| Andaman crake | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Gruiformes |
| Family: | Rallidae |
| Genus: | Rallina |
| Species: | R. canningi |
| Binomial name | |
| Rallina canningi (Blyth, 1863) | |
The Andaman crake (Rallina canningi) is a bird species in the family Rallidae. It is endemic to the Andaman Islands of the eastern Indian Ocean. [2]
It was first described as the Andaman banded crake Euryzona canningi by Blyth in the 1863 issue of the journal, Ibis . Later, it was treated as Andamaneese banded crake Rallina canningi by Baker in 1929. Subsequently, Ripley and Ali retained Baker's scientific name for the species, while reverting to Blyth's common name. [2] [3]
This is the largest Rallina, measuring about 34 cm in length. [4] It has a glossy chestnut plumage, extensive bold barring on underparts, unbarred undertail-coverts, relatively bright apple-green bill and relatively long and fluffy tail; legs and feet are olive-green. It also has pale barring on wings confined to outer primaries and greater and medium coverts. [4] [5] Juveniles are duller and less prominently barred. [6] Other similar looking crakes include other Rallina and ruddy-breasted crake Porzana fusca. They are smaller and do not have green bill and legs. [6] Immature birds are duller overall with the barred areas being dark grey-brown with a chestnut tinge, narrowly banded and streaked dirty white. Juvenile birds are paler than adult. [4] Voice is a deep croak. It utters a sharp click as an alarm call. [4]
Its natural habitat is marshland inside subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is known from North, Middle and South Andaman islands and may occur on other islands such as Great Coco or middle Coco Islands. It was formerly classified as data deficient by the IUCN, due to the lack of reliable information on its status. [7] Later studies showed it to be fairly common in suitable habitat. [8] Consequently, it has been listed at least concern status in 2017. BirdLife International estimates the population to range between 10,000 and 25,000 individuals. [6]
It breeds between June and August. It nests at the bottom of large trees with buttresses or under tangled undergrowth in forests. In one study, the species preferred trees such as Terminalia , Tetrameles nudiflora or Pterocarpus , possibly near waterbodies. [9] Its eggs are similar to those of the banded crake but larger, whiter and more glossy. Both sexes share in incubation. According to Baker, the eggs are about 40 by 30 mm (1.6 by 1.2 in). [3]
Much like other crakes, it feeds on small fish, molluscs, worms and insects (beetles, grasshoppers and caterpillars). Large grasshoppers shaken about and battered before swallowing. [3]
In the 1980s, the crake was considered to be quite common on the islands; over 80 birds were snared in a square mile. [10] It is much rare now even though there are extensive forests in the islands. Introduced predators may also pose a risk to the birds' population.
The blue-faced malkoha or small green-billed malkoha, is a non-parasitic cuckoo found in the scrub and deciduous forests of peninsular India and Sri Lanka. It has a waxy, dark, blue-grey plumage on its upperparts and has a long tail with graduated white-tipped feathers. The throat and chin are dark with spiny pale feathers that are branched. The lower belly is a dull creamy to rufous colour. The bill is apple green, and a naked patch of blue skin surrounds the eye. The sexes are alike. The blue-faced malkoha is a bird of open forests and scrub jungle.
The slaty-legged crake or banded crake is a waterbird in the rail and crake family, Rallidae.
The forest wagtail is a medium-sized passerine bird in the wagtail family Motacillidae. It has a distinctive plumage that sets it apart from other wagtails and has the habit of wagging its tail sideways unlike the usual up and down movements of the other wagtail species. It is the only wagtail species that nests in trees. It is found mainly in forested habitats, breeding in the temperate parts of east Asia and wintering across tropical Asia from India to Indonesia.
The common hill myna, sometimes spelled "mynah" and formerly simply known as the hill myna or myna bird, is the myna most commonly sighted in aviculture, where it is often simply referred to by the latter two names. It is a member of the starling family (Sturnidae), resident in hill regions of South Asia and Southeast Asia. The Sri Lanka hill myna, a former subspecies of G. religiosa, is now generally accepted as a separate species G. ptilogenys. The Enggano hill myna and Nias hill myna are also widely accepted as specifically distinct, and many authors favor treating the southern hill myna from the Nilgiris and elsewhere in the Western Ghats of India as a separate species.
South Sentinel Island is one of the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. It is 1.6 km (1 mi) long northeast to southwest and up to 1 km wide. At only 1.61 km2, it is much smaller than its counterpart North Sentinel Island and is currently uninhabited. The island belongs to the Port Blair tehsil in the South Andaman administrative district, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, neighbouring North Sentinel Island.
The grey-headed bulbul is a member of the bulbul family, Pycnonotidae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats in south-western India, and found from Goa south to Tamil Nadu at altitudes up to 1200m. It is found in dense reeds or thickets mainly near rivers and swampy areas inside forests. They have a distinctive call that reveals their presence inside dense vegetation where they are hard to spot.
Narcondam, India's easternmost island, is a small volcanic island located in the northern Andaman Sea. The island's peak rises to 710 m above mean sea level, and it is formed of andesite. It is part of the Andaman Islands, the main body of which lie approximately 74 km (46 mi) to the west.The island is part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The island is small, covering an area of approximately 7.6 square kilometres. It was classified as a dormant volcano by the Geological Survey of India.
The white-bellied woodpecker or great black woodpecker is a woodpecker species inhabiting evergreen forests in tropical Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is among the largest of the Asiatic woodpeckers and nests in large dead trees, often beside rivers. It has 14 subspecies, and many of its island forms are endangered, some are extinct. Populations differ in the distribution and extent of white. Its drums and calls are louder than those of the smaller woodpeckers.
The large cuckooshrike is a species of cuckooshrike found in the Indian Subcontinent and depending on the taxonomic treatment used, Southeast Asia. The species has had a long and varied taxonomic treatment, being closely related to forms across Southeast Asia, with some authors using the name Indian cuckooshrike. The species and subspecies classifications vary widely across sources and are yet to be resolved unambiguously.
The pale-footed bush warbler is a species of oriental warbler in the family Cettiidae that is found in southern Asia. It occurs in the Himalayan region west from Dehradun through the foothills of Nepal to northeastern India. It also occurs in Myanmar, Laos, northern Vietnam and southern China. A single sighting was recorded from Kandy, Sri Lanka in March 1993.
The Nicobar megapode or Nicobar scrubfowl is a megapode found in some of the Nicobar Islands (India). Like other megapode relatives, it builds a large mound nest with soil and vegetation, with the eggs hatched by the heat produced by decomposition. Newly hatched chicks climb out of the loose soil of the mound and being fully feathered are capable of flight. The Nicobar Islands are on the edge of the distribution of megapodes, well separated from the nearest ranges of other megapode species. Being restricted to small islands and threatened by hunting, the species is vulnerable to extinction. The 2004 tsunami is believed to have wiped out populations on some islands and reduced populations on several others.
The blue-eared kingfisher is found in Asia, ranging across the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It is found mainly in dense shaded forests where it hunts in small streams. It is darker crowned, with darker rufous underparts and lacking the rufous ear stripe of the common kingfisher which is found in more open habitats. A number of subspecies have been described that differ in measurement and colour shade. Adult males have an all dark bill while females have a reddish lower mandible.
The red-necked crake is a waterbird in the rail and crake family, Rallidae.
The glossy swiftlet is a species of swift in the family Apodidae. It is found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi and eastwards to New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Solomon Islands.
The Narcondam hornbill is a species of hornbill in the family Bucerotidae. It is endemic to the Indian island of Narcondam in the Andamans. Males and females have a distinct plumage. The Narcondam hornbill has the smallest home range out of all the species of Asian hornbills.
The Andaman coucal or brown coucal is a species of non-parasitic cuckoo found in the Andamans, Coco and Table Islands. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the greater coucal. It is found mainly in forested habitats and thickly covered gardens.
The Asian glossy starling is a species of starling in the family Sturnidae. It is found in Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan (introduced) and Thailand. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical mangrove forest. There is also a huge number of this species inhabiting towns and cities, where they take refuge in abandoned buildings and trees. They often move in large groups and are considered one of the noisiest species of birds. In the Philippines, it is known as kulansiyang, galansiyang, or kuling-dagat.
Ravi Sankaran was an Indian ornithologist whose work concerned the conservation of several threatened birds of India. He was the Director of the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
K. S. R. Krishna Raju was an Indian ornithologist who worked extensively in the Eastern Ghats of Vishakapatnam. He conducted multiple avifaunal surveys, ringed birds and collaborated with other ornithologists including Dillon Ripley and Salim Ali. His studies provided weight to the Satpura hypothesis proposed by Sunder Lal Hora that the Eastern Ghats was part of a former continuum of habitats between the northeast of India and the Western Ghats with affinities to those in Southeast Asia. A subspecies of Abbott's babbler, Malacocincla abbotti krishnarajui, discovered around Visakhapatnam Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, was named in his honour, "for his efforts to promote the survey and conservation of the natural resources of the Eastern Ghats."
