Press Release
FROM
media@cseindia.org
Vedanta gets award for environment management; Film on pollution by Vedanta’s refinery released
* Institute of Directors gives the Golden Peacock Award to Vedanta for its environment practices at a climate change conference in Palampur, Himachal Pradesh
* Former chief justices, former politicians and bureaucrats in the jury for the award.
* The company has violated environment and forest laws. Orissa Pollution Control Board served notices to Vedanta for non-compliance with regulations
New Delhi, June 11, 2009: Sham Public Hearing: The Real Face of Vedanta a film highlighting the pollution caused by Vedanta’s refinery in Lanjigarh, Orissa was released today. This 30-minute film has been made by independent film maker Surya Shankar Dash and draws attention to the plight of the communities suffering from the pollution caused by the one million tonne per annum aluminium refinery plant of Vedanta.
The film also captures the public hearing held for the expansion plans where people lambasted the company for the pollution caused by it. Vedanta plans to expand its plant to 6 MTPA, making it the world’s biggest aluminium refinery. The public hearing was organised as part of the clearance process. Vedanta’s pollution is affecting more than twenty villages in its vicinity causing widespread skin and respiratory problems.
To add salt to wounds, Institute of Directors is awarding the Golden Peacock Award to Vedanta at the global convention on climate security at Palampur, Himachal Pradesh from 12-14 June 2009 organised by the World Environment Foundation. Vedanta is incidentally also the co-sponsor of the conference.
Unfortunately, the jury for the award includes big names. Former chief justices of India namely M N Venkatachaliah, A M Ahmadi, and P N Bhagwati, T K A Nair, the principal secretary to the prime minister and politicians like former prime minister of Sweden Dr Ola Ullsten are part of the jury that decides on the awards.
“This is yet another example of greenwashing and legitimising the ruthless corporatisation of natural resources impacting the bio-diversity and indigenous people dependent on it, “ says Dash.
In fact, the jury seems to have over looked the recent objections raised by the Orissa Pollution Control Board against Vedanta for non compliance with regulations.
HISTORY SHEETER
Vedanta has a history of environment violations. Not only in India but also in countries like Zambia. In case of Lanjigarh, Orissa, the refinery has been polluting the river Vansadhara through its wastewater pond adjacent to the river. There is also clear indication of ground water contamination by its red mud (hazardous waste generated from the refinery) and flyash pond.
In fact, the Norwegian Government's Council of Ethics investigated Vedanta's records, and in its recommendations to the Norwegian Government wrote "The Council will, after the assessment of the substance of the accusations against Vedanta Resources Ltd …. recommend that Vedanta Resources Ltd, as well as its subsidiaries Sterlite Industries Ltd. and Madras Aluminium Company Ltd. be excluded from the investment universe of the Government Pension Fund – Global due to an unacceptable risk of complicity in current and future severe environmental damage and systematic human rights violations."
ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL IMPACTS
The most infamous has been Vedanta’s plans to mine bauxite from the Niyamgiri hills. Niyamgiri is an ecologically sensitive area and the source of water for the region. It is a specialized kind of wildlife habitat, dominated by grasslands and sparse tree communities. These kinds of sites are breeding habitat of many herbivores such as barking deer and four horned antelopes. Niyamgiri also falls in the elephant corridor between Karlapath and Kotagarh Wildlife Sanctuaries.
In its initial report to the Supreme Court the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) had noted that “these plateaus are very productive with high occurrence of several herbivore and carnivore species.”
Niyamgiri is also home to the Dongaria Kondh tribals for whom Niyamgiri is of incalculable religious and cultural value. Mining of the top of Niyamgiri is akin to sacrilege for this colourful and endangered primitive tribe. This highly endangered primitive tribe with a population of 6000 will become extinct if Niyamgiri hills are diverted for mining.
OFFICIAL COMPLICITY
Recently, in April 2009, the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) cleared the mining project of Vedanta. This is despite widespread protests and the scathing report of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court questioning the integrity of the authorities involved. “The casual approach, the lackadaisical manner and the haste with which the entire issue of forests and environmental clearance for the alumina refinery project has been dealt with smacks of undue favour/leniency and does not inspire confidence with regard to the willingness and resolve of both the State Government and the MoEF to deal with such matters keeping in view the ultimate goal of national and public interest,” the CEC report said.
Vedanta had in 2003 applied to MoEF for environmental clearance for the proposed refinery in Lanjigarh. The application made no mention of the 58.9 ha of forestland it required. The clearance for this was filed in a separate petition for clearances under the Forest Conservation Act.
The CEC was in 2004 was petitioned by several activists to halt Vedanta’s operations in Lanjigarh after the MoEF granted it clearance. The CEC questioned the ministry’s approval, following which the ministry asked Vedanta to halt the operations. In its report, the CEC had ruled out mining in the Niyamgiri hills.
The apex court referred the matter to MoEF’s Forest Advisory Committee (FAC), which in turn asked the WII and Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited (CMPDIL), to assess the project for soil erosion and impact on water resources. CMPDIL, during Supreme Court hearings cleared the project of all water-related concerns.
WII, in 2006, submitted a unfavourable report initially but changed its stance later in the year adding a supplementary report, which included a Rs 42-crore plan for mitigation of impact on wildlife. Based on the two reports, FAC recommended diversion of forestland for the mining project.
For the press release and other information please contact Surya Shankar Dash on 09437500862, 41660901, or write to him at dash.suryashankar@gmail.com
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Vanishing Voices (of the Great Andamanese)
Vanishing Voices
By Pankaj Sekhsaria
GEO, June 2009, Indian Edition
The Great Andamanese community is one of the most threatened community in India today. In the mid 19th century when the British established the penal settlement in the Andamans it was estimated that there were at least 5000 members of the Great Andamanese Community that were divided into 10 distinct language and territorial groups. In just a century and a half the population of that community has come down to about 50 individuals, all of them herded onto the small Strait Island a short distance away from Port Blair.
‘Vanishing Voices of the Great Andamanese, is an unique project being led by Dr. Anvita Abbi, Professor of Linguistics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University to study the language of this threatened community. It has been suggested that the Andamanese languages might be the last representative of South East Asia's ancient pre-Neolithic languages.
Dr. Abbi’s project has created considerably new understanding of the Great Andamanese community – giving us a descriptive grammar of the language, a socio-linguistic description, an archive of their folklore, oral texts and video recordings and also a trilingual dictionary. “The biggest breakthrough,” says Dr. Abbi, “is that we been able to identify the Great Andamanse as the Sixth language family of India while Onge and Jarawa (the other two indigenous communities of the Andamans) constitute a different family altogether. No other Indian language has even a slight resemblance to the verb structures of the Great Andamanese langauge."
Another aspect of the language that fascinates Dr. Abbi is its terminology of the body. “The body,” she explains, “is divided into four basic zones. These are (1) the mouth and its semantic extension (2) the major external body parts (3) the extreme ends of the body like toe and fingernails etc and (4) the bodily products. A detailed study of the possessive constructions in Great Andamanese shows that ethnoanatomy and kinship share the same level of categorization and there is a parallel between certain body parts and kin relations.”
In the language therefore there is a parallel between major body parts of an individual and his/her spouse. Similarly parents and younger siblings are compared to one’s mouth cavity whereas a child and sweat are both considered products from the body.
Time is categorized as the honey calendar which is itself based on the name of the blooming flowers at that particular time. Honey, significantly occupies a special place in the pattern of subsistence and movement of the Great Andamanese and also the other communities like the Onge of Little Andaman Island.
An excellent benchmark of the status of a people is the status of their language; the converse is just as true and we get an excellent illustration of this when we look at the Great Andamanese people. “Only four of the original Great Andamanese languages are spoken today,” says Dr. Abbi and “there are only a handful of these people who can speak their ancestoral language today.” The number was eight a few months ago and is now down to six with the passing away of two of them. The language and the people are both on the brink.
Recent studies from around the world indicate that the extinction of one is followed by the other. When the nonprofit organization Terralingua, (Dr. Abbi is on the advisory board) mapped the distribution of languages against a map of the world's biodiversity, it found that the places with the highest concentration of plants and animals, such as the Amazon Basin and the island of New Guinea, were also where people spoke the most languages. "Wherever humans exist, they have established a strong relationship with the land, and with the biodiversity that exists there," says anthropologist Luisa Maffi. "They have developed a deep knowledge of the plants and animals, the local ecology, as well as a knowledge about how to use and manage the resources to ensure continued sustenance of biodiversity."
There is a deeper link between culture, language and biodiversity. There is a whole treasure house of knowledge and experience within these small communities that has the potential to benefit the whole of mankind. It's hard to quantify what is lost when an entire people and culture are subjected to the kind of slow but relentless extermination the Great Andamanese have endured. Extinction is a tragedy not only of plants, animals, birds and bees. It is also what humans to do other humans and in what they do to themselves as well. Every extinction, be it in the world of the wild or of something human, is the loss of a part of our very own.
You can hear sound recordings of more than 40 songs of the Great Andamanese online at www.andamanese.net/songs/htm
By Pankaj Sekhsaria
GEO, June 2009, Indian Edition
The Great Andamanese community is one of the most threatened community in India today. In the mid 19th century when the British established the penal settlement in the Andamans it was estimated that there were at least 5000 members of the Great Andamanese Community that were divided into 10 distinct language and territorial groups. In just a century and a half the population of that community has come down to about 50 individuals, all of them herded onto the small Strait Island a short distance away from Port Blair.
‘Vanishing Voices of the Great Andamanese, is an unique project being led by Dr. Anvita Abbi, Professor of Linguistics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University to study the language of this threatened community. It has been suggested that the Andamanese languages might be the last representative of South East Asia's ancient pre-Neolithic languages.
Dr. Abbi’s project has created considerably new understanding of the Great Andamanese community – giving us a descriptive grammar of the language, a socio-linguistic description, an archive of their folklore, oral texts and video recordings and also a trilingual dictionary. “The biggest breakthrough,” says Dr. Abbi, “is that we been able to identify the Great Andamanse as the Sixth language family of India while Onge and Jarawa (the other two indigenous communities of the Andamans) constitute a different family altogether. No other Indian language has even a slight resemblance to the verb structures of the Great Andamanese langauge."
Another aspect of the language that fascinates Dr. Abbi is its terminology of the body. “The body,” she explains, “is divided into four basic zones. These are (1) the mouth and its semantic extension (2) the major external body parts (3) the extreme ends of the body like toe and fingernails etc and (4) the bodily products. A detailed study of the possessive constructions in Great Andamanese shows that ethnoanatomy and kinship share the same level of categorization and there is a parallel between certain body parts and kin relations.”
In the language therefore there is a parallel between major body parts of an individual and his/her spouse. Similarly parents and younger siblings are compared to one’s mouth cavity whereas a child and sweat are both considered products from the body.
Time is categorized as the honey calendar which is itself based on the name of the blooming flowers at that particular time. Honey, significantly occupies a special place in the pattern of subsistence and movement of the Great Andamanese and also the other communities like the Onge of Little Andaman Island.
An excellent benchmark of the status of a people is the status of their language; the converse is just as true and we get an excellent illustration of this when we look at the Great Andamanese people. “Only four of the original Great Andamanese languages are spoken today,” says Dr. Abbi and “there are only a handful of these people who can speak their ancestoral language today.” The number was eight a few months ago and is now down to six with the passing away of two of them. The language and the people are both on the brink.
Recent studies from around the world indicate that the extinction of one is followed by the other. When the nonprofit organization Terralingua, (Dr. Abbi is on the advisory board) mapped the distribution of languages against a map of the world's biodiversity, it found that the places with the highest concentration of plants and animals, such as the Amazon Basin and the island of New Guinea, were also where people spoke the most languages. "Wherever humans exist, they have established a strong relationship with the land, and with the biodiversity that exists there," says anthropologist Luisa Maffi. "They have developed a deep knowledge of the plants and animals, the local ecology, as well as a knowledge about how to use and manage the resources to ensure continued sustenance of biodiversity."
There is a deeper link between culture, language and biodiversity. There is a whole treasure house of knowledge and experience within these small communities that has the potential to benefit the whole of mankind. It's hard to quantify what is lost when an entire people and culture are subjected to the kind of slow but relentless extermination the Great Andamanese have endured. Extinction is a tragedy not only of plants, animals, birds and bees. It is also what humans to do other humans and in what they do to themselves as well. Every extinction, be it in the world of the wild or of something human, is the loss of a part of our very own.
You can hear sound recordings of more than 40 songs of the Great Andamanese online at www.andamanese.net/songs/htm
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Nilgiris - some more images
In the Sathyamangalam forests: A road through elephant country
After a raid by an elephant herd, Banglapadgai village
A fire in a tea estate, presumably to clear the undergrowth, or for a new plantation to be undertaken
A forest fire in the hills adjoining the Sigur plateauWednesday, May 13, 2009
MigrantWatch - Pied Cuckoo Campaign
From
http://www.migrantwatch.in/
The current season (2008-2009) of MigrantWatch is now coming to an end
with most Palaearctic migrants having left for their breeding grounds.
Could you please upload your Last Sighting dates for these migrants
through the MigrantWatch web page?
This season's Palaearctic migrants may have moved on to their breeding
grounds in the higher latitudes, but that does not mean the excitement
of watching migrants comes to an end! In a few weeks the south-west
monsoon will reach many parts of the country, and this period is
closely associated with the arrival of the Pied Cuckoo (also known as
the Pied Crested Cuckoo) to parts of India. This species is sometimes
called the "Rain Bird", because it is believed to be the harbinger of
the monsoon -- particularly to central and northern India.
To track the migration of this wonderful bird, and to collect detailed
information on its links with the monsoon, MigrantWatch is launching a
"Pied Cuckoo Campaign".(http://www.migrantwatch.in/).
Please visit the Pied Cuckoo Campaign webpages and participate by
reporting the arrival date of the species at locations of your choice.
In those areas where it is resident, we encourage participants to
contribute General sightings of this species. To get things started,
we have compiled some earlier Pied Cuckoo reports from the literature
-- these are on the Campaign webpages.
Who is able to better predict the onset of the monsoon where you live
-- the Meteorological Department or the Pied Cuckoo? Help answer this
question by contributing sightings to the Pied Cuckoo Campaign on
MigrantWatch! (And ask your friends to do so too.)
We look forward to your participation and comments!
With best wishes,
Uttara Mendiratta and Suhel Quader
(for MigrantWatch)
(w) http://www.migrantwatch.in/
The Rain Bird and the Arrival of the Monsoon
About this campaign | About the Rain Bird | Distribution | Identification
About this campaign
The onset of the monsoon is one of the most anticipated events on the Indian calendar. Apart from being critical for agriculture and drinking water, the monsoon rains provide a welcome relief from the dry hot summer and bring waves of life to parched landscapes across the country. Many of us anxiously await news of the monsoon; and some of us eagerly track the bird that brings the monsoon with it.
The advent of the monsoon has for generations been associated with the appearance of the Pied Cuckoo in many parts of India (Ali & Ripley 1987). The strong association between the Pied Cuckoo and rain is part of Indian folklore, in which this species is described as a harbinger of the monsoon. Ancient Hindu poetry refers to Pied Cuckoos as 'chatak',who live on drops of rain (Abdulali 1972).
The species makes a sudden appearance in many areas of central and northern India in the last week of May or early June, proclaiming the imminent arrival of the monsoon with its unmistakably loud metallic calls. Reports indicate that the arrival of the Pied Cuckoo varies a little from year to year, coinciding with variation in the arrival of the monsoon (Whistler 1928). Despite this folk knowledge about the species, little information is available on its migration in relation to the monsoon, apart from a few attempts to compile relevant information in the early 1900s (Whistler 1928; Betts 1929; Simmons 1930; Pillai 1943).
The Pied Cuckoo Campaign aims to improve our understanding of the migration of this intriguing species by collecting data on its arrival across India and comparing this with the corresponding arrival of the monsoon in these areas.
The format of this campaign is very similar to the existing format of MigrantWatch. We request participants to send us the date on which they first sight the Pied Cuckoo, the location of the sighting, and a few other pieces of relevant information. Information on the arrival and duration of stay of the species will also help distinguish the resident and migratory distributions of the species.
About the Rain Bird
Two of the three subspecies of Clamator jacobinus (variously called Pied, Pied Crested, or Jacobin Cuckoo) are found in India. These are:
(1) Clamator jacobinus pica
(2) Clamator jacobinus jacobinus
A third subspecies, Clamator jacobinus serratus, occurs in southern Africa. The descriptions of the subspecies given here are taken from Payne (1997), Davies (2000) and Payne (2005).
The two Indian subspecies look almost identical, with the northern race having a slightly larger wing; it is, however, impossible to tell the two races apart in the field (Payne 2005). Both subspecies are known to parasitise the nests of Turdoides babblers, laying highly mimetic plain blue eggs.
Clamator jacobinus pica
This subspecies migrates to large areas across northern India around the Monsoon and has often been called the "rain visitor". It is one of the few migratory birds that come to the Indian subcontinent from Africa to breed. They move across the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean to reach India in May or June; records from Oman, Saudi Arabia and the Seychelles have been reported during the migratory season. Some believe that the bird uses monsoon winds to assist its flight during this migration. It breeds during June-August and leaves the subcontinent in September/October.
Clamator jacobinus jacobinus
This subspecies is resident south of roughly 15 degrees North in parts of southern India and in Sri Lanka. It breeds during January-March. The extent and status of this resident population is not clearly documented, although the range has been defined as the western and southern peninsula, and Sri Lanka (vagrant to Lakshadweep).
In one of the most comprehensive papers on this species, published in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society in 1928, Hugh Whistler wrote (Whistler 1928):
"It is obvious that we need a great deal more information about this bird in India, both to its distribution and its status. It is so common, so easily recognized by its handsome plumage and so conspicuous with its loud calls that much of the required information must be already in the possession of the members of the Society."
His plea for information was followed by various small notes on sightings of the Pied Crested Cuckoo. We have used some of these notes, together with the information collected by Whistler as well as other publications to begin a database on Pied Cuckoo sightings. You can see the complete list of Pied Cuckoo records available with MigrantWatch on the main Pied Cuckoo Campaign page. Please login first, and then click on Pied Cuckoo Campaign.
Habitat: Light woodland, scrub, gardens.
Size: Similar to that of a myna
Distribution: The migrant population comes to most parts of northern and central India; normally up to the altitude of 2600m (vagrant to higher altitudes: Ali & Ripley 1987). The resident population has been reported from the southern and western peninsula but the northern limit of this population is unclear. An arbitrary line of demarcation has been proposed for the two Indian races; this line runs from just south of Mumbai northwards to Darbhanga in north Bihar. Birds found breeding north of this line are considered to be those of the northern race that migrates to India, and the breeding birds south of this line are considered to be the resident race (Ali & Ripley 1987; Serrao 1996)
Field Identification tips Appearance distinct. It is a slender, long-tailed, crested, black-and-white bird (See photo). The spot on the wing appears as a white band in flight. Sexes alike. In juveniles, the crest is less developed and the wing patch is smaller than in adults. What is deep black in adults is dull and sooty in juveniles. The species is mainly arboreal and is very conspicuous during breeding season (June-August). Call is a metallic peew piu-piu-(piu); pee-ew; piu... (piu... pee-pee-piu). Listen to the call [MP3, 250Kb, 10s], courtesy Samira Agnihotri.
To contribute sightings of Pied Cuckoo, please login first, and then click on Pied Cuckoo Campaign.
References
Abdulali H. 1972. Some bird notes by W.F. Sinclair. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 69(2): 422-424.
Ali S, Ripley SD. 1987. Compact Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Oxford University Press.
Betts FN. 1929. Migration of the Pied Crested CuckooClamator jacobinus. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 33(3): 714.
Davies N. 2000. Cuckoos, Cowbirds and other cheats. T & A D Poyser, London.
Grimmett R, Inskipp C & Inskipp T. 1999. Pocket guide to the birds of the Indian Subcontinent. Oxford University Press.
Kazmierczak K. & van Perlo B. 2000. A field guide to the Birds of India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the Maldives. Om Book Service, Delhi.
Khachar S. 1989. Pied Crested CuckooClamator jacobinus -- the harbringer of the monsoon. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 86(3): 448-449.
Payne RB. 1997. Family Cuculidae (Cuckoos) in: del Hoyo J, Elliott A & Sargatal J. eds. Handbook of the birds of the world, Vol 4. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
Payne RB. 2005. The Cuckoos. Oxford University Press.
Pillai NG. 1943. Migration of Pied Crested Cuckoo [Clamator jacobinus (Boddaert)]. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 43(4): 658.
Rasmussen PC & Anderton JC. 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide, Vol 1 & 2. Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions, Washington, D.C. and Barcelona.
Serrao JS 1996. The mystery of the Pied Crested Cuckoo. Hornbill 3: 26-27.
Simmons RM. 1930. Migration of the Pied Crested-Cuckoo (Coccystes jacobinus). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 34(1): 252-253.
Whistler H. 1928. The migration of the Pied Crested Cuckoo Clamator jacobinus. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 33(1): 136-145.
(e) mw@migrantwatch.in
http://www.migrantwatch.in/
The current season (2008-2009) of MigrantWatch is now coming to an end
with most Palaearctic migrants having left for their breeding grounds.
Could you please upload your Last Sighting dates for these migrants
through the MigrantWatch web page?
This season's Palaearctic migrants may have moved on to their breeding
grounds in the higher latitudes, but that does not mean the excitement
of watching migrants comes to an end! In a few weeks the south-west
monsoon will reach many parts of the country, and this period is
closely associated with the arrival of the Pied Cuckoo (also known as
the Pied Crested Cuckoo) to parts of India. This species is sometimes
called the "Rain Bird", because it is believed to be the harbinger of
the monsoon -- particularly to central and northern India.
To track the migration of this wonderful bird, and to collect detailed
information on its links with the monsoon, MigrantWatch is launching a
"Pied Cuckoo Campaign".(http://www.migrantwatch.in/).
Please visit the Pied Cuckoo Campaign webpages and participate by
reporting the arrival date of the species at locations of your choice.
In those areas where it is resident, we encourage participants to
contribute General sightings of this species. To get things started,
we have compiled some earlier Pied Cuckoo reports from the literature
-- these are on the Campaign webpages.
Who is able to better predict the onset of the monsoon where you live
-- the Meteorological Department or the Pied Cuckoo? Help answer this
question by contributing sightings to the Pied Cuckoo Campaign on
MigrantWatch! (And ask your friends to do so too.)
We look forward to your participation and comments!
With best wishes,
Uttara Mendiratta and Suhel Quader
(for MigrantWatch)
(w) http://www.migrantwatch.in/
The Rain Bird and the Arrival of the Monsoon
About this campaign | About the Rain Bird | Distribution | Identification
About this campaign
The onset of the monsoon is one of the most anticipated events on the Indian calendar. Apart from being critical for agriculture and drinking water, the monsoon rains provide a welcome relief from the dry hot summer and bring waves of life to parched landscapes across the country. Many of us anxiously await news of the monsoon; and some of us eagerly track the bird that brings the monsoon with it.
The advent of the monsoon has for generations been associated with the appearance of the Pied Cuckoo in many parts of India (Ali & Ripley 1987). The strong association between the Pied Cuckoo and rain is part of Indian folklore, in which this species is described as a harbinger of the monsoon. Ancient Hindu poetry refers to Pied Cuckoos as 'chatak',who live on drops of rain (Abdulali 1972).
The species makes a sudden appearance in many areas of central and northern India in the last week of May or early June, proclaiming the imminent arrival of the monsoon with its unmistakably loud metallic calls. Reports indicate that the arrival of the Pied Cuckoo varies a little from year to year, coinciding with variation in the arrival of the monsoon (Whistler 1928). Despite this folk knowledge about the species, little information is available on its migration in relation to the monsoon, apart from a few attempts to compile relevant information in the early 1900s (Whistler 1928; Betts 1929; Simmons 1930; Pillai 1943).
The Pied Cuckoo Campaign aims to improve our understanding of the migration of this intriguing species by collecting data on its arrival across India and comparing this with the corresponding arrival of the monsoon in these areas.
The format of this campaign is very similar to the existing format of MigrantWatch. We request participants to send us the date on which they first sight the Pied Cuckoo, the location of the sighting, and a few other pieces of relevant information. Information on the arrival and duration of stay of the species will also help distinguish the resident and migratory distributions of the species.
About the Rain Bird
Two of the three subspecies of Clamator jacobinus (variously called Pied, Pied Crested, or Jacobin Cuckoo) are found in India. These are:
(1) Clamator jacobinus pica
(2) Clamator jacobinus jacobinus
A third subspecies, Clamator jacobinus serratus, occurs in southern Africa. The descriptions of the subspecies given here are taken from Payne (1997), Davies (2000) and Payne (2005).
The two Indian subspecies look almost identical, with the northern race having a slightly larger wing; it is, however, impossible to tell the two races apart in the field (Payne 2005). Both subspecies are known to parasitise the nests of Turdoides babblers, laying highly mimetic plain blue eggs.
Clamator jacobinus pica
This subspecies migrates to large areas across northern India around the Monsoon and has often been called the "rain visitor". It is one of the few migratory birds that come to the Indian subcontinent from Africa to breed. They move across the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean to reach India in May or June; records from Oman, Saudi Arabia and the Seychelles have been reported during the migratory season. Some believe that the bird uses monsoon winds to assist its flight during this migration. It breeds during June-August and leaves the subcontinent in September/October.
Clamator jacobinus jacobinus
This subspecies is resident south of roughly 15 degrees North in parts of southern India and in Sri Lanka. It breeds during January-March. The extent and status of this resident population is not clearly documented, although the range has been defined as the western and southern peninsula, and Sri Lanka (vagrant to Lakshadweep).
In one of the most comprehensive papers on this species, published in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society in 1928, Hugh Whistler wrote (Whistler 1928):
"It is obvious that we need a great deal more information about this bird in India, both to its distribution and its status. It is so common, so easily recognized by its handsome plumage and so conspicuous with its loud calls that much of the required information must be already in the possession of the members of the Society."
His plea for information was followed by various small notes on sightings of the Pied Crested Cuckoo. We have used some of these notes, together with the information collected by Whistler as well as other publications to begin a database on Pied Cuckoo sightings. You can see the complete list of Pied Cuckoo records available with MigrantWatch on the main Pied Cuckoo Campaign page. Please login first, and then click on Pied Cuckoo Campaign.
Habitat: Light woodland, scrub, gardens.
Size: Similar to that of a myna
Distribution: The migrant population comes to most parts of northern and central India; normally up to the altitude of 2600m (vagrant to higher altitudes: Ali & Ripley 1987). The resident population has been reported from the southern and western peninsula but the northern limit of this population is unclear. An arbitrary line of demarcation has been proposed for the two Indian races; this line runs from just south of Mumbai northwards to Darbhanga in north Bihar. Birds found breeding north of this line are considered to be those of the northern race that migrates to India, and the breeding birds south of this line are considered to be the resident race (Ali & Ripley 1987; Serrao 1996)
Field Identification tips Appearance distinct. It is a slender, long-tailed, crested, black-and-white bird (See photo). The spot on the wing appears as a white band in flight. Sexes alike. In juveniles, the crest is less developed and the wing patch is smaller than in adults. What is deep black in adults is dull and sooty in juveniles. The species is mainly arboreal and is very conspicuous during breeding season (June-August). Call is a metallic peew piu-piu-(piu); pee-ew; piu... (piu... pee-pee-piu). Listen to the call [MP3, 250Kb, 10s], courtesy Samira Agnihotri.
To contribute sightings of Pied Cuckoo, please login first, and then click on Pied Cuckoo Campaign.
References
Abdulali H. 1972. Some bird notes by W.F. Sinclair. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 69(2): 422-424.
Ali S, Ripley SD. 1987. Compact Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Oxford University Press.
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(e) mw@migrantwatch.in
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Longwood Shola, Kotagiri, Nilgiris
Spent a few days in the Nilgiris recently - in Coonoor and then at Kotagiri with the Keystone Foundation. Made two short trips to that little gem of a forest in Kotagiri - the Longwood Shola. Here are some pics of what I could see there
Tree Fern
Nesting Grey Headed Fly Catcher
Malabar Giant Squirrel
Gaur
Brown Wood Owl4 Elephants From Andamans Transported to Kanha National Park
4 Elephants From Andamans Transported to Kanha National Park
http://andamanchronicle.com/ content/view/ 927/27/
May 08, 2009 at 09:27 PM
Port Blair, May 8: Four elephants of Andaman Forest Department which
were gifted to Madhya Pradesh Forest Department left Andaman by TCI ship
on 6th May 2009 for their onward journey to Kanha National Park enroute
Chennai.
Madhya Pradesh Government was in need of elephants for protection of
Kanha National Park which is famous for tigers. In this regard they
approached the A&N Administration for giving them some elephants for
this national cause.
The Administration readily agreed to gift them a total of 10 elephants.
Finally four elephants were selected by the team of forest officials
from MP who reached Andaman to take possession of these elephants.
The four elephants namely Ambika, Sharoon, Mohini & Sumitra from
different forest camps were loaded in TCI ship and which sailed for
Chennai on 6th May.
This is contribution of islands in national cause to protect the
endangered species of Tigers.
--
http://andamanchronicle.com/ content/view/ 927/27/
May 08, 2009 at 09:27 PM
Port Blair, May 8: Four elephants of Andaman Forest Department which
were gifted to Madhya Pradesh Forest Department left Andaman by TCI ship
on 6th May 2009 for their onward journey to Kanha National Park enroute
Chennai.
Madhya Pradesh Government was in need of elephants for protection of
Kanha National Park which is famous for tigers. In this regard they
approached the A&N Administration for giving them some elephants for
this national cause.
The Administration readily agreed to gift them a total of 10 elephants.
Finally four elephants were selected by the team of forest officials
from MP who reached Andaman to take possession of these elephants.
The four elephants namely Ambika, Sharoon, Mohini & Sumitra from
different forest camps were loaded in TCI ship and which sailed for
Chennai on 6th May.
This is contribution of islands in national cause to protect the
endangered species of Tigers.
--
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