Natural Research is supporting a study of the globally vulnerable pallid harrier (Circus macrourus) in India. Pallid harriers have shown a drastic population decline during the last decades, both in their breeding and wintering grounds. The conversion of grasslands and barren fields into agricultural fields and plantations has probably resulted in loss of their foraging, breeding and roosting habitats. Agricultural practices, including pesticide use, have also probably contributed indirectly to their decline by affecting their prey base, especially rodents, grasshoppers and small land birds.
Further research into the wintering ecology of this vulnerable species and the identification of migratory routes and links between breeding and wintering populations were highlighted as critical and urgent priorities in the Biodiversity Action Plan for the species. Much of the global wintering grounds for pallid harriers are in India. A pilot study there by A. Verma has reported on the locations of some 
important roost sites in the country, as well as on the variation in numbers and population structure in those roost sites across the winter. Grassland habitats in India are under severe pressure from agricultural encroachment and intensification and there is a critical need to understand their importance for harriers and other wildlife. Moreover, there are few data on the behaviour of foraging pallid harriers, including the preference for, and profitability of, hunting over different habitat-types. Our current project will use VHF (terrestrial) and satellite telemetry to help understand the movements of pallid harriers within and outside the country. Click here to see where the bird we are tracking is going!
In addition, collaboration with ATREE (Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment) is underway for mapping natural grasslands and other harrier habitats across India, using remotely-sensed data. These results will:
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inform the search for the major wintering areas in the field,
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aid interpretation of telemetry data,
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help monitor grassland habitat loss over the country.
Click here to see what we are doing on the pallid harrier's breeding grounds!
We plan to catch more birds in early winter 2008-2009 in order to track possible winter movements across India and identify their breeding grounds.
Principal investigators and collaborators: Dr Mike Madders, Natural Research Ltd, UK; Dr Bea Arroyo, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, Ciudad Real, Spain; Dr Ashok Verma, Postdoctoral researcher, Natural Research Ltd / Wildlife Institute of India, India; Dr T. Ganesh, ATREE Bangalore, India; Chaitanya Krishna, MsC, ATREE Bangalore, India; Thomas Cornulier, Mammal Research Institute, Bialowieza, Poland.
For further information, please contact Dr Mike Madders: mike.madders@natural-research.org or Dr Bea Arroyo: Beatriz.Arroyo@uclm.es
Photos: Copyright T. Cornulier
