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Biodiversity Profile of Afghanistan
NEPA Biodiversity Profile of Afghanistan An Output of the National Capacity Needs Self-Assessment for Global Environment Management (NCSA) for Afghanistan June 2008 United Nations Environment Programme Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch First published in Kabul in 2008 by the United Nations Environment Programme. Copyright © 2008, United Nations Environment Programme. This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. UNEP would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing from the United Nations Environment Programme. United Nations Environment Programme Darulaman Kabul, Afghanistan Tel: +93 (0)799 382 571 E-mail: [email protected] Web: http://www.unep.org DISCLAIMER The contents of this volume do not necessarily reflect the views of UNEP, or contributory organizations. The designations employed and the presentations do not imply the expressions of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP or contributory organizations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or its authority, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Unless otherwise credited, all the photos in this publication have been taken by the UNEP staff. Design and Layout: Rachel Dolores -
Žƶƌŷăů ŽĨ Dśƌğăƚğŷğě Dădžă
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Biological Environment Terrestrial and Aquatic Resources
An Ecological Study on Mammals, Birds, Herpertofauna and Butterflies in Teesta Basin, Sikkim Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History Coimbatore PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS • Centre for Inter-disciplinary Studies of Mountain & Hill Environment, University of Delhi, Delhi • Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi • Centre for Himalayan Studies, University of North Bengal, Distt. Darjeeling • Department of Geography and Applied Geography, University of North Bengal, Distt. Darjeeling • Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, Anaikatti, Coimbatore • Water and Power Consultancy Services (India) Ltd., Gurgaon, Haryana • Food Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Sikkim Government College, Gangtok VOLUMES INDEX* Volume – I INTRODUCTORY VOLUME Volume – II LAND ENVIRONMENT - GEOPHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT Volume – III LAND ENVIRONMENT - SOIL Volume – IV WATER ENVIRONMENT Volume – V AIR ENVIRONMENT Volume – VI BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT TERRESTRIAL AND AQUATIC RESOURCES Volume – VII BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT - FAUNAL ELEMENTS Volume – VIII BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT - FOOD RESOURCES Volume – IX SOCIO-ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT Volume – X SOCIO-CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS *For Volume-wise Detailed Index – Refer to the end of the report ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report is a part of the major project titled, “Carrying Capacity of Teesta River Basin, Sikkim” sponsored by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) through the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. We are thankful to Drs. S. Sivakumar and S. Bhowmik, MoEF for their comments. The project is being coordinated and executed by the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Mountain and Hill Environment (CISMHE), Delhi University, New Delhi. We are thankful to Dr. M.K. Pandit, Project Co-ordinator and Dr. Arun Bhaskar of CISMHE, Delhi University for able administration of the project and support. -
Pakistan, an Exploration of Part of the World Whose Birds Are Poorly Known and Rarely Seen
THE WESTERN HIMALAYAS 19 - 31 JULY 2005 TOUR REPORT LEADER: DAVE FARROW GROUP MEMBERS: CHRISTA GLAUSER, WERNER MULLER, AVRIL McLEOD, BOB McLEOD and DAVE WEDD This was just the second Birdquest to the Western Himalayas of Pakistan, an exploration of part of the world whose birds are poorly known and rarely seen. Just a seven hour flight from London and only a four hour difference in time-zones, it seems like a short hop from Europe compared to many other birding destinations. We were able to enjoy some great birding in world-class scenery, recording 190 species, a birdlist rich in quality with many near-endemics and regional specialities such as Koklass Pheasant, Brown-fronted and Himalayan Woodpeckers, Pied, Lesser and Grey-bellied Cuckoos, Slaty-headed Parakeets, White-eyed and Himalayan Buzzards, Indian Golden Oriole, Tibetan Blackbird, Chestnut Thrush, Rusty-tailed Flycatcher, White-tailed Rubythroat, Himalayan Red-flanked and Golden Bush Robins, White-bellied Redstart, Kashmir and White-cheeked Nuthatches, Bar-tailed Treecreeper, Spot-winged, Rufous-naped, White-throated and the near-endemic White-cheeked Tits, Streak-throated Swallow, Indian Reed Warbler, Tickell’s Leaf, Sulphur-bellied, Lemon-rumped, Hume’s, Large-billed Leaf, Tytler’s Leaf and Western Crowned Warblers, Variegated Laughingthrush, Black-chinned Babbler, Upland and Rosy Pipits, Fire-fronted Serin, Grey-headed Goldfinch, Spectacled Finch, Pink-browed and Himalayan White-browed Rosefinches, Black-and-Yellow Grosbeak and White-capped and Chestnut-eared Buntings. Mammals were quite visible and we saw Common Goral, Kashmir Grey Langur, Golden Jackal, Long-tailed Marmot, Stoat and Kashmir Flying Squirrel. All this was easily accomplished in a nation that is remarkably friendly and we were well looked after, allowing us to have a safe, productive and comfortable visit. -
Breeding Biology of an Endemic Bornean Turdid, the Fruithunter (Chlamydochaera Jefferyi), and Life History Comparisons with Turdus Species of the World
The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 129(1):36–45, 2017 BREEDING BIOLOGY OF AN ENDEMIC BORNEAN TURDID, THE FRUITHUNTER (CHLAMYDOCHAERA JEFFERYI), AND LIFE HISTORY COMPARISONS WITH TURDUS SPECIES OF THE WORLD ADAM E. MITCHELL,1,4 FRED TUH,2 AND THOMAS E. MARTIN3 ABSTRACT.—We present the first description of the breeding biology for the Fruithunter (Chlamydochaera jefferyi), a member of the cosmopolitan family Turdidae, and a montane endemic to the tropical Asian island of Borneo. We also compile breeding biology traits from the literature to make comparisons between the Fruithunter and the thrush genus Turdus. Our comparisons indicate that Fruithunters exhibit a slower life history strategy than both tropical and north temperate Turdus. We located and monitored 42 nests in 7 years in Kinabalu Park, Sabah, Malaysia. The mean clutch size was 1.89 6 0.08 eggs, and the modal clutch size was 2 eggs. Mean fresh egg mass was 6.15 6 0.13 g, representing 9.5% of adult female body mass. Average lengths of incubation and nestling periods were 14.56 6 0.24 and 17.83 6 0.31 days respectively. Only the female incubated and brooded the eggs and nestlings, but both the male and female fed nestlings. Female attentiveness during incubation was high throughout, reaching an asymptote around 85% with average on-bouts of 39.0 6 2.5 mins. The daily nest survival probability was 0.951 6 0.025, and the daily predation rate was 0.045 6 0.024. Female feeding rate increased as brooding effort decreased, suggesting that female feeding rate may be constrained by the need to provide heat while nestlings are unable to thermoregulate. -
Birds and Tigers of Northern India
Dusky Eagle Owl on a nest at Keoladeo Ghana N.P. (all photos by Dave Farrow unless otherwise indicated) BIRDS AND TIGERS OF NORTHERN INDIA 21 NOVEMBER – 8 DECEMBER 2016 LEADER: DAVE FARROW This year’s ‘Birds and Tigers of Northern India’ tour was once again a very successful visual feast of avian delights. This tour is full of regional specialities and Indian subcontinent endemics, and among the many highlights were a total of 53 individual Owls seen of 9 species, including Dusky Eagle Owl on a nest, four Tawny Fish Owls and four Brown Fish Owls. We had great fortune with gamebirds, with three Cheer Pheasants plus stunning views of a pair of Koklass Pheasant, plus many Kalij Pheasants, Painted Spurfowl 1 BirdQuest Tour Report: Birds and Tigers of Northern India www.birdquest-tours.com and Jungle Bush-Quail. We also saw Ibisbill, Red-naped Ibis, Black-necked Stork, Sarus Cranes, Indian, Himalayan and Red-headed Vulture, Pallas's and Lesser Fish Eagles, Brown Crake, Indian and Great Stone- curlew, Yellow-wattled and White-tailed Lapwing, Black-bellied and River Tern, Painted and Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, and 15 species of Woodpecker including Great Slaty, Himalayan Pied, White-naped and Himalayan Flameback. We found plenty of Slaty-headed and Plum-headed Parakeet, Black-headed Jay, a Rufous-tailed Lark, Indian Bush Lark, the holy trinity of Nepal, Pygmy and Scaly-bellied Wren-Babblers, plus Brook’s Leaf Warbler, Black-faced and Booted Warbler, Black-chinned Babbler, six species of Laughingthrush including Rufous-chinned, Chestnut-bellied and White-tailed Nuthatch, Wallcreeper, Chestnut and Black-throated Thrushes, White-tailed Rubythroat, Golden Bush Robin, dapper Spotted Forktails, Blue-capped Redstart, Variable Wheatear, Fire-tailed Sunbird, Black-breasted Weaver, Altai Accentor, Brown Bullfinch, Blyth’s Rosefinch (a write-in), Crested, White-capped and Red-headed Bunting. -
Ultimate Northeast India
We had great views of the endearing Golden-breasted Fulvetta (Hannu Jännes). ULTIMATE NORTHEAST INDIA 31 MARCH / 2 - 23 APRIL 2019 TOUR LEADERS: HANNU JÄNNES This year’s Birdquest epic 24 day tour to the remote northeast corner of the Indian subcontinent was very successful and amassed nearly 500 species. The pre-tour extension to the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya proved a good start with both Dark-rumped Swift and Tawny-breasted Wren-Babbler. The grasslands and semi- deciduous forests of Orang National Park produced a magnificent Tiger and a pair of Brown Fish Owls, and from the Himalayan middle lands to the snowy heights of the Dirang Region, we enjoyed Snow Partridge, Blood Pheasant, Himalayan Monal, Black-tailed Crake, Fire-tailed Myzornis, Slender-billed Scimitar Babbler, the first Naumann’s Thrush for India, a big movement of Fire-tailed Sunbirds and many gorgeous Grandalas. The magnificent Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary never disappoints, and we saw such gems as Rufous-necked Hornbill, Hodgson’s Frogmouth, Ward’s Trogon, Beautiful Nuthatch, Yellow-rumped Honeyguide, Rufous- 1 BirdQuest Tour Report: Ultimate Northeast India www.birdquest-tours.com throated and Long-billed Wren-Babblers, Sikkim Wedge-billed Babbler and Bugun Liocichla. Briefly side tracking into Nagaland was rewarded with Yellow-throated Laughingthrush, a Birdquest lifer, whilst at the world famous Kaziranga National Park we were rewarded with Indian Grassbird, Slender-billed Babbler, Finn’s Weaver, Swamp Francolin and Greater Adjutant. The Assam Plains close to the Dibru Saikhowa National Park and mosaic of the floodplains on route to Roing brought us Bristled Grassbird, Marsh and Jerdon’s Babblers, and Black-breasted Parrotbill. -
Birds of Nepal an Official Checklist 2018
Birds of Nepal An Official Checklist Department of National Parks Bird Conservation Nepal and Wildlife Conservation 2018 Species Research and Contribution Anish Timsina, Badri Chaudhary, Barry McCarthy, Benzamin Smelt, Cagan Sakercioglu, Carol Inskipp, Deborah Allen, Dhan Bahadur Chaudhary, Dheeraj Chaudhary, Geraldine Werhahn, Hathan Chaudhary, Hem Sagar Baral, Hem Subedi, Jack H. Cox, Karan Bahadur Shah, Mich Coker, Naresh Kusi, Phil Round, Ram Shahi, Robert DeCandido, Sanjiv Acharya, Som GC, Suchit Basnet, Tika Giri, Tim Inskipp, Tulsi Ram Subedi and Yub Raj Basnet. Review Committee Laxman Prasad Poudyal, Dr. Hem Sagar Baral, Carol Inskipp, Tim Inskipp, Ishana Thapa and Jyotendra Jyu Thakuri Cover page drawing: Spiny Babbler by Craig Robson Citation: Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and Bird Conservation Nepal (2018). Birds of Nepal: An Official Checklist, Kathmandu, Nepal. Great Thick-knee by Jan Wilczur 1 Update and taxonomy note This official checklist is based on “Birds of Nepal: An official checklist” updated and published by Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and Bird Conservation Nepal in year 2016. New additions in this checklist are as below, New recorded species Sooty Tern Onychoprion fuscatus Rufous-tailed Rock- thrush Monticola saxatilis Himalayan Grasshopper-warbler Locustella kashmirensis New species after split (HBW and BirdLife International 2017) Indian Scops-owl Otus bakkamoena, split from Collared Scops-owl Otus lettia Eastern Marsh-harrier Circus spilonotus, split from western Marsh-harrier Circus aeruginosu Indochinese Roller Coracias affinis, split from Indian Roller Coracias benghalensis Indian Nuthatch Sitta castanea, split from Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch Sitta cinnamoventris Chinese Rubythroat Calliope tschebaiewi, split from Himalayan Rubythroat Calliope pectoralis This checklist follows the BirdLife International’s taxonomy; HBW and BirdLife International (2017) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. -
Behavioral Plasticity Is Not Significantly Associated with Head Volume in a Wild Chestnut Thrush (Turdus Rubrocanus) Population Qingshan Zhao1,2 and Yuehua Sun1*
Zhao and Sun Avian Res (2016) 7:12 DOI 10.1186/s40657-016-0048-z Avian Research RESEARCH Open Access Behavioral plasticity is not significantly associated with head volume in a wild Chestnut Thrush (Turdus rubrocanus) population Qingshan Zhao1,2 and Yuehua Sun1* Abstract Background: The drivers of intraspecific variation in behavioral plasticity are poorly known. A widely held hypothesis is that brain size is positively correlated with behavioral plasticity. Methods: A total of 71 Chestnut Thrushes (Turdus rubrocanus) were caught in the wild population. We quantified behavior plasticity of activity of individuals measured in the same cage across two contexts (common and with a novel object stimulation), using a random regression analysis. We then investigated whether head volume (a proxy for brain size) was associated with behavioral plasticity in activity level using Spearman rank-order correlation. Results: We found no significant evidence that activity plasticity was associated with relative head volume. There was no sex difference in head volume or in variance in head volume. Conclusions: We speculate that the absence of an association between brain volume and activity behavior plasticity may result from the inaccuracy of using external skull measurements to estimate brain size, or from a particular part of the brain being responsible for plasticity in activity level. Keywords: Activity, Behavioral plasticity, Chestnut Thrush, Head volume Background behaviors based on current different contexts or environ- Behavioral plasticity is the ability of an animal to alter its ments, regardless of the past environment (Dingemanse behavior in response to changes in the environment, and and Wolf 2013; Snell-Rood 2013). -
Birds of Annapurna Conservation Area Cggk"0F{ ;+/If0f If]Qsf R/Fx?
Birds of Annapurna Conservation Area cGgk"0f{ ;+/If0f If]qsf r/fx? National Trust for Annapurna Conservation Nature Conservation Birds of AnnapurnaArea Conservation Project Area 80 2018 Birds of Annapurna Conservation Area cGgk"0f{ ;+/If0f If]qsf r/fx? National Trust for Annapurna Conservation Nature Conservation Area Project 2018 Birds of Annapurna Conservation Area cGgk"0f{ ;+/If0f If]qsf r/fx? Published by: National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) Review Committee Carol Inskipp, Dr. Hem Sagar Baral and Dr. Naresh Subedi Compilation Rishi Baral (Conservation Officer – NTNC-ACAP) Suggested Citation: Baral R., (2018). Birds of Annapurna Conservation Area. National Trust for Nature conservation, Annapurna Conservation Area Project, Pokhara, Nepal pp. 74 All rights reserved © National Trust for Nature Conservation First Edition 700 Copies ISBN: 978-9937-8522-5-8 Front Cover Art: Cheer Pheasant (Catreus wallichii) by Roshan Bhandari Title Page Photo: Nest with Eggs by Rishi Baral Back Cover Photo: Spiny Babbler (Turdoides nipalensis) by Manshanta Ghimire Design and Layout by: Sigma General Offset Press, Kathmandu National Trust for Annapurna Conservation Printed : Sigma General Offset Press, Sanepa, Lalitpur, 5554029 Nature Conservation Area Project 2018 Table of Contents Forewords Acknowledgements Abbreviations Nepal’s Birds Status Birds of Annapurna National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) 1-2 Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) 3-5 Hotspot of Birds in Annapurna Conservation -
'The Devil Is in the Detail': Peer-Review of the Wildlife Conservation Plan By
‘The devil is in the detail’: Peer-review of the Wildlife Conservation Plan by the Wildlife Institute of India for the Etalin Hydropower Project, Dibang Valley Chintan Sheth1, M. Firoz Ahmed2*, Sayan Banerjee3, Neelesh Dahanukar4, Shashank Dalvi1, Aparajita Datta5, Anirban Datta Roy1, Khyanjeet Gogoi6, Monsoonjyoti Gogoi7, Shantanu Joshi8, Arjun Kamdar8, Jagdish Krishnaswamy9, Manish Kumar10, Rohan K. Menzies5, Sanjay Molur4, Shomita Mukherjee11, Rohit Naniwadekar5, Sahil Nijhawan1, Rajeev Raghavan12, Megha Rao5, Jayanta Kumar Roy2, Narayan Sharma13, Anindya Sinha3, Umesh Srinivasan14, Krishnapriya Tamma15, Chihi Umbrey16, Nandini Velho1, Ashwin Viswanathan5 & Rameshori Yumnam12 1Independent researcher, Ananda Nilaya, 4th Main Road, Kodigehalli, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560097, India Email: [email protected] (corresponding author) 2Herpetofauna Research and Conservation Division, Aaranyak, Guwahati, Assam. 3National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, Karnataka. 4Zoo Outreach Organization, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. 5Nature Conservation Foundation, Bengaluru, Karnataka. 6TOSEHIM, Regional Orchids Germplasm Conservation and Propagation Centre, Assam Circle, Assam. 7Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, Maharashtra. 8National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka. 9Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Bengaluru, Karnataka. 10Centre for Ecology Development and Research, Uttarakhand. 11Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. 12South Asia IUCN Freshwater Fish -
Northern & Central Thailand 27Th February
Thailand Northern & Central Thailand 27th February - 15h March 2016 & Southern Thailand Extension 15th-21st March 2016 Mrs. Gould’s Sunbird by Trevor Jones Trip Leaders: Uthai Treesucon and Erik Forsyth Trip Report compiled by Erik Forsyth RBT Thailand Trip Report February-March 2016 Tour Summary Our trip total of 535 species in 23 days reflects the immense birding potential of Thailand. Participants were treated to an amazing number of star birds including Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Nordmann’s Greenshank, Pallas’s Gull, Mountain Bamboo Partridge, Mrs. Hume’s and Silver Pheasants, Siamese Fireback, Green Peafowl, Grey Peacock-Pheasant, Jerdon’s Baza, Black-tailed Crake, Great and Wreathed Hornbills, Hodgson’s and Blyth’s Frogmouths, Barred Eagle-Owl, Spotted Wood and Brown Wood Owl and the near mythical Oriental Bay Owl, stunning Malayan Banded, Blue, Rusty-naped and Mangrove Pittas, Ratchet-tailed Treepie, Limestone, Streaked, Eye- browed and Pygmy Wren-Babblers, Scarlet-faced Liocichla, Grey-headed and Spot-breasted Parrotbills, Giant Nuthatch, Slaty, Heart-spotted, White-bellied and Black-headed Woodpeckers, Sultan Tit, Chestnut-naped Forktail, Mrs. Gould’s Sunbird, and Nicobar Pigeon. Daily Diary A tense but excited group of birders arrived at Pak Thale, famous for its wintering wader flocks. Within half an hour, we were watching the target of our long journey here to the Gulf of Thailand – the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper. We were a relieved and happy group of birders to witness that this species still visits this area annually. There have been several positive outcomes with the captive breeding programme, as one of the birds had a leg flag! A short while later it was joined by a second bird.