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Buceros Vol. 7, No. 1 & 2 (2002) STOLICZKA’S OR WHITE-BROWED BUSHCHAT Saxicola macrorhyncha Vulnerable C1 This desert specialist has a small, declining population because of agricultural intensification and encroachment, which qualifies it as Vulnerable. Distribution: The White-browed Bushchat or Stoliczka’s Whinchat is found in a circumscribed area of semi-arid country in north-western India and eastern Pakistan. It has apparently strayed as far east as the Bharatpur area of Rajasthan and as far south as Goa, with two simultaneous historical records from southern Afghanistan. In India the species occurs generally in low-lying arid areas of the north-west. Early records are from western Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, southeastern Rajasthan and Gujarat. There are more recent records from eastern Rajasthan. The bird may survive in Kutch 1 . Eight birds are seen in Naliya grasslands(Kutch) 4 . It is now thought to survive in good numbers only in the Thar (or Indian) Desert in Rajasthan and Gujarat 1 . Population: The clear evidence, based on qualitative assessments from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, is that this species has experienced a long, strong decline to a point where it is, today, apparently a single-country endemic with a low overall population. There were only around 15 records between 1974 and 1994, but during four intensive surveys in 1993–1994 about 86 birds were located in 18 localities 2 . Of these, 25 were seen over a 45 km transect on a single day and, on another day, 13 birds were seen on six line-transects of 1.5 km each 2 . However, out of a total of 38 transects, the bird was seen on only nine 2 . These data indicate that the species is not as threatened as once feared, being common in certain localities, although overall very local 2 . Main threats: The main threat is agricultural intensification and encroachment, primarily through the introduction of irrigation schemes to semi-arid areas and their subsequent conversion into croplands. Overgrazing by livestock may also reduce the extent of suitable habitat. These trends are expected to continue with the development of the Indira Gandhi Nahar Project (Rajasthan Canal) and widespread application of modern agricultural techniques 2 . Conservation measures: The bird has been recorded at Sam in Desert National Park and at Sonkhaliya, both protected enclosures for Great Indian Bustard 2 . There have also been single records at each of Keoladeo National Park, Ranthambore National Park and Velavadar National Park 3 . References: 1. Rahmani 1996; 2. Rahmani 1997; 3. BirdLife International 2001, 4. Jadeja, R. (pers. comm.) 2002. Stoliczka’s Bushchat in some of the IBAs Rajasthan: 1.Desert NP, 2. Sariska NP, 3. Diyatra, 4. Keoladeo NP, 5. Sonkhali ya, 6. Ranthambore Tiger Reserve; Haryana: Sultanpur WLS, Gujarat: 2. Velavadar WLS, 2. Naliya grasslands. HODGSON’S OR WHITE-THROATED BUSHCHAT Saxicola insignis Vulnerable C1 This poorly known chat has a small, declining population as a result of loss of its wintering grassland habitats to drainage, conversion to agriculture, overgrazing, flooding, and thatch harvesting. These factors qualify it as Vulnerable. Distribution: The White-throated Bushchat breeds very locally in the mountains of Mongolia and an adjacent part of Russia, and it winters in the northern Gangetic plains and the duars of northern India and the terai of Nepal. It has been recorded on passage between these regions in Bhutan and western China. The listing of the species for Bangladesh 1,2,3 is presumably hypothetical and requires substantiation. n n n Population: Although the White-throated Bushchat has always been infrequently recorded, it is perhaps not as rare as published records indicate, especially as it can be overlooked amongst congeners 4 . The population data accumulated so far throughout the range of the species suggest that total numbers might not exceed 1,000 birds. However, as some breeding populations are fairly dense, and as this species is perhaps likely to be overlooked, 55 THREATENED BIRDS OF INDIA VULNERABLE
VULNERABLE THREATENED BIRDS OF INDIA Buceros Vol. 7 & No. 1 & 2 (2002) the true figure is here estimated to fall between 2,500 and 10,000 birds. Main threats: No information is available regarding the state of the breeding habitat of the species, but it is unlikely to be unduly threatened given the modest levels of human population density and regional development. The destruction and modification of grassland and wetland habitats in its wintering range is thought to be the main concern 5 . Virtually all remaining grasslands within the species’s wintering range are subject to intense pressures which threaten their future 5,6,7,8, . Conservation measures: CMS Appendix II. Wintering n n n 56 populations regularly occur in several protected areas including Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park in Assam. It may well be overlooked on other grassland reserves in the terai of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Assam. References: 1. Rashid 1967; 2. Husain 1979; 3. Ripley 1982; 4. Ali and Ripley 1978–1999; 5. Rahmani 1988; 6. Javed and Rahmani 1991; 7. Bell and Oliver 1992; 8. Peet et al. 1999a. Hodgson’s Bushchat in some of the IBAs Assam: 1. Manas NP, 2. Kaziranga NP; Bihar: Valmiki NP, West Bengal: Gorumara NP. MARSH BABBLER Pellorneum palustre Vulnerable A1c; A2c This grassland specialist is inferred to have a rapidly declining population as a result of widespread loss of its tall grassland habitat. It therefore qualifies as Vulnerable. Distribution: The Marsh Babbler is restricted to the floodplain of the Brahmaputra river and its associated tributaries in north-eastern India and adjacent Bangladesh. It is distributed fairly widely in the lowlands of Assam, extending to Meghalaya at the foot of the Khasi hills and to Arunachal Pradesh at the foot of the Mishmi hills. Population: The Marsh Babbler’s population is unknown but is inferred to be declining as a result of loss of its tall grassland habitat. Historically, it was described as a “rare bird” in North Cachar 1 , although “common about marshy ground” in Meghalaya 2 . There have been few recent records, but it was “common” in the Amarpur area adjacent to Dibru-Saikhowa National Park 3,4 . Threats: The key threat is probably habitat loss and degradation. Huge areas of grassland in northern India, including the Brahmaputra valley, have been lost as a result of conversion to agriculture and forestry plantations, edaphic grasslands have been altered as flooding regimes have been changed by dam and irrigation schemes, and many remaining grasslands are subject to high grazing pressure from domestic stock and intensive harvesting by local communities, often associated with grassland burning 5,6 . Moreover, grassland n n n habitats are generally poorly represented in protectedarea systems 7 . Further threats in Dibru-Saikhowa are flood erosion, encroachment and inadequate management 8 . Tall grassland in Manas National Park, where the species has also been recorded, has been overgrazed by domestic livestock, a situation exacerbated by the poor security situation in the Park. Conservation measures: : The species occurs in Dibru- Saikhowa, Kaziranga 4 , Manas, and Nameri National Parks. References: 1. Baker 1894–1901; 2. Jerdon 1871–1872; 3. Allen 1998; 4. Choudhury 2000; 5. Bell and Oliver 1992; 6. Peet 1997; 7. Rahmani 1988; 8. Choudhury 1997a. Marsh Babbler in some of the IBAs Assam: 1. Dibru-Saikhowa NP+ Kobo Chapori+Amarpur Chapori-Maguri-Motapung Beels, 2. Kaziranga NP, 3. Burachapori WLS+Laokhowa WLS, 4. Majuli Beel, 5. Nameri NP, 6. Orang NP, 7. Pobitara WLS, 8. Koabari Dolni; Arunachal Pradesh: 1. Namdapha NP and Kamalang WLS, 2. Namtok, Namheik, Nampong, Manmao, 3. Pakhui WLS.
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