Observation of Shaheen Falcon Falco peregrinus peregrinator (Aves: Falconiformes: Falconidae) in the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India

Main Article Content

Arockianathan Samson
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0804-7941
Balasundaram Ramakrishnan
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0698-1383
Palanisamy Santhoshkumar
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8739-406X
Sivaraj Karthick
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0645-3647

Abstract

A total of 45 sightings of 57 individual Shaheen Falcons were recorded from 2014–2016 from different locations in the Nilgiris mountain range, and eight nests were located on separate rocky cliffs.  Most of the nests (n= 6) were situated at elevations ranging from 1500–2500 m and 45% of the nests were located on the north facing exposures.

Article Details

Section
Notes
Author Biographies

Arockianathan Samson, Government Arts College Udhagamandalam The Nilgiris

Department of wildlife biology

Balasundaram Ramakrishnan, Government Arts College Bharathiar University

Zoology and Wildlife Biology

Palanisamy Santhoshkumar, Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, The Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu.

Zoology and Wildlife Biology

Sivaraj Karthick, Government Arts College Bharathiar University

Zoology and Wildlife Biology

References

Ali, S. & S.D. Ripley (1987). Handbook of Birds of India and Pakistan. Oxford University Press, Bombay, 737pp+104pls.

Brown, C.J. (1958). The status and conservation of the Cape Vultures in SWA/ Namibia. Vulture News 14: 4–14

Brown, C.J. & S.E. Piper (1988). Status of the Cape Vulture in the Natal Drakensberg and their cliff site selection. Ostrich 59: 126–136.

Brown, L. & D. Amadon (1989). Eagles, Hawks and Falcons of the World. Wellfleet Press, Secaucus, 945pp.

Cade, T.J. (1982). The Falcons of the World. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, N.Y.

Davison, W. (1883). Notes on some birds collected on the Nilgiris and parts of Wynaad and southern Mysore. Stray Feathers 10(5): 329–419.

de Silva, W.G., W. Deepal & T.S.U. de Zylva (2007). “Species Descriptionâ€. A Photographic Guide to Birds of Sri Lanka. New Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd., 37pp.

Deshmukh, I. (1986). Ecology and Tropical Biology. Blackwell Scientific Publications, London, 387pp.

Dottlinger, H. (2002). The Black Shaheen Falcon (Falco peregrinus peregrinator Sundevall, 1837): Its Morphology, Geographic Variation and the History and Ecology of the Sri Lanka (Ceylon) Population. PhD Thesis, University of Kent.

Dottlinger, H. & T.W. Hoffmann (1999). Status of the Black Shaheen or Indian Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus peregrinator) in Sri Lanka. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 96(2): 239–243.

Dottlinger, H. & M. Nicholls (2005). Distribution and population trends of the Black Shaheen’ Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus peregrinator and the

Eastern Peregrine Falcon F. p. calidus in Sri Lanka. Forktail 21: 133–138.

Henry, G.M. (1971). A Guide to the Birds of Ceylon. 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press, London, 457pp.

Lamsfuss, G. (1998). Die Vögel Sri Lankas - Ein Vogel und Naturführer. Kasparek Verlag, Heidelberg, 278pp.

Mundy, P.J. (1982). Bionomics of Scavenging Birds of Prey. A Review of The Comparative Biology of Southern African Vultures. Vulture Study Group, Johannesburg, South Africa, 294pp.

Newton, I. (1979). Population Ecology of Raptors. T. & A.D. Poyser, London, 399pp.

Pande, S., R. Yosef, & A. Mahabal (2009). “Distribution of the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus babylonicus, F. p. calidus and F. p. peregrinator) in India with some notes on the nesting habits of the Shaheen Falconâ€, pp. 493–520. In: Sielicki, J. (ed.). Peregrine Falcon Populations - Status and Perspectives in the 21st Century, Mizera, Tadeusz. European Peregrine Falcon Working Group and Society for the Protection of Wild animals “Falconâ€, Poland and Turl Publishing & Poznan University of Life Sciences Press, Warsaw-Poznan.

Ramakrishnan, B., A. Samson, A. Veeramani, S. Karthick & K. Vijay (2014). Nesting of Shaheen Falcon (Falco peregrinus peregrinator) in the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, southern India. Newsletter for Birdwatchers 54(4): 43–44.

Thirumurthi, S. & S. Balaji (1999). Raptors of Nilgiris - a preliminary survey. Newsletter for Birdwatchers 39(1): 8–10.

Wait, W.E. (1931). Manual of the Birds of Ceylon. 2nd Edition. Dulau & Co., London, 494pp.

Weick, F. (1989). Zur Taxonomie des Wanderfalken Falco peregrines Tunstall 1771. Beiheft zur Ökologie Vögel 1.

Zarri, A.A. & A.R. Rahmani (2005). Annotated avifauna of the Upper Nilgiris, Western Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India ENVIS Newsletter: Avian Ecology & Inland Wetlands 10(1): 1–46.