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Flora And Fauna
Flora
The xerophytic type of flora dominates in the district. The district is inadequately wooded and some parts are practically bare of trees. Tree species found are khairi, jand, pahari kikar, kikar, dhok, babool, rohera, janti or reru, jai or van, beri, barh, pipal, lasura, imli, barna, shisham, siris, neem, farash, henna, papri, gular, indokh, tut, gulmohar, simbal or samul, kandu, bakain, safeda, arind and dhak. Kikar or pahari kikar is found all over the district. Farash is common in Rewari tahsil. Jand and jai are the dominant species of the sandy areas.
Shrubs found in the district are pala, hins, Puthkanda, bansa, panwar, karia, khip, Aak, phog and Nagphani. Amarbel is a common parasite climber. One of the most characteristic shrubs is pala, a prickly shrub, which covers the fields thickly during September and October. It is very useful shrub; its leaves are used as fodder; its fruits are eaten; its throny bushes are used for hedges or as fuel and its roots for dyeing leather. Nagphani forms thick hedge round many villages in tahsil.
Medicinal plants found in the district and indirain, asgandha, glo, kharnthi, bhakra and dhatura. However, their collection becomes uneconomical as these are found in scattered form.
The important grasses found in the district are anjan, dhaman, dub, kana, dabh palwa and chirya. The palatable grasses like anjan, dhaman and dub have dwindled due to excessive grazing in village common land.
Jand, neem bakain, khairi, mesquite or pahari kikkar, henna and eucalyptus have been palnted to increase the forest wealth.
BOTANICAN NAMES (FLORA)
Trees
|
Khairi |
Acacia senegal Willd |
|
Jand |
Prosopis cineraria (L.) (Druce) |
|
Dhok |
Anogeissus latifolius (Roxb.) Wall. Ex Bedd |
|
Babool |
Acacia jaoguemontil Benth |
|
Rohera |
Tacomella undulata (Sm.) Seem |
|
Janti or Reru |
Acacia leucophloea Willd |
|
Jal or Van |
Salvedora oleoides. Decne |
|
Beri |
Ziziphus mauritiana (Lamk) |
|
Barh |
Ficus bengalensis (L.) |
|
Pipal |
Ficus religiosa (L.) |
|
Lasura |
Cordia dichotoma. (Forst) |
|
Imli |
Tamarindus indica.L. |
|
Barna |
Crateva nurvala Buch.-Ham. |
|
Shisham |
Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. |
|
Siris |
Albizia Lebbeck (L.) Benth |
|
Neem |
Azadirachta indica Juss. Syn.-Melia azadirachta L. |
|
Farash |
Tamarix aphylla (L.) Karst |
|
Henna |
Acacia tortilis. L. |
|
Papri |
Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre |
|
Gular |
Ficus racemosa L. |
|
Indolkh |
Anogeissus Coronate Staff |
|
Tut |
Morus alba L. |
|
Gulmohar |
Delonix regia (Boj.) Raf. |
|
Simbal or Samul |
Bombax ceiba L. |
|
Kandu |
Diospyros melanoxylon Roxb. |
|
Bakain |
Melis azedaraeh L. |
|
Safeda |
Eucalyptus |
|
Arind |
Recinus communies |
|
Dhak |
Butea monosperama (Lamk.) Taub. |
|
Kikar |
Acacia nilotica (L.) Willd. Ex. Del. Subsp. Indica (Benth) Brenan syn. |
|
Pahari Kikar |
;Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC. |
Shrubs
|
Pala |
Zizyphus numnularia |
|
Hins |
Capparis sepiara L. Carissa spinarum L. |
|
Puthkanda |
Achyranthes aspera L. |
|
Bansa |
Adhatoda vasiea Nees. |
|
Panwar |
i. Cassia tora L. ii. Cassia occidentalis L. |
|
Karir |
Capparis decidua (Forsk.) Edgew |
|
Khip |
Leptadenia pyrotechnica (Forsk.) Decme. Decne. Syn. L. Spartium Wight |
|
Ak |
Calotropis procera (Ait). Ait. f. |
|
Phog |
Calligonum polygonoides L. |
|
Nagphani |
Cactus indicus |
Medicinal Plants
|
Indirain |
Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad |
|
Asgandha |
Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal |
|
Glo |
Timospera cordifolia Miera ex. Hook. F. & T, Thoms |
|
Kharnthi |
Sida acuta Burm f. |
|
Bhakra |
Tribulus terrestris L. |
|
Dhatura |
Datura stramonium L. |
Grasses
|
Anjan |
Cenchrus ciliaris L. |
|
Dhaman |
Cenchrus setigerus Vahl |
|
Dub |
Cynodon dactylon (I.) Pers. |
|
Kana |
Saccharum bengalense Retz. Syn. Erianthus munja (Jroxb.) Jesw. |
|
Dabh |
Desmostachya bipinnata (L.) Stapf. |
|
Pala |
Dichanthi Annulatum (Forest.) Stapf. |
|
Chirya |
Heteropogon contortus (L.) Beauv |
Fauna
Mammals
The district is inhabited by various groups of mammals. Primates are represented by rhesus macaque or bandar and the langur. The tiger and leopard, once aboundant in the district are no more seen here. The carnivorous animals found in the district are the jungle cat, the small Indian civet, jackal and the Indian fox.
The insectivorous like the grey musk-shrew or chuchunder, common yellow bat and the Tichelli’s bat are usually seen.
The five stripped palm squirrel or gilheri, the Indian porcupine or sahi, the Indian gerbile, the common house rat and mouse are common rodents found.
The Indian hare belonging to the order lagomorpha is also found in the bushes.
Chinkara is seen in the district specially in Bawal tahsil and Nimbi Duloth and Nangal Mala forests in Mahendragarh tahsil. Black buck though in limited number is found near Rewari and Sureti, Dalanwas and Mahendragarh in Mahendragarh tahsil. The blue bull or Nilgai is common all over the district; though it damages the crops yet villagers protect the animal due to religious sentiments.
The species facing extinction in the district are chinkara, black buck, blue bull, stripped hyaena and bheriya.
Birds
Game birds – A large number of game birds are found in the district, some are residential while others are winter visitors. Various types of ducks such as spotbill duck, cotton teal, comb duck, large whistling teal, tree duck and dabchick are found throughout the district at suitable habitats. Ducks and geese such as eastern grey-lag goose, barheaded goose, brahminy duck, common shelduck, pintail, common teall, mallard, gadwali, wigeon, blue winged teal, shoveller, common pochard, ferrugious ducks and tufted duck visit the district during winter.
Other game birds like black partridges (the state bird) and grey partridges and quails are common. Grey quail is a winter visitor while black-breasted or rain quail, jungle bush quail, whistler or rock bush quail are resident species. Western turtle dove, Indian spotted dove, Senegal dove and Indian emerald dove are generally found in all cultivated fields.
Sandgrouses, namely, the Indian sandgrouse and blackbellied are resident birds while large pintail sandgrouse and spotted sandgrouse visit the district in winter. Their flocks, large and small, regularly visit favourable waterholes.
The district is also inhabited by large number of other birds which add beauty to the wildlife. Birds like large cormorant, little cormorant, darter or snake bird, eastern grey heron and paddy bird are found on the ponds and lakes of the district throughout the year. Other birds like eastern large egrets, median egret, little egret and little bittern affect inland water marshes, jheels, etc. Cattle egret can be seen moving alongwith grazing cattle.
Among cranes, eastern common crane and Demoiselle crane are found near stream beds and fields of winter crops. Indian sarus crane is a resident bird and breeds during rains.
A good number of painted stork, open bill stork, whitenecked stork, blacknecked stork, white ibis, Indian blackibis are found near the streams, jheels, marshes, inundated lands and cultivated fields. It is common during rains.
During winter eastern Baillon’s crake and spotted crake can be seen on the edges of ponds and lakes feeding on aquatic plants. Indian blue-breasted banded rail, slatylegged banded crake, northern ruddy crake, whitebreasted waterhen, watercock, Indian moorhen, Indian purple moorhen are resident birds and can be seen on ponds, inundated paddy fields, etc. Coot, is a resident as well as winter visitor and affects jheels and tanks.
Different types of waders are also found. Waders like dusky redshank, eastern redshank, marsh sandpiper, green shank, green sandpiper, wood or spotted sandpiper, common sandpiper, pintail snipe, fantail snipe and temminck’s stint visit suitable marshy areas and the edges of ponds during winter. Pheasant tailed jacana, painted snipe and Indian blackwinged stilt are resident birds and affects jheels, marshes, tanks and ponds. Indian river tern and blackbellied tern are found in the stream beds throughout the year. Indina whistered tern is a winter visitor.
Among the kingfishers, the most common are the Indian pied kingfisher, Indian small blue kingfisher and whitebreassted kingfisher. These birds can be seen hurling themselves into water to catch fish. These are residential birds.
The common peafowl, the national bird, is quite common and is seen in orchards, fields and gardens.
The other common birds are large Indian parakeet, rose-ringed parakeet, Indian house crow, Indian house sparrow, blue-checked bee-eater, goldenbacked woodpecker, blue jay, coppersmith, Indian golden oriole, pied crested cuckoo, koel, common crow pheasant, redvented bulbul, white-eared bulbul, verditer flycatcher, Indian magpie robin, Indian purple sunbird, red munia, Indian spotted munia and crested bunting. Besides, such attractive birds as hoopoe and Indian white-eye are also seen in and around villages.
Birds of Economic Importance – Scavengers like pariah kite, brahminy kite, whitebacked vulture, tawny eagle, white-eyed buzzard eagle and Indian jungle crow keep the district cleared of dead animals by feeding on them. The Indian scavenger vulture, besides feeding on dead animals, consumes a large quantity of human excreta. Predators like blackwinged kite, Indian shikara, lagger falcon and kestrel are residential birds of the district. Other birds like pale harrier, marsh harrier, eastern steppe eagle visit the district in winter. These along with spotted owlet and eagle owl keep a check on the population of rodent pests and various insect pests by consuming them.
Majority of the birds feed on insects and caterpillars injurious to agriculture. Swifts such as Indian house swift, Indian palm swift and swallows like western swallow and Indian wiretailed swallow consume insects as their staple diet. Shrikes or butcher birds as they are popularly known, feed upon a considerable quantity of insects. Other insect eating birds are king crow, Brahminy myna, Indian pied myna, Indian myna, bank myna, babblers, warblers and flycatchers. Larks and wagtails feed on a considerable amount of worms in addition to insects. Rosy paster and common starling both winter visitors may specially be mentioned for their role in destroying numberous insects including locusts on a large scale and thus help in saving crops to some extent.
Reptiles
Snakes – The common poisonous snakes are krait, cobra, Russel’s viper and phoorsa. The non-poisonous snakes are blind snake, Indian python, John’s sand boa, wolf snake and rat snake.
Lizards – All the lizards found in the district are non-poisonous. The common lizard can be seen in the houses. Kirla or girgit is found in the lawns and hedges and attact the attention by changing its colours. Sanda is found in sandy areas. Besides, a few other types of lizards are found in bushes and areas of thick vegetation.
Tortoise – Two species of tortoise are found in the district.
Frogs – The frogs commonly found, during the rains and in the ponds are Indian bull frog, Indian cricket frog, Indian burrowing frog and common toad.
Fish
The streams and ponds abound in many species of fish. These are parri, katla, mrigal, bata, kalabans, rohu, puthia or kudali, or pitula, magur, singhara, ghally, mallee, dolla and curd.
Zoological Names (Fauna)
Mammals
|
Rhesus macaque or bandar |
Macaca mulatta (Zimmermann) |
|
Common langur |
Presbytis entellus (Duffresne) |
|
Tiger |
Panthera tigris 9Linnaeus) |
|
Leopard |
Panthera pardus (Linnaeus) |
|
Jungle cat |
Felis chaus Guldenstaedt |
|
Small Indian civet |
Viverricula indica (Desmarest) |
|
Common mongoose |
Herpestes edwardsi (Geoffroy) |
|
Jackal |
Canis aurius Linnaeus |
|
Indian fox |
Vulpes benghalensis (Shaw) |
|
Grey musk-shrew or Chuchunder |
Suncus murinus (Linnaeus) |
|
Common yellow bat |
Scotophilus heathi (Horsfield) |
|
Tickelli’s bat |
Hesperoptenus ticklli (Blyth) |
|
Five stripped palm squirrel or gilheri. |
Funambulus pennanti (Wrought on) |
|
Indian porcupine or sahi |
Hystrix indica (Kerr) |
|
Indian gerbille |
Tatera indica (Hardwicke) |
|
Common house rat |
Rattus rattus (Linnaeus) |
|
Mouse |
Mus musculus (Linnaeus) |
|
Indian hare |
Lepus nigricollis (Cuvier) |
|
Chinkara |
Gazella gazella (Pallas) |
|
Blackbuck |
Antelope cervicapra (Linnaeus) |
|
Bluebull or nilgai |
Boselaphus Tragocamelus (Pallas) |
Birds
|
Spotbill duck |
Anas poecilorhyncha (Forster) |
|
Cotton teal |
Nettapus coromandelianus coromandelia- nus (Gmelin) |
|
Tree duck |
Dendrocygna Javanica (Horsfield) |
|
Dabchick |
Podiceps reficollis capensis (Salvadori) |
|
Eastern greylag goose |
Anser anser rubrirostris (Swindoe) |
|
Barheaded goose |
Anser indicus (Latham) |
|
Braminy duck |
Tadorna ferruginea (Pallas) |
|
Pintail |
Anas ecata |
|
Common teal |
Anas crecca crecca (Linnaeus) |
|
Mallard |
Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus |
|
Gadwall |
Anas strepera strepera Linnaeus |
|
Wigeon |
Anas penelope Linnaeus |
|
Bluewinged teal |
Anas guerguedula Linnaeus |
|
Shoveller |
Anas clypeata Linnaeus |
|
Common pochard |
Anas ferina Linnaeus |
|
Ferruginous duck |
Anas nyroca (Guldenstadt.) |
|
Tufted duck |
Aythye fuligula (Linnaeus) |
|
Black partridge (State bird) |
Francolinus francolinus asiae (Bona-parte) |
|
Grey partridge |
Francolinus pondicerianus interpositus (Hartert) |
|
Grey quail |
Coturnix coturnix coturnix (Linnaeus) |
|
Blackbreasted or rain quail |
Coturnix coromandelica (Gmelin) |
|
Jungle bush quail |
Perdicula asisatica punjaubi (Whistler) |
|
Rock bush quail |
Perdicula argoondah (Sykes) |
|
Western turtle dove |
Streptopelia orientalis meena (Sykes) |
|
Indian spotted dove |
Streptopelia chinensis suratensis (Gemlin) |
|
Senegal dove |
Streptopelia senegalensis cambyensis (Gemlin.) |
|
Indian emerald dove |
Chalcophaps indica indica Linnaeus |
|
Indian sandgrouse |
Pterocles exustus erlangeri (Neumann) |
|
Blackbellied sandgrouse |
Pterocles orientalis orientalis Linnaeus |
|
Pintail sandgrouse |
Pterocles alchata caudacutus (Gmelin) |
|
Spotted sandgrouse |
Pterocles senegallus (Linnaeus) |
|
Large cormorant |
Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis (Shaw) |
|
Little cormorant |
Phalacrocorax nigar (Vieillot) |
|
Dater or snake bird |
Anhinga rufa melanogaster Pennant |
|
Eastern grey heron |
Ardea cinerea rectirostris Gould |
|
Paddy bird |
Ardeola grayii (Sykes) |
|
Eastern large egrets |
Egretta alba modesta (J.E. Grey) |
|
Median egret |
Egretta intermedia intermedia (Wagler) |
|
Little egret |
Egretta garzetta garzetta (Linnaeus) |
|
Little bittern |
Ixobrychus minutus minutus (Linnaeus) |
|
Cattle egret |
Bubulcus ibis coromandus (Boddaert) |
|
Eastern common crane |
Grus grus lilfordi Sharpe |
|
Demoiselle crane |
Anthropoides virgo (Linnaeus) |
|
Indian sarus crane |
Grus antigone antigone (Linnaeus) |
|
Painted stork |
Ibis leucocephalus (Pennant) |
|
Openbill stork |
Ananstomus oscitans (Boddaert) |
|
White ibis |
Threskiornis melanocephala (Latham) |
|
Blacknecked stork |
Xenorhynchus asiaticus asiaticus (Latham) |
|
Indian Black ibis |
Pseudibis papillosa papillosa (Temminck) |
|
Eastern Baillon’s crake |
Porzana pusilla pusilla (Pallas) |
|
Spotted crake |
Porzana Porzana (Linnaeus) |
|
Slatylegged banded crake |
Rallina eurizonoides amauroptera (Jerson) |
|
Norther ruddy crake |
Amauronrnis fuscus bakeri (Hartert) |
|
Whitebreasted waterhen |
Amaurornis phoenicurus chinensis (Boddaert) |
|
Watercock |
Gallicrex cinerea cinerea (Gmelin) |
|
Indian moorhen |
Gallinula chloropus indica Blyth |
|
Coot |
Fulica atra atra Linnaeus |
|
Dusky Redshank |
Iringa erythropus (Pallas) |
|
Eastern Redshank |
Iringa totanus eurthinus (Oberholser) |
|
Marsh sandpiper |
Iringa stagnatilis (Bechstein) |
|
Green Shank |
Iringa Nebularia (Gunnerus) |
|
Green sandpiper |
Iringa ochropus Linnaeus |
|
Wood sandpiper |
Iringa glareola Linnaeus |
|
Common sandpiper |
Irniga hypoleucos Linnaeus |
|
Pintail snipe |
Capella stenura (Bonnaparte) |
|
Fantail snipe |
Capella galinago gallinago (Linnaeus) |
|
Temmincks stint |
Calidris temminchii (Leisler) |
|
Pheasant tailed Jacana |
Hydrophasisanus chiturgus (Scopoli) |
|
Painted snipe |
Rostratula benghalensis benghalensis (Linnaeus) |
|
Indian blackwinged stilt |
Himantopus himantopus himantopus (Linnaeus) |
|
Indian river tern |
Sterna aurantis Grey |
|
Blackbellied tern |
Sterna acuticauda Grey |
|
Indian whistered tern |
Chlidonals hybrida indica (Stepehens) |
|
Indian pied kingfisher |
Ceryla rudis leucomelanura reichenbach |
|
Indian small blue kingfisher |
Alcedo atthis bengalensis Gmelin |
|
Whitebreasted kingfisher |
Haleyon smyrnensis smyrnensis (Linnaeus) |
|
Common peafowl |
Pavo cristatus Linnaeus |
|
Large Indian parakeet |
Psittacula eupatria (Linnaeus) |
|
Rose ringed parakeet |
Psittacula kramari borealis (Neumann) |
|
Indian house crow |
Corvus splendens splendens Viellot |
|
Indian house sparrow |
Passer domesticus indicus Jardive and Selby. |
|
Blue-cheeked bee-eater |
Merops superciliosus (Linnaeus) |
|
Golden backed woodpecker |
Dinopium benghalense benghalense (Linnaeus.) |
|
Blue jay |
Corais benghalensis bengalensis (Linnaeus) |
|
Coppersmith |
Magaltma haemaoephala indica (Latham) |
|
Indian golden oriole |
Oriolus oriolus kundoo Sykes |
|
Pied crested cuckoo |
Clamator iacobinus serratus (Sparrman) |
|
Koel |
Eudynamys scolopacea scolopacea (Linnaeus) |
|
Common crow-pheasant |
Centropus sinensis sinensis (Stephens) |
|
Redvented bulbul |
Pycnonotus cafer (Linnaeus) |
|
White-eared bulbul |
Pycnonotus leucogenys (Grey) |
|
Verditer flycatcher |
Muscicapa thalassina thalassina Swainson |
|
Indian magpie robin |
Copsychus svecicus svecicus (Linnaeus) |
|
Indian purple sunbird |
Nectarania asiatica asiatica (Latham) |
|
Red munia |
Estrilda amandava amandava (Linn.) |
|
Indian spotted munia |
Lonchura punctulata punctulata (Linn.) |
|
Crested bunting |
Melophws lathami (Gray) |
|
Hoopoe |
Upupa epops Linnaeus |
|
Indian White eye |
Zosterops paepebrosa paepebrosa (Temminck) |
|
Pariah kite |
Milvus migrans (Boddaert) |
|
Brahminy kite |
Haliastus indus indus |
|
Whitebacked vulture |
Gyps bengalensis (Gmelin) |
|
Tawny eagle |
Aguila rapa vinahiana Franklin |
|
White eyed buzzard-eagle |
Butastur teera (Franklin) |
|
Indian jungle crow |
Corvus macrorhynchos culminatus Sykes |
|
Indian scavenger vulture |
Neophron percnopterus givginianus (Latham) |
|
Blackwinged kite |
Elanus caeruleus vociferus (Latham) |
|
Indian shikra |
Accipiter badius dussumieri (Temminck) |
|
Lagger falcon |
Falco biarmicus (Temminck) |
|
Kestrel |
Ealco tinnunculus (Linnaeus) |
|
Pale Harrier |
Circus macrourus (Gmelin) |
|
Marsh harrier |
Circus aeruging sus aerugin ous (Linnaeus) |
|
Eastern steppe eagle |
Aguila nipalensis nipalensis (Hodgson) |
|
Spotted owlet |
Athena brama (Temminck) |
|
Eagle owl |
Bubo bubo (Linn.) |
|
Indian house swift |
Spus affinis affinis (J.E. Gray) |
|
Indian palm swift |
Cypsiurus parvus batasiensis (J.E. Grey) |
|
Western swallow |
Hirundo rustica rustica Linnaeus |
|
Indian wiretailed swallow |
Hirundo smithi filifera Stephens |
|
King crow |
Dicrurus adsimilis albirictus (Hodgson) |
|
Brahminy myna |
Sturnus pagodarum (Gmelin) |
|
Indian pied myna |
Sturnus contra contra Linnaeus |
|
Indian myna |
Acridotheres tristis tristis (Linnaeus) |
|
Bank myna |
Acridotheres ginginianus (Latham) |
|
Rosy paster and starling |
Sturnus roseus Linnaeus |
Reptiles
|
Common Indian Krait |
Family : Elapidae Bungarus caeruleus (Schneider) |
|
Indian cobra |
Naja naja (Linn.) Family : Viperidae |
|
Russels viper |
Vipers russelli (Shaw) |
|
Phoorsa |
Echis earinalus (Schneider) Family : Typhopidae |
|
Blind snake |
Typhlops porrectus Sloliczke Family : Boidae |
|
Indian python |
Python molurus (Linn.) |
|
John’s sand boa |
Eryx johni johni (Russell) Family : Colubridae |
|
Wolf snake |
Lycodon striatus (Shaw) |
|
Rat snake |
Plyas mucosus (Linn.) |
|
Common lizards |
i. Hemidactylus brooki (Gray) ii. Hemidactylus flaviviridis (Ruppel) |
|
Kirla or girgit |
Calotes versicolour (Daudin) |
|
Sanda |
Uromastix hardwicki (Gray) |
|
Other types of lizards found in the district |
i. Mabuya macularia (Dum. And Bibr) ii. Ophiomorus tridactylus (Biyth) iii. Vararus monitor (Linn.) |
Amphibians
|
Tortoises found in the district |
i. Geoclemys hamiltoni (Gray) i. Kachuga dhongoka (Gray) Family : Ranidae |
|
Indian bull frog |
Rana tigrina (Daudin) |
|
Indian cricket frog |
Rana Limnocharis neigman |
|
Indian burrowing frog |
Rana breviceps Schneider Family : Bufonidae |
|
Common toad |
Bufo melanostictus Schneider |
Fishes
|
Parri |
Notopterus notoprerus (Pallas) |
|
Katla |
Catla catla (Hamilton) |
|
Mrigal |
Cirrhinus mrigala (Hamilton) |
|
Bata |
Labeo bata (Hamilton) |
|
Kalabans |
Labeo calbasu (hamilton) |
|
Rohu |
Labeo rohita (Hamilton) |
|
Puthia, Kudali or Pitula |
Puntius sarana (Hamilton) saraa |
|
Magur |
Clarias batrachus (Linnaeus) |
|
Singhara |
Aovichihys seenghala (Sykes) |
|
Ghally |
Ompok bimaculatus (Bloch) |
|
Mallee |
Wallago attu (Block & Schneider) |
|
Dolla |
Channa punctatus (Bloch) |
|
Curd |
Channa striatus (Bloth) |
 |
|
