Birds often conflict with man's endeavors in various ways and sometimes can become a pest problem causing serious economic losses in certain situations (Grazio, 1989). Besides agricultural crops, they can also cause losses to horticultural crops (Dhindsa and Saini, 1994). Bird damage to fruit crops is a primary problem in most parts of the world in both developed countries like the United States, Canada and Europe, and in developing countries in Latin America and Asia (Ali and Ripley, 1969; Mehrotra and Bhatnagar, 1979; Grazio, 1989). In the United States, bird damage to fruits amounts to $US19 million annually; in Tunisia it amounts to 15,000 tons loss in yield per year. In India, fruit crops suffer heavy economic losses owing to bird depredations; however, the information available is too meager. Among the different crops targeted by birds, guava and papaya are most susceptible to damage (Mehrotra and Bhatnagar, 1979; Sandhu and Dhindsa, 1981; Malhi and Brar, 1985, 1987 a,b, 1988). These crops are grown in small and large-sized orchards, or as intercropping in most pockets of the Punjab. An attempt has been made to work out the intensity of damage at different stages of these crops' growth cycle with a view to determining the appropriate timing to prevent damage by birds.
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