Human activity is increasingly tipping the ecological balance against birds, turning them to pests, suggests recently-published observations by a group of researchers.
Researchers from Prof. Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University observed unusual feeding of four species of birds on sorghum and sunflower when testing acoustic equipment to keep birds away.
“Unusual instance of Red-breasted Parakeet in Hyderabad feeding on sorghum was observed. Similarly, unusual instances of Great Tits, Indian Peafowl and Large Grey Babbler were observed to feed on sunflower heads,” said researchers in an article published in the journal of Entomology, Ornithology and Herpetology .
They explained it was unusual because these four species are not on the list of 18 species, considered depredatory, known to feed on sorghum or sunflower.
“These birds feeding on sunflower and sorghum indicate that their natural sources of food are not easily available. Parakeets, for instance, are fruit-eaters. Without fruit trees around, they are bound to turn to crop,” said V. Vasudeva Rao, who heads a project on vertebrate pest management at the agricultural university.
Dr. Rao and his team made the observations between 2013 and 2015 at five locations, including three in Hyderabad.
“Birds like Peafowls and Babblers prefer sunflower seeds as a major diet and food source expansion. This is mainly due to unsustainable levels of exploitation, non-availability of preferred food, habitat destruction and less predatory pressure, increasing new depredatory bird population and diminishing dependency on alternative food resources,” the researchers concluded.
As part of the project, the pest management team developed acoustic equipment that produces sound in frequency ranges that is disturbing to the birds and drives them away from the crop.
The group is also working on non-fatal techniques to keep pests like wild boars away.
