Specimens of Aquatic Bird Deposited at Mosul Natural History Museum, Mosul, Iraq

There are (11) aquatic Birds specimens deposited at Mosul natural history Museum, these belong to five orders namely: order Ciconiiformes, Phoenicopteriformes, Pelecaniformes, Anseriformes and Caradiformes. Ciconiformes include Ardea purpurea, Egretta garzetta, Ciconia ciconia, Nycticorax nycticorax, Ixobrychus minitus. Order Phoenicopteriformes include Phoenicopterus aguorum, order Pelecaniformes include Pelecanus onocrotalus, order Anseriformes include Anas crecca and Anas platyrhynchos, Casarca ferruguinea and order Charadriiformes include ,Larus canus.

Nesting tree selection by scattered heronry birds of drought prone Northern Bankura, West Bengal, India: preference of Phoenix sylvestris near wetland-associated habitats

The present study was conducted in the Gangajalghati block of Northern Bankura, India, to investigate the habitat and nest tree preference of three colonial waterbirds viz. Nycticorax nycticorax, Egretta garzetta, and Ardeola grayii. The study sites were surveyed for 20 months between 2017 and 2020. A total of 817 nests with an average of 204 per year were recorded on 13 tree species. Nycticorax nycticorax showed the maximum nest count followed by Egretta garzetta and Ardeola grayii. Relative abundance data revealed Phoenix sylvestris as the most abundant species (45%) of the area and harbours the highest proportion (33%) of nests. Pooled nest count data showed significantly higher (p < 0.01) total nest counts in the wetland associated habitats than others. The study observed more nest density of all three species near a cluster of small ponds than in a large water body. Year-wise difference in cumulative nest number and mean nest abundance of all three species was statistically insignificant. The interspecific nearest neighbour on Phoenix sylvestris were Egretta garzetta (88.37%) for Nycticorax nycticorax and Nycticorax nycticorax (83.25%) for Egretta garzetta and Ardeola grayii. Further, the study evaluated the impact of two tropical cyclones (Amphan and Fani) on the total nest count and found that more than 75% nests (p < 0.05) were destroyed by the mighty Amphan in May 2020. The study provides a baseline data on nesting trees and habitat preference of three species of heronry birds from Northern Bankura.

Spatial ecology of little egret (Egretta garzetta) in Hong Kong uncovers preference for commercial fishponds

Many natural wetlands have been converted to human-influenced wetlands. In some instances, human-influenced wetlands could provide complementary habitats for waterbirds, compensating for the loss of natural wetlands. Inner Deep Bay in Hong Kong is composed of both natural and human-influenced wetlands and is under immense development pressure. From an ecology perspective, we need to understand if different wetland types play the same ecological role. To achieve this, we tracked nine little egrets (Egretta garzetta) using GPS loggers for 14 months to study their spatial ecology, home range, movement and habitat use. We found that over 88% of the home range of all individuals comprised of wetlands (commercial fishponds, mangrove, gei wai, channel, and intertidal mudflat). Among these wetland types, nearly all (seven of nine) individuals preferred commercial fishponds over other habitats in all seasons. Little egrets exhibited seasonal movement and habitat use among seasons, with largest home range, greatest movement, and most frequent visits to commercial fishponds in winter compared to spring and autumn. Our results highlight the significant role of commercial fishponds, providing a feeding ground for little egrets. However, other wetland types cannot be ignored, as they were also used considerably. These findings underscore the importance of maintaining a diversity of wetland types as alternative foraging and breeding habitats.