UNUSUAL CONGREGATION OF SAVANNA NIGHTJAR CAPRIMULGUS AFFINISIN A WHEAT FIELD

摘要

On February 15, 2012, we were at Partala (22° 49' 4.56" N; 80° 18' 33.83" E), initiating People's Biodiversity Register. Partala is situated in Narayanganj tehsil of Mandla district in Madhya Pradesh. The village is surrounded by forested hills on three sides, and a small river flows amidst them. The river banks are surrounded by agricultural fields with scattered trees. The main crops are paddy, wheat, maize, and various pulses. The dominant vegetation in this region is Tectona grandis, Terminaliaarjuna, Aegle marmelos, Soymida febrifuga, Madhuca indica, Ficus religiosa, and Butea monosperma.At 18:15 hrs we reached a huge Peepal tree Ficus religiosa, which is one of the roosting sites of the Yellow-footed Green-pigeon Treron phoenicoptera. On reaching, we heard a cacophony of nightjar calls from an adjacent field. It was getting dark and wecould only see silhouettes of the nightjars flying erratically, crisscrossing each other above the wheat field. There were around 30-35 birds, continuously calling and sallying on swarms of insects (moths). We identified them as Savanna Nightjar Caprimulgus affinis based on their distinct cweetzz, cweetzz, cweetzz calls. Along with nightjars, small insectivorous bats were also observed feasting on the moths. Two more species of nightjars, namely Indian Jungle Nightjar Caprimulgus indicus and Indian Little Nightjar Caprimulgus asiaticus, are found in this region. However, we could not hear the calls of these species to ascertain their presence in the congregation. The nightjars were scattered across the wheat field, and since visibility was extremely poor, we could not take photographs. We observed this congregation for almost half an hour, after which we could not follow their movements due to nightfall.