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Birds of the Himalayan foothills

Posted: June 23rd, 2012, 10:56 pm
by jonathan
I’m usually not much of a birder, but being in completely new habitat in the mountains made me want to photograph the beautiful birds I was seeing. I saw pretty songbirds all week, but 90% of these species in these photos were seen in the first 4 hours of a great morning hike I did across a ridge and into a mountain valley. I had to make these IDs very quickly in the short time I had with a local field guide, so I’m unsure on a lot of them and would appreciate help. Here’s what I saw:

Pale Blue Flycatcher (Cyornis unicolor) – one was perched together with several minivets, but I didn’t get a picture of the lovely color combination in time

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Female Long-tailed Minivet (Pericrocotus ethologus) (or some minivet species)

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Black-throated Tit (Aegithalos concinnus)

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Himalayan Woodpecker (Dendrocopos himalayensis)

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Grey-hooded Warbler (Seicercus xanthoschistos)

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Green-backed Tit (Parus monticolus)

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Rufous Sibia (Heterophasia capistrata)

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Some sort of Babbler perhaps?

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Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos)

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Some sort of Drongo? Perhaps Ashy Drongo (Dicrurus leucophaeus)? It was a foggy early morning on the ridge so I didn’t get the best idea of color:

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Striated Laughingthrush (Garrulax striatus)

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Amazing Stag Beetle (2-2.5” long) that was trying to traverse a 500’ long power line

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He’s got a long ways to go….

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Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis)

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Red-billed Blue Magpie (Urocissa erythrorhyncha)

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Rufous-bellied Woodpecker (Dendrocopos hyperythrus)

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Grey-headed Woodpecker (Picus canus)

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Lesser Yellownape (Picus chlorolophus)

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Slaty-headed Parakeet (Psittacula himalayana)

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Great Barbet (Megalaima virens)

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View of the valley. The villagers who farm this valley have to walk anywhere from 3 to 10 kilometers to get to the nearest road.

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Possibly Black Bulbul (Hypsipetes leucocephalus)?

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White-throated Laughingthrush (Garrulax albogularis)

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Himalayan Bulbul (Pycnonotus leucogenys)

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Perhaps Piculet, maybe Speckled Piculet?

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Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher (Culicicapa ceylonensis)

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I hope the birders enjoy this as much as I did. Thanks for taking a look.

Re: Birds of the Himalayan foothills

Posted: June 24th, 2012, 7:10 am
by VICtort
They're all new to me...thank you for posting and sharing this not often reported on part of the world. Some unusual ones to (to my western eyes) here, but some that look somewhat familiar, i.e. the woodpeckers. Have a fun and safe journey, Vic

Re: Birds of the Himalayan foothills

Posted: June 25th, 2012, 2:58 pm
by chrish
Cool series of birds. The Himalayas have some amazing birds and scenery.

A few ID comments....I didn't look them all up, I couldn't find my Indian books and my Nepal bird book is almost 30 years old, but I tried to check a few of your photos that looked wrong to me.

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This looks like a Babbler of some sort..maybe Spiny Babbler?



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This is the Great Barbet (Megalaima virens)



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This isn't a common Mynah. Maybe Black Bulbul (Hypsipetes leucocephalus) based on the bill and apparent light cheek patch?



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This looks like a species of Piculet to me, maybe Speckled Piculet?


Enjoyed the herp post just as much.. Thanks for posting!

Chris

Re: Birds of the Himalayan foothills

Posted: June 27th, 2012, 12:42 am
by jonathan
Thank you much for the props Victor! You must have meant the Himalayan Woodpecker when you mentioned "familiar-looking" birds...those two green woodpecker species were a trip to me. The grey-headed ones seemed to be in groups of several at a time, and the yellownape was just incredible looking.

Thanks much for the props and for the help Chrish. I incorporated your suggestions back into the post.