ReferencesChattopadhyay, S., 1987. New records of some birds from different parts of Eastern

India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 83 (3): 668–669. eBird 2019a. Website URL: https://ebird.org/india/map/himrub1. [Accessed on 04 May

2019.]eBird 2019b. Website URL: https://ebird.org/india/map/chirub1. [Accessed on 04 May

2019.]eBird 2019c. Website URL: https://ebird.org/india/map/whtrub1. [Accessed on 04 May

2019.]Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed.

London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528.Majumdar, N., Roy, C. S., Ghosal, D. K., Dasgupta, J. M., Basuroy, S., & Datta, B. K.,

1992. Aves. In: Ghosh, A. K., (ed.). Fauna of West Bengal. Part 1. Calcutta: Zoological Survey of India. Vol. 1 of 12 vols. Pp. 171–418.

Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C. and Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions. 2 vols. Pp. 1–378; 1–683.

– Asim Kumar HazraSijberia Village, Uluberia PO+PS, Howrah District 711315, West Bengal, India

E-mail: asimkhazra@yahoo.com

A leucistic Jungle Myna Acridotheres fuscus from West BengalOn 25 April 2019, while birding in Khimsa forest (24.25°N, 88.59°E), Nadia District, West Bengal, Joydeep Mukherjee, Jayanta Manna, Prasil Biswas, and I spotted a colour aberrant Jungle Myna Acridotheres fuscus. Identification was easy due to the tuft above its bill. It had large white patches all over its body [70]. It was not an albino as it had normal coloured eyes and all its other features were inherently that of a Jungle Myna, except for the body colour.

70. Colour aberrant Jungle Myna.

This appears to be an instance of leucism (rather than progressive greying) as per the classification of van Grouw (2012) and strangely, this is probably the first instance of any kind of colour aberration in Jungle Myna from the country (Mahabal et al. 2016).

My acknowledgements to Arghya Adhikary for sharing information on the species.

Sarb

ajit

Nan

dy

ReferencesMahabal, A., van Grouw, H., Sharma, R. M., & Thakur, S., 2016. How common is

albinism really? Colour aberrations in Indian birds reviewed. Dutch Birding 38: 301–309.

van Grouw, H., 2013. What colour is that bird? The causes and recognition of common colour aberrations in birds. British Birds 106 (1): 17–29.

– Sarbajit Nandy 82/4 Barabagan Colony, Kastadanga Road,Sarsuna, Kolkata 700061, West Bengal, India

E-mail: nandysarbajit@gmail.com

Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus in Pune District, with notes on its status in MaharashtraOn 23 March 2019 we visited Lake House Telco Lake (18.64°N, 73.81°E; Fig. 1) in Pimpri–Chinwad, Pune, for birdwatching and photographing the heronry. The Lake House is a cluster of five lakes spread over an area of 34 ha [71] This is an artificial wetland contructed to manage the industrial waste water of TATA Motors. The water treatment is done so efficiently that it supports a large heronry, as well as several bird species. The entire wetland is enclosed by a wall, and hence, protected from all sides. This protection has gradually shaped this area into a water bird refuge.

About 0730 h, while photographing the birds from the hideout, SBP observed a stork flying towards the hideout and perching on a nearby tree. We observed the bird for about five minutes, and identified it as a Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus, due to its triangular head, yellow neck without air sac, and dark slaty back. Meanwhile, SBP clicked several photographs, which further confirmed the identification of the species.

71. Lesser Adjutant at Telco Lake.

Being well managed and protected, this is one of the most secure wetland in the entire region. Thus, occurrence of Lesser Adjutant further signifies the importance of this wetland. TATA Motors, as a part of their environmental sustainability dictum, are

S. B. Pradhan

62 Indian BIRDS Vol. 15 No. 2 (Publ. 15 JuNe 2019)

committed to conservation of this wetland. Further monitoring of the heronry and other water birds is essential to keep this conservation success story.

Lesser Adjutant is listed Vulnerable under The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (BirdLife International 2019). Ali & Ripley (1978) stated that it is known from the states of Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi while it is reported as uncommon in Central India. Rasmussen & Anderton (2012) considered it as a breeding resident in north-eastern India while it is considered a wanderer in southern peninsular India. Grimmett et al. (2011) reported they were breeding residents in north-eastern India and Goa, and winter visitors in eastern India, with sporadic records in peninsular India. Historically, the Lesser Adjutant had been reported only from eastern Vidarbha (D’Abreu 1923), and Abdulali (1981) mentioned it as uncommon in his comprehensive checklist of Maharashtra. Considering these two anecdotes of the past (i.e., 1920–1980), this species was considered rare and uncommon in Maharashtra.

Map 1. Lake House heronry at Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune

However, in recent years—from 2001 to 2017—it has been reported from Vasai, Akola, Chandrapur, Bhandara, and Gondiya Districts of Maharashtra (Li et al. 2009; Rahmani et al. 2014). Chinchkhede & Kedar (2013), and Paliwal & Bhandarkar (2014, 2017) reported this species from Navegaon National Park in Gondia District of Maharashtra.

Bayani & Dandekar (2017) reported its occurrence throughout

the year in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve. The species has also been seen breeding in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (SBP—pers. obs.). Similarly, Paliwal & Bhandarkar (2017) mention about breeding of Lesser Adjutant, observed by M. S. R. Shad in 2013, in their personal communication. A picture of a juvenile Lesser Adjutant had been taken in the Tadoba National Park in 2014 (Lohiya 2014).

There are some records of this species from western Maharashtra as well, namely Sanjay Gandhi National Park (henceforth, SGNP) in Mumbai (Andheria 2003). The birdsofbombay@yahoogroups.com also reported it from SGNP in 2001 (Dalvi 2001), and in 2003 (Vaidya et al. 2003). In addition, Kiran Srivastava observed one Lesser Adjutant on Vihar Lake in SGNP on17 June 2007 (Srivastava 2007). Additionally, it has recently been reported from Degaon village in Solapur (Vanjari & Vanjari 2015), and some anecdotal past records from Solapur are given by Gaikwad et al. (1997). Further investigation on eBird database (eBird 2019) indicates that it is present in eastern Mahrashtra, at four different locations. Of these, it seems the bird is seen in Tadoba National Park throughout the year (Fig. 2).

Our observation is, perhaps, the more interesting because it was reported that a pair each of Lesser Adjutant and Sarus Crane Antigone antigone were released at Lake House (Telco Lake) in 1988 (Kalpvriksha 2001), and the same could have been observed by birdwatchers at Ujani for some years (Prasad 2004). The pair of Lesser Adjutant was observed on wetlands in and around Pimpri Chinchwad region till 1992 (Sanjiv Nalawade, pers. comm.). Upon further investigation, we found that the pair of Lesser Adjutant was released by the Late Sumant Mulgaonkar of Tata Motors, in 1988. It is unlikely that the released birds could have gone unnoticed for 30 years. Hence, this is certainly a new individual. More interestingly, SBP occasionally visits this lake, since 2004, for the birding and photography. However, in the last 14 years he never spotted the Lesser Adjutant here.

Fig. 2. Distribution of Lesser Adjutant in Maharshtra

We acknowledge Dr. Arun Kale, Head Safety, Health and Environmental Sustainability of Tata Motors Limited for facilitating access to the Lake House at Pune.

ReferencesAbdulali, H., 1981. Checklist of the birds of Maharashtra with notes on their status

around Bombay. 2nd ed. Bombay: Bombay Natural History Society. Pp. i–ii, 1–16+2.

Lesser Adjutant residant population

Lesser Adjutant records in MaharashtraLesser Adjutant Location Lake House

India_state

Legend

63Correspondence

Ali, S., & Ripley, S. D., 1978. Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Divers to hawks. 2nd (Hardback) ed. Delhi (Sponsored by Bombay Natural History Society.) Oxford University Press. Vol. 1 of 10 vols. Pp. i–lviii, 1–382.

Andheria, A., 2003. First sighting of Lesser Adjutant-Stork Leptoptilos javanicus from Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 100 (1): 111.

Bayani, A., & Dandekar, N., 2017. A revised avian checklist of Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR), Chandrapur, Maharashtra, India. Indian BIRDS 13 (5): 113–124.

BirdLife International 2019. Species factsheet: Leptoptilos javanicus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 25/03/2019.

Chinchkhede, K. H., & Kedar, G. T., 2013. Habitat niche and status of the birds of Navegaon National Park, Maharashtra. International Journal of Scientific Research 2 (9): 427–433.

D’Abreu, E. A., 1923. A hand-list of the “Birds of the Central Provinces” distinguishing those contained in the Central Museum at Nagpur together with notes on the nidification of the resident species. Records of the Nagpur Museum III: i+1–65.

Dalvi, S., 2011. Lesser Adjutant. Website URL: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/birdsofbombay/conversations/messages/715. [Accessed on 25 May 2017.]

eBird. (2019) eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Available: http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed: April 2, 2019).

Gaikwad, N., Puranik, S., & Shah, N., 1997. A checklist of birds around Solapur. Privately published by Vihangmandal, Solapur.

Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., & Inskipp, T., 2011. Birds of the Indian Subcontinent. 2nd ed. London: Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm. Pp. 1–528.

Kalpavriksh. 2001. Birds of Pune. Pune, India: Kalpavriksh. Pp. i–vi, 1–136.Li, Z. W. D., Bloem, A., Delany, S., Martakis, G., & Quintero, J., 2009. Status of

waterbirds in Asia. Results of the Asian Waterbird Census: 1987–2007. Wetlands International, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Lohiya, S., 2014. Tadoba National Park. Website URL: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S43107931. [Accessed on 25 May 2017.]

Paliwal, G. T., & Bhandarkar, S. V., 2014. Sighting of threatened birds in Navegaon National Park IBA, Maharashtra. Mistnet 15 (1): 7–9.

Paliwal, G. T., & Bhandarkar, S. V., 2017. Ecology and conservation of threatened birds in and around Navegaon National Park, Maharashtra. International Journal for Environmental Rehabilitation and Conservation 8 (1): 120–135.

Prasad, A., 2004. Annotated checklist of the birds of Western Maharashtra. Buceros 8 (2&3): i–ii, 1–174 (2003).

Rahmani, A. R., Kasambe, R., Narwade, S., Patil, P., & Khan, N. I., 2014. Threatened birds of Maharashtra. Mumbai: Oxford University Press. Pp. i–xii, 1–221.

Rasmussen, P. C., & Anderton, J. C., 2012. Birds of South Asia: the Ripley guide. 2 vols. 2nd ed. Pp. 1–378, 1–683. Washington D.C. , Michigan & Barcelona: Smithsonian Institution, Michigan State University & Lynx Edicions.

Srivastava, K., 2007. SNGP (sic) this morning. Website URL: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/birdsofbombay/conversations/messages/8475. [Accessed on 25 May 2017.]

Vaidya, A., Andrea, Vijay & Adesh., 2003. Birding in CEC. Website URL: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/birdsofbombay/conversations/messages/2740. [Accessed on 25 May 2017.]

Vanjari, R. S., & Vanjari, R. S., 2015. Sighting of a Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus from Solapur, Maharashtra. Indian BIRDS 10 (6): 164.

– S. B. Pradhan & G. A. JatharSatish Pradhan, Pune, Maharashtra, India.

E-mail: pradhansatish63@gmail.com [SBP]Girish Jathar, Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

E-mail: g.jathar@bnhs.org [GAJ]

Indian Skimmer Rynchops albicollis and other riverine birds on the islands near Turtle Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh In riverine ecosystems, specialist riverine birds are declining, and freshwater turtles are highly endangered; their survival impaired by anthropogenic pressures such as pollution, flow regulation, and disturbance of nesting sites (Dudgeon 2002). The Turtle Wild Life Sanctuary (25.271–25.321°N, 83.017°–83.034°E) in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (Hereinafter, TWLS) was notified in 1989,

where a seven kilometer stretch of the Ganga was designated as a Protected Area to protect 14 extant species of freshwater turtles. Surveys in unexplored river stretches are still unearthing new breeding populations of many species. This note reports the presence of some riverine birds, and their nesting islands, from a poorly documented stretch of the Ganga River in Uttar Pradesh.

Three observers, used a motor boat (travelling at c.10 km/h) to conduct visual surveys for freshwater turtles and riverine birds, travelling upstream of the TWLS along a 30 km stretch of the Ganga River from Assi Ghat, Varanasi (25.288°N, 83.007°E) till Chunar (25.131°N, 82.879°E), and downstream of the TWLS along a 15 km stretch from Raj Ghat, Varanasi (25.323°N, 83.031°E) till Gokulpur (25.330°N, 83.154°E), over a three-day period from 18–20 March 2018. The river meanders greatly in this segment, forming an extensive floodplain with several sandbars and mid-river sand islands. During the survey periods from 0800 h to 1500 h, the atmospheric temperature was recorded by a thermohygrometer and varied between 36°C and 43°C.

A flock of 13 Indian Skimmers Rynchops albicollis was observed in March; they were displaying gregarious flocking behaviour, indulging in open-wing displays, and occasionally skimming the water near a broad sand island upstream of the TWLS [72]. This island is nearly 170 km from the newly located nesting grounds of the skimmer in the Ganga River, upstream of Allahabad, near the Ganga–Yamuna confluence (Sharma 2017). Though once widespread, very few breeding sites are currently known for this species from India (Sundar 2004; Dilawar & Sharma 2016; BirdLife International 2017; Rajguru 2017; Sharma 2017). Seven pairs of Little Terns Sternula albifrons, and five pairs of Indian Skimmers were observed nesting on the island on 07 May 2018. Subsequently, two pairs of Indian Skimmers were seen with two chicks each [73], active near the edge of the sand island on 26 June 2018. The authors ensured the safety of the birds on the island by following standard methods for studying the breeding biology of avian species. We approached the island once, to help understand additional aspects of the skimmer’s breeding, and the nests and chicks were not disturbed during the course of photography. Three nests held clutches three to five eggs that were dark brownish cream, and had dark chocolate brown blotches, as observed by Rajguru (2017) in mature eggs. The cryptic chicks were found hiding in shallow scrapes, at the edges of the water, making detection difficult, thus protecting themselves from predators [74]. The pairs of Indian Skimmers

72. Indian Skimmer on the sand island upstream of the Turtle Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttar Pradesh.

64 Indian BIRDS Vol. 15 No. 2 (Publ. 15 JuNe 2019)