Abstract
This study documented some aspects of breeding biology of Red Wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus) such as breeding season, nest structure, clutch size, incubation period, hatching and fledgling success in Bahawalpur District. We selected 6 sites for the observation; barren, open, cultivated, grassy, area along road sides, and constructed areas with the common vegetation of Cynodon dactylon, Ziziphus mauritiana, Albizia procera, Cincrus ciliarus, Cincrus biflorus, Arva jawanica, Eucalyptus cameldulensis, Acacia nilotica, Prosopis juliflora and Conocarpus spp. During the breeding season, the male selects territory. Breeding season starts from April to June. Both male and female participate in nest formation, incubation and other parental duties. Clutch size was mostly 4 and the mean of the clutch size was 4±0.0 (range 0-4). The incubation period of the eggs was 25-28 days and the average of the incubation period was 27.1±0.4. Total eggs were 24 in 6 nests, out of which 22 were hatched. The percentage of hatched eggs was 91% and the mean hatching rate was 91.6±5.2 per clutch. Fledgling success was 79.1±7.6 and the percentage of the fledging was 79%. Predation rate in red wattled lapwing was also observed; it was very high due to anthropogenic activities. Key words: Red wattled lapwing, breeding biology, Vanellus indicus, Southern Punjab.
Highlights
Birds estimate the biodiversity values of a region (Prendergast et al, 1993)
RWL, in Pakistan is mostly present in all irrigated fields and area near wetland in all five provinces
There was no difference in the clutch size in all six sites; so the mean clutch size of the eggs was 4.0
Summary
Birds estimate the biodiversity values of a region (Prendergast et al, 1993). Birds are assumed to be an excellent indicator of an ecosystem (Gregory et al, 2004). Vanellus indicus (Red Wattled Lapwing-RWL) belongs to the family Charadriidae of the order Charadriiformes. The RWL prefers open fields close to wetlands, and mostly forages in freshly irrigated crop lands It usually feeds on beetles, ants, caterpillars and vegetable residues (Grimmett et al, 2008; Ali and Ripley, 2001). Nidifugous chicks, capable of leaving the nest, develop in 28 to 30 days, almost immediately after hatching, and are able to follow the parents in search of food Both guardians secure nesting region, and ensure that the young have developed full plumage (3 to 5 weeks) and have become strong fliers (Piersma and Wiersma, 1996; Saxena and Saxena, 2013; Muralidhar and Barve, 2013). Present study was conducted to study the association of RWL with various territories and to determine breeding success in their preferred habitat
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