Habitat study of Chukar partridge (Alectorus chukar) in district Malakand: A case study of town Thana, Pakistan

Paper Details

Research Paper 01/10/2017
Views (407) Download (25)
current_issue_feature_image
publication_file

Habitat study of Chukar partridge (Alectorus chukar) in district Malakand: A case study of town Thana, Pakistan

Bilal Ahmad, Ghulam Nabi, Muhammad Hayat, Juma Muhammad
J. Bio. Env. Sci.11( 4), 11-17, October 2017.
Certificate: JBES 2017 [Generate Certificate]

Abstract

The present study described the status, habitat, ecology and causes of decreasing population of Chukar partridge (Alectoris Chukar) in town Thana of district Malakand. Primary data was collected through a questionnaire survey and visits to the study areas in the morning and late afternoon along with the three helpers to study its habitat and their different activities in the study areas. Secondary data was collected from the literature. The areas such as Dabber Tangy (Chrhat), Obukhwarh and Top dara were selected as a sampling points for data collection. Many flocks were observed during the study in which the average numbers in each flock were about 10-12. The majority of the respondents 22(55%) replied that Chukar is present in abundance at Top dara, especially in rocky and shrubby vegetation 24(60%).  Similarly, 28(70%) respondent agreed its population decline due to habitat destruction and 20(60%) answered that Jackal is its main ecological predator. Majority of the respondents 23(57.5%) replied that there is illegal hunting of Chukar and 34(85%) were in favor of controlling illegal hunting and trapping of Chukar while 40(100%) replied that hunting can be legalized through legal license and permits. Chukar mostly feeds on wild seed and grain. There is an urgent need to conserve Chukar by improving their habitat in the study area, avoid illegal hunting and facilitate the wildlife department for monitoring of the area, give incentives to the community of the area and regulate hunting.

VIEWS 49

Ali S, Ripley SD. 2001. Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan, 2nd ed.   Volume 2.Oxford University Press: New Delhi.

Baker ECS. 1922. The game birds of India, Burma and Ceylon, part 31. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 28(2), 306–312.

Biddulph J. 1881. The birds of Gilgit. Stray Feathers 9(5–6), 301–366.

Calnek BW, Barnes HJ, Beard CW, Reid WM, Yoder Jr HW. 1991. Diseases of Poultry. 9thed. In: Mycoplasmosis (pp: 196-200). Iowa, Iowa State University Press: Ames, USA.

Cetin O, Kirikci K. 2000. Alternatif Kanatlı Yetistiriciligi, Sülün-Keklik, Konya.

Christensen GC. 1954. The Chukar partridge in Nevada. Nevada Fish and Game Commission. Report Biological Bulletin 1, 329-341.

Christensen GC. 1970. The Chukar Partridge. Biological Bulletin No. 4. Nevada Department of Wildlife.

Christensen GC. 1996. Chukar (Alectorus Chukar). In The Birds of North America, No. 258 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and the American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D C: USA.

Cole FR, Loope LL, Medeiros AC, Raikes JA, Wood CS. 1995. Conservation implications of introduced game birds in high elevation Hawaiian shrubland. Conservation Biology 9, 306-313.

Duarte J, Vargas JM. 2004. Field inbreeding of released farm-reared Red-legged Partridges (Alectorisrufa) with wild ones. Game and Wildlife Science 21, 55–61.

Finn, Frank. 1915. Indian Sporting Birds. Francis Edwards, London. 236–237 P.

Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 2008. Unpublished Office Records on Wildlife Legislation and Management. Kyber Paktun Khawan Wildlife Department, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar.

Johnsgard PA. 1973. Grouse and Quails of North America. University of Nebraska: Lincoln. pp. 489–501.

Lateef M, Rauf U, Sajid MA. 2006. Outbreak of respiratory syndrome in Chukar Partridge (Alectorus Chukar) . Journal of Animal and Plant Science 16(1–2), 31-33.

Lindbloom AJ. 1998. Habitat use, reproduction, movements, and survival of Chukar partridge in west-central Idaho. Thesis. University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA.

Lindbloom AJ, Reese KP, Zager P. 2003. Nesting and brood-rearing characteristics of Chukars in West central Idaho. Western North American Naturalist, 63(4), 429-39.

Oates EW. 1898. A manual of the Game birds of India. Part 1. Combridge A J: Bombay. 179–183 P.

Petrak ML. 1982. Diseases of Cage and Aviary Birds. 2nd Ed. Philadelphia, Lea & Febiger: USA.

Rasmussen PC, Anderton JC. 2005. Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Volume 2. Smithsonian Institution & Lynx: p. 120.

Roberts TJ. 1991. The birds of Pakistan. In 2 Volumes. Regional Studies and Non-passeriformes. Oxford University Press.

Robbins GE. 1998. Partridges & francolins, their conservation, breeding and management. World Pheasant Association.

Rosskopf WJW, Richard W. 1996. Diseases of Cage and Aviary Birds. (No. Sirsi) i9780683073829).

Ticehurst CB. 1927. The Birds of British Baluchistan. Part 3. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society 32(1), 64–97.

Turan N. 1990. Türkiye’nin Av ve Yaban   Hayvanlarý: Kuslar, Orman Gen. Müd. Egitim Dairesi Baskanlýgý Yayýnlarý, Ankara.

Williams GR. 1950. Chukar in New Zealand. New Zealand Science Review. Wllington NZ: New Zealand.

Whistler H, Kinnear NB 1949. Popular Handbook of Indian Birds, ed 4.Gurney and Jackson: London. 428–430.

Woodard A, Vohra P, Denton V. 1993. Commercial and ornamental game bird breeder’s handbook. Hancock House Publishers, Blaine: WA 98231, USA