Pheasants
The reason most people come. All four are here; only one is easy.
Koklass Pheasant
Pucrasia macrolopha
KOKPH
Resident · heard more than seen
Kalij Pheasant
Lophura leucomelanos
KALPHResident · forest road at dusk
Himalayan Monal
Lophophorus impejanus
HIMO1Higher ground · a bonus, not a target
Raptors and vultures
Late morning, once the thermals build over the ridge.
Steppe Eagle
Aquila nipalensis
STEAWinter and passage · from November
Himalayan Griffon
Gyps himalayensis
HIGRResident · over the ridges
Mountain Hawk-Eagle
Nisaetus nipalensis
MHEAResident · scarce
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Accipiter nisus
EUSPWinter · through the pines
Owls
Afternoon and dusk, and most of them will answer a whistle.
Asian Barred Owlet
Glaucidium cuculoides
ABOW
Resident · calls in daylight
Collared Owlet
Glaucidium brodiei
COOWResident · the four-note whistle
Mountain Scops Owl
Otus spilocephalus
MSOWResident · after dark
Brown Wood Owl
Strix leptogrammica
BWOWResident · scarce, Binsar
Woodpeckers and barbets
On the lichened pines beside every track.
Brown-fronted Woodpecker
Dendrocopos auriceps
BFWO
Resident · common
Himalayan Woodpecker
Dendrocopos himalayensis
HIWOResident · higher pines
Greater Yellownape
Chrysophlegma flavinucha
GRYEResident · oak forest
Great Barbet
Psilopogon virens
GRBAResident · loud, all day
Streams and water
The Chaubatia stream and the gullies below the Binsar ridge.
Oak-forest flocks
What a mixed flock is made of. Ten minutes of everything, then nothing for an hour.
Himalayan Black-lored Tit
Machlolophus xanthogenys
HBLT
Resident · common in scrub
Rufous Sibia
Heterophasia capistrata
RUSI2Resident · everywhere
White-tailed Nuthatch
Sitta himalayensis
WTNUResident · on the trunks
Black-headed Jay
Garrulus lanceolatus
BHJAResident · noisy
Eurasian Jay
Garrulus glandarius
EUJAResident · localised, Binsar
Black-throated Sunbird
Aethopyga saturata
BTSUResident · flowering trees
Rock Bunting
Emberiza cia
ROBU
Resident · open ground
Mountain Bulbul
Ixos mcclellandii
MOBU
Resident · broadleaf and oak forest
Slaty-headed Parakeet
Psittacula himalayana
SHPA
Resident · flocks, afternoons
Blue Whistling Thrush
Myophonus caeruleus
BWTHResident · loud at dawn
Long-tailed Broadbill
Psarisomus dalhousiae
LTBRSummer · lower forest
Maroon Oriole
Oriolus traillii
MAORResident · oak canopy
Looking for something that is not on this list?
Send me the name. I will tell you honestly whether it is findable from here, in which month, and whether it is worth building a morning around.
