Additional breeding records of Hanuman Plover Charadrius seebohmi E. Hartert &amp; A.C. Jackson, 1915 (Aves: Charadriiformes: Charadriidae) from southeastern coast of India

Any new economic activity in a virgin area brings landscape changes, making it essential to document baseline biodiversity areas to understand the impacts on habitats. Avifaunal inventories are critical for previously undocumented areas, especially in a wintering site for shorebirds in the Central Asian Flyway, to formulate site- and species-specific conservation management tools. We present an annotated checklist of avifauna from the Valinokkam Lagoon in the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu. We recorded the first baseline avifaunal data for 154 species belonging to 16 orders and 46 families from August 2016 to February 2023. Order-wise, Charadriiformes dominated the study site with 47 species; followed by Passeriformes with 39 species and Pelecaniformes with 20 species. Winter visitors constituted 37.6 % (58 species) and one Passage Migrant Rosy Starling Pastor roseus. The relative abundance indicated that 94 species were C (common), 41 species were UC (uncommon), and 19 species were Ra (rare). Eleven Near Threatened (NT) species: Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster, Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala, Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus, Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis, Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa, Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica, Great Stone-curlew Esacus recurvirostris, Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata, Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea, Red-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis and Red Knot Calidris canutus, one Endangered (EN) species Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris, and one unassessed Hanuman Plover Charadrius seebohmi according to the IUCN Red List category. This baseline data highlights the importance of Valinokkam Lagoon as an important wintering site in the Central Asian Flyway on the southeast coast of India for migratory shorebirds and the need for more conservation priorities for regional endemic birds like Hanuman Plover.

Importance of conserving a critical wintering ground for shorebirds in the Valinokkam Lagoon—a first study of the avifaunal distribution of the southeastern coast of India

H. Byju,

N. Raveendran,

S. Ravichandran

et al. 2023

Avifaunal diversity assessment and conservation significance of Therthangal Bird Sanctuary, Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu: insights about breeding waterbirds

Byju,

H. Maitreyi,

N. Raveendran

et al. 2024

The study offers a comprehensive avifaunal diversity assessment within the Therthangal Bird Sanctuary (TBS) in the Ramanathapuram District of Tamil Nadu, India which was carried out from January 2021 to March 2023 consisting of two breeding seasons. We recorded 96 bird species of 18 orders and 44 families. Family representations by species were: Ardeidae 10, Accipitridae and Rallidae six each, Anatidae five, Alcedinidae, Cuculidae, Columbidae, Threskiornithidae, and Cisticolidae four each. Four globally ‘Near Threatened’ species (IUCN Red List) were reported: Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster, Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus, Asian Woolly-necked Stork Ciconia episcopus, and Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis. Observed frequencies of species classes were: common (n = 58, 60%), uncommon (n = 28, 29%), and rare (n = 10, 10%). A majority of species were residents (n = 83, 86%), followed by winter visitors (n = 12, 12.5%), and a single passage migrant (Rosy Starling Pastor roseus). Of conservation significance is the finding that 23 of 40 waterbird species recorded in TBS were breeding on site. Maximum numbers of birds and nests were recorded in year 2, presumed to be due to better rainfall and water availability. The findings underscore the importance of TBS in providing bird habitat, and emphasise the need for its conservation, particularly in safeguarding breeding waterbirds habitat. This study provides baseline data essential for the management plan for the forest department of long-term conservation strategies.

Avifaunal diversity and conservation significance of coastal ecosystems on Rameswaram Island, Tamil Nadu, India

H. Byju,

H. Maitreyi,

S. Ravichandran

et al. 2024

Biodiversity-rich areas tied to heritage, religious tourism, and ecotourism, often face changes to their landscapes due to infrastructure development. Such activities may threaten the species survival and disrupt the delicate ecosystems in these regions. Hence it becomes imperative to build up baseline species data from such areas for biodiversity conservation and management interventions. Towards achieving this objective, avifaunal inventories were documented from Kothandaramar Lagoon, Dhanushkodi Lagoon, and the Arichalmunai beach in Rameswaram Island, Ramanathapuram District, Tamil Nadu, which is an important site for winter migrants. A total of 147 avian species belonging to 17 orders and 45 families from August 2021 to July 2023 were recorded. Order-wise, Charadriiformes (52 species) dominated the area, followed by Passeriformes (27 species) and Pelecaniformes (21 species). According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 11 ‘Near Threatened’, three ‘Vulnerable’, two ‘Endangered’ (Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris and Siberian Sandplover Anarhynchus mongolus), and one unassessed species (Hanuman Plover Charadrius seebohmi) were recorded. The relative abundance based on the frequency of observations indicated that 61% (90 species) were common, 22% (32 species) were uncommon, and 17% (25 species) were rare. Winter visitors constituted 42% (62 species) and one was a passage migrant (Rosy Starling Pastor roseus). Coastal lagoons of this region comprise diverse habitats that play a vital role for birds, which provide places for nesting, roosting, and foraging. This baseline data emphasizes the importance of Dhanushkodi Lagoon along with adjacent areas as an important wintering site on the southeastern coast of India for migratory shorebirds as well as highlights the importance of adjoining small forested patches thus required to be declared as a protected area.