Unseasonable Sarus crane nesting rises in Chittorgarh

CHITTORGARH: This is a piece of good news for bird lovers. While ornithologists are concerned by the declining number of the Sarus cranes worldwide, the winged creatures have been breeding out of season in some parts of the country, including Chittorgarh in Rajasthan. Sarus cranes are known to mate for life with a single partner; its breeding season coincides with heavy rainfall during monsoon between June and October.

But experts have observed their unusual nesting pattern outside monsoon in dry conditions which is a rare phenomenon. “We have been observing three to four pairs breeding unseasonably in Chittorgarh for past few years but this year the number has doubled. Eight pairs have unusually nested this year with the last one reported in second week of March when the weather was quite dry,” said Dr Mohammed Yaseen, an expert on birds.

Chittorgarh holds a good forest cover that equals the national average as well as large number of perennial wetlands immixed with medium and tall grasslands and riparian lands. The geographical peculiarities make the district one of the most suitable habitats for the species. As per the census taken in May this year maximum count of 409 individuals (367 adults and 42 juveniles) were reported. The maximum juvenile-adult ratio is 32 juveniles per 100 adults which is not only highest in the country but also in the entire global records.

Unseasonal nests are initiated by the birds when the breeding pair had been unsuccessful in raising chicks in the previous primary nesting season. Based on a multi-year (2004-2017) multi-scale data set from four states—Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, researchers assume nesting of the species outside monsoon may increase in response to the changes in cropping patterns and changing rainfall conditions. While unseasonal breeding is poorly recorded for most crane species, surprisingly, researchers have found that conditions are conducive for unusual nesting for these birds in Chittorgarh.

In Rajasthan, the Sarus cranes are found in good numbers in Banswara, Dungarpur and limited wetlands in Kota. As per a recent study, on their habitat description, their Area of Occupancy (AOO) is 576 km that is nearly1/11part of the Extent of Occurrence (EOO) i.e. the concentration of major part of the population of the Sarus Crane is within approximately 8.97% part of the total geographical range of the species in Chittorgarh. The distribution range of Sarus Crane is 86.4 % of the total area whereas the AAO is just 7.2% of the total area of the district.