Table Of ContentMISCELLANEOUS NOTES
Smiet, and Khokhar 1981), revealed that Ellobius in arid mountainous tracts.
Nesokiaspendsprolongedperiodsunderground,
surfacing only occasionally, invariably in July 6, 1998 T.J. ROBERTS
darkness. Its principal food, we found, was Cae Gors, Rhoscefnhir
rhizomes of grasses and succulent roots. It is, Nr. Pentraeth Anglesy LL75 8 YU
therefore, not an ecological competitor with Wales, United Kingdom.
References
BobrjnsKH, N.A., B.A. Kuznekov & A.P. Kuzyakjn NewYork.
(1965): Synopsisofthe MammalsoftheUSSR, Lay, D.M. (1967): A study of the Mammals of Iran
Fulk, MG.oWs.c,owA,.(iCnRSumsiseitan)& A.R. Khokhar (1981): FRieesludlitainnag:fZrooomlothgey.StVroele.tE5x4p.eCdhiitciaognos.of1962-63,
Movements of Bandicota bengalensis and Nowak, Ronald M., (1991): Walker’s Mammals
Nesokia indica in rice fields in SindJ. Bombay of the World, Vol. 2, John Hopkins Press,
nat. Hist. Soc. 18(1)\ 107-112. Baltimore.
Grzimek,Bernhard,EditorinChief(1975): AnimalLife Roberts, T.J. (1977): Mammals ofPakistan, 1st edn.
Encyclopedia,Vol. 11,VanNostrandReinholdCo., ErnestBennLtd.,London.
MENOPONGALLINAE INFESTING GREATERADJUTANT STORK
5.
LEPTOPTILOSDUBIUSATNAGAON, ASSAM
Numerousreportsontheoccurrenceofthe frequently when it tried to walk. We brought it
poultry louse Menopon gallinae onpoultry and to our field laboratory for study and to render
wildbirdsareavailable(Soulsby 1968)butthere first aid.
appears tobe no report onthe occurrence ofM. The bird was seen to be heavily infested
gallinaeonthegreateradjutantstorkLeptoptilos with tiny, flat, mobile, wingless arthropods.
dubius (Gmelin). The greater adjutant stork is They were removed with a soft brush and
themostendangeredspeciesofstorkintheworld preserved in glass vials for identification. They
(Rahmani et. al. 1990). Only a small viable were cleared in 10% KOH solution, fixed in
population is surviving in the Brahmaputra 10% formalin and permanent slides were
valley, Assam(Saikia andBhattacharjee 1989). prepared. AttheCollege ofVeterinary Science,
These storks are mainly scavengers, but during AssamAgricultural University, Guwahati, they
thebreedingseasontheypreyonlivingcreatures. were identified as the common poultry louse
In the non-breeding season, they are found at Menopon gallinae.
garbagedumpsinsometownsofAssam.Atsuch The infested bird was treated first with a
foraging sites they can be seen with vultures repellent extract of deodar and vegetable oils.
Gyps spp., black kites Milvus migrans, crows Later, it was treated with Carbary1 Dust Notix
Corvus spp. and other scavengers. The garbage (Carbaryl 5%, Inerts q.s.). Within ten days, the
generally contains inedible parts ofslaughtered lice had almost disappeared.
animals, which are readily eaten up by adjutant Afterwegave itmedicine forliverdisease
storks. anddropsofastrozyme,itrecoveredquicklyand
In 1995 in Nagaon, a juvenile greater became a voracious feeder. Soon it could stand
adjutantstorkwasobservedsittingcontinuously on its feet, and on the third day it had almost
on a mound in a shallow river formore than 24 recovered. We kept it for two months under
hours. It was too weak to walk and fell down observation and then released it into the wild.
JOURNAL BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 96(1), APR. 1999 139
,
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
Menopongallinae(FamilyMenoponidae, birds, and increases the host’s susceptibility to
Order Mallophaga) is a well known insect bacterial, viral and protozoal diseases.
ectoparasite (Noble and Noble 1974). It is pale
mm
yellow in colour. The male is 1.71 and the Acknowledgements
female 2.04 mm. The thoracic and abdominal
segments each have a row of bristles. This We thank the Head ofthe Department of
species is found in all domestic and wild birds, Parasitology, College of Veterinary Science,
includingturkey,guineafowl,ducksandpigeons Assam Agricultural University, for identifying
(Levine 1983). The eggs are laid in clusters on the parasites.
the host feathers and the life cycle is completed
onthe same host. The eggshatchintwo to three September 3, 1997 HILLALJYOTI SINGHA
weeks. These lice are not blood ingesters, they Centre ofWildlife and Ornithology,
feedonthebarbsandscales ofthehostfeathers. Aligarh Muslim Univesity,
They do not infest young chicks, presumably Aligarh 202 002, UP, India.
because chicks lack well developed feathers REZAULKARIM
(Cheng 1982). Disease Investigation Officer,
In most birds, heavy infestation is Animal Health Centre,
generally encountered during winter. Birds Animal Health and Veterinary Department,
affected by lice are restless because of the Guwahati 781 022, Assam, India.
irritation. They become so restless that they ASAD R. RAHMANI
cannotfeedorsleepproperly.Birdsscratchtheir Bombay Natural History Society,
bodiestogetridoftheliceandinjurethemselves, HornbillHouse, Dr. Salim Ali Chowk,
which leads to complications. The infestation Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road
,
apparently causes reduced egg production in Mumbai 400 023.
ReferENCES
Cheng, T.C. (1982): General Parasitology. Academic ofGreaterAdjutantStork(Leptoptilosdubius)inthe
Press, London, pp. 803-805. IndianSubcontinent.ColonialWaterbirds. 13(2): 139-
Levine, N.D. (1983): Text Book of Veterinary 142.
Parasitology.CBSPublishersandDistributors,Delhi, Saikia, P. &P.C. Bhattacharjee(1989): A Preliminary
pp. 140-150. SurveyofAdjutantStorks inAssam.Asian Wetland
Noble, E.R. & G.A. Noble (1974): Parasitology The News2(2): 14-15.
Biology of Animal Parasites. 3rd Edn. Lea and Soulsby, E.J.L. (1968): Helminths, Arthropods and
Febiger,Philadelphia,pp.366-367. Protozoa ofDomestic Animals. 6th Edn. ELBS &
Rahmani,A.R.,G.Narayan&L.Rosalind(1990):Status Baillere,Tindall&CassellLtd.London,pp.368-377.
STRANGE DEATH OF A SHIKRA
6.
Deep in the desert, southwestofJaisalmer the small mammal. Having settled over an
in Rajasthan, I was watching a shikra (Accipiter electric wire the shikra started feeding on the
badius) flying very low over the sandy plain. prey. While the raptor was feeding on the body
Suddenly it gained height, dived to the ground, ofthe rodent, the tail was dangling below. The
thenflewup, witharodentinitstalons. Through bird shifted its posture and the rodent’s tail
thebinoculars I couldnot identify the species of touched the electric pole-bar below, there was a
140 JOURNAL. BOMBAYNATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 96(1) APR. 1999
