Haryal - Yellow footed Green pigeon

[Sakobav]

My grandfather had tales on seeing flocks of these haryals in Narowal Pakistan before 47. i dont recall ever seeing one in Punjab like house sparrow another common bird headed for extinction. Hopefully members could contribute on sightings etc

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-footed_Green_Pigeon

Some pictures
http://indianhomemaker.wordpress.com/tag/hariyal/

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes ... state-bird
Hariyal, green with envy
Vijay Pinjarkar, TNN Jul 2, 2011, 07.41pm IST

Birds don't know boundaries, it's the humans who set them. Does the beautiful yellow toed green pigeon, popularly known as hariyal, know it is the state bird of Maharashtra? Although the controversy over the hariyal being stripped of the state bird status to forest owlet has been put to rest, bird-watchers debate whether there is a need to raise such issues which may threaten both the species.
Amid the debate, TOI went hunting for the commonly found hariyal at its hot spots in the city but couldn't sight one in the past four days. Bird watchers say it is an alarming sign and the specie may be on the decline, but a section of bird experts say the hariyal forage in flocks and is only seen in the early mornings basking in the sun on the top of fruit-bearing trees.
Bird-watchers are overjoyed with the state government decision but feel retaining hariyal as the state bird is not enough and called for varied steps to increase its numbers.
"It's a good move. Declaring endemic forest owlet as the state bird would have led to influx of people in its pockets, with bird watching becoming a popular hobby. Ecologically also it would have been a bad move. I feel that even any controversy on the issue generates publicity threatening the birds," says Dr Tarique Sani, a regular bird watcher and expert.
Dr Sani admits that poaching is the biggest threat to hariyals but doesn't agree that the birds are on decline. He says sightings in monsoon are rare.
Ashish Tiple, an avid bird watcher and assistant professor with zoology department at Vidyabharti College, Selu, says retaining hariyal's status is a good development.
One of the arguments made against the green pigeon was that it's commonly found not only in Maharashtra but also entire India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. "I feel this logic isn't strong. Magpie robin is the national bird of Bangladesh, but is widely found in Maharashtra," Tiple argues.
On the hariyal's poor sightings in the city, Tiple says hariyal is a shy bird. It migrates locally but is mostly focused in Central Indian region. It is found in Ramtek, Pench, Melghat and Amravati areas. In the city, it is seen on big banyan and pipal trees at Telengkhedi, Ambazari, Gorewada, Seminary Hills, Maharajbagh and VNIT.
Not many know about its breeding. Hariyal lays eggs in the month of January. They hatch after 21-25 days. During this period the male hariyal takes care of the food and is always near the nests. The female also never leaves the nest and comes out for sunning from 7 to 8am. After two months, usually in March, the chicks start moving out.
Raju Kasambe, project head of the important birds area programme (IBAP) at Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), says it needs a bird's-eye view to sight hariyal, which hides itself in the greenery.
This genus contains 23 species, remarkable for their green colouration, which comes from a carotenoid pigment in their diet. Green pigeons have diets of various fruit, nuts and seeds and dwell in trees and occupy a variety of wooded habitats. These birds rarely come on the ground like other pigeons.
Although birders don't know when hariyal was declared a state bird or why it was chosen, the controversy has led to a strong feeling that now steps should be taken to conserve the bird.
City birder Tarun Balpande says retaining hariyal as a state bird is a positive move. However, it is facing threat from poachers belonging to the Pardhi community. The bird is hunted for meat and sold for Rs 100 a pair. Besides, it is also exported to Nepal as an exotic bird. The state bird should be protected by the state government and BNHS also needs take initiatives.
On poor sightings, Balpande says the bird may be on decline, but sightings are still there in rural areas where there are plenty of banyan and pipal trees. "Two months ago, I sighted a flock of 30 green pigeons in Paradgaon, 30km from Nagpur, and 15 birds in VNIT campus," he says.
Among the other threats to green pigeon include excessive use of pesticides, destruction of fruit-bearing trees in road widening and rampant construction activity in the city. "All this has led to habitat destruction," says naturalist Kundan Hate who has written an information book in Marathi on birds specifically for the forest workers.
Hate adds declaring any specie as state animal or bird doesn't help in its protection. It needs specific measures. "Take for example, the endangered sarus crane," he says. "The bird is endangered in Maharashtra, but is widespread in Uttar Pradesh. It is also the state bird of UP. This means that a bird which is beautiful and commonly found is the state bird of any state."
KYC OF GREEN PIGEON
BREEDING HABITS: The hariyal lays eggs in January, which hatch after 21-25 days. During this period the male takes care of the food and remains near the nest. The female also never leaves and comes out for sunning from 7 to 8am. In March, the chicks start moving out
SPOT THEM: The hariyal forage in flocks. They can be seen in the early mornings basking in the sun on top of fruit-bearing trees. Sightings in monsoon are rare. Unlike other pigeons, they rarely come on the ground
COLOUR SOURCE: The hariyal gets its colour from a carotenoid pigment in their diet which usually is various fruit, nuts and seeds.

[jatindra Singh Deo]

They can be seen around my farm house at Rourkela in Orissa in flocks of hundreds on "peepal" and "bargdh" or banyan ,I have noticed subtle differences in the flock's species.Some flock species are larger than the other and generally are larger in the season these trees bear fruits .They make sweet whistling sound quite distinctly different from other pigeon species .Will make a video in near future as the huge banyan in my farm is generally bristling with many flocks in the early mornings and in the wee hours .A small river flows underneath the tree ,these birds are not scared at all ,as they are not threatened since the farm is surrounded by other guarded properties ,we take good care that nobody disturbs them ,they let us get quite close to them.

[xl_target]

Thanks for the info on the Haryal, Navi.

Jatindra,
We would look forward to seeing that video.

[andy_65_in]

have seen them here at roorkee,uttarkhand also

[mundaire]

They can also be seen at various places in Delhi. As mentioned above trees of the fig family (Peepal, Banyan, Fig etc.) are favoured roosting spots. It is a pretty bird indeed!

Cheers!
Abhijeet

[brihacharan]

> I have seen Green Pigeons a long time ago in and around Karnala Bird Sanctuary located on the Mumbai - Goa road.
> They also used to inhabit the jungles around Karjat - The locals used to call them "Harood"
> They were a tad bigger than the Grey variety commonly found in the cities.
> Haven't seen any of late
Briha

[AK49]

I have seen them on trees several times along the railway tracks while travelling by train to Amravati in the early hours in that region.

[thakur]

I have seen the Haryials in Saket, New Delhi.

Some years back DDA converted a nearby nursery on Mehrauli-Badarpur Road into a City Forest and this has lead to an increase in bird varieties and numbers.

For those who may be interestd I list below the birds that I have seen in the Saket, New Delhi area over the last few years:
1. Sparrow (Gaurayia)
2. Crow
3. Rock Pigeon (Common variety)
4. Green Pigeon (Hariyal)
5. Myna (Galgaliya)
6. Bulbul
7. Jungl Babblers (Seven Sisters)
8. Hawk (Baaj)
9. Pirah Kite (Cheel)
10. Parrot (Common variety and lately a big one)
11. Woodpecker (Huppu)
12. Peacock
13. White Heron (Bagula)
14. Green Fly Catcher
15. Humming Bird
16. Hornbill (Lamdor small)
17. Wagtail
18. Swallow
19. Vulture
20. Dove (Fakta)
21. Koel
22. Lapwing (Titihari)
23. Kingfisher (Neel Kanth)

[mundaire]

Thakur,

to add to your list for the above location:

Grey partridge (grey francolin)
Rufus treepie
Barn owl
Indian Roller (aka blue jay)
Bee eater
Brown headed barbet

Not to say that there were no others, these are just the ones I could identify.

Cheers!
Abhijeet

[brihacharan]

[quote="thakur"]
I have seen the Haryials in Saket, New Delhi.

Some years back DDA converted a nearby nursery on Mehrauli-Badarpur Road into a City Forest and this has lead to an increase in bird varieties and numbers.

> It's very heartening to note what DDA has done
> Wish other authorities in the country follow this example!
Briha

[Vikram]

Interesting link,Navi. I never saw this bird in the South. Looks beautiful.

Jatindra Singh,

Good on you for taking care of these birds and ensuring their safety.The world seriously needs more people like you.


Best-
Vikram

[Sakobav]

Thanks Jatindra keep up the good work

Nice to know its being sighted - thanks Abhijeet, andy, thakur, bricharan et al do you guys think the population of Partridge, quail etc is on mend with no hunting? or pesticide and decreasing habitat is impacting them?

Its a pretty and graceful bird. Recall my grandpa talking about how they used to see flocks during certain months.

Another good site

http://www.kolkatabirds.com/gallery.htm

I didnt know national bird of pakistan was "Chukor" or Chukar as americans call them..Dr Salim Ali wanted Great Indian Bustard as our national bird but then it would have been butt of many jokes

[mundaire]

Navi, while hunting is banned, poachers who net many more birds at one time than a hunter would take in an entire season still carry on with their trade. They don't adhere to seasons either! That said there are plenty of grey partridges in/ around Delhi and in Haryana. The areas with heavy irrigation you tend to see more black partridge and fewer greys. The various aravali hills in/ around Delhi are now protected forests and you get to see plenty of bird life there including grouse, migratory birds like geese & ducks also frequent these places, especially areas where abandoned quarries are now water bodies.

Pesticides seem to have impacted quails pretty badly, hardly ever see them anywhere these days. My last sighting was 4ish years back in the Charkhi Dadri area, while out fishing with friends.

Areas like Punjab where very intensive agriculture is practised would have suffered even more from pesticide use as well as the disruption of traditional cropping patterns.

[amit xrd]

No quails are seen now a days.this is due to pesticides as well as new crop harvesting methods due to which no grains left in field for birds. but few migratory birds have become permanent residents and can be seen through out the year.dont know the exact name of that bird.will post picks very soon.

[thakur]

In our village in Etah district of UP we see a lot of Hariyals.

About 4 seasons ago there was an abundance of Black & Grey Partridges but now only the Grey ones are seen.

Quails have altogether disappeared. Although some people claim to have seen one or two fly away as they walk past them in the fields. Will be on a look out when we are there duing end December.