Birds of the Himalayas

The book ‘The Birds of the Himalayas’, is primarily focussed on two major birding expeditions undertaken by him to Pangot and Sat Tal regions in the Himalayas. While Pangot is the heaven for bird photographers, on the other hand, Sat Tal which comprises of seven lakes in the lower Himalayas is home to a diverse variety of avian fauna given its dense pine and oak forests. In realty the birds of Pangot, especially the ‘Bar Tailed Tree Creeper’ comes through as Birds of the HimalayasBook Reviewone the most difficult species to identify from a distance, due to its extreme camouflage by the bark of the dwelling trees. The ‘Blue Whistling Thrush’, is the largest species of thrush in the world, yet is only located in the temperate forests and subtropical or in the tropical moist montane forests. While the ‘Grey-headed Canary-flycatcher’, breeds in upland oak forests of the Himalayas, during the winter they migrate to the Western Ghats. On the other hand, the bird species of Sat Tal, especially the ‘Plumbeous Water Redstart’ can easily be spotted standing on a rock in the middle of the flowing stream, and can be identified by their sweet sharp call. Even though, the ‘Rufous Chinned Laughing Thrush’, are residents of the evergreen forests of the Himalayas, but they are not a commonly seen specie. This is because they frequent the dense undergrowth in the broad leaved forests and are altitudinal migrants.