Jerdon's Courser Rhinoptilus bitorquatus Scientific name definitions

c. 27 cm. Crown and hindneck dark brown with whitish crown-stripe; broad white supercilia sometimes meet as V on nape, tinged cream in front of eyes; rest of upperparts and broad breastband pinkish sandy brown; brown breast bordered above and below by narrow dusky band; chin and throat white with broad rufous patch on foreneck; white band across lower breast bordered below by narrow dusky band; rest of underparts mainly white; upperwing-coverts edged white; flight feathers black with white patches at wingtips on outermost 3–4 primaries; underwing-coverts mainly creamy white, with patch of black and rufous at bend of wing; tail black with white base; bill black with yellow base; legs yellowish white. Only courser with white in wingtips; head and neck pattern distinctive. Juvenile plumage undescribed, but suspected to have pale-fringed upperparts and indistinct head and breast markings, as in Afrotropical congeners.

Limited to Pennar and, formerly, Godavari Valleys in S Andhra Pradesh, EC India; also old specimens from SE Maharashtra and NE Andhra Pradesh (1 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2012). Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Volumes 1 and 2. Second edition. National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Michigan State University and Lynx Edicions, Washington, DC, Michigan, MI, and Barcelona, Spain. Close ). Was thought to be extinct until its rediscovery in 1986 around Lankamalai (2 Bushan, B. (1986). Rediscovery of the Jerdon’s Courser Cursorius bitorquatus. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 83(1): 1–14. Close ), and has since been found at few further localities in Lankamalai, Velikonda and Palakonda hill ranges; recently (2009) confirmed sightings in the Cudaapah District (3 BirdLife International (2013). IUCN Red List for birds. URL: http://www.birdlife.org (download Aug 2013). Close ).

Rocky undulating land with sparse, thorny (dominated by Acacia, Zizyphus and Carissa) and non-thorny (especially Cassia, Hardwickia and Anogeissus) scrub-jungle and bushes in foothills, sometimes close to waterbodies (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close , 5 Chavan, R. and Barber, I. (2012). In search of the elusive Jerdon’s Courser: what future for one of the most endangered birds on earth? BirdingASIA. 18: 102–104. Close ). Prefers bare, grassless patches of open ground amidst scrub bushes, in zone between denser forests and areas of human impact, specifically favouring areas where density of large bushes (> 2 m tall) is in the range 300–700/ha and the density of small bushes is < 1000/ha (6 Jeganathan, P., Green, R.E., Bowden, C.G., Norris, K., Pain, D. and Rahmani, A. (2002). Use of tracking strips and automatic cameras for detecting Critically Endangered Jerdon's coursers Rhinoptilus bitorquatus in scrub jungle in Andhra Pradesh, India. Oryx. 36(2): 182–188. Close ). Never in areas of cultivation or near artesian wells. Hides among thorny Carissa bushes, c. 50 cm tall.

Rather rounded wing suggests species is sedentary. However, according to local shikari, seen mainly in hills during rainy season in flocks of 7–8 birds, moving to foothills or rest of year (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ).

Virtually nothing known. Feeds at night, presumably mainly on insects, including termites (5 Chavan, R. and Barber, I. (2012). In search of the elusive Jerdon’s Courser: what future for one of the most endangered birds on earth? BirdingASIA. 18: 102–104. Close ).

Earlier descriptions of vocalizations ascribed to this species are now considered to reflect confusion with Indian Thick-knee (Burhinus indicus). Male apparently vocal for a few minutes around dawn and dusk during the presumed non-breeding season, this song being ‘a short wheedling bout of plaintive, clear ... notes, first note of each couplet staccato and strongly upslurred, second downslurred and less abrupt’, and rendered “tuick Tuuu” (5 Chavan, R. and Barber, I. (2012). In search of the elusive Jerdon’s Courser: what future for one of the most endangered birds on earth? BirdingASIA. 18: 102–104. Close , 1 Rasmussen, P. C., and J. C. Anderton (2012). Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide. Volumes 1 and 2. Second edition. National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Michigan State University and Lynx Edicions, Washington, DC, Michigan, MI, and Barcelona, Spain. Close ).

No authentic information available. Male collected in Jun had enlarged gonads (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ). Supposed clutch of two yellow eggs laid on ground claimed to have been taken in 1895, while local people make similar claims (4 Collar, N. J., A. V. Andreev, S. Chan, M. J. Crosby, S. Subramanya, and J. A. Tobias, Editors (2001). Threatened Birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. Close ).

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED. Endemic to Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh and extreme S Madhya Pradesh, India. Rare, local and elusive, even in 19th century (5 Chavan, R. and Barber, I. (2012). In search of the elusive Jerdon’s Courser: what future for one of the most endangered birds on earth? BirdingASIA. 18: 102–104. Close ). Until very recently, considered Extinct. Rediscovered in Jan 1986 following a year-long survey by Bombay Natural History Society. Two previous surveys in 1930s and 1970s in Eastern Ghats had drawn a blank. Perhaps one of the world’s rarest birds and distinctly in danger of extinction. Until its rediscovery, had not been seen since Jun 1900, and prior to that only in c. 1848 and Mar 1871; three live birds rediscovered at Reddipalli, near Cuddapah, in scrub forests below Lankamalai Hills in valley of R Sagileru, Pennar Valley, S Andhra Pradesh. Recent records now from six sites in vicinity of Lankamalai ranges. Two observed in 2009 in Cudaapah District of Andhra Pradesh were first confirmed sightings for several years BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Rhinoptilus bitorquatus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 26/03/2015. . Known sites harbour at least eight individuals, but unsurveyed habitat may support ‘hundreds’ (5 Chavan, R. and Barber, I. (2012). In search of the elusive Jerdon’s Courser: what future for one of the most endangered birds on earth? BirdingASIA. 18: 102–104. Close ). Its population is provisionally assumed to comprise 50–249 mature individuals. Total area of suitable habitat within known range only 2000 km². Main threat is habitat loss through fuel-wood collection, livestock grazing, quarrying and clearance for agriculture and plantations (7 Jeganathan, P., Rahmani, A.R., Green, R.E., Norris, K., Vogiatzakis, I.N., Bowden, C. and Pain, D. (2008). Quantification of threats and suggested ameliorative measures for the conservation of the critically endangered Jerdon's Courser Rhinoptilus bitorquatus and its habitat. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 105(1): 73–83. Close ) BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Rhinoptilus bitorquatus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 26/03/2015. . Habitat is under grazing pressure and becoming increasingly scarce and fragmented BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Rhinoptilus bitorquatus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 26/03/2015. . Analysis of satellite imagery revealed that 11–15% of scrub habitat had been lost in less than a decade, between 1991 and 2000 (8 Senapathi, D., Vogiatzakis, I.N., Jeganathan, P., Gill, J.A., Green, R.E., Bowden, C.G., Rahmani, A.R., Pain, D. and Norris, K. (2007). Use of remote sensing to measure change in the extent of habitat for the critically endangered Jerdon's Courser Rhinoptilus bitorquatus in India. Ibis. 149(2): 328–337. Close ). Species rediscovered just in time, as planned irrigation scheme encompassing site was then diverted, following conservation pressure. Considerable progress made in protection of habitat: forest near Cuddapah where species rediscovered was designated the Sri Lankamalleswara Wildlife Sanctuary, and local tribespeople were employed to warden sanctuary; another reserve of 500 km² has been designated further S, and yet another of 1300 km² to SE also planned. Some grazing or other habitat management may be necessary to maintain scrub patches. Perhaps still occurs in Godavari Valley, N Andhra Pradesh; conceivably also awaits discovery in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.