Ashy-crowned Sparrow-lark
Eremopterix griseus
Mokila, Sirsuphal & dry scrub plains all over India
Telangana is the eleventh largest state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of 112,077 km² of which 21,214 km² is forest cover. The dry deciduous forests ecoregion of the central Deccan Plateau covers much of the state, including Hyderabad. The characteristic vegetation is woodlands of Hardwickia binata and Albizia amara. Over 80% of the original forest cover has been cleared for agriculture, timber harvesting, or cattle grazing, but large blocks of forest can be found in the Nagarjuna Sagar - Srisailam Tiger Reserve and elsewhere. The more humid Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests cover the Eastern Ghats in the eastern part of the state. The Central Deccan forests have an upper canopy at 15–25 meters, and an understory at 10–15 meters, with little undergrowth.
Once upon a time, the capital of Telangana - Hyderabad - was known as the City of Lakes. Some of these lakes were natural and some manmade. Sources say that only a few decades back, Hyderabad had a large number of water bodies such as lakes, reservoirs, rivers, streams, aquaculture ponds, tanks etc. - between 3000 and 7000 including natural and manmade bodies. As of 2010, 500 lakes were under HUDA jurisdiction. As of May 2018, HUDA maintains a record of 169 lakes which occupy an area of more than 10 hectares. Of these 169, 62 lakes are under the control of the government, 25 are owned by private organisations and 82 lakes are under a joint government private ownership. As per existing government norms, no construction of any kind, irrespective of the ownership status is allowed on the lake bed. These rules, unfortunately, are frequently violated both by government and private agencies.
The city of Hyderabad is also surrounded with pristine scrub lands, grasslands and rocky country. These areas are home to as many as 191 bird species and more which include migrants like the Pallid & Montagu’s Harriers who winter here from Russia and Eastern Asian countries traveling over 5,000 kilometers. The rare Indian Grey Wolf has also been spotted here along with a number of foxes. The dry sub-humid zone or Dichanthium-cenchrus-lasitrrus type of grasslands are prevalent here and cover almost the entirety of peninsular India except the Nilgiris. One sees thorny bushes like the Acacia catechu or Khair as it is known in Hindi, Mimosa, Zizyphus (Ber) and sometimes the fleshy Euphorbia, along with low trees of Anogeissus letifolia or Axle Wood, Soymida febrifuga - the Indian Redwood - and other deciduous species. Sehima (grass) which is more prevalent on gravel is about 27% of the cover and Dichanthium (grass) which flourishes on level soil is almost 80% of the coverage.
The dry deciduous forests ecoregion of the central Deccan Plateau covers much of the state, including Hyderabad. The characteristic vegetation is woodlands of Hardwickia binata and Albizia amara. Over 80% of the original forest cover has been cleared for agriculture, timber harvesting, or cattle grazing, but large blocks of forest can be found in the Nagarjuna Sagar - Srisailam Tiger Reserve and elsewhere. The more humid Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests cover the Eastern Ghats in the eastern part of the state. The Central Deccan forests have an upper canopy at 15–25 meters, and an understory at 10–15 meters, with little undergrowth.
Grasslands are natural carbon sinks and therefore crucial to the global carbon cycle due to their high rates of productivity, enhanced carbon sequestration rates and geographical extent keeping global temperatures more or less in balance. They are also breeding grounds for many migratory and endangered species like the Indian Grey Wolf of which only about 3,000 are left in the wild. It is a common response from people to think forests when green cover is mentioned but grasslands are of equal import. These open natural ecosystems urgently need attention and government initiatives for protection and conservation. In Telangana, grasslands are located in the districts of Vikarabad, Nizamabad, Khammam, Siddipet and Nalgonda. The wildlife in these fragile ecosystems today face numerous threats like hunting, spread of the canine distemper virus which affects foxes, wolves & several other species, rabies from feral dogs and most crucially, habitat loss.
Mokila, Telangana
Situated 39 kilometers north of Hyderabad, Mokila has now become a sought-after residential locality, and is considered the next big real estate hotspot owing to its lush green environment and efficient connectivity. Located in the Shankarpally Mandal of Rangareddy District in the state of Telangana, along the Shankarpally Road, Mokila was a quiet expanse of green offering a picturesque countryside environment.
The locality is well connected to the localities of Gachibowli, Outer Ring Road, Hi-tech City and Kokapet. Mokila is a 20 minute drive from the financial district of Gachibowli. The locality is in high demand today for those looking to stay away from the humdrum of the city and yet be close to it. Apart from enjoying the good connectivity to major areas, Mokila is just 4-km from the Raithu Bazar (Farmer’s market) at Shankarpally.
Agriculture was the main occupation of people living in the village of Mokila , some of the crops grown in this region include Paddy, jowar, ragi (finger millets), vegetables, pulses, millets, groundnut, castor, sugarcane, mango, lime, guava, sapota (soapapples), papaya, sweet orange etc. Other occupations in Mokila include the priests, carpenters, blacksmiths, barbers, weavers, potters, oil pressers, leatherworkers, sweepers, water bearers, toddy-tappers and many others.
Mokila is known for its natural ambience with greenery and peace all around. It is easily accessed by road from Shankarpally, and the Telangana State Transport Corporation runs buses from Shankarpally to Mokila. The nearest railway station is the Shankarpally Railway Station and the nearest Airport is the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad, Hyderabad.
The total geographical area of the village of Mokila is 844 hectares. It has a total population of 3,566 people and the literacy rate is 50.81% of which 60.06% males and 41.29% females are literate. There are about 821 houses in the village. Today however it is a much changed landscape. A lot of the open scrublands have disappeared as you can see in the map. Development is inevitable I think but it ought to be tempered to save atleast some of the environment.
Sirsuphal & Kadbanwadi Grasslands
Another beautiful habitat where I have encountered the Ashy-crowned Sparrow-lark in good numbers has been the mesmerizing grasslands of Sirsuphal and Kadbanwadi. These rich grasslands surround the lush ecosystem of the Ujni backwaters in Maharashtra and are home to an impressive list of birds, mammals and reptiles like the Indian Courser, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Grey Francolin, Woolly-necked Stork, and Demoiselle Cranes. The Indian Chameleon is often seen here and after dark, creatures of the night like the Leopard Gecko and Termite Hill Gecko are out and about. Although rare, the Common Sand Boa, Rat Snake, and Russell’s Viper are also spotted. The open areas around the villages host mammals like the Black-naped Hare, Jungle Cat, Golden Jackal, and Indian Grey Mongoose. The Asian Palm Civet can also be seen, especially at night. The extensive grasslands protect many mammals like the Chinkara, Hyena, Wolf and Indian Fox. It is also popular for grassland birds and the birds of prey, including the Steppe Eagle and the rare Imperial Eagle. While largely unnoticed, frogs, toads, damselflies, dragonflies, beetles, and scorpions also inhabit the area. A study published by the Zoological Survey of India in 2002 reported 54 species of fish.
During our time here we were hosted by and had the expert help of Sandip Nagare and his team of knowledgeable guides from the Agnipankha Bird Watcher group, especially Ganesh Bhoi, who went out of their way to ensure we had fantastic opportunities to explore, discover, observe & photograph over 82 species of birds and wildlife including some rare ones. We stayed at Sandip’s homestay of the same name and had the added pleasure of indulging in delectable home cooked food.
Ashy-crowned Sparrow-lark
Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the Horned Lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's Bush Lark occurs in Australia. Habitats vary widely, but many species live in dry regions. When the word "lark" is used without specification, it often refers to the Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis).
The family Alaudidae was introduced in 1825 by the Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors as a subfamily Alaudina of the finch family Fringillidae. Larks are a well-defined family, partly because of the shape of their tarsus. They have multiple scutes on the hind side of their tarsi, rather than the single plate found in most songbirds. They also lack a pessulus, the bony central structure in the syrinx of songbirds. They were long placed at or near the beginning of the songbirds or oscines (now often called Passeri), just after the suboscines and before the swallows, for example in the American Ornithologists' Union's first check-list. Some authorities, such as the British Ornithologists' Union and the Handbook of the Birds of the World, adhere to that placement. However, many other classifications follow the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy in placing the larks in a large oscine subgroup Passerida (which excludes crows, shrikes and their allies, vireos, and many groups characteristic of Australia and southeastern Asia). For instance, the American Ornithologists' Union places larks just after the crows, shrikes, and vireos. At a finer level of detail, some now place the larks at the beginning of a superfamily Sylvioidea with the swallows, various "Old World warbler" and "babbler" groups, and others. Molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that within the Sylvioidea the larks form a sister clade to the family Panuridae which contains a single species, the Bearded Reedling (Panurus biarmicus). Eremopterix is the genus of sparrow-larks, songbirds in the family Alaudidae. The sparrow-larks are found from Africa to the Indian subcontinent. The genus Eremopterix contains the following extant species:
Black-eared Sparrow-lark (Eremopterix australis): Distributed in southern Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa
Madagascar Lark (Eremopterix hova): DIstributed in Madagascar.
Black-crowned Sparrow-lark (Eremopterix nigriceps): Distributed in Mauritania through the Middle East to north-western India
Chestnut-backed Sparrow-lark (Eremopterix leucotis): Distributed in Africa south of the Sahara Desert.
Ashy-crowned Sparrow-lark (Eremopterix griseus): Distributed in South Asia
Chestnut-headed Sparrow-lark (Eremopterix signatus): Distributed in eastern and north-eastern Africa
Grey-backed Sparrow-lark (Eremopterix verticalis): Distributed in southern and south-central Africa
Fischer's Sparrow-lark (Eremopterix leucopareia): Distributed in central Kenya to eastern Zambia, Malawi and north-western Mozambique
The Ashy-crowned Sparrow-lark (Eremopterix griseus) is a small sparrow-sized member of the lark family. It is found in the plains in open land with bare ground, grass and scrub across South Asia. The males are well marked with a contrasting black-and-white face pattern, while females are sandy brown, looking similar to a female sparrow. Males are easily detected during the breeding season by the long descending whistle that accompanies their undulating and dive-bombing flight displays.
The Ashy-crowned Sparrow-lark was originally placed in the genus Alauda. This species is also known by the following alternate names: Ash-crowned Sparrow-lark, Ashy-crowned Finch-lark, Black-bellied Finch-lark and Black-bellied Sparrow-lark. Although some subspecies ceylonensis (from Sri Lanka) and siccata (from Gujarat) have been named, variations are considered to be clinal and they are treated as a monotypic species.
It is sparrow sized with a finch-like bill and short legs, these birds are usually seen sitting on the ground, and although they will sometimes perch on wires they do not perch in trees or bushes. The male is sandy brown overall with a black belly, chin, lower lores and eye stripe. The top of the head is ashy (although the base of these crown feathers are dark) unlike the dark brown to black in the black-crowned sparrow-lark which partly overlaps with the range of this species in the arid zone of India and Pakistan. The female is pale brown and very similar to a female house sparrow, although the legs are much shorter and appearing stockier and shorter-necked.
This species is restricted to below 1,000 m (3,300 ft) elevation and is found from south of the Himalayas to Sri Lanka extending to the Indus River system in the west and to Assam in the east. It is found in stubble, scrub, waste land, riverside sand and tidal flats on the coast. They avoid the interior of the desert zone, a habitat that is more likely to be used by the black-crowned sparrow-lark. The two species overlap partly in range, although they are rarely seen together in the same locations. During the monsoon season, they withdraw from heavy rainfall regions.
These larks are found in pairs or small groups and form larger flocks in the winter. They forage on the ground for seeds and insects. When disturbed they will sometimes crouch and take to flight. They will take fallen grain in fields. They roost at night on the ground, making small depressions in the soil.
The breeding is irregular and spread out although they breed before the rains mainly during February to September in southern India and May to June in Sri Lanka. The display of the male consists of a song flight that involves soaring up with some chirruping calls and then diving with partly closed wings and then rising up in a glide. This undulating flight is accompanied by a long low whistle at each dive and at the tip of each rise by a sharp chilp note. The display ends with the male descending at an angle and landing on a small mound or clod before repeating the performance after a few minutes. The nest is a compact depression under a tuft of grass in the ground lined with grass and hair with some pebbles arranged on the edge. The usual clutch is two or three eggs and both males and female incubate the eggs. The eggs hatch after about 13 or 14 days and both parents take turns to feed the young although the female is more active.
The name in some Hindi dialects for the bird is dabhak churi, which means 'crouching sparrow'. In British India, it was shot for the table and termed as 'ortolan'.
There is no quantified population estimate for the Ashy-crowned Sparrow-lark (Eremopterix griseus), but it is not thought to be close to the thresholds for being vulnerable.The Ashy-crowned Sparrow-lark is considered to be of least concern by Birdlife and is not globally threatened but the State of India’s Birds lists the trend as declining. Given the Least Concern classification the Ashy-crowned Sparrow-lark does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence under 20,000 km² combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (under 10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be over 10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (over 30% decline over ten years or three generations). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern. The global population size has not been quantified, but the species is reported to be locally common in Pakistan and common in India (Grimmett et al. 1998). The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats.
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