COURTSHIP DISPLAY OF LESSER FLORICAN Courtship displays in the bustard group include aerial displays which are performed by the smaller members and are of two types. One of these is a display leap or a jump and is characteristic of the smaller members of the group, the Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax) and the Lesser Florican (Sypheotides indica). The other is a display flight seen in small African bustards. The Lesser Florican is an endangered endemic of the Indian Subcontinent. Its breeding system has been defined as the dispersed lek, and it breeds during the southwest monsoon. The primary breeding habitat is grassland almost devoid of trees, the grass generally being Sehima nervosum. Two displays related to breeding have been described in the male Lesser Florican. In the first type of display, aerial jumping is performed irrespective of the presence or absence of females or rival males, and probably serves both functions of attracting females and signaling territorial possession. The second aerial display is a pre-copulatory one, directed towards and performed only in the presence of females. The aerial display of the Lesser Florican is a vertical jump. The display is preceded by the bird standing, with its neck and head craned up, shuffling or stamping its feet. The white feathers of the throat and chin are erected and appear in some large males as a sort of whitish bib, and the neck feathers may be slightly fluffed up. The male abruptly faces the wind, retracts its head, crouches and leaps into the air by flexing its legs. Take-off is followed by ten or more very rapid wing beats which enable the male to reach a height of 1.50 to 2.00 metres vertically above the take-off spot, the height being determined by the surrounding vegetation. During the ascent, the head is arched back, neck feathers fluffed, and the auricular plumes are partly thrown forward. On reaching the peak of the ascent, the male drops back to the ground with its wings held partly closed and kept away from the body, and the legs are paddled a few times for balance. The bird crouches on landing, and then gradually raises itself up until fully erect, scanning the grassland around before performing the next display leap. All display leaps are performed into the wind, and on a few occasions when a male displayed at an angle to the wind, it was invariably pushed off balance. Each display jump lasts on an average one second. During peak breeding season, a male may spend 70-80% of the day in performing aerial display and related activities. The period between display leaps is spend in foraging, walking or standing and looking around. The display jump is accompanied by a loud rattling or clapping auditory signal. This sound lasts about 0.5 seconds. This auditory signal of the display leap is made by the beating of wings and not by vocalisation or clicking of the tongue. To produce this sound, the wings of the male Lesser Florican have specialised pointed primaries which are not present in the female. In the case of the accompanying video, the sound is that of the shutter of the camera of the fellow-cameraman standing nearby. [Information sourced from PETRONIA - A Centenary Dedication to Dr. Salim Ali. A BNHS-Oxford Publication.] Name : Lesser Florican Scientific Name : Sypheotides indicus Hindi Name : Kharmor IUCN Status : Globally Threatened Place : Sonkhaliya, Nasirabad district State : Rajasthan Date : 13th August 2014
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 12:13:21 +0000