Nepal
Nepal rises dramatically from the subtropical Terai plains to the highest mountains on Earth within a remarkably short distance. The central hills contain deep river valleys, terraced farmland and extensive broadleaf and conifer forests, while the Himalayas culminate in Mount Everest and numerous peaks above 8,000 metres. Habitats range from tropical grasslands and sal forests through temperate and rhododendron forests to alpine meadows, barren high mountains and glaciers. This enormous elevation gradient creates exceptional climatic and ecological diversity.
Overview
Nepal offers outstanding Himalayan birding across an exceptional range of elevations. The forests and mountains around Langtang, Annapurna and Phulchowki support pheasants, laughingthrushes, rosefinches, accentors and raptors, including spectacular species such as Himalayan Monal and Satyr Tragopan. The lowland Chitwan and Bardia regions add hornbills, woodpeckers, storks and grassland specialists, including Bengal Florican. Nepal's only endemic bird, Spiny Babbler, occurs in scrubby hill country and is a major target. Nepal has a well-developed trekking and nature-tourism industry, with specialist bird guides readily available. Many excellent sites are accessible from Kathmandu, but high-altitude birding can require multi-day trekking, considerable elevation gain and careful acclimatisation.
Top 10 target species
| Species | Annual frequency | January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House Crow Corvus splendens | 45.1% | 42.9% | 39.8% | 37.4% | 37.0% | 40.3% | 51.3% | 61.6% | 60.1% | 54.4% | 37.1% | 37.7% | 42.0% |
| Rock Pigeon Columba livia | 43.8% | 40.2% | 39.0% | 35.7% | 34.9% | 37.3% | 46.4% | 56.3% | 58.0% | 54.1% | 39.9% | 39.1% | 44.7% |
| Red-vented Bulbul Pycnonotus cafer | 37.2% | 33.6% | 33.8% | 37.6% | 35.8% | 38.9% | 39.2% | 41.5% | 40.4% | 40.6% | 34.2% | 36.0% | 34.5% |
| Common Myna Acridotheres tristis | 36.4% | 34.2% | 32.3% | 33.2% | 32.4% | 39.0% | 41.0% | 43.4% | 39.7% | 40.9% | 34.9% | 31.8% | 33.4% |
| House Sparrow Passer domesticus | 33.3% | 29.2% | 30.2% | 29.8% | 29.8% | 32.8% | 36.7% | 42.1% | 42.4% | 41.4% | 30.1% | 27.4% | 28.0% |
| Black Kite Milvus migrans | 32.7% | 33.1% | 31.6% | 29.2% | 25.3% | 26.6% | 29.9% | 35.2% | 39.6% | 41.5% | 34.4% | 33.6% | 32.5% |
| Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos | 30.6% | 29.8% | 32.0% | 35.1% | 34.5% | 31.5% | 24.5% | 24.0% | 24.1% | 33.3% | 34.5% | 34.4% | 29.8% |
| Oriental Magpie-Robin Copsychus saularis | 28.6% | 20.8% | 24.0% | 29.9% | 30.8% | 32.2% | 35.3% | 35.8% | 26.2% | 34.4% | 28.1% | 24.1% | 21.3% |
| Common Tailorbird Orthotomus sutorius | 27.6% | 23.2% | 25.6% | 28.0% | 25.5% | 29.4% | 30.9% | 35.3% | 31.7% | 33.5% | 24.3% | 22.3% | 21.7% |
| Spotted Dove Spilopelia chinensis | 25.2% | 18.3% | 19.6% | 25.0% | 28.0% | 28.1% | 26.1% | 29.5% | 28.3% | 34.9% | 28.0% | 19.7% | 17.1% |