Data Zone
Country/territory: India
IBA criteria met: A1, A4i (2004)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 440 hectares (4.40 km2)
| IBA conservation status | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2003 | not assessed | very high | not assessed |
| For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here | |||
Site description (2004 baseline)
Nelapattu, named after village of the same name in Doravani Sathram Mandal of Nellore district, was notified as a bird sanctuary in 1976. The Sanctuary is divided into the following components: Kallur Reserve Forest Area (288.14 ha), Nelapattu Tank Area (82.56 ha) and Unreserved Forest Area (88.22 ha). The Sanctuary supports the largest pelicanry of Spot-billed or Grey Pelican Pelecanus philippensis in India. It is also a breeding site for the White or Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus, Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans, Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax, and Little Cormorant Phalacrocorax niger. It is a haven for a broad spectrum of bird species for both breeding and roosting. About 12 km from Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary lies village Vedurupattu, where hundreds of Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala breed (Philip et al. 1998). Both these sites can be considered as one IBA. The Sanctuary has Swamp Forests in the tank portion and Southern Dry Evergreen Scrub Forests in the Reserve and Unreserved Forest. The dominant species are Manilkara hexandra, Maba buxifolia and Buchanania angustifolia in the Reserve and Unreserved forests, and Barringtonia acutangula in the tank area.
Key biodiversity
AVIFAUNA: About 187 bird species are known to occur in the Sanctuary, of which 50 are migratory (Sharma and Raghavaiah 2002). The Grey or Spot-billed Pelican, White Ibis, Asian Openbill, Little Cormorant, Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia and the Blackcrowned Night Heron are some of the major breeders. Other waterfowl species include Dabchick Tachybaptus ruficollis, Northern Pintail Anas acuta, Common Teal A. crecca, Northern Shoveler A. clypeata, Garganey A. querquedula, Gadwall A. strepera, Coot Fulica atra, Grey Heron Ardea cinerea, Darter Anhinga melanogaster, Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus and various egrets, terns and other waders. Nelapattu is one of the most important pelicanries in India, but the number of breeding pairs has decreased, judging from 1,500 nests during its heyday to 300-350 nests in 1980-81, and only 100 pairs in 1990 (Santharam 1993). V. Kannan of the BNHS counted 265 nests in 2002-2003, but according to the Forest Department, between 350 and 500 nests were present, and over 750 chicks hatched in the 2002-2003 season (N. Shiva Kumar in litt. 2003). Besides the Spot-billed Pelican, other species also breed in Nelapattu tank. In 1997, Philip et al. (1998) found 951 adults and chicks of Asian Openbill, 121 of White Ibis, 3445 of Little Cormorant, 182 of Black-crowned Night Heron, 337 of Little Egret, 152 of Cattle Egret and 76 of Little Grebe. In the village Vedurupattu, about 12 km from Nelapattu, Philip et al. (1998) reported more than 1300 Painted Stork adults and chicks. The birds nest right in the middle of the village on large trees and the villagers even raise the fallen chicks till they are able to fly. But according to Manakadan and Kannan (2003), breeding was not noticed during 2002 and 2003.
OTHER KEY FAUNA: There are no large mammals in the sanctuary. However, Golden Jackal Canis aureus, Black-naped Hare Lepus nigricollis, Monitor Lizard Varanus bengalensis, Tortoise and some species of snakes exist in the Sanctuary.
Acknowledgements
Key contributors: V. Kannan and V. Santharam.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Nelapattu Bird Sanctuary (India). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/nelapattu-bird-sanctuary-iba-india on 27/12/2024.