INDIA Day 6 - 14th January

Added a few species around the accommodation first thing with a couple of CHESTNUT-BELLIED ROCK THRUSHES, a GREAT BARBET, a little flock of YELLOW-BREASTED GREENFINCHES with Russet Sparrows, GREY TREEPIE, a couple of WHITE-CROWNED BUNTINGS and a showy SLATY-HEADED PARAKEET.   We then spent all day birding around the forests and valleys below Pangot; we eventually made it down to the river at the bottom of the very steep valleys and very soon found our main target bird, with at least 3 SPOTTED FORKTAILS playing around in the river.

                Other birds seen in the thick vegetation along the stream included a LONG-BILLED THRUSH (a really distinctive Zoothera sp.), several WHITE-THROATED FANTAILS, mixed flocks of WHISTLER’S WARBLERS, BLACK-FACED WARBLERS (stunning things!) and WHISKERED YUHINAS, gaudy RUFOUS-BELLIED NILTAVAS, SMALL NILTAVAS and BLACK BULBUL.   Up in the forests new birds also included HIMALAYAN WOODPECKER, a few Oriental Turtle Doves (ssp. meena), Grey-headed Woodpecker (a potential split from European birds), a cracking ASIAN BARRED OWLET, a male LONG-TAILED MINIVET and a natty little SPECKLED PICULET.

Spotted Forktail

Grey Bushchat

Black-headed Jay

Yellow-breasted Greenfinch

Striated Prinia

Blue-capped Redstart

Asian Barred Owlet

White-throated Fantail

Red-billed Blue Magpie

Rufous-bellied Niltava

Oriental Turtle Dove ssp. meena

Grey-hooded Warbler

Oriental White-eye