Birdlife of Pangot, A field camp for BNHS-CEC online course participants

Pangot and Sattal, located in district, Uttarakhand, are not merely scenic but endowed with biodiversity-rich . The beautiful patches of forests are home to several species, and attract a continuous flow of birdwatchers. More than 200 bird species have been recorded in this area. The main attractions of Pangot are Cheer Pheasant, Koklass Pheasant and Kalij Pheasant. Others include Himalayan Vulture, Griffon Vulture, Himalayan Pied and Himalayan/Slaty-headed Parakeet. The Conservation Education Centre of BNHS, Mumbai centre, which conducts short-term online courses, organized a field camp at Pangot and Sattal between April 25–28, 2019 for Ornithology and Leadership and Biodiversity course participants, led by guide Mr. Hari Om and BNHS experts Nandkishor Dudhe and Omkar Joshi. The camp focused on the avian fauna of the region. As many as 163 species were recorded during the four days’ camp.

Following important species were sighted during the field camp

Sr. No Sattal Pangot Bird Checklist 1 Common Hill Partridge Arborophila torqueola 2 Black Francolin Francolinus francolinus 3 Cheer Pheasant Catreus wallichii 4 Kalij Pheasant Lophura leucomelanos 5 Koklass Pheasant Pucrasia macrolopha 6 Red Jungle fowl Gallus gallus 7 Rock Dove Columba livia 8 Oriental Turtle Dove Streptopelia orientalis [meena] 9 Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto 10 Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis 11 Wedge-tailed Green Pigeon Treron sphenurus 12 Emerald Dove Chalcophaps indica 13 Yellow-footed Green-pigeon Treron p. phoenicopterus 14 Large-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus macrurus 15 Little Swift Apus affinis 16 Large Hawk Cuckoo Hierococcyx sparverioides 17 Common Hawk Cuckoo Hierococcyx varius 18 Indian Cuckoo Cuculus micropterus 19 Himalayan Cuckoo Cuculus saturatus [saturatus] 20 Grey-bellied Cuckoo Cacomantis passerinus 21 Griffon Vulture Gyps Fulvus 22 Himalayan Vulture Gyps himalayensis

23 Crested Serpent Eagle Spilornis cheela 24 Mountain Hawk Eagle Nisaetus nipalensis 25 Changeable Hawk Eagle Nisaetus cirrhatus 26 Shikra Accipiter badius 27 Black Kite Milvus migrans 28 Oriental Honey-Buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus 29 Bonelli's Eagle Hieraaetus fasciatus 30 Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus 31 Brown Wood- Strix leptogrammica 32 Glaucidium cuculoides 33 Collared Owlet Glaucidium brodiei 34 Common Hoopoe Upupa epops [ceylonenesis] 35 Speckled Piculet Picumnus innominatus 36 Greater Yellow-naped Woodpecker Chrysophlegma flavinucha 37 Lesser Yellow-naped Woodpecker Chrysophlegma chlorolophus 38 Streak-throated Woodpecker Picus xanthopygaeus 39 Grey-headed Woodpecker Picus canus 40 Brown-fronted Woodpecker Dendrocopos auriceps 41 Himalayan Pied Woodpecker Dendrocopos himalayensis 42 Fulvous-breasted Pied Woodpecker Dendrocopos macei 43 Rufous-bellied Woodpecker Dendrocopos hyperythrus 44 Greater Flameback Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus 45 Great Barbet Psilopogon virens 46 Blue-throated Barbet Megalaima asiatica 47 Himalayan Pied Kingfisher Ceryle lugubris 48 White-throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnensis 49 Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis 50 Himalayan/Slaty-headed Parakeet Psittacula himalayana 51 Plum-headed Parakeet Psittacula cyanocephala 52 Alexandrine Parakeet Psittacula eupatria 53 Rose-ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri 54 Long-tailed Minivet Pericrocotus ethologus 55 Scarlet Minivet Pericrocotus speciosus 56 Maroon Oriole Oriolus traillii 57 Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus 58 Ashy Drongo Dicrurus leucophaeus 59 Grey-backed Shrike Lanius tephronotus 60 Long-tailed Shrike Lanius schach 61 Grey Treepie Dendrocitta formosae 62 Red-billed Blue Magpie Urocissa erythroryncha 63 Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius 64 Black-headed Jay Garrulus lanceolatus 65 Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos 66 Fire-breasted Flowerpecker Dicaeum ignipectus 67 Thick-billed Flowerpecker Dicaeum agile 68 Green-tailed Sunbird Aethopyga nipalensis 69 Crimson Sunbird Aethopyga siparaja 70 Purple Sunbird Cinnyris asiaticus 71 Black-throated/breasted Sunbird Aethopyga saturata 72 House Sparrow Passer domesticus 73 Russet Sparrow Passer cinnamomeus 74 Yellow-throated Sparrow Petronia xanthocollis 75 Upland Pipit Anthus sylvanus 76 Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea 77 Common Rosefinch Erythrina erythrina 78 Yellow-breasted Greenfinch Chloris spinoides 79 Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher Culicicapa ceylonensis 80 Spot-winged Periparus melanolophus 81 Green-backed Tit monticolus 82 Cinereous Tit Parus cinereus 83 Black-lored Yellow Tit Parus xanthogenys 84 Yellow-borwed Tit Sylviparus modestus 85 Black-throated Tit Aegithalos concinnus 86 Striated Prinia Prinia crinigera 87 Ashy Prinia Prinia socialis 88 Grey-breasted Prinia Prinia hodgsonii 89 House Martin Delichon nipalense 90 Red-rumped Swallow Cecropis daurica 91 Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica 92 Eurasian Crag-martin Ptyonoprogne rupestris 93 Red-whiskered Bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus 94 Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer 95 Mountain Bulbul Ixos mcclellandii 96 Himalayan Black Bulbul Hypsipetes leucocephalus 97 Himalayan Bulbul Pycnonotus leucogenis 98 Ashy Bulbul Hemixos flavala 99 Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius 100 Tickell's Leaf-Warbler Phylloscopus affinis 101 Greenish Leaf-Warbler Phylloscopus trochiloides 102 Grey-hooded Leaf-Warbler Phylloscopus xanthoschistos 103 Western Crowned Warbler Phylloscopus occipitalis 104 Common/Siberian Chiffchaff Phylloscopus [collybita] tristis 105 Paine Leaf-warbler Phylloscopus neglectus 106 Jungle Babbler Turdoides striata 107 Black-chinned Babbler Stachyris pyrrhops 108 Orange-bellied Leafbird Chloropsis hardwickii 109 Lesser Whitethroat Curruca curruca 110 Whiskered Yuhina Yuhina flavicollis 111 Black-chinned Yuhina Yuhina nigrimenta 112 Oriental White-eye Zosterops palpebrosus 113 Rusty-cheeked Scimitar Babbler Erythrogenys erythrogenys 114 Striated Laughingthrush Grammatoptila striata 115 White-throated Laughingthrush Garrulax albogularis 116 Streaked Laughingthrush Trochalopteron lineatum 117 Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush Trochalopteron erythrocephalum 118 Rufous Sibia Heterophasia capistrata 119 Blue-winged Minla Siva cyanouroptera 120 Red-billed Leiothrix Leiothrix lutea 121 Rufous chinned Laughingthrush Ianthocincla rufogularis 122 Bar-tailed Treecreeper Certhia himalayana 123 Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch Sitta castanea 124 White-tailed Nuthatch Sitta himalayensis 125 Grey-headed Starling Sturnia malabarica 126 Common Myna Acridotheres tristis 127 Jungle Myna Acridotheres fuscus 128 Bank Myna Acridotheres ginginianus 129 Spot-winged Satarling Saroglossa spiloptera 130 Oriental Magpie-robin Copsychus saularis 131 Indian Pond-heron Ardeola grayii 132 Dark-sided Flycather Muscicapa sibirica 133 Ultramarine Flycatcher superciliaris 134 Rufous-bellied Niltava Niltava sundara 135 Asian Verditer Flycatcher Eumyias thalassinus 136 Slaty-backed Forktail Enicurus schistaceus 137 Spotted Forktail Enicurus maculatus 138 Blue Whistling-Thrush Myophonus caeruleus 139 Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush Monticola rufiventris 140 Blue-capped Rock-Thrush Monticola cinclorhyncha 141 Blue Rock-Thrush Monticola solitarius 142 Blue-capped Redstart Adelura coeruleocephala 143 Plumbeous Water-Redstart Phoenicurus fuliginosus 144 Common Stonechat Saxicola torquatus 145 Grey Bush Chat Saxicola ferreus 146 Blue-throated Flycatcher Cyornis rubeculoides 147 Pied Bushchat Saxicola caprata 148 Plain-backed Thrush Zoothera mollissima 149 Small-billed Scaly-Thrush Zoothera dauma 150 Tickell's Thrush Turdus unicolor 151 Grey-winged Blackbird Turdus boulboul 152 White-throated/bellied Swiftlet Collocalia esculenta 153 White-browed Shrike-babbler Pteruthius aeralatus annamensis 154 Plain Leaf-warbler Phylloscopus neglectus 155 Green Warbler Phylloscopus nitidus 156 Greater Coucal Centropus sinensis 157 Asian Koel Eudynamys scolopaceus 158 Red-wattled Lapwing Vanellus indicus 159 Asian Paradise Flycatcher Terpsiphone paradisi 160 Brown Dipper Cinclus pallasii 161 Indian Blue Robin Luscinia brunnea 162 Orange-headed Thrush Zoothera citrina 163 Common Green Magpie Cissa chinensis

References:

1 Birdlife International (2018): IUCN Red List for . Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 09/04/2018.

2 del Hoyo, J., A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D.A. Christie & E. de Juana (eds.) (2014). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/ on 9 April 2018)

3 Rasmussen, P.C. & J.C. Anderton (2012): Birds of South , The Ripley Guide. Vols. 1 & 2. 2nd edition. National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Michigan State University and Lynx Edicions, Washington, D.C., Michigan and Barcelona.