Report on Ousteri Lake, Puducherry
Record of Birds:
A
total of 166 species of birds belonging to 47 families were recorded from the
Ousteri lake and its environs during the present study (Appendix 5), which
included 75 aquatic species. Of the
47 families, Muscicapidae
is the dominant
one with 16
species and followed by
Accipitridae (12 species), Ardeidae (11species) and Anatidae (10 species). Of
this 166 species, Spoon-billed sandpiper is “Critically endangered” and
White-bellied Sea Eagle comes under the category of “Endangered”.Apart from
these, birds such as Flamingos,
Darter, Spot-billed Pelican,
Great white Pelican, Painted
Stork, Eurasian Spoon Bill
and Pallid Harrior
are coming under
Near Threatened category (Balasubramanian
and Vijayan 2004). Apart from these, the present study results in the addition
of following notable species such as Great-white Pelican, White-browed Fantail,
Franklin’s Prinia, Lesser
Flamingo, Greater Flamigo,
Dunlin, Ruff, Crested
Serpent Eagle, Black-headed Oriole,
Common Iora, Indian
Silverbill, Grey Headed
Lapwing, White-bellied Sea Eagle,
Osprey, Stork-billed Kingfisher,
Black-capped Kingfisher, Jungle Babbler,
Tawny-bellied Babbler, Rosy
Starling, Black-rumped Flameback, Southern Grey Shrike, Crested Tree
Swift, etc.
Among the
aquatic birds, Little
Egret, Cotton Pygmy Goose,
Eurasian wigeon, Little Cormoramts were recorded in more
number during the present survey. Birds such as Spot billed Pelican, Darter,
Black Bittern, Purple Heron, Night Heron and Grey Heron are the important
species, could be seen throughout the study period. Eventhough the birds such as
Painted Stork, Northern Shovelor, Northern Pintail, Mallard, Common Teal,
Gargany, Black headed Ibis and Common Pochard were very commonly recorded by
Chari et al. (2008), we have
rarely seen in
the study period.
Birds such as
Black Ibis, Eurasian Spoonbill and Spot-billed Duck are
very rare species and seen only once during the entire study period.
The following birds
viz., Bronze-winged Jacana,
Great White Pelican, Lesser Flamingo, Greater Flamingo
and Woolly-neckedStork are the important wetland birds, are reported first time
during the present study from the study area and could see only once during the
entire study period.
Among
the terrestrial birds, Asian Palm Swifts werevery commonly seen in and around the lake
followed by White
Headed Babbler, Common
Myna, Jungle Crow,
Black Drongo, House Crow,
Red-vented Bulbul and
Blue-tailed Beaeater. During
the present study period,
birds such as
Asian Paradise Flycatcher,
Jungle Grow, Black-shouldered Kite, Black Headed Oriole,
Crested Serpent Eagle, Black-capped Kingfisher, Stork-billed Kingfisher were
seen rarely (N
< 10) in
the study area.
White-browed Fantail, Ruff, Dunlin,
Grey-headed Lapwing, Rufous-winged
Bushlark and Bay-backed Shrike
were seen only once
during the entire
study period. Line transect
survey resulted in the
documentation of 135 avian species (Table 11), of which, Little Egret is the
dominant one with 355 individuals followed by Common Myna (n=338), and Asian
Palm Swift with 337 individuals.
Reference: The Department of Forests and Wildlife, Government of Puducherry, By SACON
