A Huge Urban Population of Birds of Prey in Delhi India

Galushin, Vladimir M.

doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.1971.tb05189.x

Cited by 44 publications

(27 citation statements)

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“…Griffons are known to forage opportunistically and concentrate near reliable food sources (Galushin 1971, Dona´zar 1993, Houston 2001, Gavashelishvili & McGrady 2006. Refuse tips near stock-farms have played a crucial role for their well-being in Crete like in other Mediterranean countries (Sunyer 1992, Dona´zar 1992, Camin˜a 2002.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging Behaviour and Flight Characteristics of Eurasian Griffons Gyps fulvus in the Island of Crete, Greece

Xirouchakis

Andreou

2009

Wildlife Biology

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We studied the foraging behaviour of Eurasian griffons Gyps fulvus on the island of Crete during 1997–2005 by direct observations in four colonies and by monitoring the movements of seven radio‐equipped individuals. The estimated foraging range of griffon colonies, based on direct observations, ranged from 206–851 km2 by using the Minimum Convex Polygon method, and 195–527 km2 by using the Adaptive Kernel method, with corresponding means of 472 and 380 km2, respectively. Meanwhile, radio‐tracking showed that foraging vultures covered an area ranging from 390–1300 km2. The mean foraging radius was calculated at ca 15 km and the mean maximum one at 29.9 km. On windless days, griffons' mean cross‐country speed was 5.1 m/second (maximum = 13.3 m/second), with a mean climbing rate of 0.6 m/second and a mean inter‐thermal gliding speed of 18.8 m/second. Any livestock carrion located up to 9 km from a colony was exploited by its members with minimum competition from individuals of adjacent areas. In total, we recorded 23 feeding incidences which took place at a mean distance of 8.4 km from the colonies. The food types identified were sheep carcasses located near stock‐farms and offal disposed in waste dumps in the vicinity of the colonies. On average, the griffons allocated 7.6 hour/day to food searching. This varied significantly between months and seasons. The shortest foraging time was recorded in December (6.4 hour/day) and the longest in June (9.3 hour/day). A significant difference of one hour after sunrise was detected in the departure time from the colony between seasons revealing that griffons departed earlier during winter trying to maintain their foraging budget within the available daytime limits.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging Behaviour and Flight Characteristics of Eurasian Griffons Gyps fulvus in the Island of Crete, Greece

Xirouchakis

Andreou

2009

Wildlife Biology

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“…Thus, the city was not homogenous in its suitability for kites, as might be assumed from their apparently constant presence throughout the city (e.g. Galushin 1971), which is typical of many facultative scavengers and synurbic species capable of consuming human waste (e.g. Sorace 2002;Brook et al 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Delhi, kites breed on both trees and artificial structures (pylons, towers), sometimes forming loose colonies and locally reaching extremely high densities, thanks to the exploitation of human food subsidies facilitated by inefficient refuse disposal and by religious kite-feeding practices (Kumar et al 2014; see details below). These large-scale subsidies may explain Delhi's capacity to host what is probably the largest raptor concentration in the world (Galushin 1971;Kumar et al 2014).…”

Section: Model Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat selection by an avian top predator in the tropical megacity of Delhi: human activities and socio-religious practices as prey-facilitating tools

et al. 2017

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Research in urban ecology is growing rapidly in response to the exponential growth of the urban environment. However, few studies have focused on tropical megacities, and on the interplay between predators' habitat selection and human socio-economic aspects, which may mediate their resilience and coexistence with humans. We examined mechanisms of breeding habitat selection by a synanthropic raptor, the Black Kite Milvus migrans, in Delhi (India) where kites mainly subsist on: (1) human refuse and its associated prey-fauna, and (2) ritualised feeding of kites, particularly practised by Muslims. We used mixed effects models to test the effect of urban habitat configuration and human practices on habitat selection, site occupancy and breeding success. Kite habitat decisions, territory occupancy and breeding success were tightly enmeshed with human activities: kites preferred areas with high human density, poor waste management and a road configuration that facilitated better access to resources provided by humans, in particular to Muslim colonies that provided ritual subsidies. Furthermore, kites bred at 'clean' sites with less human refuse only when close to Muslim colonies, suggesting that the proximity to ritual-feeding sites modulated the suitability of other habitats. Rather than a nuisance to avoid, as previously portrayed, humans were a keenly-targeted foraging resource, which tied a predator's distribution to human activities, politics, history, socio-economics and urban planning at multiple spatio-temporal scales. Many synurbic species may exploit humans in more subtle and direct ways than was previously assumed, but uncovering them will require greater integration of human socio-cultural estimates in urban ecological research.

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“…However, taking the results as they stand, the largest populations were those of Marabous, Pied Crows and Black Kites, all of which exceeded 400-500 for at least a part of the year, whilst the population of Hooded Vultures was usually above 200. The only other city for which the numbers of scavenging birds have been reported is Delhi (Galushin 1971). The density of Hooded Vultures in Kampala, over 4 km -2, is several times higher than that of their ecological equivalent in Delhi, the Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus.…”

Section: Scavengers and Manmentioning

confidence: 99%

Birds as Scavengers of Refuse in Uganda

Pomeroy¹

1975

Ibis

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Summary Refuse tips, abattoirs and fishing villages provide an important source of food for several species of large scavenging birds in Uganda. The most numerous are Marabou Storks, Hooded Vultures, Black Kites and Pied Crows. Estimates of the populations of these species are given for Kampala, several smaller towns in Uganda and Rwenzori National Park (where there is an important fishing industry). Crows and kites are spread widely through Kampala and the population densities of both species exceed 12 km‐2 (the latter seasonally). On average there were about 200 Hooded Vultures at the Kampala abattoir and nearly as many Marabous at the refuse tips. Abattoirs and refuse tips in smaller towns often had proportionately higher populations of scavengers than Kampala. The food consumption of these birds is calculated to be nearly 100 t per year in Kampala and 800 t per year in Rwenzori National Park. It is suggested that although man, through his various activities, provides most of the food for these scavengers, they are beneficial to him in the sense that the food which they eat might otherwise become a health hazard.

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A Huge Urban Population of Birds of Prey in Delhi India

Cited by 44 publications

References 0 publications

Foraging Behaviour and Flight Characteristics of Eurasian Griffons Gyps fulvus in the Island of Crete, Greece

Foraging Behaviour and Flight Characteristics of Eurasian Griffons Gyps fulvus in the Island of Crete, Greece

Habitat selection by an avian top predator in the tropical megacity of Delhi: human activities and socio-religious practices as prey-facilitating tools

Birds as Scavengers of Refuse in Uganda

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