Spatio-temporal assemblages of commensal bird species in urban landscapes of Ludhiana city

Restricted human activities shift the foraging strategies of feral pigeons (Columba livia) and three other commensal bird species

The interaction between brood parasitic cuckoos and their hosts represents a traditional example of coevolution, whereby obligate interspecific brood parasitic cuckoos completely rely on their hosts to do their parental care for them by laying their eggs in the host’s nest. This thesis brings together a great deal of information documenting and clarifying the interactions between different species of hosts and their respective parasitic cuckoos in Bangladesh. I recorded parasitism rates to determine the extent of brood parasitism and to identify the host species that were parasitised by sympatric cuckoos. Four parasitic cuckoos were documented: the Asian koel ( Eudynamys scolopacea), the common hawk cuckoo (Cuculus varius; previously known as Hierococcyx varius), the pied cuckoo (Clamator jacobinus) and the Indian cuckoo (Cuculus micropterus). These cuckoos were sympatric and parasitised different host species, including the house crow (Corvus splendens), the long-tailed shrike (Lanius schach), the common myna (Acridotheres tristis), the jungle babbler (Turdoides striatus) and the black drongo (Dicrurus macrocercus). All of these cuckoo species are obligate brood parasites. The Asian koel utilised the following three hosts: the house crow, the common myna and the long-tailed shrike. The latter was recorded for the first time as a host for the Asian koel in Bangladesh. We found that koel eggs were highly non-mimetic to those of common myna and long-tailed shrike, but showed good mimicry to house crow eggs. Indian cuckoos showed excellent egg mimicry with the eggs of their black drongo hosts, as did common hawk cuckoos and pied cuckoos with their jungle babbler host. The hosts accepted the eggs of all four cuckoo species. However, the common myna was more likely to abandon nests parasitised by the koel than unparasitised ones. All of the host species suffered the costs of koel parasitism, showing reduced breeding success. Proximity to fruit trees was an important predictor of the probability of parasitism in the three koel host species studied. There was a significant positive relationship between nest volume and probability of parasitism by Asian koels. Furthermore, the colonial breeding house crows suffered comparatively less parasitism than the other two koel host species. Long-tailed shrike nests close to conspecific neighbours were less likely to be parasitised, and the risk of parasitism was increased in nests lower to the ground. The risk of parasitism increased during the breeding season for house crows and common mynas. All three Asian koel hosts tolerated multiple parasitism. We investigated whether there was any interspecific competition among the sympatric cuckoos. In theory, sympatric parasites should show niche segregation through variation in host use. As predicted, each cuckoo species parasitised different host species; however, host use overlapped in common hawk cuckoos and pied cuckoos, but interspecific competition was reduced because these two cuckoo species have different breeding seasons. Furthermore, there was a significant difference in parasitism rate among the three main habitats: human habitations, mixed scrub forests and monoculture plantations. This indicated that different cuckoos favour specific habitats, even if their favourite host also occurs elsewhere. Finally, I tested responses against foreign eggs by the cuckoo hosts as well as by potential cuckoo hosts in the study area. For this purpose, I used differently sized and coloured model eggs. Common mynas and jungle babblers accepted all non-mimetic eggs, as did most of the house crows (91 %). Long-tailed shrikes rejected 75 % of the non-mimetic model eggs. Finally, black drongos turned out to be strong rejectors and could do so without damaging any of their own eggs, most likely because they grasped and ejected the non-mimetic model egg. This result indicates that the black drongo has been in a coevolutionary arms race with the Indian cuckoo since drongos accepted mimetic cuckoo eggs. Species such as the Oriental magpie robin (Copsychus saularis), red-vented bulbul (Pycnonotus cafer) and Asian pied starling (Gracupica contra), which likely have no history of interaction with cuckoos, accepted 100 % of the non-mimetic model eggs. In conclusion, our findings describe host nest use cues used by the Asian koel, which may provide background for further studies in other sympatric brood parasites. In spite of the high degree of acceptance of parasitic eggs, the breeding success of both cuckoos and hosts should be more closely studied to obtain a better understanding of the costs of parasitism. Future experimental studies are highly recommended to achieve a better understanding of host responses to Asian cuckoo species.

Putrescible waste landfills in urban settings are known to attract large number of birds. As these man-made ecosystems are reliable and rich sources of food, they can support large communities of avifauna belonging to different feeding guilds. Studies conducted elsewhere have identified putrescible waste landfills as the primary cause for increased abundance of certain bird species in local and regional scale, as the carrying capacity has reached new levels due to ample availability of food within landfills. Although birds on landfills perform valuable ecological functions, unusually high population inflations of few bird species can have severe impacts on the overall ecological balance. On the other hand, birds may cause conflicts with human interest with respect to noise, birds carrying litter off site, possible transmission of pathogens in bird droppings, pollution of water near roosting sites due to droppings, and increased risks of bird-strikes/collisions. As any major changes in waste management and disposal practices on landfills can potentially have sizeable impacts on bird populations dependent on landfills, better understanding on the extent and patterns of daily use of landfills by birds and dynamics in abundance of birds is highly important. The abundance of birds was estimated in the study at Karadiyana landfill, an urban landfill located between Thumbowila and Werahera in Kesbewa D.S. Division, Colombo. Bird censuses were performed using block counts in two different sites on the landfill, i.e., active dumping area and inactive dumping area, during the period of April to September 2015. 24,553 individual birds are recorded belonging to 20 species and 12 families with Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis), House Crow (Corvus splendens), Feral Pigeon (Columba livia) and Common Mynah (Acridotheres tristis) being the most abundant. Abundance and density of birds was much higher in the active dumping area. However, the inactive dumping area accounted for the highest avifaunal diversity (Shannon-Wiener index: H‟=1.81) and species richness (Margalef‟s index=1.39). The abundance of Cattle Egret, House Crow, Feral Pigeon, Common Mynah, Black headed Ibis, and Brahminy Kite was significantly high in active dumping area (p<0.05). This suggests the ample availability of food sources for these species in the active dumping area. Feeding guild comparisons between the two sites further indicated that the active dumping area is dominated by omnivores (t=5.876, p=0.000), followed by carnivores (t=2.996, p=0.003). Carnivore feeding guild in the active dumping area mainly represented by migratory Cattle Egret population seems to be replaced by omnivores with the onset of migration by Cattle Egrets, indicating possible feeding overlaps and competition among species. Keywords: Avifaunal diversity, Urban landfills, Feeding guilds, Abundance, Karadiyana landfill

Urbanisation leads to anthropogenic modifications of natural habitats of bird species. These modifications can cause a change in the community composition of animals, a larger proportion of which would be more adaptable species whereas a smaller proportion would be less adaptable species. The bird species that show a positive response to urbanization and primarily dependent upon human influenced variables for food, habitat, dispersal, etc., are known as full synanthropes or urbanophiles. The objective of present study was to study the adaptability of avifauna towards urbanization through synanthropy. The study was conducted from December 2015 to August 2016, in two sites in Peradeniya, i.e., Hanthana and Gannoruwa, covering three habitat types which represent an urbanization gradient. Two belt transects were laid starting from urban habitat to forest habitat. Statistical analyses were done using MS Office Excel 2010 and PRIMER 7 Software. Bubble plots on abundance and distribution of identified, commonly known urbanophilic species showed a distribution restricted only to forest edge, suburban and urban habitats and their absence in forest core habitat. These urbanophilic bird species included Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), House Crow (Corvus splendens), Common Myna (Acrido theres tristis), Yellow-billed Babbler (Turdoides affinis), Rock Pigeon (Columba livia), House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), Oriental Magpie Robin (Copsychus saularis), Pale-billed Flower pecker (Dicaeum erythrorhynchos), Purple-rumped Sunbird (Leptocoma zeylonica), and Long Billed Sunbird (Cinnyris lotenius). The proportion of urbanophilic individuals were 55.29%, 81.70%, 51.97% and 66.81% in Hanthana-suburban, Hanthana-urban, Gannoruwa-suburban and Gannoruwa-urban habitats respectively. These species were observed feeding on human influenced food variables in garbage dumping areas, bird feeders, ornamental or cultivated plants, etc. Most of the identified urbanophiles in this study were omnivorous, grainivorous, insectivorous or nectarivorous species. Furthermore, species that exclusively feed on seeds such as the Rock Pigeon were present only in urban habitats. Apart from feeding, they were using human-made structures and trees in parks in urban matrix for perching and sometimes for nesting as well. However, urbanization favors habitat generalists and it suppresses habitat specialists; hence omnivores are more abundant in modified habitats. Food provided by humans has a major impact on bird community. These urbanophiles tend to be opportunistic feeders according to food availability and hence they tend to exploit new food sources. As a result, availability of food and habitats in urbanized environments strongly favor few ground-feeding or omnivorous bird species such as House Crow and Common Myna.Keywords: Urbanisation, Syananthropy, Adaptability, Resources, Opportunistic

Out of 225 birds, distributed over 26 species, examined from Punjab, India, during 1973–75, a total of 269 mites were discovered from 7 bird species. These mites belonged to 7 families and 5 genera. The mites discovered from different hosts were:CHEYLETIDAE—Bakericheyla sp., from house sparrow (Passer domesticus); EPIDERMOPTIDAE—Strelkoviacarus sp., from house sparrow, common myna (Acridotheres tristis), common house crow (Corvus splendens) and bank myna (Acridotheres ginginianus); GABUCINIDAE—Gabucinia sp., from common house crow, common myna and house sparrow; HARPYRHYNCHIDAE—from common house crow; PROCTOPHYLLODIDAE-Proctophyllodes picae (Koch), from tree pie (Denddrocitta vagabunda), house sparrow, common myna and bank myna, and Proctophyllodes orientalis Gaud from house sparrow; RHINONYSSIDAE—from house sparrow and bank myna; TROUESSARTIIDAE—Trouessartia sp., from bank myna.

Population Studies on different agricultural and other bird species were carried out at Students farm, College farm, Agri biodiversity park, and Agricultural Research Institute farm areas of Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU) Campus in semiarid region of Telangana state covering an area of about 36 Sq.km. for a period of eleven years (2012 to 2023). Population diversity of 92 species of different birds, and their distribution within the university campus farm areas were recorded. Important among them are 9 species namely: Blue rock pigeon (Columba livia), Spotted dove (Streptopelia chinensis), Rose ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri),Common myna (Acridotheres tristis), House crow (Corvus splendens), House sparrow (Passer domesticus), Baya weaver bird (Ploceus philippinus), White throated munia (Lonchura malabarica), and Peafowl (Pavo cristatus) which depredate experimental field crops among them only few birds such as: Rose ringed parakeets, House crows, House sparrows, Pigeons, Baya weavers, Peafowls and Munias were serious bird pests to major agricultural and horticultural crops. The University farm areas were found to be the most preferred habitat for many of these birds, it could be due to availability of food, breeding, roosting and resting sites in abundance because of more agricultural croplands and agro forestry trees.

Avian diversity in four areas of agrifields of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana was studied in order to find a correlation between agricultural land use, woody vegetation and the occurrence of bird species. The areas included College Orchard (Transect I), Agrifields of Oil seed section of Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics adjacent to orchards of PAU (Transect II), Crop field area of Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics on the back of Thapar Hall, PAU (Transect III) and Experimental area of Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics of PAU (Transect IV) which was without any trees around it. A total of 12,642 birds including 30 different species were recorded in all the four transects. The total no. of birds (5,074) and species (22) was highest in transect IV. House crow, red wattled lapwing, rose ringed parakeet and common myna were found to be the dominant birds in Transect I, II, III and IV respectively. Species richness and species diversity varied throughout the year. All the four areas had one or the other crop which attracted a number of bird species for food and the adjacent woody vegetation in Transect I, II and III providing nesting, perching and roosting sites to birds. It reveals that both the trees and food availability in the agrifields attract different bird species for different purposes like food, nesting and roosting.

F6,30 = 1.748, p = 0.144; and green: F6,30= 1.085, p = 0.394). Common myna, however, showed a strong influence of red colour in their quantity judgment ( F6,30 = 2.922, p = 0.023) as they succeeded in choosing the largest amount of food between two cups, but not when offered food using green coloured mealworms ( F6,30 = 1.183, p = 0.342). In the next experiment, we hypothesised that both house crow and common myna will prefer red coloured food items over green coloured food items, when factors such as the amount of food is equal. We chose to test red and green colours because both colours play an important role in most avian food selections. Results showed that there were no significant differences in the selection of red or green coloured mealworms for both house crows ( F6,30 = 2.310, p = 0.06) and common myna ( F6,30 = 0.823, p = 0.561).

Introduced species may pose one of the biggest threats to biodiversity conservation. Today, monitoring their status, distribution and abundance constitutes an important part of ecological and conservation studies throughout the world. In the Afrotropical Region (sub-Saharan Africa), avian introductions have attracted the attention of many researchers, but there is a lack of a comprehensive review of this subject on a continental scale. The presented paper constitutes an attempt to overview the status, distribution, threats and control measures of birds introduced to sub-Saharan Africa in the last 200 years. This review lists 146 bird species introduced to sub-Saharan Africa. Only 49 (33.6%) of them have developed viable populations and only 7 (4.8%) became invasive species, namely Passer domesticus, Sturnus vulgaris, Acridotheres tristis, Corvus splendens, Columba livia var. domestica, Psittacula krameri and Pycnonotus jocosus. Data on distribution of most introduced species are provided, together with information on the place and year of their first introductions. For Passer domesticus and Columba livia var. domestica, data on population densities are also provided from several southern African towns. The most speciose groups of introduced species were parrots (Psittaciformes), comprising 33.6% (including Psittacidae: 13.7%; and Psittaculidae: 15.1%); Anatidae: 12.3%; Phasianidae: 11.0%; and Passeriformes: 30.1%. Most avian introductions in sub-Saharan Africa took place in Southern Africa (mainly the Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg areas) and in Madagascar and the surrounding islands (mostly Mauritius, Reunion and Seychelles). Most introduced species which have developed viable populations originate from the Afrotropical, Oriental and Palearctic regions (altogether 78%), with only 2% from the New World. The proportions among the introduced species which have not established viable populations are quite different: 29% from the New World and only 60% from the Afrotropical, Oriental and Palearctic regions. The main factors affecting successful avian introductions and introduction pathways have been identified. A review of the control measures undertaken in sub-Saharan Africa (mainly in small oceanic islands) is outlined for the following species: Passer domesticus, Acridotheres tristis, Corvus splendens, Pycnonotus jocosus, Foudia madagascariensis, Psittacula krameri and Agapornis roseicollis.

Host nest use by the brood parasitic Asian Koel (Eudynamys scolopacea) has not previously been studied in detail. Here, we investigated factors that may explain patterns of nest use among three commonly used host species of the Asian Koel in Bangladesh; Long-tailed Shrikes (Lanius schach), House Crows (Corvus splendens) and Common Mynas (Acridotheres tristis). In all three host species, the risk of parasitism increased significantly as the distances between host nests and potential parasite vantage points decreased, and furthermore, there was a significant positive correlation between nest volume and risk of parasitism. The nest height above ground was an important predictor of parasitism in Long-tailed Shrikes with increased parasitism risk in nests at lower heights. In addition, nests of Long-tailed Shrikes and House Crows close to active conspecific neighbors were less likely to be parasitized than nests further away. In Common Mynas and House Crows, the risk of parasitism increased during the breeding season with their first nests initiated before the Asian Koel started its egg laying. Clutches of all three host species were parasitized during the host egg laying period. Finally, in Common Mynas, the host clutch size was higher in parasitized than unparasitized nests. The results from the present study correspond well with findings from other brood parasite–host systems, and indicate that brood parasites in general use many similar cues when selecting host nests.

The occurrence and population density of Enterobacteriaceae in the excreta of six bird species: blue rock pigeon (Columba livia), rose-ringed parakeet (Psittacula krameri), common myna (Acridotheres tristis), house crow (Corvus splendens), cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis), and red-wattled lapwing (Vanellus indicus) was studied. A total of 12 excreta samples were analyzed from approximately 60 pellets. Bacterial isolates were identified through biochemical characterization using a standard biochemical test kit. The isolates belonged to Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae, Citrobacter freundii, and Klebsiella pneumoniae, all of which are members of the Enterobacteriaceae family and are known to be pathogenic to humans. Among pigeon samples, E. coli showed the highest prevalence (75%), while C. freundii, E. cloacae, and K. pneumoniae were detected in 25% of samples. House crow excreta showed 100% prevalence of K. pneumoniae. The bacterial counts(cfu/g) varied among bird species. Overall, 73% of excreta samples were positive for E. coli, while 64% showed the presence of C. freundii, E. cloacae, and K. pneumoniae. These findings indicate that bird excreta may serve as a significant source of zoonotic bacterial pathogens, posing a potential health risk to themselves and human beings.

Adrenal glands of eight Indian species of birds, namely Columba livia, Passer domesticus, Corvus splendens, Acridotheres tristis, Acridotheres ginginianus, Milvus migrans, Francolinus pondicerianus and Bubulcus ibis were examined during the sexually active and inactive phases of their annual reproductive cycles. Excepting A ginginianus and M. migrans, among members of either sex of the remaining six species the weight of the adrenal gland increases during the period of sexual activity. Histologically, the interrenal tissue of these birds could be divided into a peripheral subcapsular zone and a central zone. The cytochemical content of these two zones varies between sexual activity and inactivity. In sexually active birds of both sexes, interrenal cells of the central zone exhibit an increased concentration of alkaline phosphatase, glycogen, acid mucopolysaccharides and gross lipids, while in the subcapsular interrenal cells there is a prominent increase of ascorbic acid content. Cytochemical contents of chromaffin cells remain unchanged except acid phosphatase, which increases during the sexually active phase.

Among the several anthropogenic factors, power lines are increasingly regarded as one of the most significant hazards to bird species, primarily owing to collisions and electrocutions. Nepal has comparatively fewer studies on the impact of power line collisions and electrocution on birds compared with developed nations. From November 2021 to May 2022, we assessed the effect of power line collisions and electrocutions on the mortality of birds in the Putalibazar Municipality of the Syangja district of Nepal. We established 117 circular plots in diverse habitats, including agricultural lands, forests, settlements, and river basins, along a 30.6 km long distribution line. Within 18 plots, we detected 43 fatalities of 11 species (17 individuals of six species due to collision and 26 individuals of eight species due to electrocution). House Swift (Apus nipalensis) and Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis) were the primary victims of the collision, whereas House Crow (Corvus splendens) and Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) were frequently observed electrocuted. We also recorded the electrocution of the critically endangered White-rumped Vulture (Gyps bengalensis). The total rate of bird power line collisions per kilometer was 0.55 birds, while the total electrocution rate per 10 poles was 2.22. The bird abundance, distance to agricultural regions, and proximity to human settlements were found to have a strong relationship with the mortality of birds caused by power lines. In order to reduce power line collisions and electrocution fatalities, we recommend conducting a detailed bird population study prior to determining the route of distribution lines.

The impact of differential habitat use and trophic guild dominance on bird assemblages was studied across six urban transects in Jalandhar, India, representing residential (R I, R II), commercial (C I, C II), and industrial (In I, In II) habitats. Overall, a total of 50 bird species, belonging to 13 orders were recorded with Passeriformes being the most dominant order and Blue Rock Pigeon was observed to be the most abundant species followed by Common Myna and House Crow. The bird diversity observed to be highest and lowest in transects In II and C I respectively. About 17, 24 and 9 bird species out of total 50 bird species were not recorded in residential, commercial and industrial transects. Trophic guild analysis revealed that omnivores and insectivores dominated most of the transects, granivores were consistently present particularly in residential areas, whereas nectarivores were least represented. Average bird counts per visit were highest in C II and peaked during July and August, likely linked to resource availability.

Recently, there have been several reports from different parts of the World on the declining populations of the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus). In order to assess the population of this species in the National Capital Territory of Delhi-India, this study was conducted during June– August in 2007. Twenty-eight Fixed-Radius Point Count stations were established in five habitat types viz. High-density Urban Area, Medium-density Urban Area, Low-density Urban Area, Agriculture Area, and Forested Area, within the study area. The results show that the House Sparrow is still a dominant species in the agriculture area. However, its density is very low in the urban areas as compared to the other co-occurring common bird species viz. Rock Pigeon (Columba livia domestica), House Crow (Corvus splendens) and Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis). As, this study was conducted only over one season, the data is not sufficient to provide a clear picture of the population trend of the House Sparrow. Further studies are therefore required to investigate the relationship of the House Sparrow with other co-occurring common species, and to analyse the data on the type and quality of greenspaces and their relation with the House Sparrow in the study area. A long-term monitoring and conservation programme involving local people may be a good approach for maintaining the population of House Sparrow in the study area.