Satish Kumar Sharma

Food habits of Indian giant flying squirrel (Petaurista philippensis Elliot) in tropical deciduous forest, Rajasthan, India

Abstract. The feeding habits of Indian giant flying squirrels (Petaurista philippensis Elliot 1839) were studied in the Sitamata Wildlife Sanctuary, Rajasthan, India, from March 2009 to February 2010. Feeding by flying squirrels was arboreal and consisted entirely of plant materials. Based on 5,071 feeding records, 20 plant species belonging to 13 families were used. Madhuca longifolia was the most eaten species (31.85% of annual diet) followed by Terminalia bellirica (17.11 %), Terminalia tomentosa (9.52%) and Diospyros melanoxylon (8.09%). The most consumed food part was the pith (78.06%) with other plant parts (twigs, leaves, bark, flowers, buds, fruits and seeds) comprising 21.94% of the annual diet. Early night was found to be the most active time for feeding, and feeding reduced until 0530 hrs.

Nesting of Dusky Crag Martin Ptyonoprogne concolor Sykes on electric bulbs at Phulwari and Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuaries, Rajasthan

Similarly on 18 June 2002, at the Range Office Bokhada, one of three ranges of Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, I again noticed a pair of Dusky Crag Martins nesting on a fused electric bulb, present on a vertical wall in the verandah of the office (Fig. 1). The cup-shaped nest of mud was attached in the same manner as seen at Mamer, nearly 100km away, south of Bokhada. The bulb was present very close to the ceiling.