Podoces
Volume:6 Issue: 2, 2011

A total of 56 Barn Owl Tyto alba roosting sites were recorded in Madurai District of Tamil Nadu, India, between 2007 and 2009. Barn Owl roosting sites were observed in various places such as temple towers, compound walls, buildings, wells, trees and artificial wooden nest boxes. Although Barn Owls used a variety of roosting sites, man-made structures were mostly preferred (73%) in the study area. Barn Owls used a variety of perch sites during foraging, with electric poles being the most favoured perch type (47.2%). Of the 17 nest boxes erected in various sites, 7 (41%) were used by Barn Owls for roosting and nesting. This occupancy rate suggested not only those insufficient natural nesting sites were available, but also that nest boxes could be used to increase Barn Owl populations in agricultural areas, both for conservation purposes and for biological pest control.

We studied spatial variation in the diet of the Barn Owl Tyto alba. Pellets regurgitated by Barn Owls were collected from 20 sites mostly in southern Iran from 1996 to 2011. Pellet investigation yielded remains of 2,253 prey items representing 97 different species belonging to 53 bird species, 34 mammals, three reptiles, one fish and some classes of arthropods. Mammals comprised 1,741 prey items (77.3%), while birds comprised 452 (20.1%). The predominant species were mice (Mus sp.) (696; 30.9%), Indian Gerbil Tatera indica (246; 10.9%), Social Vole Microtus socialis (214; 9.5%) and House Sparrow Passer domesticus (198; 8.8%). Most prey items were found in Chahak (Genaveh) (383), Choqa-Zanbil (323) and Bisotun (280). Caspian Shrew Crocidura suaveolens caspica was dominant in Gilan Province, Microtus socialis irani was common in Kermanshah and Fars Provinces, Mus sp. dominated in Khuzestan Province, and Indian Gerbil and Baluchistan Gerbil Gerbilus nanus occurred mainly near the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman and in Baluchestan and Kerman provinces, while the Barn Owl preyed mainly on waders in the mangrove forests of Qeshm Island. Analysis of the data using a modified Marked Differences from the Mean method (MDFM) showed remarkable differences in 26 prey taxa identified by species or genus. According to the MDFM method, the four species of prey with the highest scores (+3) were: Black Rat Rattus rattus on Kish Island, Caspian Shrew in Anzali, Baluchistan Gerbil in Tiss and Indian Gerbil in Tujak. The occurrence, prey number and biomass of prey species demonstrate great variation in the diet of the Barn Owl in Iran.

To survey the effect of touching eggs and nestlings during research activities upon breeding success, this study was carried out from 19 February to 24 June 2010 in Haft-Tappeh and Miyan-Ab agriculture complexes in the northern part of Khuzestan province, southwestern Iran. In the study period, 19 nests (14 touched and 5 untouched) of Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto, 11 nests (6 touched and 5 untouched) of Grey Hypocolius Hypocolius ampelinus, and 38 nests (29 touched and 9 untouched) of Common Babbler Turdoides caudatus were monitored at 3-day intervals. There was a significant difference between breeding success in the touched and untouched nests of Grey Hypocolius (P<0.05) while in Common Babbler and Collared Dove there were not any significant effects (P>0.05). Among these species, Grey Hypocolius is determined as a susceptible species. Also in Grey Hypocolius, the stage before hatching was determined as a crisis stage in its reproductive period because touching of chicks did not cause any mortality in all the touched nests, while touching eggs caused some egg mortalities.

The Lesser White-fronted Goose is a species of conservation concern and considered to be globally threatened with extinction. Since the 1960s, the species has been reported from a total of 22 sites throughout Iran, but in the period 1992–2008, mid-winter counts of the species were received from only 16 sites. The status of the species in Iran is reviewed, and a map has been prepared showing the location of all the sites at which the species has been recorded. The highest number of birds recorded in Iran since the 1960s was a flock of 6,650 individuals in Miankaleh Protected Area in December 1972, while in 2007 and 2008, the total numbers recorded in Iran were only 264 and 26 individuals respectively.

Arrival and departure dates of Pallas’s Gulls Larus ichthyaetus were assessed in the Kadalundy-Vallikkunnu Community Reserve on the southwest coast of India, and secondary information was collated from Migrant Watch to evaluate arrival and departure dates elsewhere in the country. Generally the birds arrived at Kadalundy in November or early December and departed in the second half of April or first half of May. A review of existing information across the country has shown that the dates of arrival vary with latitude. Further, we highlight the possibility that some Pallas’s Gulls remain throughout the summer in Kadalundy- Vallikkunnu Community Reserve, something which has not been reported before in India.

This survey was carried out at Sivand Dam in Fars Province, Iran, during six months from October 2009 to March 2010. In total, 46 species of waterbirds were identified at the dam. Of these, Eurasian Coot Fulica atra and Common Teal Anas crecca were the most abundant (71.7% and 11.5% of all birds counted, respectively). Five species currently included in the IUCN Red List categories, Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus (VU),White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala (EN), Marbled Teal Marmaronetta angustirostris (VU), Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca (NT) and Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa (NT), were observed at the dam. The survey has revealed that this artificial wetland is able to support significant numbers of waterbirds during periods of drought when many natural wetlands are in a critical condition. Further studies on the aquatic fauna of this dam and other artificial wetlands are recommended to complement the results of this preliminary study.