Bull 197 BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM M. S. et al. Bull. Iraq nat. Hist. Mus. (2022) 17 (2): 197-202. https://doi.org/10.26842/binhm.7.2022.17.2.0197 SHORT COMMUNICATION FIRST RECORD OF THE LARGE-BILLED CROW CORVUS MACRORHYNCHOS WAGLER, 1827 PREDEATING ON THE VULNERABLE INDIAN ROOFED TURTLE PANGSHURA TECTA (GRAY, 1831) IN INDIA Arjun M. S.*, Bibhu Prasad Panda*, **♦ and Satyaranjan Behera*** *Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Anaikatty (Post), Coimbatore 641108, Tamil Nadu, India **Environmental Sciences, Department of Chemistry and BBRC, ITER, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan (Deemed to be University), Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India ***Odisha Biodiversity Board, RPRC Campus, Nayapalli, Bhubaneswar-751015, Odisha, India ♦Corresponding author E-mail: bibhuprasadpanda14@gmail.com Received Date: 23 June 2022, Accepted Date: 20 Sept. 2022, Published Date: 20 December 2022 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ABSTRACT The Vulnerable Indian Roofed Turtle Pangshura tecta (Gray, 1831) (Testudines: Geoemydidae) occurs in the Sub-Himalayan lowlands of India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Little is known about its natural history, no studies have been conducted revealing its natural predators. In this study, a group of Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos Wagler, 1827 (Passeriformes: Corvidae) was observed hunting and predating on an Indian Roofed Turtle carcass in the bank of river Kuakhai, Bhubaneswar, India. The first record of this predation behaviour is reported and substantiated by photographic evidence. Keywords: Crow, First record, Natural predator, River, Turtle. INTRODUCTION In Asia, the large-billed crow Corvus macrorhynchos Wagler, 1827 is a widespread species of crow, formerly known as the jungle crow (Avibase, 2018). The distribution of this species is extensive, extending from the northeastern Asian seaboard to Afghanistan and eastern Iran in the west, through South and Southeast Asia to the Lesser Sundas and Cambodia in the southeast (BirdLife International, 2022). This species is known for its wide range of food preferences. It adapts well to a wide variety of food sources and can survive on most kinds of food. The diet of this species is probably influenced by the local habitat of the ecosystem varies from region to region. Among the foods they eat are insects, bird eggs, and chicks, as well as scavenging for dead animals (Kurosawa et al., 2003). Indian roofed turtle Pangshura tecta (Gray, 1831) is member of the Geoemydidae family, including many highly endangered species of Southeast Asia. These herbivorous turtles are BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM Iraq Natural History Research Center & Museum, University of Baghdad https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/Home Copyright © Bulletin of the Iraq Natural History Museum Online ISSN: 2311-9799-Print ISSN: 1017-8678 https://doi.org/10.26842/binhm.7.2022.17.2.0197 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0428-789X https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1087-0080 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1913-225X?lang=en mailto:bibhuprasadpanda14@gmail.com https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://jnhm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/BINHM/Home 198 BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM First record of the Large-billed crow fully aquatic and live in fresh waters with lush vegetation (Van Dijk et al., 2000; Baruah et al., 2016). The reported prey species Indian roofed turtle has been listed as Vulnerable due to excessive levels of exploitation. Over the next three generations (36 years), this species' global population is predicted to decline by over 30% (Vyas, 2001). It is one of the lesser- known Indian turtles. Omnivorous in nature, this species inhabits slow-moving rivers and stagnant water bodies, such as ponds, puddles, tanks, and roadside ditches (Vyas, 2001). Wild populations of the species are declining rapidly due to abiotic and biotic pressures. As a result of anthropogenic interference, the habitat of the species has altered or changed in many regions of its distribution range. Furthermore, it has been noticed quite recently that the species' hatchlings have been rounded up from the wild and sold domestically and internationally as pets (Baruah et al., 2016). Their distribution spans the Indus, Sabarmati, Mahi, Narmada, Ganga, and Mahanadi rivers across India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan (Das, 1985, 2001; Iverson, 1992; Ahmed et al., 2021). In this article, the unusual hunting behaviour of the Large-billed crow on an Indian Roofed Turtle from India was recorded. There is still little information about the natural history of this species, and no specific records describing such predation event are available in the literature. NOTES AND OBSERVATION On 18 th of December, 2020 at 08:10 AM, during an avian survey, a peculiar behaviour of the Large-billed crow predating on the Indian roofed turtle near the eastern bank of the Kuakhai River (20° 13' 33.999"N & 85° 52' 4.6518"E) was recorded (Map 1). This river flows in the north and east of Bhubaneswar city, capital of Odisha state, and east of India. During this two hours of avian survey, two Large-billed crows were observed through Nikon Monarch 7 8X30 binocular. Suddenly those two birds flew into the fringe of the river and started pecking on the head and neck region of the turtle. The turtle was reacting very slowly and moved very less; then the crows started dragging the turtle from the water. This hunting behaviour was observed for five minutes where the crows dragged the turtle out of water and successfully killed it (Pl. 1). This behaviour was clearly observed through binocular from a distance around 200 meters, and the turtle appeared to be alive at the time. It took around five minutes to reach the spot for taking photographs. The turtle was already dead at the time of photography, and those crows began feeding on it starting from its lower abdomen region near hind flippers of ventral side. This whole predation behaviour observation was recorded lasted for 20 minutes. After obtaining the photographic evidence (Pl. 1), the turtle species was confirmedly identified as an Indian roofed turtle. 199 BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM M. S. et al. Map (1): The location in Kuakhai River where the recent observation was made. The Large-billed crow is known as an omnivorous bird and also feed on small turtle hatchlings of Olive ridley Lepidochelys olivacea (Pandav et al., 1998), but predation on the Indian roofed turtle is recorded for the first time. This is the first report of avian predators like crows preying on Indian roofed turtles. This feeding behaviour of Large-billed crow was observed and this species was also recorded as a natural predator of the Indian roofed turtle. 200 BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM First record of the Large-billed crow Despite the unknown status of the Indian Roofed Turtle in the area, the exposure to an opportunistic predator is most likely the cause of the Large-billed crow's predation. Despite being a common bird species, there is a lack of ecological and behavioral researches done on the Large-billed crows. Added to this, the Indian Roofed Turtle is also a less studied reptile's species; therefore, this report will support further ecological research on these two species. Plate (1): Photographic evidence of Large-billed crow Corvus macrorhynchos; (A) Dragging out, (B) Predating on the Indian roofed turtle Pangshura tecta, (C) Dorsal and (D) Ventral part of the turtle. (Photographs taken by Dr. Bibhu Prasad Panda) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors are very much thankful to Ms. Arunima Singh for confirming the identification of the turtle species. The authors are also thankful to the anonymous reviewers for their valuable input in this manuscript. CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT ‘‘The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare’’ LITERATURE CITED Ahmed, M.F., Praschag, P. and Singh, S. 2021. Pangshura tecta. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T46370A3005714. [CrossRef] Avibase. 2018. Species factsheet: Corvus macrorhynchos. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 20/06/2022. Avibase taxonomic concepts v. 08 (Feb 2021): https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T46370A3005714.en http://www.birdlife.org/ 201 BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM M. S. et al. Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos) (version 1), Accessed on 20/06/2022. [Click here] Baruah, C., Devi, P. and Sharma, D. K. 2016. Comparative morphometry and biogeography of the freshwater turtles of genus Pangshura (Testudines: Geoemydidae: Pangshura). International Journal of Pure and Applied Zoology, 4: 107-123. BirdLife International. 2022. Species factsheet: Corvus macrorhynchos. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 20/06/2022. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2022) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 20/06/2022. Das, I. 1985. Indian turtles: A field guide. World Wide Fund for Nature-India, Calcutta, 119pp. Das, I. 1991. Colour guide to the turtles and tortoises of the Indian Subcontinent. R & A Publishing Ltd, Portishead, U.K., 133pp. Iverson, J. B. 1992. A revised checklist with distribution maps of the turtles of the world. Privately published, Richmond, Indiana, 363 pp. Kurosawa, R., Kono, R., Kondo, T. and Kanai, Y. 2003. Diet of jungle crows in an urban landscape. Global Environmental Research-English Edition, 7(2): 193-198. Pandav, B., Choudhury, B. C. and Shanker, K. 1998. The Olive Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) in Orissa: An urgent call for an intensive and integrated conservation programme. Current Science, 75 (12): 1323-1328. [Click here] Van Dijk, P. P., Stuart, B. L. and Rhodin, A. G. J. 2000. Asian turtle trade. Proceedings of a workshop on conservation and trade of freshwater turtles and tortoises in Asia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 1–4 December 1999. Chelonian Research Monographs, 2: 1-164. Vyas, R. 2001. Breeding of the Indian roofed turtle Kachuga tecta in captivity. Zoos'print Journal, 16 (10): 600-603. https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?lang=EN&avibaseid=8891E279D6486CD9&sec=summary http://www.birdlife.org/ http://www.birdlife.org/ http://www.jstor.org/stable/24101018 202 BULLETIN OF THE IRAQ NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM First record of the Large-billed crow Bull. Iraq nat. Hist. Mus. (2022) 17 (2): 197-202. Corvus macrorhynchos Wagler, 1827سجل األول للغراب ذو املنقار الكبير تال Vulnerable Indian Roofed Turtle كمفترس على السلحفاة الهندية Pangshura tecta (Gray, 1831) في الهند *** و ساتيارانجان بهيرا**براساد باندا*، و بهبي*، رجون م. س. آ 641108طيور والتاريخ الطبيعي، أناكاتي )بوست( ، كويمباتور * مركز سليم علي لعلم ال ، تاميل نادو ، الهند. ، بوبانسوار BBRC ،ITER ،Siksha 'O' Anusandhan** العلوم البيئية، قسم الكيمياء و ، أوديشا ، الهند. -الجامعي، نايابالي، بوبانسوار RPRC*** مجلس أوديشا للتنوع البيولوجي، حرم ، أوديشا، الهند.751015 20/12/2022، تأريخ النشر: 20/9/2022، تأريخ القبول: 23/6/2022تأريخ االستالم: الخالصة Indian Roofed Turtle Pangshura tecta (Gray,1831)لسلحفاة الهندية ا (Testudines: Geoemydidae ) في األراض ي املنخفضة في شبه الهيمااليا في الهند و تظهر الطبيعي، ولم يتم ابنغالديش وباكستان. ال ُيعرف سوى القليل عن تاريخه نيبال وال الطبيعية. اإجراء أي دراسات تكشف عن مفترساته ,Corvus macrorhynchos Wagler غراب في هذه الدراسة ، لوحظت مجموعة من 1827 (Passeriformes: Corvidaeوهي تصطاد و ) جثة سلحفاة هندية مسقوفة فترست في ضفة نهر كواخاي، بوبانسوار، الهند. تم اإلبالغ عن السجل األول لسلوك االفتراس إثباته باألدلة الفوتوغرافية. هذا و