Singh et al.

: Stoliczka’sBushchat 21

On the plumages of Stoliczka’sBushchat Saxicola

macrorhynchus, and its possible breeding in Jorbeer
Conservation Reserve, Bikaner, Rajasthan
Partap Singh, Ram Niwas Kumawat, Jitendar Solanki, Divya Sharma & Raja Bandi
Singh, P., Kumawat, R. N., Solanki, J., Sharma, D., & Bandi, R., 2019. On the plumages of Stoliczka’s Bushchat Saxicola macrorhynchus, and its possible
breeding in Jorbeer Conservation Reserve, Bikaner, Rajasthan. Indian BIRDS 15 (1): 21–23.
Partap Singh, Wildlife Management Laboratory, Govt. Dungar College, Bikaner 334001, Rajasthan, India. E-mail: partapsk@gmail.com [Corresponding author].
Ram Niwas Kumawat, Deputy Conservator of Forest, Wildlife, Bikaner 334001, Rajasthan, India.
Raja Bandi, 8 – C – 27, JNV Colony, Bikaner 334001, Rajasthan, India.
Manuscript received on 23 September 2017.

T
he Jorbeer Conservation Reserve (henceforth, JCR) in
Bikaner District, Rajasthan, is spread over 56 sq. km,
and primarily comprises grassland and scrubland. During
our studies on the ecology and population dynamics of
raptors in JCR, from 2015 to 2017, we photographed several
stages of moult in adult males, females, and juveniles of
Stoliczka’sBushchat Saxicola macrorhynchus, which is listed
as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
(BirdLife International 2017), and is one of the least studied
bird species (Rahmani 2012). This note describes some
of these plumages and indicates that this species might be
breeding in the vicinity.

Plumages
Adult males
All: Partap Singh & Ram Niwas Kumawat

24a. Photographed on 10 August 2017. The broad white supercilium, black face, and white on the innermost greater covert indicate it is an adult male. The scruffy or loosely feathered underparts,
some new greater coverts with pale fringes and tips, and fresh tail feathers suggest that the bird is in alternate moult.

24b. Photographed on 12 August 2017. An adult male in complete moult, differing from 1a with more white on the new greater coverts. The black facial feathers are new whilst the rest of the body
and wing feathers are being replaced. This bird had completely lost its tail, and was in the process of replacing its tail feathers. This late summer individual is undergoing a complete moult.

24c. Photographed on 15 September 2017. Its rather short tail, broad buff-brown fringes to the greater coverts and tertials, lack of white fringes to the primary coverts, which are still incomplete along
with tail, and still growing flight feathers indicate a first-winter male in fresh plumage.
22 Indian BIRDS Vol. 15 No. 1 (Publ. 10 May 2019)

Adult / First winter females

25a. An adult female in moult. The mantle and back are worn, and the median coverts are being replaced, as is the tail with new outer feathers. The inner greater coverts may also be new but the
primary coverts are almost invisible and probably heavily worn as there is no sign of any pale or whitish fringes on them. The bird is probably at the start of the moult. (Photographed on 16 August
2017.)

25b. A first winter in more advanced state of tail growth but still completing new greater coverts and outer tail feathers. (Photographed on 27 November 2017.)

25c. An adult female in fresh plumage of very late summer or early autumn. (Photographed on 14 August 2017.)

Juveniles
All: Partap Singh & Ram Niwas Kumawat

26a. A juvenile probably male, which is similar to 3b, but slightly paler and shows more uniformly grown greater coverts. It appears to lack white on the inner greater coverts and its tail is also still
growing. The supercilium is poorly defined and the grey feathers on the face appear to overlie darker or blackish bases which indicate this to be its first-winter plumage. (Photographed on 16 August
2017.)

26b. A juvenile male, darker than 3a, also moulting into first-winter plumage. Its greater coverts and tail are new and still growing (though the angle of photograph does not indicate exact length of
tail). (Photographed on 14 August 2017.)

26c. A juvenile similar to 3b but could equally be a juvenile female as it appears to lack any white in the greater coverts but these may be obscured. (Photographed on 16 August 2017.)

Habitat
According to Rahmani (1994), Stoliczka’s Bushchat prefers the
dry sandy area with herbs and shrubs ranging in height between
50–70cm. In JCR however, the species preferred scrubland [28]
dominated by Ziziphus nummularia. Other predominant shrubs
and grasses present here are Aerva persica, Cenchrus biflorus,
Tribulus terrestris, and Leptadenia pyrotechnica. The vegetation
cover was in the range of 15%, and almost the entire ground is
covered with different grass species. During the monsoon, and
post-monsoon periods not only did the vegetation cover improve,

All: Partap Singh & Ram Niwas Kumawat
27. Another difference between adults (a) and juveniles (b) we observed was beak structure. The tip of a juvenile’s upper mandible was pointed and slightly down-curved
(like a vestigial egg-tooth) while the adults had a relatively blunt and straighter upper mandible.
but insect diversity also increased, and these probably acted as a
food base for this bird.
28. A typical scrub habitat of Stoliczka’s Bushchat at Jorbeer Conservation Reserve
Habits
The birds we observed were quite bold, feeding on the ground,
and stayingon the same perch for quite a long time in our
presence. Rahmani (1994) also observed this perch fidelity. We
observed a female’s ‘Puff and roll’ behaviour thrice, albeit for a
few seconds, during our one and half hour of observations on 24
August 2017 at 0745 hrs.
Discussion
Stoliczka’s Bushchat was first reported from JCR on 06 March
1982 (Kaestner 1982), and was subsequently sighted by Govind
Sagar Bhardwaj in July 2015 (Govind Sagar Bhardwaj, verbally,
January 2018). During our studies, we found that the bird did not
winter here, moving out by October (in 2016), or November (in
2017), and returning in July.
There is paucity of information on its breeding (Clement &
Rose 2015). Except for an instance where adults were spotted
Singh et al.: Stoliczka’sBushchat 23
feeding juveniles at Tal Chhapar in 2010 (Rahmani 2012), no
other evidence exists from the country. The last reported breeding
from Pakistan was in 1965 (Clement & Rose 2015). The fact that
we photographed juveniles in August, in plumages that indicated
they were less than two months old, along with adults in post-
breeding moult, strongly suggests that the birds had presumably
bred in JCR. JCR might prove to be an important area for future
studies of the breeding biology of this mysterious desert species.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to CCF, Bikaner Division for the encouragement. We are also thankful
to Govind Sagar Bhardwaj for many useful suggestions. We are very grateful to Peter
Clement, whose comments and suggestions greatly helped in the improvement of MS.
References
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