Journal of Threatened
Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 November 2024 | 16(11): 26167–26171
ISSN 0974-7907
(Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9118.16.11.26167-26171
#9118 | Received 04
May 2024 | Final received 25 October 2024 | Finally accepted 07 November 2024
Winter population of raptor
species in the Vellalore dump yard of Coimbatore
City, India
V. Balaji 1 & R. Venkitachalam
2
1,2 Department of Zoology, Kongunadu Arts and Science College, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
641029, India.
1 No 14, Nest Residency, Vellakinar, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641029, India.
1 balajivb02@gmail.com, 2 venkitachalamr_zo@kongunaducollege.ac.in
(corresponding author)
Editor: H. Byju,
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. Date of publication: 26 November
2024 (online & print)
Citation: Balaji,
V. & R. Venkitachalam (2024). Winter
population of raptor species in the Vellalore dump
yard of Coimbatore City, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 16(11): 26167–26171. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9118.16.11.26167-26171
Copyright: © Balaji & Venkitachalam 2024. 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: Self-funded.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: We are extremely thankful to Kumaravel Pandian, I.A.S., Former Commissioner, Coimbatore
City Municipal Corporation grant permission for undertake the survey in Vellalore dump yard.
Abstract: A study from December 2020 to
March 2021 in the Vellalore dump yard, Coimbatore City in
southern India recorded 34 bird species, including seven raptors.
Notably, two vulnerable species of winter migrant raptors, the Greater Spotted
Eagle Aquila clanga, and the Tawny Eagle Aquila
rapax were the most frequently observed. The
presence of cow carcasses, poultry, and fish waste in the dump yard attracted
scavenger birds, particularly raptors. The study utilized the systematic
vantage point method to gather data and aims to establish a baseline
understanding of the winter raptor population and other bird species in the
garbage dump yard. This research serves as a foundation for long-term
monitoring and conservation efforts.
Keywords: Abundance, Accipitriformes, city
wastes, congregations, conservation raptors,
habitat, migratory, scavenger,
southern India, threats.
Birds of prey commonly known as “raptors” include kites, hawks,
buzzards, falcons, eagles, harriers, and vultures in the order Accipitriformes and family Accipitridae
consisting of a total number of 293–313 species worldwide (Naoroji
2006). Of the 63 species of raptors recorded in India, 59 are believed to
migrate in at least part of their range (Ripley 1982; Ali & Ripley 1987; Zalles & Bildstein 2000).
Raptor distributions are influenced by factors like the availability of nest
sites and food (Thiollay 1989; Anderson 2001);
density and reproductive success by prey abundance (Smith & Murphy 1979).
Many species of avian groups have recently been shown to be able to colonize
and even thrive in urban areas, by attraction to abundant prey supplies usually
directly or indirectly promoted by human subsidies (Boal & Dykstra 2018).
Dump yards have been shown to provide good feeding habitats to some migratory
species of raptors (Garrido & Sarasa 1999;
Garrido et al. 2002). The effects of garbage dumps on raptors are of great
interest for conservation efforts (Sergio et al 2006) in areas that are or will
be developed by humans. Raptors are efficient scavengers therefore their
conservation is needed. The objectives of the study were to get baseline
information on the winter population of raptors and other birds in the garbage
dump yard which would lead to long-term monitoring and its conservation since
no earlier study has been undertaken on the avifaunal diversity in the Vellalore dump yard, Coimbatore City.
Materials
and Methods
Study Area
The study was conducted in the Vellalore dump
yard from December 2020 to March 2021. The dump yard (10.95440N,
77.00980E) between Podanur and Chettipalayam is 14 km east of the central part of Coimbatore City
(Figure 1). The dump yard area is about 260.21 ha. About 1,300 metric tonnes of garbage waste generated daily from households in
the city areas are transported and dumped at the Vellalore
dump yard (Thyagarajan et al. 2021). The vegetation
of the dump yard consists of Prosopis juliflora,
Albizia saman,
Azadirachta indica,
Calotropis giganteus,
and Parthenium spp. The dump yard is situated on the southern
bank of the Noyyal River that irrigates agricultural
lands in and around the city facing various threats due to urbanization.
The survey method was followed by point counts at select four vantage
points covering the area of the dump yard (Image 1). The points for the survey
were chosen in elevated locations with maximum visibility to detect the soaring
raptors (Thiollay 1989; Nijman 2004; Eduardo et al.
2007). The study site was visited twice a month and a survey was conducted from
0900 h to 1800 h. The raptors were observed using binoculars (Nikon 15 X 70),
and photographs were taken for identification using (Nikon P900), and done with the help of field guides (Ripley 1982; Ali
& Ripley 1987; Grimmett 2011). Relative abundance
was estimated using the index (percentage) of the total number of individual
species divided by the total number of species population, multiplied by one
hundred (Woffinden & Murphy 1977)
No. of individual of species
Relative
abundance = -------------------------------------------------- x 100
No. of individual of all species
Results
About 34
species of birds including seven species of raptors were recorded during the
study from the Vellalore dump yard of
Coimbatore City (Tables 1 & 2). The highest occurrence percentages were
recorded for four common raptor species throughout the season: Black Kite Milvus
migrans, Booted Eagle Hieraaetus
pennatus, Shikra Accipiter
badius, and Greater Spotted Eagle Aquila clanga (Figure 2). While other resident raptor species
were observed only sporadically over a few months, all seven
raptor species were recorded in March. Black Kites and Booted Eagles
particularly congregated abundantly at the dump yard. The winter migrant, the
Greater Spotted Eagle, was observed throughout all months, meanwhile, Tawny
Eagle Aquila rapax was recorded only in March.
Tawny Eagle and Greater Spotted Eagle are ‘Vulnerable’ according to the IUCN
Red List (IUCN 2024). Additionally, a total of 27 other bird species, including
the passage migrant Rosy Starling Pastor roseus, were also recorded in
the dump yard. Among other common bird species, the Intermediate Egret Ardea intermedia showed predominance,
followed by the Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus, House Crow Corvus splendens,
and Black Drongo Dicrurus
macrocercus, and several others were found with
less than 1% occurrence (Table 1). Stray
dogs were observed feeding on various organic wastes including poultry in the Vellalore dump yard.
Discussion
This study is the first survey of birds in the Vellalore
dump yard, Coimbatore district, and a total of 34 species of birds were
recorded. The presence of the winter migratory birds especially raptors such as
the Tawny Eagle and
Greater Spotted Eagle with the highest relative abundance
of Booted Eagle indicated that dumpsites provide sufficient feeding and
roosting space for a large number of bird species thereby playing a key role in
the conservation of birds (Tesfahunegny & Assefa 2023). The Greater Spotted Eagle record in the dump
yard is the 25th site in Tamil Nadu (Santhakumar
et al. 2016). Earlier records from the Coimbatore urban area were 135 bird
species (Ramakantha et al. 2005), and 321 species
(Balaji et al. 2016). The highest relative abundance of few common birds
particularly raptor species showed that these birds mostly preferred dump yards
for foraging and roosting because the presence of poultry wastes and
availability of organic food sources in dumpsites is one of the most important
factors influencing the survival and distribution of birds in urban areas (Mehra et al. 2017). Some harmful residues of the toxic
substances that are present in the waste may cause bird deaths (Donázar 1993; Newton 1998). Therefore, an urgent need to
evaluate the toxicological and health effects of harmful residue exposure of
birds especially the globally threatened species for better conservation
efforts (Tesfahunegny & Assefa 2023).
Conclusion
This pivotal study on a population of raptors in the Vellalore
dump yard offers the baseline data that aids in the long-term monitoring of
wintering raptors and paves the way for conservation and preparing management
policies as these dump sites also provide constant food for various bird species,
particularly migratory raptor species.
Table
1. List of diurnal raptors at Vellalore dump yard during the study period.
|
Order: Accipitriformes Family: Accipitridae |
Common name |
Scientific name |
Migratory status |
IUCN Red List status/ WPA 2022 |
RA |
|
Black Kite |
Milvus migrans |
BR |
LC/Sch-ll |
37.0 |
|
|
Black-shouldered Kite |
Elanus caeruleus |
BR |
LC/Sch-ll |
3.7 |
|
|
Brahminy Kite |
Haliastur indus |
BR |
LC/Sch-l |
0.9 |
|
|
Shikra |
Accipiter badius |
BR |
LC/Sch-l |
3.7 |
|
|
Greater-spotted Eagle |
Aquila clanga |
W |
Vu/Sch-l |
6.5 |
|
|
Tawny Eagle |
Aquila rapax |
W |
Vu/Sch-l |
0.9 |
|
|
Booted Eagle |
Hieraaetus pennatus |
W |
LC/Sch-l |
47.2 |
W—Winter visitor | BR—Breeding
Resident | LC—Least Concern | Sch—Schedule |
Vu—Vulnerable | RA —Relative abundance | WPA—Wildlife Protection Act.
Table 2.
Percentage relative abundance bird species (other than raptors) recorded in the
study area (December 2020–March 2021).
|
|
Species name |
Scientific name |
RA |
|
1 |
Intermediate Egret |
Ardea intermedia |
31.38 |
|
2 |
Red-wattled
Lapwing |
Vanellus indicus |
19.24 |
|
3 |
House Crow |
Corvus splendens |
16.73 |
|
4 |
Black Drongo |
Dicrurus macrocercus |
11.71 |
|
5 |
Red-rumped
Swallow |
Cercopis daurica |
6.27 |
|
6 |
Barn Swallow |
Hirundo rustica |
2.51 |
|
7 |
Indian Peafowl |
Pavo cristatus |
2.09 |
|
8 |
Indian Pond Heron |
Ardeo lagrayii |
1.67 |
|
9 |
Ashy Prinia |
Prinia socialis |
1.46 |
|
10 |
Greater Coucal |
Centropus sinensis |
1.04 |
|
11 |
Purple-rumped
Sunbird |
Leptocoma zeylonica |
0.83 |
|
12 |
Bay-backed Shrike |
Lanius vittatus |
0.83 |
|
13 |
Common Tailorbird |
Orthotomus sutorius |
0.83 |
|
14 |
Large Grey Babbler |
Turtoides malcolmi |
0.83 |
|
15 |
Pied Bushchat |
Saxicola caprata |
0.41 |
|
16 |
Common Myna |
Acredotheres tristis |
0.41 |
|
17 |
Grey Wagtail |
Motacilia cinerea |
0.41 |
|
18 |
Sykes's Warbler |
Iduna rama |
0.41 |
|
19 |
Plain Prinia |
Prinia inornata |
0.41 |
|
20 |
Purple sunbird |
Cinnyris asiaticus |
0.41 |
|
21 |
Ashy-crowned Sparrow-lark |
Eremopterix griseus |
0.41 |
|
22 |
Asian Koel |
Eudynamys scolopaceus |
0.20 |
|
23 |
Common Kingfisher |
Alcedo atthis |
0.20 |
|
24 |
Rosy Starling |
Pastor roseus |
0.20 |
|
25 |
Rufous Treepie |
Dendrocitta vagabunda |
0.20 |
|
26 |
Asian Palm Swift |
Cypsiurus balasiensis |
0.20 |
|
27 |
Zitting Cisticola |
Cisticola juncidis |
0.20 |
For
figures & images – click here for full PDF
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