Biology

Navjeevan Dadwal
Gurukula Kangri University, Haridwar

It is believed that bird songs are among most beautiful and complex sounds produced in the natural world. In temperate zones, when males start to build territories, their singing activities may vary during the breeding cycle while similar studies regarding variations in the singing patterns across breeding season are scanty in tropical zones especially in the Indian subcontinent. In the light of above information a field study was planned to understand the “Singing Behaviour of a Tropical Bird, the Pied Bush Chat (Saxicola caprata) and its Correlation with Breeding Stages” keeping following objectives in view: 1) To explore Singing patterns of a tropical bird, the Pied Bush Chat across years and nesting cycle, 2) To study the response of resident male Pied Bush Chats to the playbacks of neighbor and stranger songs, 3) Whether song elicit aggression during simulated territorial interactions in the Pied Bush Chats or not? and 4) To examine the parental investments in nest defense by Pied Bush Chat. The present study was carried out from 2013-16 in the natural habitats of 30 pairs of Pied Bush Chats in different sites adjacent to Haridwar town (29⁰55^’ N and 78⁰08^’E; Himalayan Foothill, India).