Befriendly Behaviour of Rufous Treepie at Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan

During field excursion to Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan with thirty students of KBBN College, we came across, in the morning safari, an amazing flock of Rufous Treepies, Dendrocitta vagabunda (Latham, 1790), competing for space on the heads and hands of visitors to eat biscuits crumbs at the entry gate of RTR (Figs 1-2). We were surprised by watching such a befriendly behaviour of this wild bird species whom we see in West Bengal always fly away from human beings. On inquiry from staffs and visitors it was revealed that this has become a familiar sight to them, though other birds like, Red Vented Bulbul, Lapwing, Robin, Yellow Footed Green Pigeon and Jungle babbler at the same spot keep a safe distance.