Birds of Lahore

 [Above: Blue Rock Pigeon and Common House sparrow (Male) (Scientific Names:Columba livia and Passer domesticus]

SUSTAINERS

OF CITY'S BIODIVERSITY

by Uzma Saeed

 Lahore the city of gardens is heart of Pakistan. The city has seen the heydays of the Mughals, Sikhs and the British; all left their footprints on the history and cultural mosaic of the city. Resultantly Lahore is a treasure-trove of monuments, historical relics and remains that these nations  left in this historic metropolis of Punjab

According to a survey done in the year 2006 the population of this city is counted as 10 million inhabitants thus in terms of population it ranks as the second largest city of Pakistan and 15th largest in South Asia.

Though an ancient city; over the years Lahore has considerably expanded. However, along these modern additions, the ancient monuments, old gardens, trees, graveyards and traditional bungalows having attached gardens, large expanses of lawn and old roadside trees some of them can still be seen, are gradually disappearing. These green areas and old endemic trees of Lahore are home to many resident bird species as well as many summer, winter and transit migrants. Thus Lahore is a hub of a variety of bird species.

In urban Lahore, there are areas which can truly be classified as places of breeding, nesting and roosting for several bird species. The grounds of different habitats such as Lahore Zoo and the Lawrence Garden, Mayo and Jinnah Gardens, GOR, Jallo Park, Kinnaird College, Aitchison College and many others are home to various bird species.

(Black Drongo (Scientific Name:Dicrurus macrocercus)

Ornithologists of prceding times documented the number of bird species in Lahore. According to one study conducted in 1965 there were 240 bird species in Lahore. In another study (1992) only 101 bird species from the parks of Lahore were recorded. However, with an increase in the rate of urbanization, the ecology of Lahore has been considerably affected and population of birds in Lahore has reduced to just 85 including the resident and migratory ones. The resident species of Lahore are Grey Hornbill, Yellow-footed Green Pigeon, Parakeet, Bulbuls, Doves, Spotted Owlet, Babblers, Flycatchers, Mynas, Woodpeckers, Crows, Kites, Ashy Prynia, Red Start, Warblers, Red Wattled Lapwing, Kingfishers, and the Oriental White Eye.


Three types of migratory birds are regular visitors of Punjab’s provincial metropolis. These are winter visitors, summer visitors and transit migrants. The winter visitors come in September and stay till May. They come from northern latitude and higher altitudes e.g.Yellow Browed Warbler, Common Starling, White Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail and Large pied Wagtail come here in search of food. Wagtails eat small insects, spiders, mollusks and soft seeds from moist soil. They roost in tall typha and reed growth on the banks of ponds and lakes.


Summer visitors arrive in summer from southern parts of the country. These include Koel, Purple Sunbird, Golden Oriole and Cuckoo species. They also come here in search of food and for breeding. They stay in urban Lahore from March till September.


Passage migrants stop in Lahore for short period of time and go to their breeding areas further south. Rosy Pastor is a Palaearctic breeding species which is found in Lahore during transit migration in spring and autumn. It stays here from April to September. They are useful since they feed on locusts, but also eat fruits, berries and other insects..

[Right: Pied Bushchat Scientific Name:Saxicola caprata]

Jungle Myna, Roufous Tailed Finch Lark and Indian Plaintive Cuckoo are the three new families of guest birds in Lahore. The breeding of the Roufous Tailed Finch Lark was observed in the Jallo Recreational Park whereas the Jungle Mynas were first time seen in urban Lahore on trees and the lawns of Kinnaird College in 2004. The recorded presence of Jungle Mynas has otherwise been observed from Murree eastwards into India. The Roufous Tailed Finch Lark is found as an erratic monsoon visitor to Northern Punjab whereas the Indian Plaintive Cuckoo is reported from Margalla Hills of Islamabad.

Blossom Headed Parakeet is a winter visitor to Lahore and the vicinity. This Parakeet was observed in Mayo Gardens in July 2004 which indicates that there might be a possibility of dispersal from their breeding areas to Lahore and vicinity. Their presence in the summer season is unusual.

All these bird species have certain habits and habitat preferences at their dwelling places which are called the ecological linkages. Trees are the backbone of an ecosystem playing important role in cleaning the environment and recharging ground water, hence offer an abode for many bird species. Trees like Pipal, Banyan, Mulberry, Jaman, Mango and Shisham provide food, (in spring, spring summer and summer monsoon season respectively) shelter, nesting holes and roosting places to bird species. Banyan trees provide food to many birds like Mynas, Bulbuls, Pigeons, Parakeets, Grey Hornbill and Koel etc. These trees produce fruit for whole year because the fruit ripens systematically one after the other on the apex of their branches.

Common Myna, Golden Oriole, Koel, Bank Myna, Copper Smith Barbet, Golden Backed woodpecker, Pied Woodpecker, Yellow Footed Green Pigeon, Grey Hornbill, Red Vented Bulbul, Oriental White Eye, Rosy Pastor, Spotted  Owlet, and Alexandrine Parakeet are ecologically linked to Hareer, Banyan, Simul, Eucalyptus, Poplar, Pipal, Wild Mulberry, Mango, Shisham trees for feeding figs and insects. These birds also prefer these tall trees for nesting at approximately 10-35 feet. They also use these trees for roosting. Baya, the Weaver birds even prefer to make nest on dates’ tree at 40 feet height.

Myna species, Parakeets, Red Vented Bulbuls, Robins, Oriental white Eye, Jungle Babbler, Koel, Purple Sunbird and Golden Oriole are ecologically linked to the medium height Mango, Mulberry, Jaman, Gullahar, Dhrek, Pilkan, Guava, Peeloo, Kikar, Mesquite, Gul-e-Nashtar, and Alistonia trees for feeding figs and insects.