Table Of Content.
POPULATION, MOULT, BIOMETRICS AND SUBSPECIES OF
LARGE SAND PLOVER CHARADRJUS LESCHENA
ULTII
WINTERING IN SOUTHEAST INDIA
1
S. Balachandran2
(With two text-figures
)
Key words: Charadrius leschenaultii crassirostris, Charadrius leschenaultii
leschenaultii, Australia, adult, first year bird, moult, weight, Gulf of Mannar.
Based on the results of the bird ringing studies conducted between 1985-1988, along with bird
count data, this study provides information on the population, moult, proportion ofyoung birds,
measurements and subspecies ofthe large sand plover Charadrius leschenaultii wintering in the
Gulfof Mannar Marine National Park in southeast India About 300-500 birds winter and some
individuals spend the breeding season (summer) here. The proportion of “first year” birds was
< 30%. Adults complete the primary moult by October, oneto two months earlierthan in northwest
Australia. Birds weighed at departure weigh at least 30% less than in Australia. Two subspecies,
crassirostris and leschenaultii have been recognised from the wintering population.
,
Introduction in Australia where it is one ofthe four abundant
wintering species (Barter and Barter 1986). This
This study presents the results of bird paper deals with the population fluctuation,
migration studies carried out between 1985-1988 proportion of young birds, moult and
at the Gulf of Mannar (GOM) Marine National measurements, and subspecies recognition, based
Park, an important wader habitat in India. on the bird count and ringing data for 160
xAlthough the large sand plover Charadrius individuals ringed in three migratory seasons
leschenaultii is known to winter all along the between 1985-1988. The weight and moult score
seaboard of India, its distribution pattern is not recorded during this study is compared with the
clearly known. However, it is seen in small observation made at northwestern Australia by
numbers on the entire seacoast ofIndia (Ali and Barter and Barter (1986).
Ripley 1983). Moreover, bird ringing carried out
Study Area
at different sites along the east coast from
Orissa (Chilka Lake) to south Tamil Nadu
Two corals islands, namely Manali and
indicates that it is seen in several hundreds
Hare Island and Pillaimadam lagoon in the
only in GOM, which has extensive intertidal GOM
near Mandapam, and the Dhanushkodi
sandflats, the most favoured habitat of this
lagoon in Rameswaram Island were the major
species.
study areas selected for this study. For more
An
eastern species, the large sand plover
details see Balachandran (1995).
occurs in greater numbers towards eastAsia, and
Methods
'Accepted July, 1997
2BombayNatural History Society, The birds were caught with mesh nets and
Hombill House, Dr. Salim Ali Chowk,
nooses, the traditional methods of professional
Shaheed BhagatSingh Road, Mumbai-23.
Correspondingaddress bird trappers of coastal regions. Birds caught
:
1 1/100,Central Street, Agasteeswaram P.O., were ringed, aged, measured, weighed and
Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu-629701 examined for moult before being released.
426 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 95(3) DEC. 1998
POPULATION, MOULT, BIOMETRICS AND SUBSPECIES OF LARGE SAND PLOVER
450
400 -
350
O
l-H
P3
to
O
0$
to
pa
%
to
£
Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jon Jut Aug
MONTH
Fig. 1: Population fluctuation of large sand plover Charadrius leschenaultii
Birds were age-classified as ‘adults’ and October. The numbers were maximum in
‘first year’ based on the characters described in September and early October (300-450) due to
the BTO Guide No. 17. ‘Adult’ refers to birds the occurrence of transient individuals enroute
older than first year and includes second year to the other wintering grounds. They were found
birds from the first ofAugust onwards. The term in lesser numbers (40-50) afterwards and till
‘firstyear’ refers tobirds hatched inthe same year. December end. A slight increase in their numbers
Moult scoring was followed as in Snow was observed from the second half of January
(1967), wing, bill and tarsus were measured to and February, probably due to the reappearance
the nearest millimetre (mm), and the birds of transient individuals on their return journey
weighed to the nearest gram (gm). to the breeding ground (Fig. 1). The maximum
Monthly bird counts were carried out to number of individuals counted for the three
determinethe seasonalfluctuationinbirdnumbers. seasons was 450 in 1985-86. Some individuals,
Though a few migrants started arriving in late mostly first year birds, were found to spend the
August, the netting started from September summer in Manali and Hare Is.
onwards. Hence, each season commenced from Age composition: Adults outnumbered
September and ended in August. Thus, 1985-86, first year birds in all the three seasons. The
1986-87, 1987-88 seasons are referred to as first, adult proportion was >70%. There is no
second and third seasons respectively. significant variation in the adult/first year bird
ratio for the three seasons. However, a slight
Results
decrease in the proportion of first year birds
Population fluctuation: The large sand was observed in the second season (1986-87)
plover arrived in low hundreds in September and (Table 1).
JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 95(3), DEC. 1998 427
POPULATION, MOULT, BIOMETRICS AND SUBSPECIES OF LARGE SAND PLOVER
50-
' ®
fcd
O O r * m
u
& mm a
• m
>
m m
ZL
V
CO T~
% m
5
a-
20-
1
O 1
O r 1 1 ! 1 I 1 I 1 1 T 1 1 T 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 2 12 13 17 21 26 1 4 0 7 14 16 10 17 19 2228 2930 14 17 18 20
SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER
Fig. 2: Moult score vs date in large sand plover
A
Table 1 duration ofmoultas 120 days. secondyearbird,
PROPORTIONOFADULT/FIRST YEAR ringed as first year bird in the previous season and
BIRDS CAUGHT retrapped on October 1, had completed its moult.
% Hence, itis evidentthatbirds observedwith amoult
Year No.Ringed No.Adult No.1styear 1styear score between45-50 during September are second
1985-86 91 65 26 29 yearbirds. First yearbirds commencedtheirmoult
1986-87 30 22 8 26 during the first week ofApril.
1987-88 44 31 13 29 Site fidelity to wintering ground: Out of
the 91 birds ringed in the first season, three birds
Primary moult: The majority ofthe birds eachwererecovered inthetwo subsequentseasons.
caught in September were in advanced moult or
complete moult, which indicates that the moult
Table2
had already commenced either at breeding sites BIOMETRICS OF LARGE SAND PLOVERCAUGHTAT
or onpassage. One bird caught with a moult score GULF OFMANNAR
of 14 in early September was the lowest to be Range Mean S.D. N
mm
recorded. Most of them completed their moult in
by late October (Fig.2), which is earlier by one Wing Adult 134-154 145.7 3.83 91
month at least, than observed in northwestern I year 127-152 142.3 5.31 44
Bill Adult 22-26 24.0 1.06 109
Australia by Barter and Barter (1986) where they year 22-28 23.4 1.09 44
I
complete moulting between November and Tarsus Adult 35-40 37.6 1.31 108
December. The same authors also estimated the I year 35-40 37.6 1.1 44
428 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 95(3 DEC. 1998
)
POPULATION, MOULT, BIOMETRICS AND SUBSPECIES OF LARGE SAND PLOVER
Table3 Discussion
MEASUREMENT RANGE OF LARGESAND PLOVER
FROM OTHER SOURCES mm)
(in Individuals with maximum wing, bill and
Wing Bill Tarsus tarsus lengths indicate the occurrence of C.l.
C.l. columbinus 132-150 20-24 34-38 crassirostris. However, the average adult wing
C.l. crassirostris 137-153 22-27 36-41 length (145.7 mm) and bill length (24 mm)
C.l. leschenaultii 136-149 21-25 34-39 obtained in the present study are much nearer to
(Cramp and Simmons 1983) those observed by Barter and Barter (1986) in
132-153 20-28 34-41 northwest Australia (143.8 and 23.8 mm
(Hayman etal. 1986) respectively),which also confirms the presence
134-150 24-27 35-38
of C.l. leschenaultii.
(Ali and Ripley, 1983)
The moult duration (120 days) calculated,
It is evidentthatsite fidelityto the wintering ground based onthe feather growth rate from individuals
exists in this species as in other waders. retrapped in the same season by Balachandran
GQM
The measurements obtained at (1990), is consistent with the duration estimated
fall withinthe range givenbythe above mentioned by Barter and Barter (1986) for the large sand
authors, except forthe wing length ofthe two “first plover in Australia. The completion ofmoult in
year” birds, 5 mm shorter (127, 128 mm) than the second year birds observed at GOM was much
minimum range given by all authors. earlier than other adults, which is also consistent
Weight changes: The weight varies from with the findings ofCramp and Simmons (1986)
59-95 gm. A maximum weight of 95 gm was on the primary moult of second year birds. The
recorded in March. However, the monthly primary moult commenced elsewhere (probably
average weight did not fluctuate much, being on the breeding sites) and was completed without
GOM
73-79 gm. The maximum average weight was any suspension at by the end of October.
observed in January. This period is one to two months earlier than in
Subspecies: C. leschenaultii columbinus Australia, where these birds arrive with
(Turkey and Jordan east to Caspian) is the suspended moult. Due to suspended moult, the
shortest in bill length. Australian wintering population completes the
C. leschenaultii crassirostris (Caspian east primary moult one to two months later than south
GOM
to above Lake Balkash) is the largest in wing, Indian wintering birds. As is much closer
bill and tarsus length. to the breeding ground than is Australia, the
C. leschenaultii leschenaultii (Mongolia, wintering population of India has to travel less
W. China and adjacent USSR) intermediate in distance than the wintering population of
bill length (Hayman et al., 1986). Australia. Hence, there is probably no need for
mm
The bill length ranges from 22-28 the Indian population to suspend the moult.
for the birds caught at GOM. The absence of Similarly, wintering birds in Australia gain
birds with shortest bill (20 and 21 mm) and a more weight (120 gm in April) than in India
few birds with 22 mm bill length indicate that (maximum 95 gm), to undertake the long return
the species wintering at GOM does not belong journey, as their wintering grounds are further
to the race columbinus. However, the presence away from the breeding grounds than are Indian
of birds with 23 mm and 24 mm bill length wintering grounds. However, the average weight
(intermediate bill length) and 25-26 mm (highest 73-79 gm observed during the non-migratory
GOM
bill length) shows that the population probably period in is consistent with that observed
includes both the races leschenaultii and in northwestAustralia (73-76 gm) by Barter and
Barter (1986).
crassirostris.
JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 95(3), DEC. 1998 429
POPULATION. MOULT. BIOMETRICS AND SUBSPECIES OF LARGE SAND PLOVER
GOM
Large sand plover wintering in Wildlife Service under a grant fromPL-480 funds
are faithful to the wintering sites, a habit that was No. 14-16-0009-87-02 released through Depart-
also confirmed in the Australian wintering ment ofEnvironment, Wildlife andForests,Govt,
grounds. ofIndia. I gratefully acknowledge permission to
v/ork in the area from the Tamil Nadu Forest
Acknowledgements Department, and the regional centre of Central
Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Mandapam
This study was carried out as a part ofthe camp for facilities. I thank Mr. J.C. Daniel, the
Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) Bird then Director of BNHS, for guidance and for
Migration Study supported by U.S. Fish and going through this manuscript.
Refer ;NCES
Ali, S. & S.D. Ripley (1983): HandbookofthebirdsofIndia leschenaultii spending the non-breeding season in
)
andPakistan.Compactedition,OxfordUniv.Press,New northwestern Australia. Stilt8: 9-13.
&
Delhi.pp 226-227. Cramp. S. K.E.L. Simmons (eds) (1983): The birds ofthe
Balachandran, S. (1990): Studies on the coastal birds of western Palaeartic. Vol. 3. Oxford UniversityPress,pp
Mandapamand the neighbouring islands (Peninsular 166-170
India). Ph.D Thesis.Annamalai University. Hayman, P.,J. Marchant&T. Prater (1986): Shorebirds: an
Balachandran, S. (1995): Shorebirds ofthe GulfofMannar IdentificationGuidetotheWadersoftheWorld. Croom
Marine National Park, Tamil Nadu. J. Bombay nat. Helm, London.
Hist.Soc. 92(3): 303-311. Prater, A.J., J.H. Marchant & J. Vuorinen (1977):
Barter, L. & M. Barter (1986): Biometrics, moult and Identification and ageing ofHolarctic waders. BTO
migration of Large Sand Plover (Charadrius Guide 17,Tring, England.
•u
430 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 95(3) DEC 1998
