Keywords
Heronry
Bhitarkanika
Nesting
Near Threatened.
How to Cite
Abstract
We present here the summary of our findings on the nesting ecology of Black-headed Ibis Threskiomis melanocephalus in Bhitarkanika heronry, one of the largest mixed-species heronries in India. A total count of nest trees and number of nests of all species carried over three years revealed the presence of 13,704 nests in 3,839 trees (2004), 11,249 nests on 3,237 trees (2005) and 11,819 nests on 4,221 trees (2006) in the heronry. The number of Black-headed Ibis nests was 145, 143, and 138 during the three years. This ibis was the last species to arrive and was observed forming sub-colonies. There was a significant increase in the proportion of nest materials and size as the nesting stages progressed. Nest morphometry revealed that the circumference of the nest was 155.66 ± 44.33 cm and the width was 9.50 ± 6.11 cm. Egg morphometry revealed that Black-headed Ibis produced larger eggs both in terms of length and mass than the other heronry species. Its clutch size was also the highest (6 ± 2.16) among all the heronry species. Reproductive success was random in both space and time, their spatial location in the heronry being immaterial. Results of our analysis on vertical alignment of nests did not support the body mass-nest height hypothesis.References
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