India - A trip to see the Western Tragopan and many other pheasants in the Great Himalayan National Park
Written By: John Gregory and Jane Whitaker with lots of help from the team at Sunshine Adventures
A trip to see the Western Tragopan - one of the most enigmatic and rarest birds in the world. We couldn’t have done it without Ankit Sood and the team from Sunshine Adventures. The Great Himalayan National Park is a wilderness area – only one person is living there and access to the park is limited. It’s a fairly hard trip – especially if the weather is bad as it was for us. But if you have reasonable fitness levels you will enjoy it. You have to camp – easy when someone else puts your tent up and carries it for you ¬- and the food on our trip was fantastic! We can recommend the whole experience.
Very few birders visit this area and Ankit is the only agent we know taking people into the park. His team are well worth supporting – Ankit is Professor of Sustainable Tourism at Kullu University. His trips support the local community, all the food for our trek was bought locally. He creates additional work for the local men. Our main helpers in finding the Tragopan, Dhaniram and Sesram, are both farmers. Dhaniram used to be a trapper.
This is a list of what we saw in a few days but it’s a great place to explore. Ankit and team are finding new things all the time and are happy to work alongside experienced birders to learn more.
Please get in touch with me if you area interested in going john.gregory100@virgin.net
Contact Ankit Sood at sunhimalya@gmail.com or info@sunshineadventure.com. The website address is www.sunshineadventures.com
With thanks to:
Sesram (Guide and Team Lead)
Dhaniram (Bird Guide)
Partap
Dola Ram (Muscle Man)
Roshan (Cook)
Tara Chand
Panki Sood ( Ankit’s brother and chilled out lover of the mountains!)
Our itinerary
3rd May 2010
Arrived Delhi and stayed at the Radisson Hotel near the airport. Wouldn’t normally stay here but had accumulated some Radisson points through work! Delhi was being redeveloped for the Commonwealth Games. It was a hot, dusty building site. This hotel was a haven of calm and very handy for the airport. Service great - check out their on line offers!
4th May
Early morning flight from Delhi to Bhuntar, Kullu with Kingfisher Air. Met by Ankit.
Transferred via a breakfast and Crested Kingfisher stop to Sairopa in the Tirthan Valley. At park HQ we had lunch, met the team and rearranged our luggage - we travelled with expedition bags which were apparently impossible for porters to carry (unlike Nepal) so everything had to be transferred to rucksacks.
Left at around 2 pm - Ankit took us to the road head beyond Goshaini from where we walked around 4 km to the Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) entrance and then a further three km to Rolla – our base for the night.
5th May
After a fitful nights sleep in our two man tent we were up at 5 am just to miss the Woodcock roding overhead. Bed tea at 5.30 am followed by porridge, omelette, toast, bread and jam. We set off at 7 for Khorli Poi. The climb was steep but not overly so for a couple of 50 year olds and we arrived in the meadow at Khorli Poi at 11.30. Gorgeous place – our tent pitched in a flower filled clearing in the forest. A mid-afternoon downpour gave us a chance to catch up on some sleep!
The rain cleared briefly at 4.40 and the team quickly knocked up some noodles. At 5.40 we departed - in ponchos - with the aim of trying to locate calling Tragopans as they went to roost. A ridiculous plan given the torrential downpour we soon found ourselves in.
Our guides – Sesram and Dhaniram – took us off the main path where we did quite a bit of scrambling around before calling it a day and returning for pasta, kidney beans, okra, potatoes, banana fritters and hot chocolate sat over a roaring campfire.
At 9 pm it was still raining and quite cold.
6th May
We were woken up at 3.30 am with tea and biscuits but it was raining so decided to stay in our sleeping bags. At 5.10 we were just going back to sleep but aware that the rain was easing when Sesram came to the tent and said “Tragopan – he calling sir”.
We made a hurried fifteen minute climb to the top of the ridge. We could hear the Tragopan calling but as we got to the top of the climb, all calling stopped – we were deflated when Dhaniram said “speaking stopped sir”. It was 7 a.m. and getting late.
Then a Tragopan called briefly nearby. We crept closer, I played the tape and out it came – a superb male WESTERN TRAGOPAN!!!! Elation for me quickly turned to disappointment as I looked round to see Jane and Dhaniram looking down the ridge in the wrong direction. As I made a gesture to attract their attention the bird spotted me and hurried away.
We returned to camp for breakfast washed down by a local speciality, rhododentron squash. Made from the flowers of the plant this squash is made and sold locally by women in the Tirthan Valley.
It rained on and off for most of the day - our tent was covered with slugs. We counted 50! Spent the time chatting to Punky and finding out more about the Park and the habits of the Tragopan.
Back out at 5.30 pm. Again heard one Tragopan briefly and played the tape but no joy. We did however get fantastic views of three RED GIANT FLYING SQUIRRELS.
7th May
Rain until 4.30 am when were woken up with bed tea. Unbelievable numbers of slugs around the Khorli Poi hut – we could hear them slurping their way across the tent.
On top of the ridge by 4.45 and close to a calling Tragopan – it was overcast so we knew he wouldn’t call for long. We hid behind trees with Sesram and Dhaniram. Suddenly Dhaniram took his shoes off and tried to approach the bird. We rapidly followed but the bird stopped calling and disappeared.
We walked along the ridge and at 7 a.m. heard another Tragopan calling nearby. We positioned ourselves behind trees, play the tape and waited. Dhaniram was again desperate to stalk the bird but we told him to stay put. Suddenly Dhaniram went into apoplexy – he could see the bird but I was on the wrong side of the tree and Jane was too high up to get the same view! Our count was two birds seen but none by Jane – back to camp and a rather tense atmosphere especially when Sesram tells us that he went for a stroll and bumped into a superb male….
The skies looked threatening and we decided to break camp and head back to Rolla.
At 10 am we started the steep descent seeing 4 Ghorals, 2 Golden Eagles and hearing another Tragopan on the way. It rained torrentially from 11.30 until 4.30 – everything and us absolutely soaked but a roaring campfire and masala tea soon raised spirits.
8th May
We walked from Rolla to Goshaini and took advantage of a hot sunny day to enjoy a great day’s birding with Punky, Sesram and Dhaniram. We talked to Sesram and Daniram about their old habits as hunters and trappers and their approach versus our approach to seeing birds in the forest.
Highlight of the day is a superb male FIRE-CAPPED TIT just below ‘Porcupine Farm’. We named the farm – the only people to live in the park are an elderly couple who farm between the entrance and Rolla and when we passed by they were making brushwood fences to protect their crops from a particularly persistent porcupine.
The team learned to ‘pish’ and had great fun pulling birds out with this technique. We were met by Ankit at Sairopa with news of a possible Cheer pheasant site nearby.
We stayed overnight at Park HQ – and feasted on locally farmed trout.
9th May
A lazy morning in the sun for us both. Left Sairopa at 1 pm and took the road back towards Goshaini for about 4 km. We stopped at an altitude of 1800m and then made a steep climb for just over two hours to NADHAR village – located on very steep grassland at 2500m. My tent was pitched in a field of ‘interesting herbs’!. Birds on the climb up included many Upland Pipits, Sibe Stonechat and a few Black Francolin heard.
Spent from 6-7.30 pm in ‘Cheer valley’ along with a goat herder, 70 goats and a dog – consequently not a sniff of Cheer! We returned to the village where a kind family cooked us dahl, aloo mutta and chapati. Two really friendly dogs lived with the family but just before heading out to my tent Sesram told me that there used to be three – a leopard had come into the village the previous week and taken one! Didn’t sleep a lot there.
This was a tough extension to the trip. It took Sesram and I two hours to reach the village – the daughter of the farmer we stayed with goes to school in Goshaini. It takes her half an hour to walk down to school and just 45 minutes to come home. Jane stayed at Park HQ and enjoyed exploring the valley.
10th May
We were up at 4 a.m. for a 4.30 a.m. start. Arrived in ‘Cheer valley’ climbing to around 2800m. Sesram and I walked up the right hand side of the valley and sat quietly waiting for it to get light. Immediately we heard Cheer calling on the rocky slopes on the left hand side of the valley. As it got light the calling stopped. We waited for an hour but heard only sporadic calling. We estimated at least four calling birds on both sides of the valley.
Despite extensive scanning we couldn’t locate the birds so started climbing the steep slopes on the left side of the valley. We had been walking for about 10 minutes and were climbing steeply when a pair of Cheer flew from just above us and landed 100m away on the other side of the valley. We watched these superb birds for 20 minutes as they moved up the opposite slope – an experience which at least equalled the Tragopan.
We then climbed up to 3200m – the slopes are precipitous so be careful – encountering 2 Monals and a Chukar en route before dropping steeply to Nadhar village. We had a breakfast of radish stuffed paratha and local cow’s butter before descending to the road. Met by Ankit and Jane and then back to Sairopa for a leisurely lunch.
We then set off to Solang – via Manali. We stayed at the Iceland Hotel in Solang which, despite not being finished, was friendly and hospitable. Solang was a rather odd place – a mountain sports resort out of season!
11th May
After a late, leisurely breakfast we did some birding around Solang and then headed up to Dhundi. Despite some huge construction work and lots of summer camp students trekking up the valley we had some great birds in the area. In the afternoon we climbed into high birch forest and scrub just below Beas Kund but despite hearing lots of birds most stayed invisible.
This is probably the best site to see WHITE NAPED TIT. We failed - in hindsight we should have gone to the higher habitat much earlier. Back to the hotel for a celebratory beer and a last hot chocolate rum or two!
12th May
This was our last day in Himachal Pradesh. Up at 6.30 and drove to Ankit’s house in Kullu where we enjoyed great hospitality from his mother and his wife. Special cakes had been baked for us – they were delicious and much appreciated. Sadly it was a hurried visit as we had a long drive ahead of us to Chandigarh to catch the Kalka Shatabdi train – leaving at 6.20 pm and arriving into Delhi at 10.30 pm.
Our planning went adrift here as we had vague plans to visit Shimla and then decided not to, too late in the date for flights back to Delhi to be available. It cost us 5000 rupees for a car to Chandigarh.
Over 16 hours of travelling that day and then we had to face the hassles of Delhi’s taxi scrum!
Species Lists
We have repeated the whole list of the GHNP below for interest and have made comments associated with the species recorded by ourselves. Any species not numbered were not on the GHNP list and were recorded outside the park boundary.
1. Snow partridge Lerwa lerwa
2. Himalayan snowcock Tetraogallus himalayensis
3. Chukar Alectoris chukar
Commonly heard calling around Nadhar village and 1 seen on high ridge above the village.
4. Black francolin Francolinus francolinus
Heard on the lower slopes below Nadhar - 1 glimpsed.
5. Hill partridge Arborophila torqueola
6. Western tragopan Tragopan melanocephalus
Heard at dawn and dusk but calling short and intermittent due to rain and overcast skies. Our initial strategy was to try to locate roosting birds in the evening and visit prior to dawn the following morning. Due to poor weather we only heard a brief call on one night so changed our approach to walking up to the ridge pre dawn (up at 3.45 to be on ridge at 4.30)and listening for birds calling from roost – we only managed this on one morning and got close to a calling bird before dawn. Unfortunately one of our guides tried to get a little too close and the bird stopped calling.
The birds seemed to be tape responsive until around 7.30 a.m. – we did hear contact calls throughout the morning but the birds showed no interest in our recordings. Two of our sightings were made by getting close to a calling bird, hiding behind a tree and playing the tape. One bird came in immediately (30 second sighting) the other took around 15 minutes (5 seconds). The final sighting was by Sesram (our team lead) who managed to stalk a calling bird and get a brief view of it running away. One interesting point is that despite lots of time spent in the forest both on and off the trails we never once flushed a Tragopan. In our time at Khorli Poi we flushed many Monals and up to 10 Koklass. The Tragopans seem to make themselves scarce by scuttling quietly away. This behaviour was confirmed in discussion with Ankit, Punky, Sesram and Dhaniram.
7. Koklass pheasant Pucrasia macrolopha
Up to 10 birds flushed over 3 days at Khorli Poi. Most of these were on the first day showing that this species became very wary of our presence after arrival.
8. Himalayan monal Lophophorus impejanus
Up to 30 seen and heard around Khorli Poi - from just above the landslide at Rolla up to the high ridge above Khorli Poi. The birds make a lot of noise when flushed. 2 were seen on the ridge at Nadhar village.
9. Kalij pheasant Lophura leucomelanos
10. Cheer pheasant Catreus wallichii
A pair gave eye-watering and prolonged views in ‘Cheer Valley’ above Nadhar village.
11. Common peafowl Pavo cristatus
12. Speckled piculet Picumnus innominatus
A pair seen copulating just above Goshaini.
13. Brown-fronted woodpecker Dendrocopos auriceps
Two between the village and the National Park entrance.
14. Himalayan woodpecker Dendrocopos himalayensis
Two Khorli Poi.
15. Scaly-bellied woodpecker Picus squamatus
16. Grey-headed woodpecker Picus canus
17. Great barbet Megalaima virens
Commonly seen/heard on the walk to Khorli Poi. A couple around Nadhar village.
18. Eurasian hoopoe Upupa epops
19. White-throated kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis
20. Crested kingfisher Megaceryle lugubris
A pair on the Kullu river just south of Bhuntar airport at the cafe stop.
21. Pied cuckoo Oxylophus jacobinus
22. Large hawk-cuckoo Cuculus sparverioides
One heard on climb up to Khorli Poi.
23. Indian cuckoo Cuculus micropterus
One heard below ‘Cheer valley’
24. Common cuckoo Cuculus canorus
Two or three heard at Khorli Poi and a few in and around ‘Cheer valley’.
25. Oriental cuckoo Cuculus saturates
26. Rose-ringed parakeet Psittacula krameri
27. Slaty-headed parakeet Psittacula himalayana
Common between Goshaini and Rolla and at Sairopa.
28. Plum-headed parakeet Psittacula cyanocephala
29. Himalayan swiftlet Collocalia brevirostris
Common
30. White-throated needletail Hirundapus caudacutus
31. Fork-tailed swift Apus pacificus
32. Mountain scops-owl Otus spilocephalus
One heard calling at Dhundi.
33. Rock eagle-owl Bubo bengalensis
34. Tawny owl Strix aluco
35. Collared owlet Glaucidium brodiei
Heard around Khorli Poi.
36. Brown wood owl Strix leptogrammica
37. Short-eared owl Asio flammeus
Asian barred owlet Glaucidium cucloides
One being mobbed by bulbuls at the fish farm near the start of the trail up to Nadhar village
38 Grey nightjar Caprimulgus indicus
One or two birds heard in the evening around Khorli Poi.
39. Rock pigeon Columba livia
40. Snow pigeon Columba leuconota
35 around Dhundi.
41. Speckled wood-pigeon Columba hodgsonii
Regular flyovers in the Tirthan valley and up to Khorli Poi. Only two seen perched. Also one heard calling high above ‘Cheer valley’.
42. Wedge-tailed green-pigeon Treron sphenura
Two birds in a fruit tree just below the Park entrance.
43. Oriental turtle-dove Streptopelia orientalis
A few scattered observations at all sites including one on a nest above Nadhar village.
44. Eurasian collared-dove Streptopelia decaocto
45. Eurasian woodcock Scolopax rusticola
Heard roding at Rolla and Khorli Poi. Two birds flushed from the path on way up to Khorli Poi.
46. Solitary snipe Gallinago solitaria
47. Lammergeier Gypaetus barabtus
Two birds circling with a juvenile Golden Eagle, two Kestrels and a Buzzard above ‘Porcupine Farm’. Two birds over Nadhar village.
48. Himalayan griffon Gyps himalayensis
Many birds seen ‘thermalling’ above the Tirthan valley and over ‘Cheer valley’.
49. Griffon vulture Gyps fulvus
50. Northern harrier Circus cyaneus
51. Eurasian sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus
Two in the Tirthan valley.
52. Northern goshawk Accipiter gentillis
One flew over Khorli Poi.
53. Common buzzard Buteo buteo
Steppe Buzzard (Himalayan Buzzrd – Buteo burmanicus per Rasmussen et al). One above ‘Porcupine Farm’.
54. Black eagle Ictinaetus malayensis
55. Golden eagle Aquilla chrysaetos
A pair with two young seen flying over high crags to east of Khorli Poi. One juvenile above ‘Porcupine Farm’ and another juvenile above Nadhar village .
56. Booted eagle Hieraaetus pennatus
One over Nadhar village.
57. Eurasian hobby Falco subbuteo
58. Common kestrel Falco tinnunculus
Two above ‘Porcupine Farm’ and two in ‘Cheer valley’.
59. Eurasian jay Garrulus glandarius
One between the village and the park entrance.
60. Black-throated jay Garrulus lanceolatus
61. Yellow-billed blue-magpie Urocissa flavirostris
Up to 10 seen between Sairopa and Rolla and one on the nest just above the village. One at 3200m in Cheer valley’.
62. Red-billed blue-magpie Urocissa erythrorhyncha
63. Grey treepie Dendrocitta formosae
One Sairopa and a pair below the park entrance.
64. Spotted nutcracker Nucifraga caryocatactes
Three seen and commonly heard around the Park entrance.
65. Red-billed chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax
66. Yellow-billed chough Pyrrhocorax graculus
67. Large-billed crow Corvus macrorhynchos
Common
68. Common raven Corvus corax
69. Eurasian golden-oriole Oriolus oriolus
70. Black-hooded oriole Oriolus xanthornus
71. Long-tailed minivet Pericrocotus ethologus
Scattered records on the Tragopan trek. One at Dhundi.
Grey backed shrike Lanius tephronotus
One male Dhundi
72. Yellow-bellied fantail Rhipidura hypoxantha
Two at a nest on the ridge along the goat herders path below Beas Kund.
73. White-throated fantail Rhipidura albicollis
One above Goshaini.
74. Black drongo Dicrurus macrocercus
A few on the Tragopan trek.
75. Ashy drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus
One pair at Rolla and one pair at Sairopa.
76. Asian paradise-flycatcher Terpsiphone paradisi
Two just above Goshaini and a beautiful ‘white male’ at a coffee stop en route to Solang.
77. Brown dipper Cinclus pallasii
Common along the Tirthan river and at Dhundi. Many family parties seen.
78. Chestnut-bellied rock thrush Monticola rufiventris
79. Blue rock-thrush Monticola solitarius
Blue-headed rock-thrush Monticola cinclorhynchus
1 at Nadhar village and 1 in ‘Cheer Valley’
80. Blue-whistling thrush Myiophonus caeruleus
Seen commonly at all sites.
81. Plain-backed thrush Zoothera mollissima
82. Scaly thrush Zoothera dauma
83. Long-billed thrush Zoothera monticola
84. White-collared blackbird Turdus albocinctus
Six birds between Rolla and Khorli Poi.
85. Grey-winged blackbird Turdus boulboul
86. Eurasian blackbird Turdus merula
Tickell’s thrush Turdus unicolor
One female at Dhundi
87. Chestnut thrush Turdus rubrocanus
88. Mistle thrush Turdus viscivorus
89. White-browed shortwing Brachypteryx Montana
A few heard on the Tragopan trek and a female seen between the village and the Park entrance.
90. Dark-sided flycatcher Muscicapa sibirica
Two in song between the village and the Park entrance.
91. Asian brown flycatcher Muscicapa daurica
92. Rusty-tailed flycatcher Muscicapa ruficauda
One just below the Park entrance and one at Dhundi.
93. Rufous-gorgeted flycatcher Ficedula strophiata
Regularly seen and heard between Rolla and the ridge above Khorli Poi.
94. Little-pied flycatcher Ficedula westermanni
One at ‘Porcupine Farm’
95. Ultramarine flycatcher Ficedula supercilliaris
Up to 15 of this enigmatic flycatcher seen and more heard – listen for a greenfinch trill – from Goshaini to just above Rolla. One male at Sairopa and one female at Dhundi.
Indian Blue Robin Luscini brunnea
One male Solang. One female Dhundi
96. Slaty-blue flycatcher Ficedula tricolour
97. Verditer flycatcher Eumyias thalassina
A few in the lower reaches of the Tirthan valley and a pair at Nadhar village.
98. Rufous-bellied niltava Niltava sundara
Two between the village and the Park entrance.
99. Small niltava Niltava macgrigoriae
100. Blue-throated flycatcher Cyornis rubeculoides
101. Grey-headed canary-flycatcher Culicicapa ceylonensis
Common between Goshaini and Rolla and a couple in ‘Cheer valley’.
102. White-tailed rubythroat Luscinia pectoralis
103. Orange-flanked bush-robin Tarsiger cyanurus
A few seen from Rolla to the ridge above Khorli Poi. At least four at Dhundi.
104. Golden bush-robin Tarsiger chrysaeus
105. Blue-capped redstart Phoenicurus caeruleocephalus
106 Black redstart Phoenicurus ochruros
107. Blue-fronted redstart Phoenicurus frontalis
Five between Dhundi and Beas Kund – all females.
108. White-capped water-redstart Chaimarrornis leucocephalus
Common in the Tirthan valley and at Dhundi.
109. Plumbeous water-redstart Rhyacornis fulginosus
Common in the Tirthan v alley and at Dhundi.
110. Grandala Grandala coelicolor
111. Little forktail Enicurus scouleri
One on the Tirthan river at ‘Porcupine Farm’.
112. Spotted forktail Enicurus maculatus
113. Siberian stonechat Saxicola torquata
A few on the climb up to Nadhar village
114. Grey bushchat Saxicola ferrea
115. Common myna Acridotheres tristis
Recorded in the Tirthan valley and at Solang.
116. Jungle myna Acridotheres fuscus
117. White-tailed nuthatch Sitta himalayensis
118. White-cheeked nuthatch Sitta leucopsis
Two seen plus regularly heard calling around Khorli Poi. Look at the tops of trees and listen for the calls of a ‘young goat’. We passed the calls off as Black bulbuls on our first day at Khorli Poi.
119. Wallcreeper Tichodroma muraria
120. Eurasian treecreeper Certhia familiaris
A number of treecreepers seen. Of the ones identified, we saw two of this species at Khorli Poi.
121. Bar tailed treecreeper Certhia himalayana
One at Khorli Poi and one below the park entrance.
122. Winter wren Troglodytes troglodytes
Two heard above the ridge just below Beas Kund.
123. Fire-capped tit Cephalopyrus flammiceps
A fantastic male watched for 30 minutes feeding on insects in dead blossom about 50 m below ‘Porcupine Farm’.
124. Rufous-naped tit Parus rufonuchalis
Common at Rolla and above. Couldn’t see any rufous on the nape of any birds we got close to? Also a couple at Dhundi
125. Rufous-vented tit Parus rubidiventris
126. Spot-winged tit Parus melanolophus
A couple at Dhundi
127. Grey crested tit Parus dichrous
Two at Khorli Poi.
128. Great tit Parus major
129. Green-backed tit Parus monticolus
Common in the Tirthan valley and one at Dhundi.
130. Black-lored tit Parus xanthogenys
131. Yellow-browed tit Sylviparus modestus
132. Black-throated tit Aegithalos concinnus
A few small parties seen between Goshini and the Park entrance and a few on the climb to Nadhar village.
133. White-throated tit Aegithalos niveogularis
134. White-cheeked tit Aegithalos leucogenys
135. Red-rumped swallow Hirundo daurica
136. Barn swallow Hirundo rustica
137. House martin sp Delichon sp.
10 in the Tirthan valley and 10 at Dhundi. A party of 50 House martin sp flew over Khorli Poi. All too high to make a positive ID.
138. Goldcrest Regulus regulus
A few heard and a couple seen in the coniferous areas of the Park.
139. Himalayan bulbul Pycnonotus leucogenys
Recorded at all sites.
140. Black bulbul Hypsipetes leucocephalus
Common in the Tirthan valley – recorded up to the Park entrance. Also common below Nadhar village.
141. Striated prinia Prinia criniger
A couple in the Tirthan valley and very common on the climb to Nadhar village.
142. Oriental white-eye Zosterops palpebrosus
Recorded at all sites.
143. Chestnut-headed tesia Tesia castaneocoronata
144. Brownish-flanked bush-warbler Cettia fortipes
145. Grey-sided bush-warbler Cettia brunnifrons
Aberrant bush-warbler Cettia flavolivacea
146. Eurasian chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita
147. Tickell’s leaf warbler Phylloscopus affinis
One on the lower slopes on the climb down from Nadhar village
148. Buff-barred warbler Phylloscopus pulcher
A few around Khorli Poi.
149. Ashy-throated warbler Phylloscopus maculipennis
150. Lemon-rumped warbler Phylloscopus chloronotus
A few around Khorli Poi.
151. Hume’s warbler Phylloscopus humei
A few below Rolla in the Tirthan valley. Also recorded in ‘Cheer valley’ and between Dhundi and Beas Kund.
152. Greenish warbler Phylloscopus trochiloides
Common in the Tirthan valley up to the Park entrance. Two around Nadhar village and a few between Dhundi and Beas Kund.
153. Western crowned-warbler Phylloscopus occipitalis
Two birds thought to be of this species just below Rolla also one at at Solang and a couple at Dhundi. All were quite grey in colouration with narrow and indistinct wing bars.
154. Blyth’s leaf-warbler Phylloscopus reguloides
Two crowned warblers with crowned warblers with rich green plumage and obvious yellow wing bars at Khorli Poi were thought to be of this species.
155. Whistler’s Warbler Seicercus whistleri
Two at Khorli Poi.
156. Grey-hooded warbler Seicercus xanthoschistos
Commonly recorded.
157. White throated laughing thrush Garrulax albogularis
158. Striated laughing thrush Garrulax striatus
159. Streaked laughing thrush Garrulax lineatus
The common laughing thrush of the region. More often heard than seen. Recorded at all sites up to 2600m.
160. Variegated laughing thrush Garrulax variegates
Two on the lower slopes below Nadhar village.
161. Chestnut-crowned laughing thrush Garrulax erythrocephalus
Two at Sairopa.
162. Rusty-cheeked scimitar-babbler Pomatorhinus erythrogenys
163. Scaly-breasted wren-babbler Pnoepyga albiventer
One at Rolla and another at Khorli Poi. Apparently the similar Nepal wren babbler has been discovered in the Park.
164. Black-chinned babbler Stachyris pyrrhops
165. White-browed shrike-babbler Pteruthius flaviscapis
166. Green shrike-babbler Pteruthius xanthochlorus
167. Chestnut-tailed minla Minla strigula
Six at Dhundi.
168. White-browed fulvetta Alcippe vinipectus
169. Rufous sibia Heterophasia capistrata
170. Whiskered yuhina Yuhina flavicollis
Common in the Tirthan valley up to Rolla.
171. Fire breasted flowerpecker Dicaeum ignipectus
Two seen and a few heard in the Tirthan valley as far up as Rolla.
172. Purple sunbird Nectarinia asiatica
173. Crimson sunbird Aethopyga siparaja
174. Mrs Gould’s sunbird Aethopyga gouldiae
Eight birds in the Tirthan valley between the village and Rolla.
175. House sparrow Passer domesticus
A few around the village above Goshaini.
176. Eurasian tree sparrow Passer montanus
177. Russet sparrow Passer rutilans
Many at Sairopa and between Goshaini and the village. A few at Dhundi.
178. White wagtail Motacilla alba
179. Grey wagtail Motacilla cinerea
A couple between the Park entrance and Rolla. A few at Solang and Dhundi.
180. Tree pipit Anthus trivialis
Birds seen displaying and singing around Khorli Poi and above Dhundi.
181. Olive-backed pipit Anthus hodgsoni
182. Rosy pipit Anthus roseatus
Two superb full breeding plumage birds at Dhundi.
183. Upland pipit Anthus sylvanus
Many on the climb up to Nadhar village.
184. Rufous-streaked accentor Prunella himalayana
185. Rufous- breasted accentor Prunella strophiata
186. Scaly-breasted munia Lonchura punctulata
187. Fire-fronted serin Serinus pusillus
188. Yellow breasted greenfinch Carduelis spinoides
189. European goldfinch Carduelis carduelis
190. Plain mountain-finch Leucosticte nemoricola
191. Spectacled finch Callacanthis burtoni
192. Dark-breasted rosefinch Carpodacus nipalensis
193. Common rosefinch Carpodacus erythrinus
Four birds at Nadhar village.
194. Pink-browed rosefinch Carpodacus rodochrous
Up to four at Dhundi and a female just below ‘Porcupine Farm’.
195. Red crossbill Loxia curvirostra
196. Brown bullfinch Pyrrhula nipalensis
197. Orange bullfinch Pyrrhula aurantiaca
198. Red headed bullfinch Pyrrhula erythrocephala
199. Black-and-yellow grosbeak Mycerobas icterioides
A pair at Khorli Poi posing in sunlight at the top of the pines.
200. Collared grosbeak Mycerobas affinis
201. Spot-winged grosbeak Mycerobas melanozanthos
202. White-winged grosbeak Mycerobas carnipes
203. Rock bunting Emberiza cia
Three at Dhundi and two on the ridge below Beas Kund.
MAMMALS
Common langur Semnopithecus entellus
A troop of 20 plus above the park entrance and the odd one or two throughout the Park.
Rhesus macaque Macaca mulatta
Two in the park and a party of five raiding apples at Nadhar village in the early morning.
Ghoral Naemorhedus goral
Five seen just below Khorli Poi and a single in ‘Cheer valley’.
Pika sp
One just below Khorli Poi.
Red Giant Flying Squirrel Petaurista petaurista
Three seen. Two in flight and one clinging to a pine tree on the ridge above Khorli Poi.
Source: http://www.surfbirds.com/trip_report.php?id=1873
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