ആൾകാട്ടി പക്ഷി : പക്ഷി കൂട്ടത്തിലെ കാവൽകാരൻ !!!
Red-Wattled Lapwing “Chenkanny Thithiri’
The Red-Wattled Lapwing (Vanellus indicus) , “Chenkanny
Thithiri’ in Malayalam vernacular is a resident bird widely distributed in the
Kerala State, India.
Like other lapwings they are ground birds that are incapable
of perching. Their characteristic loud alarm calls are indicators of human or
animal movements.
The birds are about 35 cm long. The wings and back are light
brown with a purple to green sheen, but the head, a bib on the front and back
of the neck are black. Prominently white patch
runs between these two colors, from belly and tail, flanking
the neck to the sides of crown.
Short tail is tipped black. A red fleshy wattle in front of each eye, black-tipped red bill,
and the long legs are yellow. In flight, prominent white wing bars formed by
the white on the secondary
coverts. The birds usually keeps in pairs or trios in
well-watered open country, ploughed fields,
grazing land, and margins and dry beds of tanks. The birds
are uncannily and ceaselessly vigilant, day or night, and is the first to
detect intrusions and raise an alarm.
The birds breed from West Asia (Iraq, SW Iran, Persian Gulf)
eastwards across South Asia (Baluchistan,Afghanistan, Pakistan) and the entire
Indian subcontinent up to Kanyakumari.
The breeding season is mainly March to August. Three to four
pyriform eggs are laid in a ground scrape or depression sometimes fringed with
pebbles, goat or hare droppings. Nests are difficult
to find since the eggs are cryptically colored and usually
matches the ground pattern. When nesting they will attempt to dive bomb or
distract potential predators. Both the male and female
incubate the eggs and divert predators using distraction displays or flash their wings to
deter any herbivores that threaten the nest. Males appear to relieve females
incubating at the nest
particularly towards the hot part of noon. The eggs hatch
within 28 to 32 days. Like other lapwings, they soak their belly feathers to
provide water to their chicks as well as to cool the eggs during hot weather.
The chick leaves the nest and follows the parents soon after hatching.
The diet of the lapwing includes a range of insects, snails and other invertebrates, mostly picked
from the ground. They may also feed on some grains. They feed mainly during the
day but they
may also feed at night, especially during full moon. Across
their wide range of distribution, there are differences in the plumage and four
subspecies have been recognized.
1. V. i.
aigneri (Laubmann, 1913) – southeast Turkey to Pakistan
2. V. i.
indicus (Boddaert, 1783) – central Pakistan to Nepal, northeast India and
Bangladesh
3. V. i.
lankae (Koelz, 1939) – Sri Lanka
4. V. i.
atronuchalis (Jerdon, 1864) – northeast India to south China, southeast Asia,
Malay Peninsula and north Sumatra
As the global population is considered stable, it has been
listed as Least Concern on the IUCN
Red List.
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