Lanius vittatus

GHMC Urban Forestry Nursery, HMDA Tellapur Nursery, Ameenpur Lake & many other sites across Telangana & other hotspots like the Bhigwan Bird Sanctuary

Renowned for its extensive natural resources, breathtaking scenery, and rich cultural legacy Telangana is the eleventh largest state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of 112,077 km² of which 21,214 km² is forest cover. The dry deciduous forests ecoregion of the central Deccan Plateau covers much of the state, including Hyderabad. The characteristic vegetation is woodlands of Hardwickia binata and Albizia amara. Over 80% of the original forest cover has been cleared for agriculture, timber harvesting, or cattle grazing, but large blocks of forest can be found in the Nagarjuna Sagar - Srisailam Tiger Reserve and elsewhere. The more humid Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests cover the Eastern Ghats in the eastern part of the state. The Central Deccan forests have an upper canopy at 15–25 meters, and an understory at 10–15 meters, with little undergrowth.

The dry sub-humid zone or Dichanthium-cenchrus-lasitrrus type of grasslands are prevalent here and cover almost the entirety of peninsular India except the Nilgiris. One sees thorny bushes like the Acacia catechu or Khair as it is known in Hindi, Mimosa, Zizyphus (Ber) and sometimes the fleshy Euphorbia, along with low trees of Anogeissus letifolia or Axle Wood, Soymida febrifuga - the Indian Redwood - & other deciduous species. Sehima (grass) which is more prevalent on gravel is about 27% of the cover and Dichanthium (grass) which flourishes on level soil is almost 80% of the coverage.

One initiative the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (erstwhile HUDA) has is the Urban Forestry Wing created in the year 1986 with the objective of bringing open spaces under greenery by raising different types of plantation models like block plantation, avenue plantation, tree parks, colony parks and gardens in order to improve the overall environment of Hyderabad for better quality life. Its prime objectives are Greening the HMDA area to reduce air, noise and water pollution, conversion of unproductive lands into greenery to provide gainful employment, increase the availability of fire wood and fodder to local villagers and income generation for the women groups through Nursery raising activity.

The HMDA has also developed a number of parks of which most are theme parks, play parks, colony parks, lake parks and walkway gardens. Through these measures the HMDA is protecting and improving the urban environment to provide better living facilities in the Hyderabad Metropolitan Area. Small open areas are developed into landscape residential parks while medium sized areas are developed into play parks to facilitate youth and children to play. The larger areas are developed into theme parks. Solar LED lighting was introduced in some parks like the Sanjeevaiah Park on the occasion of Earth Day - 22-04-2010. About 17 LED light poles were installed to mark a beginning towards the commitment of BPP/HMDA for reduction of usage of conventional electricity, which is generated mostly by burning fossil fuels. More solar LED lighting projects are being taken up with each passing year. The Hyderabad eco art project, another unique project was also launched on the same Earth Day - 22-04-2010, wherein sculptures from the waste iron scrap are made by the renowned artist Mr. Manohar Chiluvuri and installed at various locations. These are live examples of recycling waste scrap into fascinating art forms.

This beautiful urban forest is where I photographed the Bay-backed Shrike among other locations across the state. This is also the fourth shrike I have photographed - the other three being the Long-tailed Shrike, the Isabelline Shrike/ Daurian Shrike & the Grey-backed Shrike.

GHMC Urban Forestry Nursery, Tellapur

Tellapur is a satellite town of Hyderabad in the Ramachandrapuram mandal of the Sangareddy district in the Indian state of Telangana. The town is one of the fastest-growing locales in Hyderabad Metropolitan Region owing to its close proximity to IT hub and Outer Ring Road. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (erstwhile HUDA) has some excellent initiatives like the Urban Forestry Wing created in the year 1986 with the objective of bringing open spaces under greenery by raising different types of plantation models like block plantation, avenue plantation, tree parks, colony parks and gardens in order to improve the overall environment of Hyderabad for better quality life. Its prime objectives are Greening the HMDA area to reduce air, noise and water pollution, conversion of unproductive lands into greenery to provide gainful employment, increase the availability of fire wood and fodder to local villagers and income generation for the women groups through Nursery raising activity.

Through this initiative they have created numerous green spaces and nurseries in and around the twin cities which have helped to protect and improve the urban environment to provide better living facilities in the Hyderabad Metropolitan Area. This link lists out some that have already been developed and have helped to improve the condition of the locality. Hyderabad was the only city in India recognised as a “2020 Tree City of the World” in 2021 & “2021 Tree City of the World” again in 2022 by United Nation’s (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Arbor Day Foundation. The city has also won the “World Green City Award 2022” awarded by AIPH (The International Association of Horticultural Producers).

In recent years, urban forestry has gained significant attention worldwide due to its numerous benefits, ranging from improving air quality to enhancing the overall well-being of city dwellers. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has taken a commendable initiative by establishing urban forestry nurseries to promote green spaces within the city. By incorporating innovative practices, GHMC is setting an example for other cities to follow, emphasising the significance of urban forestry in creating greener, healthier, and more vibrant urban environments.

Ananthagiri Forest Range

Another location I have often seen the Bay-backed Shrike are the forests of the Ananthagiri Hills. The Ananthagiri Hills are located in the Vikarabad district of Telangana. It is one of two major reserve forest blocks of the Vikarabad Forest Range the other one being the Damagundam Forest Reserve and each of these forest blocks is spread over a 10 square kilometre area. While the limits of Damagundam begin from Manneguda, a small town about 60 kms from Hyderabad, Ananthagiri block begins where the limits of Vikarabad end near the railway tracks. The Ananthagiri hills and their dense forests host many wild species like the Nilgai, Sambhar, Black Buck, Chital, Chowsingha, Chinkara, Wild Goats and many more. The streams from these hills flows into Osman Sagar, also known as the Gandipet lake, and Himayath Sagar. It is one of the denser forests in Telangana and is the birthplace (about 5 kilometers from the town of Vikarabad) of the Musi river, also known as the Muchkunda River, which flows through the capital city, Hyderabad. The Musi River after originating in these Ananthagiri Hills, about 90 kilometers to the west of Hyderabad and flowing due east for almost all of its course joins the Krishna River at Wadapally in the Nalgonda district after covering a total distance of about 240 km. Also in these forests is the Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy Temple, a Hindu temple dedicated to the Lord Vishnu.

According to the Skanda Purana it is believed this temple was installed by Rishi Markandeya in the Dvapara Yuga. Attracted by the peaceful atmosphere of the Ananthagiri Hills Rishi Markandeya came here for yoga sadhana. It is believed that the Rishi, on the strength of his spiritual powers, would visit Kasi daily for a bath in the sacred Ganges through a cave. One day he was not able to visit Kasi because the Dwadasi was in the early hours of the morning. Because of this miss the Lord Vishnu appeared, gave Darshan, in a dream and arranged for the Ganges to flow so the Rishi could take his bath daily without having to travel.

About 400 years back the Nizams of Hyderabad used these forests as their hunting grounds. It is said that the lord Vishnu in the form of Sri Anantha Padmanabha Swamy appeared in a dream and asked the then Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, to build a temple for him. About 20 kilometers from the temple lies the Nagasamudram Lake or Kotipally Reservoir, a masonry dam.

It is one of the earliest habitat areas with ancient caves, medieval fort structures and temples that illustrate the antiquity of this area.

I love these forests as they are home to innumerable bird species, some of which I have photographed and many more which I am yet to photograph. I only hope some of the so called “bird and nature lovers” who come here to photograph and achieve social media fame adhere to ethical birding practices and refrain from using calls, especially owl calls, and bait. Over the years I have seen the behaviour of the wildlife change in these forests. Birds like the Jungle Nightjar were easily visible without having to venture deep into the dense brush but now the overload of visitors has pushed these birds deep into the undergrowth. I think, in a way, it is good for the birds because it requires time and patience to slowly approach them which the modern Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts bird lover/ photographer and nature enthusiast lacks.

Read about the other lovely species I have photographed in the Ananthagiri Forests.

Bay-backed Shrike

The Bay-backed Shrike (Lanius vittatus) is a member of the bird family Laniidae, the shrikes, resident in South Asia. It is smallish shrike at 17 cm, brightly-coloured and reminiscent of the Long-tailed Shrike in overall coloration. The crown and nape are grey, with a typical shrike black bandit mask through the eye. There is a small white wing patch, and the bill and legs are dark grey. The black mask, rufous flanks and back, a clean white throat, and small size make it distinctive within its range. It prefers open areas, often in dry regions, with scattered vegetation often perching up on exposed snags, fenceposts, or telephone lines. The song is a messy jumble of musical warbles, harsh churrs, and sharp twanging notes. Calls include a harsh “jhiir.” The sexes are similar, but young birds are washed-out versions of the adults.

The Bay-backed Shrike has a characteristic upright "shrike" attitude perched on a bush, from which it sallies after lizards, large insects, small birds and rodents. These prey may be impaled upon a sharp point, such as a thorn and thus secured they can be ripped with the strong hooked bill, but its feet are not suited for tearing.

It is a widespread resident breeder in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal and India, and has recently been recorded from Sri Lanka. It nests in bushes in scrubby areas and cultivation, laying 3-5 eggs.

The Bay-backed Shrike is separated geographically from the Burmese Shrike (Lanius collurioides by the mighty Brahmaputra and resembles the Long-tailed Shrike (Lanius schach) in vocalisations. Races intergrade in E Pakistan (NW Punjab and Sind). Two subspecies are recognised.

• Lanius vittatus vittatus - Distributed in S and E Pakistan, Kashmir, India (except N and NE) and S Nepal.

• Lanius vittatus nargianus - SE Turkmenistan, E Iran (Hormuzgan, Sistan and Baluchistan, probably also Khorasan), Afghanistan and Pakistan (Baluchistan E to Sind and Punjab); breeding recently recorded in Oman (Musandam) and United Arab Emirates.

The Bay-backed Shrike prefers a variety of open, dry bushy areas with scattered trees, also cultivated areas and edge of more wooded areas. The Preferred habitat is intermediate between dry semi-desert (favoured by local race lahtora of the Great Grey Shrike (L. excubitor)) and more wooded, watered areas (favoured by the Long-tailed (L. schach)). In the North & West of their range they are found in semi-desert and dry rocky areas with bushes and some trees, in pistachio (Pistacia) woods, in cultivated areas in plains, valleys, foothills and slopes; in Iran in dry riverbeds, plains and slopes with acacia (Acacia), Prosopis and Ziziphus trees. in Turkmenistan almost entirely at 600–800 m in hilly, south-facing pistachio woodland with Pistacia vera. Southern populations breed in diverse habitats, from e.g. open scrub and thorny tree jungle to grazing land and cultivated areas around villages, gardens, parks and, especially in Indus Valley, in tree plantations along canal banks; avoids desert landscape of Thar. Non-breeding habitat is similar, with preference for scrub with agricultural cropland (rather than solely scrub or cropland). They occur from sea-level to 2000 m, but in Nepal they’ve been observed at 2600 m, 2810 m and 3965 m and as a vagrant in Bhutan at 3760 m.

The Bay-backed is both resident and migratory. Race nargianus is mainly migratory, but little information about populations in extreme west of range. In Iran it appears to be absent in Jan, when none were found during surveys since year 2000 in the south & southeast. In S Turkmenistan it leaves breeding areas Aug–Sept, migrating to India, returning at the end of April. In Pakistan, birds from higher elevations in Baluchistan leave their breeding grounds in Oct, returning end of March. The nominate race is mostly resident, but with some marked seasonal movements, particularly in northern parts. They are a rare non-breeding visitor to the United Arab Emirates (Sept–Apr) where there is a confirmed breeding record in 2010. A vagrant to Saudi Arabia (Apr), Oman (Apr, May, Oct), Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

They almost exclusively feed on insects, mainly beetles (Coleoptera) and Orthoptera, also Lepidoptera, Neuroptera, flies (Diptera) and Hymenoptera. Lizards and occasionally mice (Muridae) and nestling birds have also been observed as prey. In Turkmenistan 90% of items brought to nestlings were Orthoptera. Seen either solitary or in pairs, they are conspicuous and relatively tame. They exhibit typical shrike hunting behaviour: watching from exposed perches, preferably a bush or an electric wire, usually 2–2·5 m above ground, diving down to catch food on ground within radius of 10 m. Stores prey in caches.

The Bay-backed Shrike is not globally threatened. They are generally common in India and Pakistan; sparse information from Iran but at least locally common, e..g. in Genu Protected Area and near Chabahar; local in Turkmenistan, where known from Badchyzskij and Kushka areas; very local in Afghanistan but little information, recorded Lashkar Gah, Kandahar, Punjab and Kabul. Densities range from 25–30 pairs/km² in N India to 12–14 pairs/km² in S Turkmenistan. Although present in many protected areas, core habitat consists of cultivated areas, which are not protected.

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