy and there
have been very few sightings from PWS in the last couple of years. The species can be sighted in the conservation
plot of PWS.
Lesser Yellownape Picus chlorolophus Vieillot,
1818
Lesser Yellownape is widely distributed species, but
in Gujarat State, it is found only from Surat-Dangs (Ganpule 2016). The species was reported earlier by Ali
(1954–1955), Worah (1991), Bhatt (2004), and Trivedi (2003) from Dangs
District. It is a rare resident to the
Dangs forests and inhabits moist deciduous forests with bamboo (Ganpule
2016). We could not sight any individual
during our surveys in PWS. This species
faces a high risk of extinction from the forests of Dangs.
Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrike Hemipus picatus (Sykes,
1832)
Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrike is a widely distributed
species in southern Asia from the Himalaya and hills of southern India and
Indonesia. It is mainly insectivorous
and often found with mixed-species flock hunting groups in the mixed
canopy. The species is recorded from PWS
(Ali 1954–55; Worah 1991; Trivedi 2003) and VNP (Shah 2017). It is a rare resident in the Dangs forests
and best place to find this species is the Conservation Plot in Bardipada
locality. The species is noteworthy
because the genus Hemipus is considered to be sensitive to forest
degradation (Johns 1986; Castelletta et al. 2000).
White-rumped Shama Copsychus malabaricus (Scopoli,
1786)
It was previously reported as a resident of Dangs by
Ali (1954–1955) and Worah (1991) and from VNP by Singh et al. (2000). The species has a patchy distribution in
India (Grimmett et al. 1998) and belongs to the terrestrial insectivore
guild. The species is noteworthy because
it is susceptible to forest fragmentation (Raman 2001) and resident only to
Surat-Dangs in Gujarat State (Ganpule 2016).
The species is fairly common in VNP and Conservation Plot, Mahal camp
site and Roopgarh fort of PWS.
Bonelli’s Eagle Aquila fasciata (Vieillot,
1822)
During the vulture census in Dangs, on 3 April 2016,
we observed one individual flying, carrying nesting material in its claws. Don Hills are the best habitat for the
raptors and probably the species breeds in this locality. Another observation was made during DBF 2018
from Girmal range of PWS on 11 February 2018.
Ganpule (2016) has mentioned the species to be a rare resident but is
widely distributed with isolated records across the Gujarat State.
Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher Ceyx erithaca (Linnaeus,
1758)
Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher is a summer visitor to
Himalayan foothills and resident in southwestern India (Grimmett et al. 2014). The species was not recorded from Gujarat
until 2014. The first record was made
from VNP in Gujarat State (Jat 2015) and later Mistri et al. (2017)
reported that the species is possibly breeding visitor in monsoon. Records of the species are mainly from VNP
and nearest forests in Surat-Dangs landscape.
This might be because of good road connectivity to VNP during the
monsoon season whereas PWS is almost cut-off from the main road network due to
heavy rain. Also, forest areas are
closed in the monsoon seasons for the visitors, making it likely that even
though the species is monsoon visitor to PWS, birdwatchers are missing it due
to inaccessibility to the slippery and risky stream.
Black-capped Kingfisher Halcyon pileata
(Boddaert, 1783)
Black-capped Kingfisher was collected only from
Sakalpatal, Surat-Dangs by Ali (1954–55).
It was not noted elsewhere in Gujarat earlier. Based on the three sightings from Surat-Dangs
in 2017 and 2018 (December, January, and March) (Theba 2017b; Khan 2018; Patel
2018a), it is possible that the species is a winter visitor to the landscape. Ganpule (2016) mentioned that the species is
an uncommon-to-rare resident and local migrant.
Blue-faced Malkoha Phaenicophaeus
viridirostris (Jerdon 1840)
One individual of this species was observed by a team
member from the group led by NJ in DBF 2016.
The individual was sighted in the bamboo thickets nearby the starting
point of the trail near Bheskatri range office. On 6 March 1948, Abdulali
(1953) shot one individual, but lost the specimen at Pandwa during
his ornithological survey. He confirmed
the identification through few collected feathers. There has been no other record of the bird
from Dangs. One individual has been
recorded by Monga & Naoroji (1983) from the forests of Rajpipla from South
Gujarat and one historical record from Vadodara (Ali 1954–55). Ganpule (2016) has considered the species as
a vagrant and could be occurring in southern Gujarat forests.
Presumed locally extinct species
Red Spurfowl Galloperdix
spadicea (Gmelin JF, 1789)
Members of the Phasianidae family are highly preferred
as a game bird across the WG, especially in the tribal country. Red Spurfowl is highly susceptible to habitat
loss and was reported as locally extinct from PWS by Trivedi and Soni
(2006). Although, two individuals were
observed near Kalibel Village and Sarvar Village by KP on 2 February 2016 and
12 March 2016, respectively. NJ has also
sighted the species many times in Savardakasad, Bardipada, Dhulda, and Singhana
during the survey of 2012–2013. The
species is also recorded from VNP (call heard and recorded) by Patel (2018b),
four individuals by Joshi (2014), three individuals by Joshi (2012), and two
individuals by Gazdar (2019) who mentioned that “The birds were clearly
seen, their features noted and differences with similar species, such as Grey
Junglefowl, ruled out”. The species
still exists in the Surat-Dangs forests in low numbers, but definitely not
extinct.
Jungle Bush Quail Perdicula asiatica (Latham,
1790)
Jungle Bush Quail has been reported locally extinct
from PWS (Trivedi & Soni 2006). The
species was also not spotted during field surveys by authors (2012–2018);
however, the species was reported on the eBird platform from three different
localities of the landscape (Pankaj 2016; Theba 2017a,b). The species faces high hunting pressure and
predation of its nests by feral dogs and cats.
The species might be extremely rare and recovering, but still highly
susceptible to hunting.
White-spotted Fantail Rhipidura albogularis (Lesson
R, 1831)
This fantail species used to be considered as
subspecies of White-throated Fantail Rhipidura albicollis. Trivedi & Soni (2006) has also mentioned
this species as Rhipidura albicollis and stated it to be possibly
extinct from PWS. Grimmett et al. (2016)
have considered White-spotted Fantail as a distinct species. Contrary to Trivedi & Soni (2006)’s
speculation, the species has been reported from various parts of PWS and Dangs
in past years and is a common resident of the landscape (Sullivan et al. 2009).
Indian Yellow Tit Machlolophus aplonotus (Blyth,
1847)
Parus aplonotus was first described by Blyth (1847). Later, it was treated as a subspecies
Machlolophus xanthogenys aplonotus (Baker 1922). After that, Ripley (1961) and Ali &
Ripley (1983) kept it under the original genus Parus, under four
subspecies of Parus xanthogenys, namely, xanthogenys, aplonotus,
travancoreensis, & spilonotus and Grimmett et al. (1998)
also called it as subspecies Parus xanthogenys aplonotus. Inskipp et al. (1996) and Kazmierczak
& van Perlo (2000), however, treated it as Parus xanthogenys. Based on different vocalization, Rasmussen
& Anderton (2005) treated it as a separate species Parus aplonotus from
its conspecific Parus xanthogenys.
Trivedi & Soni (2006) stated that Parus xanthogenys, which is
now recognized as Parus aplonotus is locally extinct from the PWS,
Dangs. The species was reported during
the surveys in 2015–16, DBF (2016, 2017) and also from eBird records from
2014–19 (More 2014; Sahajrao 2019).
An unusual record
Masked Shrike Lanius nubicus (Lichtenstein MHK,
1823)
A vagrant record of Masked Shrike was recorded from
Govaldev forest area (close to PWS) by Hiren Bharti on 18 December 2016. The individual was sighted on multiple
occasions, identified and confirmed from multiple photographs. The species was last seen from the locality
on 8 January 2017 (Bharti 2017).
Needs confirmation
Blue-bearded Bee-eater Nyctyornis athertoni (Jardine
& Selby, 1828)
On 8 April 1946, during the survey in Gujarat, Salim
Ali heard a distinctive guttural korr-r-r call from the foothills of the
moist deciduous forest of Medha near Songadh (now Tapi District) (Ali
1954–55). Forest of Medha is continuous
with northern forests of Dangs; however, no confirmatory sighting of the
species has been reported till date.
Further investigation is necessary.
Stork-billed kingfisher Pelargopsis capensis (Linnaeus,
1766)
Ali (1954–55) had collected four specimens from three
localities from Surat-Dangs; however, he also mentioned that the species is not
common in forest streams. There is no
record of this species then after and was considered extinct by Trivedi &
Soni (2006). Tribes of Dangs forests
used sustainable way of fishing earlier using bamboo nets; however, recently we
have observed that they also use dynamite blastings for fishing. This change in fishing practice could be the
possible reason for the species rarity in the Dangs forests; however, we
suspect that the species might be vagrant and only visits during the
monsoon. Ganpule (2016) mentioned that
the species is rare resident and that the current status is unknown, also
probably very rare now in the forests from north to south Gujarat and further
study is required.
White-bellied Treepie Dendrocitta Leucogastra Gould,
1833
White-bellied Treepie is endemic species, mainly found
in WG (Grimmett et al. 2014). It
has also been reported from the Surat Dangs and southern part of EG in Andhra
Pradesh (Jathar & Rehmani 2006).
There is a very old record from Chikalda, Gujarat (McMaster 1871) for
this species. Ganpule (2016) mentioned
the species as a vagrant. We did not
find any recent sighting records.
Further investigation is needed to confirm its presence from the
landscape.
Possible occurrence
Sri Lanka Frogmouth Batrachostomus moniliger Blyth,
1849
Sri Lankan Frogmouth was reported from the southern
Western Ghats (Ali 1935; Vijayan 1979; Sugathan 1981; Kannan 1994; Kumara &
Singh 2006). Borges (1986) recorded it
from Kanara, northern Karnataka and later Giri (2002) extended its northern
range further up to Radhanagari WS.
Kasambe (2012) extended its range up to Sanjay Gandhi National Park and
also suspected that the species could be found up to Surat-Dangs. A sighting of Hodgson’s Frogmouth Batrachostomus
hodgsoni from Shoolpaneshwar was reported by Pilo et al. (1996). But Ganpule (2016) states that how it was
separated from Sri Lanka Frogmouth was not reported in that paper and its
inclusion is debatable, and this sighting is believed to be of Sri Lanka
Frogmouth. But it is interesting to note
here that the bird sighting in the debate was caught and examined by the
authors (Desai 1996). Dangs forms a
promising habitat for frogmouth and we recommend investigating for this species
in Surat-Dangs, especially in southern part of the landscape. During our survey, we did not focus on this
species and have not listed in this checklist.
Important bird areas in Surat-Dangs landscape
Even though, rich in the avian diversity, small and
isolated PAs (here in the landscape, 24km2 VNP and 160km2
PWS) are not viable as per the island biogeography concept (Saunders et al. 1991). Trivedi (2003) suggested increasing PAs to a
total of around 500km2 (addition of at least 200km2 to
PWS (Worah 1991) and a corridor between PWS and VNP as one unit) in the
landscape. Worah (1991) also suggested
identifying even small forest patches that can act as refugia for avian
diversity that may help in their dispersal pattern (Raman 2001).
Most Important bird areas in the landscape today are
the two designated PAs, PWS and VNP.
These PAs are relatively safeguarded and well preserved compared to
reserve forests and other parts of the landscape. Another area, a reserve forest, near Gadad
Village in the eastern part of the Dangs District, is a vulture breeding site
and should be immediately declared as a sanctuary. This area hosts the last stronghold and a
breeding population of Long-billed Vulture in the entire district. Also, the area holds one of the last forest
patches of wild mangoes. Distribution of
the endangered Forest Owlet is not limited to the PAs but widely distributed in
Dangs District (Figure 4). Probably, the
second-largest population of the species in the country is highly vulnerable to
hunting, habitat loss and anthropogenic pressures, but can act as a stronghold
for long-term conservation. It is
important to declare the areas, where the species is distributed, as PAs or IBA
for future conservation measures.
All previous surveys largely focused in and around the
PAs, except for the surveys conducted by Ali (1954–55) and Shull (1962). Worah (1991) also suggested that it is necessary
to carry out intensive survey in unexplored forest patches in southern Dangs to
determine which areas need to be included within the PA network. We have identified 19 localities based on
species observed and species collected by Ali (1954–55) and Shull (1962) in
Surat-Dangs and plotted them on a map (Figure 5). Here, we have used global position system
(GPS) coordinates of the village as locality, as exact locations of the
sightings and collection is not mentioned by Ali (1954–55) and Shull (1962). Based on their data, a locality is deemed
species rich (SR) if more number of species were collected and/or observed from
it. Surprisingly, many SR localities
(Mheshkatri, Mahal, Sarwar, and Waghai) are today designated as PAs—PWS and VNP
(Figure 5)—but other localities such as Pandva, Galkund, and Malegaon in the
south and Medha in the north have almost similar diversity and abundance as the
PAs today, but have not been explored in recent years. Based on this, we highly recommend future
studies in the identified SR localities outside PAs to evaluate their
conservation priority, based on the presence and abundance of endemic and
threatened species.
Discussion
According to official records, the numbers of Bengal
Tigers recorded from Dangs during different censuses were seven in 1979, nine
in 1989, five in 1993, and one in 1997.
Since 1997, there are no records of resident population from the
landscape (Suchindra 2014). Over the
last 75 years, similar to Bengal Tiger, Dangs has seen the local extirpation of
many charismatic mammalian species too, which includes Sloth Bear, Dhole,
Sambar Deer, Smooth-coated Otter, Gaur, Dangs Giant Squirrel (race endemic to
Dang), and a reptilian species Marsh Crocodile (Worah 1991; Singh et al. 2000). The remaining large-bodied mammalian species,
Four-horned Antelope, Barking Deer, and Chital, are highly sparse and in low
densities (Suchindra 2014). Due to
depletion of mammal population, birds became a prime choice of hunting for
locals (Chowdhary 2016). Hunting birds
and small mammals with rubber slingshot and traps is still common. Also, cattle grazing in the protected area,
teak monoculture by the forest department and illegal trade of Psittacula
spp. pose a considerable threat to the avifauna in the landscape.
Apart from the studies done by Ali (1954–55) and Shull
(1962), other studies were focused on the two protected areas (PWS and VNP) of
the district. Future studies need to be
focused on SR localities identified in the landscape. Also, survey during monsoon season has been
ignored and future surveys might lead to interesting sightings (e.g., rails,
crakes). The landscape also holds
promising premise for raptor ecology studies.
Future studies are needed to understand population dynamics of species
that are threatened and endemic to the landscape. We suggest updating the checklist at least
every two or three years, which will help add more species to the checklist and
determine the exact status of the species in the landscape.
Re-report of the bird species from the landscape
suggest that there must be special investigation for other species, including
mammals which has been reported as locally extinct. They might be present in very low density,
are sparce and highly elusive to have come across any researchers/naturalists
to re-report them. Advanced methodology
such as camera trap (for large bodied mammals), live trap (for small mammals)
and genetic tools using non-invasive samples such as scat (Thatte et al. 2018)
and shed hairs (Khan et al. 2020), which are reliable and affordable to
generate data, can be used to identify
species’ presence. Recent report of
Madras Tree Shrew Anathana ellioti (Patel et al. 2020) and new
records of Blanford’s Wood Rat Madromys blanfordi (Patel et al. 2018)
from the landscape suggest that there could be higher diversity of small
mammals than previously reported and could be contributing to diet of 45
species of carnivorous birds (especially for Owls) in the landscape. Diversity of avifauna, small mammals and
presence of large carnivores could help in identifying new potential PAs in
more ecological sense.
Long-term and regular monitoring of diversity and
population can help to improve the wildlife population. Furthermore, citizen science initiative such
as DBF has proved to be a successful exercise to monitor avian diversity of the
area and to spread awareness among Dangi people. It has also led to the alternative livelihood
option for locals in the form of eco-tourism.
Locals trained as bird guides will enhance the sense of ownership for
supporting wildlife monitoring and its protection.
Surat-Dangs forests fulfills criteria A1, A2, & A3
of Birdlife International necessary for the declaration of Important Bird
Area. Designation of IBA will be a very
crucial and much-needed accolade to Surat-Dangs, which will pave the possible
way for many future conservation endeavors.
For
figures & images - - click here
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