FACTORS AFFECTING THE COMMUNAL ROOSTING BEHAVIOUR OF BIRDS AT PANAMARAM HERONRY, WAYANAD DISTRICT
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Date
2023-03-22
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KVASU CENTRE FOR WILDLIFE STUDIES KERALA VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY POOKODE, WAYANAD
Abstract
Communal roosting of birds can be observed all over the world, it’s a common behaviour shown by birds to attain benefits of better thermoregulation, information attained on food, predators as well as breeding mates and also lower predation. Sometimes in the communal roost only, birds are found to nest and rear young ones. So, the conservation of such roosts is essential for the protection of birds and it can only happen with the help of scientific studies about it.In this present study, we are looking into various environmental factors affecting the communal roosting behaviour of birds in a mixed-species roost situated in a Heronry at Panamaram of Wayanad District, Kerala. The major objectives of the study also include the abundance of different species residing in
the communal roost as well as the roost partitioning of the birds roosting. The inferences are made by directly observing the roost in the hours of 17:00hrs and 19:00hrs in the late evening with simple point count method and the data was documented with the help of photographs and videos. From the observations, it is identified that heronry is home to a total of 9 species belonging to 3 families which include species of Egrets, species of Cormorants and even Near Threatened Black headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus). It’s a mixed-species roost since along with these heronry birds Passeriformes such as Jungle Myna (Acridotheres fuscus) are found communally roosting in the same heronry. Observations were also made on how light intensity, wind speed, and wind direction affect the roost and also time of arrival as well as the direction of arrival of roosting birds. Our results could significantly favour the relatedness of these factors with roosting behaviour and find an abundance of various roosting species of this heronry