Young highfliers
By Nutan Shukla

THERE are some species of birds which can be fooled into laying much more number of eggs than their normal clutch-size by removing the eggs as they are laid. Bob White Quail is one such bird which can lay up to 130 eggs. This has been proved in some experiments. It has been claimed that this species lays 6 to 27 eggs, which is no doubt a very large number, but on an average basis it is not the layer of the largest clutch. This honour goes to the grey partridge.

Quails, partridges and pheasants are classified in one family Phasianidae, which includes 190 species which are found worldwide. Out of them, pheasants are among the most spectacular birds in the world. All but one of the 48 species found in the world come from Asia. The Golden Pheasant, found in the rainforests of South-East Asia, is so beautiful with its golden and red combination that for a long time naturalists of Europe were not prepared to believe that there can be such a beautiful bird. They dismissed these pheasants as figments of the imagination of Chinese artists.

These birds sometimes resort to ‘dump-nesting’ in which two or more females deposit their eggs in one and the same nest. This habit occasionally results in abandoning of nests because the clutches become so large that they are no longer manageable.

Like megapodes (mound-builders or those birds which build nest-mounds), chicks of Cabot’s tragopan are able to fly soon after hatching. They come out of the eggs in a very advanced stage with a thick coat of coarse, shaggy down and far advanced primaries which enable them to immediately flutter up to perches when threatened. Not only that, they are also in a position to climb on trees. Their growth is so fast that within a day or two these chicks start flying as well as any other young bird does.

Many members of the pheasant family prefer to walk rather than fly. The Mountain Quails of California may travel 60 km or more, walking in a single file. The Snowcocks and Blood Pheasants of the Himalayas also march to their feeding grounds in a single file. Another species of Mountain Quail (partridge) which used to be found in grass and brushwood on steep Himalayan hillsides in the Dehradun-Nainital region is believed to be extinct. It was last reported in 1876.

The British bird Redlegged Partridge is very clever as far as attaining high reproductivity is concerned. Usually, the female bird lays two separate clutches in two different nests at the same time. One of them is incubated by the female herself while the other by her mate. This ingenious strategy not only facilitates the raising of two broods at the same time, but also increases the chances of survival of the chicks. Redlegged Partridge can lay up to 30 eggs. However, normal clutch-sizes of 12-15 are usually recorded. The bird never covers its eggs even if it is leaving the nest, but surprisingly, eggs left for weeks and eventually incubated hatch with the same success as those incubated immediately.

The Grey Partridge male-female pair for life. Both parents share the duty of rearing nestlings. If, unfortunately, the female dies, dedication of the father becomes much more intense and he continues to perform his duties towards the nestlings alone, unlike many other birds who abandon their offsprings in such a situation.

Looking after the young ones single-handedly becomes much more difficult when the bird is known for laying a clutch larger than the average size. There are cases where clutches of 20 eggs have been found. However, the largest was found in Britain in 1974 which contained 25 eggs. However, on an average this bird has a clutch-size of 16-17 to a single hen.

Partridges and quails are gregarious birds, while pheasants remain alone or in family groups outside the breeding season. Most of the birds have loud, raucous calls which help in keeping contacts with the other members as well as warning the other animals of the presence of predators.

In the event of danger these birds take full advantage of their surroundigs, they hide themselves by keeping very still under the cover of bushes or undergrowth, and as the danger approaches nearer they suddenly emerge out of the cover, flying overhead, making harsh calls and loud clapping of wings. This reaction is so sudden that it alarms and confuses the predator.

They spend most of their day scratching the ground to find seeds or insects. Along with the food they also consume small stones which help is grinding the food material inside the stomach. This compensates absence of teeth in the birds’ bills. Their large elastic crop, an extension of the gut, is used to store food.

This feature was published on October 17, 1999