Diurnal time budget of breeding Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) in Changthang, Ladakh, India

The time budget studies are an appropriate tool in understanding patterns of habitat utilization, exploitation of resources, and factors that limit survival. All this once understood can be integrated in developing of management strategies. Diurnal time budget of the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) was studied in Ladakh during breeding seasons in 2008, 2009 and 2010. In order to understand the activity patterns during various stages of breeding cycle, the entire breeding period of a particular year was divided into three phases: pre-breeding, breeding and post breeding. Between 2008 and 2010, a total 95 days were spent in the field and Black-necked Cranes were observed for 785 hours. All observations were made during the day time only between dawn and dusk (6:00 to 19:00). During the observation period, 16,314 behavioural events were recorded. Feeding behaviour was most prevalent accounting for 48.5 ± 1.3% (mean ± SE) of the crane's diurnal time budget. It was followed by resting (14.2 ± 1.2%), locomotion (10 ± 0.7%), breeding activities (10 ± 2.6%), maintenance (5.7 ± 0.5%), out of sight (5.4 ± 1.9%), and alert (4.1 ± 0.9%). Black-necked Cranes spent 1.5 ± 0.3% of its time in defense while at least 0.7 ± 0.2% in courtship activities. In the present paper percentage breakdown of overall diurnal activity of the Black-necked Crane have been provided. While studying the activity in various habitats, it was found that Black-necked Cranes spent maximum (43 ± 0.9%) time in marsh meadows as compared to other habitats.