Golden oriole Oriolus oriolus preying on flying lizard Draco dussumieri Dum. and Bibr

1 Pages·1998·0.59 MB·

by  S Balachandran

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 115
PRABHAKAR
tested. The incident occured in atotally degraded August 20, 1996 A.
&
forest patch, where the food sources are scarce. Salim Ali Centrefor Ornithology
The bird’s normal ground foraging habit might Natural History,
have driven it to attempt to get food in this Kalampalayam P.O.,
unusual manner. Coimbatore 641 010.
GOLDEN ORIOLE ORIOLUS ORIOLUS PREYING ON FLYING LIZARD
1 1 .
DRACO DUSSUMIERJDUU. & BIBR.
On 8 January, 1996, during one ofmy field of india and Pakistan, by Ali and Ripley (1983)
trips in the Western Ghats ofKerala, in a riparian the oriole is a frugivore, but occasionally eats
habitat at Poringal Kuthu Dam near Vazhachal, insects. Whether the non-availability offruits or
I observed flying lizards Draco dussumieri in the abundance of the lizard made the oriole go
good numbers. Several trees had one or two for the lizard is uncertain. In any case it is
lizards moving around the tree trunks. I was interesting to note that the flying lizard also
amazed to see the lizards in abundance. In that forms an item ofthe golden oriole’s diet.
area on one of the trees I saw a golden oriole
BALACHANDRAN
Oriolus oriolus holding its prey in its bill and March 23, 1997 S.
beating it on the branch to devour it. I found Salim Ali Centrefor Ornithology
that the prey in the oriole’s bill was a flying and Natural History, Kalampalayam P.O.,
lizard. According to the handbook of the birds Coimbatore 641 010.
COMMON MYNA FEEDING A FLEDGELING KOEL
12.
On 15 August, 1996, at about 1130 hrs I splendens and the jungle crow C.
observed a common myna Acridotheres tristis macrorhynchos. Eggs have also been recorded
feeding a fledgeling koelEudynamysscolopacea from the nests ofChinese magpie Picap. seriea,
in the compound of Girls High School at red-billed blue magpie Urocissa e. magnirostris
Mangaldoi, Darrang dist., Assam. The fledgeling and black-necked myna Gracupica nigricollis
flew down to the ground for feeding where the (Editor’s footnote in Smith 1950). Smith (1950:
myna was waiting. Then in the afternoon, the JBNHS 49[2] 304-305) recorded a very
:
same birds were seen again, this time on the tin interesting case of black drongos Dicrurus
roof of the school building. The fledgeling was macrocercus fostering a koel. This observation
very noisy, which in fact caught my attention on ofcommonmyna andkoel seems tobe the second
both occasions. While the type offood provided published instance, the first being eggs of koel
during the first observation could not be recordedby Stuart Baker from a common myna’s
identified, the myna did not offer any food the nest (Cuckoo Problems, p. 197).
second time, although the fledgeling flew down
noisily andbegged for food. Then the fledgeling March ANWARUDDIN CHOUDHURY
14,
flew back to a nearby tree. 1997 The Rhino Foundation,
The young koel was a female, as was c/o The Assam Co. Ltd.,
evident from its plumage. The koel is a known Bamunimaidam, G. Bordoloi Path,
brood-parasite, usually onthe house crow Corpus Guwahati 781 021. Assam.