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Oriental Pratincole
Glareola maldivarum
22.7722, 72.0638
Field Notes
Description:
Amazing behaviour shown by this bird which I have seen for the first time. When they saw me, they started flying in circles, then they dive bombed to the ground. Raised their wings as if threatening me not to come near. So I lay in a crater far from these birds and saw that they were sitting in some holes in the ground. There were many such holes around. I thought they were nesting and since it mentally disturbs the birds if disturbed during nesting I opted to stay far from them and click some pics. I did get the chance to examine some holes nearby and did not find any eggs. I guess they were preparing to nest.
Habitat:
Seen at Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary.
Notes:
As per a link shared by Malcolm (http://www.britishbirds.co.uk/search?model=pdf&id=2480): "Both sexes incubate, and nest-relief is attended by a very rigid ceremony. The male bird, arriving to take over duty on the nest,
dips low in flight over the sitting female. To this she responds with upstretched head and a harsh call. He then alights about two feet from the nest, instantaneously bowing to her, beak to ground and tail stuck high into the air and wings momentarily poised above his back. The hen meantime rises from the eggs, picks up small pieces of Salicornia or small flakes of mud and throws them over her back on to the nest. She then walks off
and he on to the eggs." Which confirms what I saw was the nesting behaviour of this bird.
For more details on this bird, please see my previous spotting: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/19536069
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