Birds of Pakistan Dedicated to Bird Lovers Anywhere and Everywhere in the World

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Birds ofA PictorialPakistan Glimpse of Natural Heritage

ARIF AMIN I GHULAM RASOOL I FAKHR E ALAM A tribute to the birds of Pakistan Dedicated to bird lovers anywhere and everywhere in the world

Birds ofA PictorialPakistan Glimpse of Natural Heritage Infor

PakistanPreface is an amazing country with diverse geography, climate and culture. This diversity is reflected in the way humans, animals and plants inhabit this beautiful country in its deserts, forests, plains, rivers, lakes and mountains. The birdlife is also very rich and diverse because of the topography and the variety of natural habitats offered to them. This book is an attempt to capture the beauty and glory of birds in their natural habitats, as well as their visiting places across Pakistan. Each photograph is a tribute to their freedom and splendor. The opportunity to experience the rich diversity of Pakistan, during my childhood and my professional career, developed my love and fascination for nature. I was also lucky to have jobs that required extensive travel across Pakistan. However, the intense pleasure in watching and photographing wildlife, particularly birds, started many years ago, when I first visited Deosai Plains in Gilgit-Baltistan. I was amazed by the vast expanse of land covered with millions of flowers and the colorful birds freely flying among them. My initial attempts of photographing those birds with a small 4 megapixel camera were very dismal. However, over the last ten years, my treks to reach the birds and the technology to capture them have vastly improved. I have sought them in the plains of Punjab, the hills and mountains of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in the high pastures of Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan and a few attempts on the shores and lakes of Sindh and Balochistan along the Arabian Sea. My wife, Umbreen, an active partner in these journeys as a companion, nature lover and a bird spotter, has always encouraged and supported me to present my collection in the form of a book. During one of our bird watching treks more than five years ago, I met Ghulam Rasool, who has since become my teacher and mentor. Our mutual passion for birds is displayed in this book which is a first attempt of its kind in the country. GR, as he is known among fellow photographers and nature lovers, is an accomplished photographer who not only carved a niche in photographing birds but pioneered the art of wildlife photography in Pakistan as well. His work has been featured in prestigious publications both nationally and internationally. GR has also worked as a professional wildlife photographer with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to implement the Pakistan Wetlands Programme. He captured digital images of Pakistan’s diversity from salt marshes and the Photography Ghulam Rasool I Arif Amin I Fakhr e Alam marine wetlands of the Makran Coast to the icy alpine lakes of the Hindukush, Himalayas and the Karakoram

Photo Editing Cordilleras. He has also displayed his collections in a recent exhibition “My Eyes are Witness” at Asia House, Ghulam Rasool London, UK. Graphic Design Fakhr e Alam Fakhr e Alam, the third member of our team, is a professional graphic designer, nature lover and an enthusiast Research traveller and photographer. He has designed a number of publications for WWF Pakistan during his stint in the Umbreen Arif organization as a graphic designer. Project Directed by Arif Amin This book is our combined effort to document not only the beauty of birds present in Pakistan but also where they T: +92 300 8544672 E: [email protected] were captured on camera and the time of the year they visited that place. This, we hope will provide knowledge

Original Edition 2016 about their presence and activity to people and will help develop a respect for their lives and their habitats. Number of copies 1,500 We are extremely thankful to Engro Foods Limited in supporting the publication of this book and enabling us to All Images © 2016 by the photographers unless otherwise specified share our love for birds and our first step towards awareness and conservation of nature and wildlife in Pakistan. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means – photographic, electronic or mechanical or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.

ISBN 978-969-23111-0-6

Publication Supported by

ARIF AMIN

Printed in Pakistan by TOPICAL PRINTERS From the world’s biggest permanent freshwater glacier Baltoro (Gilgit-Baltistan) to the hot deserts of TharIntroduction (Sindh) and Makran Coastline (Balochistan), Pakistan with approximately 800,000 km2 area, is the only country in the world with the most altitudinal variation. K-2, the second highest mountain (8,611m) in the Karakorum Range, in the north of the country and more than 1,000 kilometers long coastline in the south are two extremes. This huge variation in topography within approximately 2,600 kilometers Arif Amin has been working for more than twenty years on education policy and from the northern tip of the country to the southern border reflects unique flora and fauna as well as reformsOur with internationalteam development partners, private organizations and NGOs geography, cultures and people, and therefore, makes this land an aspiring and challenging place for to support and guide public education service delivery. Arif is an ardent traveller, explorers and nature lovers. birder, and nature & wildlife photographer. He has travelled extensively across Pakistan and has photographed more than 300 bird species in the past ten years. Pakistan is home to an impressive number of bird species. More than 780 species have been recorded so He lives in Islamabad and is working as a freelance consultant. far. These include permanent residents that stay all year long, others that come to breed and raise their young ones, wintering birds that spend most of the winter season in Pakistan and migratory birds that Ghulam Rasool is a professional fine art nature photographer. He has been interested pass through in spring and autumn along the Indus Basin which has been referred to as one of the world’s in photography since his childhood, however, started this more professionally greatest flyways for migratory birds. The many canals, irrigation channels and lakes around the Indus after joining World Wide Fund for Nature in 2005 as wildlife photographer. Since Basin offer a large landscape to bird watchers and wildlife photographers. then, he has extensively worked on biodiversity and landscapes of Pakistan while in the field. He is presently living in UK and is a freelance consultant. This book is an attempt to capture the diversity of birds across Pakistan. The selected bird photographs provide altitudinal as well as geographic diversity and represent all the provinces and main areas in Fakhr e Alam is a nature lover, traveller and photographer by profession. He is a Pakistan. The photographs have been grouped according to their families, following, to some extent, the graphic designer but has extensive experience of wildlife and conservation due to sequence given in the “Birds of Pakistan” - Helm Field Guides. Each photograph was taken in the bird’s his involvement with World Wide Fund for Nature Pakistan as Graphic Designer natural environment and carries information of the place and time of the year. The book carries a total and Nature Photographer. Fakhr has also worked as Graphic Designer/visualizer of 121 photographs of birds, representing 93 species. The book opens with the first photograph of Chukar at Inkpot Graphics Brooklyn, NY, USA. He presently lives in Abbottabad and is (Alectoris chukar), the national bird of Pakistan. It also includes photographs of three globally threatened working as a freelance consultant. species – Greater Spotted Eagle, Sociable Lapwing and Jerdon’s Babbler. These are among the 29 globally threatened species in Pakistan, which if remain unprotected, may not be sighted by our future generations.

With a rapidly growing use of land for humans, whether for industry, agriculture, housing societies or entertainment, the natural habitats for birds are rapidly changing and disappearing. The unchecked and brutal bird hunting may also be contributing to the rapid reduction in the number of migratory birds and change in their routes of travel. We hope that this book will make people fall in love with the birds in the same way as we have and will contribute in the preservation of natural habitats and champion the right of birds to fly and sing without fear. We apologize to the birds not included in this book and hope that future publications will cover the ones missed from this book. 06 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN BIRDS OF PAKISTAN 07

CHUKAR Alectoris chukar SEE-SEE PARTRIDGE Ammoperdix griseogularis

Hushe, Ghanche, Gilgit-Baltistan Torghar Mountains, Torghar, Balochistan October, 2011 May, 2009 a1

a KALIJ PHEASANT Lophura leucomelanos BLACK FRANCOLIN Francolinus francolinus 1 male Margalla Hills, Islamabad, ICT Nara Canal Wetlands, Sukkur, Sindh April, 2011 February, 2008 2 female Margalla Hills, Islamabad, ICT March, 2013

a2 10 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN

a PHEASANT-TAILED JACANA Hydrophasianus chirurgus

1 Kamoke, Gujaranwala, Punjab August, 2012 2 Marala headworks, Sialkot, Punjab June, 2014

a2 12 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN

a COMMON REDSHANK Alectoris chukar

Broghil Valley, Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa July, 2010 b RED-CRESTED POCHARD Netta rufina Chashma Barrage, Mianwali, Punjab November, 2011

b EURASIAN SPOONBILL Platalea leucorodia EURASIAN CURLEW Numenius arquata

Nagar Parkar, Tharparkar, Sindh Keti Bandar, Thatta, Sindh February, 2012 February, 2011 16 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN BIRDS OF PAKISTAN 17

BAR-HEADED GOOSE Anser indicus MALLARD Anas platyrhynchos

Marala Headworks, Sialkot, Punjab Khairpur Juso, Larkana, Sindh January, 2012 November, 2011 18 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN BIRDS OF PAKISTAN 19

GREAT CORMORANT Phalacrocorax carbo SOCIABLE LAPWING Vanellus gregarious

Khairpur Juso, Larkana, Sindh Agore, Hingol National Park, Balochistan January, 2008 November, 2006 a b1 a1

a SPECKLED PICULET Picumnus innominatus

Khariyan, Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa June, 2013 a BLACK-RUMPED FLAMEBACK Dinopium benghalense b SCALY-BELLIED WOODPECKER Picus squamatus 1 1 male male Raiwind, Lahore, Pakistan Gilgit City, Gilgit, Gilgit-Baltistan June, 2012 August, 2013 2 female 2 female Lahore City, Lahore, Punjab Margalla Hills, Islamabad, ICT April, 2011 February, 2015

b2 a2 22 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN BIRDS OF PAKISTAN 23

b c

a ROSE-RINGED PARAKEET & COMMON HOOPOE c ROSE-RINGED PARAKEET Psittacula krameri GREAT BARBET Megalaima virens

Lahore City, Lahore, Punjab Lahore City, Lahore, Punjab Changla Gali, Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa April, 2008 April, 2008 May, 2012 b COMMON HOOPOE Upupa epops Lahore City, Lahore, Punjab April, 2008 24 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN BIRDS OF PAKISTAN 25

GREEN BEE-EATER Merops orientalis BLUE-TAILED BEE-EATER Merops philippinus INDIAN COURSER Cursorius coromandelicus

Nara Canal Wetlands, Khairpur, Sindh Chotiari Wetlands, Sanghar, Sindh Kinjhar Lake, Thatta, Sindh January, 2009 June, 2008 October, 2008 a COMMON HAWK CUCKOO Hierococcyx varius

Margalla Foothills, Islamabad, ICT March, 2015 a b SIRKEER MALKOHA Phaenicophaeus leschenaultia

Margalla Foothills, Islamabad, ICT December, 2013 c PIED CUCKOO Clamator jacobinus

Rawal Lake, Islamabad, ICT July, 2013

b c 28 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN BIRDS OF PAKISTAN 29

PLUM-HEADED PARAKEET Psittacula cyanocephala SLATY-HEADED PARAKEET Psittacula himalayana

Margalla Hills, Islamabad, ICT Kaghan Valley, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa June, 2014 January, 2015 30 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN

a SPOTTED OWLET Athene brama

Rawal Lake, Islamabad, ICT December, 2014 b SINDH NIGHTJAR Caprimulgus mahrattensis

Chotiari Wetlands, Sanghar, Sindh a b October, 2008 c LITTLE OWL Athene noctua

Broghil Valley, Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa October, 2014 d COLLARED SCOPS OWL Otus bakkamoena

1 Khariyan, Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa November, 2012 2 Quetta City, Quetta, Balochistan October, 2014

c d1

d2 32 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN

b a ROCK PIGEON Columbal livia

Lahore City, Lahore, Punjab June, 2012 b YELLOW-FOOTED GREEN PIGEON Treron phoenicoptera

Lawrence Garden, Lahore, Punjab March, 2015 c LAUGHING DOVE Streptopelia senegalensis

Margalla Foothills, Islamabad, ICT April, 2015 c a1

a CHESTNUT-BELLIED SANDGROUSE Pterocles exustus 1 male LICHTENSTEIN’S SANDGROUSE Pterocles lichtensteinii Nagar Parkar, Tharparkar, Sindh January, 2009 Kirthar National Park, Karachi, Sindh December, 2009 2 male & females Kirthar National Park, Karachi, Sindh December, 2009

a2 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN 37

RUDDY SHELDUCK Tadorna ferruginea

Mangla Lake, Mirpur, Azad Jammu & Kashmir January, 2009 38 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN

a SANDWICH TERN Sterna sandvicensis

Astola Island, Gwader, Balochistan October, 2008 b SLENDER-BILLED GULL Larus genei

Mangla Lake, Mirpur, Azad Jammu & Kashmir January, 2010

b 40 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN BIRDS OF PAKISTAN 41

GREATER SPOTTED EAGLE Aquila clanga STEPPE EAGLE Aquila nipalensis STEPPE EAGLE Aquila nipalensis

Kirthar National Park, Karachi, Sindh Rawalakot, Poonch, Azad Jammu & Kashmir Kirthar National Park, Karachi, Sindh February, 2011 April, 2010 February, 2011 a1 b

a COMMON KESTREL Falco tinnunculus b OSPREY Pandion haliaetus

1 Margalla Foothills, Islamabad, ICT Keenjhar Lake, Thatta, Sindh December, 2014 February, 2011 2 Fairy Meadows, Diamer, Gilgit-Baltistan July, 2014 3 Margalla Foothills, Islamabad, ICT December, 2014

a2 a3 44 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN BIRDS OF PAKISTAN 45

WHITE-EYED BUZZARD Butastur teesa LONG-LEGGED BUZZARD Buteo rufinus

Murree Forest, Rawalpindi, Punjab Raiwind, Lahore, Punjab June, 2009 January, 2008 a a1

a a ALPINE CHOUGH Pyrrhocorax graculus EURASIAN JACKDAW Corvus monedula 1 Balakot, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Hoper Valley, Nagar, Gilgit-Baltistan April, 2015 October, 2009 2 Balakot, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa b RED-BILLED CHOUGH Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax April, 2014

Khunjerab, Upper Hunza, Gilgit-Baltistan May, 2006

b a2 48 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN BIRDS OF PAKISTAN 49

YELLOW-BILLED BLUE MAGPIE Urocissa flavirostris BROWN DIPPER Cinclus pallasii

Banjosa Lake, Poonch, Azad Jammu & Kashmir Bahrain, Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa April, 2010 November, 2010 50 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN

a LONG-TAILED MINIVET Pericrocutus ethologus 1 male Khariyan, Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa December, 2013 2 male Nathia Gali, Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa April, 2014 3 female Kaghan Valley, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa April, 2014

a2 a3 a1 a3

a ASIAN PARADISE-FLYCATCHER Terpsiphone paradisi 1 male Salt Range, Chakwal, Punjab June, 2011 2 male & female Salt Range, Chakwal, Punjab June, 2011 3,4 male Kaghan Valley, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa October, 2012 5 male Margalla Hills, Islamabad, ICT May, 2014 a2 a4 a5 a1

a VERDITAR FLYCATCHER Eumyias thalassina

1 Kaghan Valley, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa April, 2014 2 Margalla Foothills, Islamabad, ICT May, 2015

b ULTRAMARINE FLYCATCHER Ficedula superciliaris

Shogran, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa May, 2012

a2 b 56 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN BIRDS OF PAKISTAN 57

a CHESTNUT THRUSH Turdus rubrocanus

1 Shogran, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa August, 2014

2 Margalla Hills, Islamabad, ICT February, 2014 b BLUE WHISTLING THRUSH Myophonus caeruleus

Banjosa Lake, Poonch, Azad Jammu & Kashmir April, 2010

a2 b a1

a BLUE ROCK THRUSH Monticola solitarius

1 Margalla Foothills, Islamabad, ICT April, 2015 2 Jalkhad, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa July, 2014 BLUE-CAPPED ROCK THRUSH Monticola cinclorhynchus

Khariyan, Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa May, 2013 a2 60 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN BIRDS OF PAKISTAN 61

SCALY THRUSH Zoothera dauma RUFOUS-TAILED ROCK THRUSH Monticola saxatilis

Khariyan, Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cholistan Desert, Bahawalpur, Punjab January, 2015 October, 2003 62 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN BIRDS OF PAKISTAN 63

RUSTY-CHEEKED SCIMITAR BABBLER Pomatorhinus erythrogenys JERDON’S BABBLER Chrysomma altrostre

Margalla Hills, Islamabad, ICT Indus River, Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa May, 2013 April, 2009 a b

c d a ROFOUS-BACKED REDSTART Phoenicurus erythronota b ORANGE-FLANKED BUSH ROBIN Tarsiger cyanurus (female) c BLUE-FRONTED REDSTART Phoenicurus frontalis d SIBERIAN STONECHAT Saxicola maurus indicus

Quetta City, Quetta, Balochistan Khaplu, Ghanche, Gilgit-Baltistan Khaplu, Ghanche, Gilgit-Baltistan Kaghan Valley, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa February, 2014 November, 2011 November, 2011 April, 2015 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN 67

a PIED BUSHCHAT Saxicola caprata

Margalla Foothills, Islamabad, ICT May, 2013 b PIED WHEATEAR Oenanthe pleschanka

Salt Range, Chakwal, Punjab December, 2011 c VARIABLE WHEATEAR Oenanthe picata

Nara Canal Wetlands, Khairpur, Sindh January, 2009

a c 68 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN BIRDS OF PAKISTAN 69

BAR-TAILED TREECREEPER Certhia himalayana WALLCREEPER Tichodroma muraria

Donga Gali, Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Margalla Foothills, Islamabad, ICT June, 2009 January, 2015 70 BIRDS OF PAKISTAN

a b1

b2 c

a EASTERN ROCK NUTHATCH Sitta tephronota c WHITE-CHEEKED TIT Aegithalos leucogenys

Torghar Mountains, Torghar, Balochistan Margalla Foothills, Islamabad, ICT May, 2009 January, 2015 b CHESTNUT-BELLIED NUTHATCH Sitta castanea d SPOT-WINGED TIT Parus melanolophus 1 male Nathia Gali, Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa April, 2013 Khariyan, Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa December, 2012 2 female Shogran, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa August, 2014 d BIRDS OF PAKISTAN 73

a HORNED LARK Eremophila alpestris

Shandur, Ghizer, Gilgit-Baltistan October, 2012 b ASHY-CROWNED SPARROW LARK Eremopterix grisea (male)

Margalla Foothills, Islamabad, ICT November, 2014 c EURASIAN TREE SPARROW Passer montanus

Quetta City, Quetta, Balochistan February, 2014

a c a b

c d

a CETTI’S BUSH WARBLER Cettia cetti d RED-BILLED LEIOTHRIX Leiothrix luta

Langh lake, Larkana, Sindh Margalla Foothills, Islamabad, ICT January, 2008 March, 2014 b WHISTLER’S WARBLER Seicercus whistleri e GREY-HOODED WARBLER Seicercus xanthoschistos

Margalla Foothills, Islamabad, ICT Margalla Foothills, Islamabad, ICT March, 2014 March, 2014 c RUFOUS-VENTED PRINIA Prinia burnesii

Indus River, Dera Ismail Khan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa April, 2009 e a1

a LITTLE FORKTAIL Enicurus scouleri

1 Neelum Valley, Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu & Kashmir July, 2012 SPOTTED FORKTAIL Enicurus maculatus 2 Kaghan Valley, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Kaghan Valley, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa January, 2015 January, 2015 3 Bagnotar, Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa March, 2013

a2 a3 a BIRDS OF PAKISTAN 79

a ROBIN ACCENTOR Prunella rubeculoides

Hushe, Ghanche, Gilgit-Baltistan October, 2011 b ROFOUS-BREASTED ACCENTOR Prunella strophiata

Khariyan, Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa December, 2015 c ALPINE ACCENTOR Prunella collaris

Kaghan Valley, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa January, 2015 a

b c1 a CHAFFINCH Fringilla coelebs (male) c COMMON ROSEFINCH Carpodacus erythrinus (male)

Hanna Lake, Quetta, Balochistan 1 Naran, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa March, 2014 September, 2008 2 b Margalla Foothills, Islamabad, ICT EURASIAN GOLDFINCH Carduelis carduelis (male) April, 2013 Khaplu, Ghanche, Gilgit-Baltistan October, 2011 c2 W

a BIRDS OF PAKISTAN 83

a BRAMBLING Fringilla montifringilla (male)

Kaghan Valley, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa December, 2015 b ORANGE BULLFINCH Pyrrhula aurantiaca

1 Kaghan Valley, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa April, 2014 2 Kaghan Valley, Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa December, 2015

b2 “I want to sing like the birds sing, not worrying about who hears or what they think.” – Rumi Photography Ghulam Rasool I Arif Amin I Fakhr e Alam

Photo Editing Ghulam Rasool

Graphic Design Fakhr e Alam

Research Umbreen Arif

Project Directed by Arif Amin T: +92 300 8544672 E: [email protected]

Original Edition 2016 Number of copies 1,500

All Images © 2016 by the photographers unless otherwise specified All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means – photographic, electronic or mechanical or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.

ISBN 978-969-23111-0-6