The Himalaya and Himalayan Birds

Lavkumar Khacher

The Himalaya is one of the most spectacular physical features of our world. Poets and philosophers have attributed a divine presence to these mountains, and the common man has revered them because of the life-sustaining rivers which flow from them to the plains.

The east to west Himalayan arc extending along the north of the Indian subcontinent plays a crucial role in modifying the climate of India. Not only does it impede the moist oceanic air of the south from being absorbed into the Asian heartland, it also acts as an effective barrier against the dry, frigid polar air flowing south. This moderation of India's climate is also assisted by the mountains diverting the monsoon air currents along their southern flanks from the head of the Bay of Bengal westwards to the plains of the Punjab. This beneficial effect can be clearly seen in a rainfall distribution map of South Asia showing the isoheats extending the moist conditions of Southeast Asia along the Himalaya, far into the otherwise arid regions contiguous to the deserts of South-west Asia. The heavy rainfall on the southern sides of the range and the dry plateau of Tibet to the north are clearly shown up.

However, considering the great altitude of the range, the Himalaya is a less effective climatic barrier than many other, much lower ranges. Though the mountains are high, they are crossed by a number of river gorges which not only permit moisture-laden air from the south to penetrate into the inner valleys, but also induce lowland, tropical species of birds to extend their ranges even beyond the main crest of the Himalaya. This intrusion of tropical species into the mountains is further increased by the fact that the heavier rainfall along the southern flanks has encouraged a great number of birds from the Oriental Region to extend their ranges to the West.

This intrusion of Oriental avifauna into Palaearctic regions is balanced by an extension of temperate Eurasian species far to the east along the higher slopes, well into the tropical valleys of South-east Asia. From the mango topes and clumps of bamboos resounding with the calls of the Koel, the Hawk-Cuckoo and other lowland birds, one can look up to catch a glimpse of snow peaks and distinguish the conifers on the higher slopes from whence faintly comes the call of the Cuckoo. Whitebacked Vultures will be quartering the skies in company with Himalayan Griffon Vultures and perhaps a majestic Lämmergeier!

With roads now penetrating the mountains, it is possible to travel within a few hours from tropical forests of sal, bamboo, silk-cotton and mango into those of temperate trees like the maple, cedar, pine, and rhododendron which are alive with birds like tits, leaf warblers, flycatcher-warblers, tree creepers and nuthatches. A little higher, the forests give way to birch and high-altitude oak close to the tree-line. Beyond are the flower meadows which extend up to the glaciers and permanent snowfields. In these breathtaking spaces the bird-watcher comes across various species of rosefinches, accentors, redstarts, pipits and that most glorious of mountain birds, the Grandala.

As a flock of Snow Pigeons flash past from one meadow to another, a cloud starts forming on an updraft of warm air and one is startled to see a Serpent Eagle of the tropical forests circling up to share the sky with a pair of majestic Golden Eagles. Next there is the electrifying swish of a Himalayan Shaheen (Peregrine) swooping onto a flock of finches flying up towards the crest of a nearby pass. The strike of the Shaheen and the panic of the small passerines highlight another aspect of Himalayan ornithology - the mightiest of mountain ranges is traversed by vast concourses of birds in their seasonal migrations - in autumn from the north to the tropical lowlands, and vice versa in the spring.

The main migration routes of wintering birds coming to India skirt the Himalayan system to the north-west and the north-east because there was once a massive ice cap during the Ice Age which occupied the mountain complex formed by the Tien Shan, the Altin Tagh, the Karakoram and the Himalaya ranges. It is believed that bird migration started some time then and the birds have been bypassing the mountain system ever since! That the Himalayan range does not in fact stop birds from crossing it is demonstrated by typical Tibetan birds like the Brownheaded Gull, Brahminy Duck, Barheaded Goose, Black Redstart, the immense flocks of Short-toed Larks, Tickell's and the Brown Leaf Warbler, and several species of pipits and wagtails - which commonly nest on the Tibetan and Ladakh uplands. They migrate directly across the Himalaya using the huge gorges of the Indus, Chenab, Sutlej, Bhagirathi, Alakananda, Karnali, Arun and Tista rivers. All these rivers have their sources across the main mountain divide, with the Indus, Sutlej and Brahmaputra actually rising on the Tibetan plateau itself and flowing for considerable distances across it.

These great river valleys provide habitats deep inside the mountains for birds of the hot lowlands. The penetration is further facilitated by the flow of warm air up the valleys and flanks of the mountains in the form of powerful diurnal valley winds. Thus, we find that the birds of the Indian plains like babblers, share niches with typical mountain species like laughing thrushes; flocks of Franklin's Longtailed Warblers flit among tangled underbrush with mixed hunting parties of flycatcher-warblers and Redheaded Tits; the Black Drongo, so familiar on lowland farms, follows the operations of the hill farmer as a Grey Drongo of the Himalayan forest launches out in aerial sallies from a tree on the mountainside above.

The long-tailed bird flying into a hedge could be an Indian Treepie or a Himalayan Treepie. The Little Brown and Spotted Doves, Green Bee-eaters, Paradise Flycatchers, Golden Orioles, Common and Jungle Mynas, Redvented Bulbuls, Purple Sunbirds, and White-eyes, move far up in summer to mingle with Verditer and Whitebrowed Blue Flycatchers, chattering flocks of Black Bulbuls, Cinnamon Tree Sparrows, Blueheaded Rock Thrushes, and Dark-grey Bush Chats. Nor should the traveller be surprised to find himself being eyed by a Redwattled Lapwing or a Spurwinged Plover while watching a pair of Plumbeous Redstarts, or a Brown Dipper along a mountain torrent. So great indeed is the mix of lowland species with those of the mountains that to prepare a list of Himalayan birds means the list of the birds of the subcontinent!

If lowland species have ranges extending upwards during the summer, entire populations of mountain birds move down to lower altitudes and a good many not merely spill on to the plains along the base of the mountains but spread right across the subcontinent. It is this winter shift south which makes visiting national parks like Corbett, Manas and even Kaziranga so rewarding. The trans-Himalayan and normally very high altitude species like the Nutcracker, Wren, and Wall Creeper can then be seen at reasonable altitudes, if not right in one's own garden. However, some of the Himalayan species fly across the peninsula and winter on the slopes of the Nilgiris and associated mountains, some going further south to the central Highland core in Sri Lanka! The most famous of these long-distance fliers are the sparrow-sized Blue Chat of the mid-Himalayan shrubberies and the Woodcock, which nests in cool forest glades. A good many of the Himalayan species show their Oriental origins by migrating in an easterly direction to winter in the Chota Nagpur forests and proceeding further south along the Eastern Ghats. The more hardy birdwatcher prepared to brave the winter cold of the upper valleys might hope to come across such Boreal species as the Waxwing, the Fieldfare and the Crossbill.

The altitudinal zonation of vegetation is a remarkable characteristic of the Himalaya flora and distinct zonations have their associated bird species. The altitudes at which different plant communities grow vary considerably, depending on various aspects of the mountain slopes; for instance, forest types on the sunny southern slopes are correspondingly higher than on the northern slopes. The air currents in the major valleys also play a powerful role in determining floral composition; for example, those through which warm, moist winds rise have heavier rainfall and consequently more luxuriant vegetation and a richer bird life. As against this, a major pass permits cold air to blow down with great velocity and these violent winds visibly alter the vegetation of the slopes exposed to them and drier conditions tend to prevail. The main valleys have extremely strong diurnal winds blowing down them and so are very arid; but these same winds benefit the side valleys by producing an almost daily cloud formation, inducing heavier precipitation.

The sheer size of the larger Himalayan massifs tends to create their characteristic climate regimes, the most noteworthy being the Kangchendzonga massif whose stupendous south face abruptly rises above the Teesta valley which is open to the hot, humid plains of Bengal to the south. This creates a mix of micro habitats and niches within specific habitats, to produce an incredible wealth of bird species. Woodpeckers, barbets, hornbills, parakeets, cuckoos, pigeons and owls are not only plentiful but present in great varieties.

The forest floor is rummaged by scimitar babblers, laughing thrushes, pittas, thrushes, and robins. The undergrowth and the moss-draped rocks and tree trunks are industriously searched by flocks of tits, tit-babblers, wren-babblers, yuhinas, flycatcher-warblers, Minlas and shrike-babblers. The disturbed insects are snapped up by flycatchers, while tree creepers and nuthatches run up and down tree trunks assiduously searching under the bark and in crevices for insects and their pupae. Among the foliage are brilliant minivets, orioles, Fairy Bluebirds, leaf warblers (of which the Himalaya has a confusing array), sunbirds, and flowerpeckers. Streams and rivulets are the homes for redstarts, forktails, wagtails, and dippers. The meadows are alive with rosefinches, Gold and Green Finches, while in the temperate forest lower down are their larger relatives, the Black-and-Yellow Grosbeaks, and the spectacularly beautiful Scarlet Finch. The Redbilled and Yellowbilled Blue Magpies never fail to draw exclamations of delight as they chase each other across a valley. There can be nothing more lovely than a male Firetailed Sunbird flitting among sprays of Himalayan orchids.

From the foothills to the tree-line, Himalayan forests resound to full-throated bird-song of great variety and richness. The two species of racquet-tailed drongos, the Spangled or Haircrested Drongo, the Shama, the Orangeheaded Ground Thrush and the Greywinged Blackbird are all excellent mimics or have loud and full songs. It is, however, the rambling whistling tune of the Himalayan Whistling Thrush which is the most familiar sound along the rivers and streams from the foothills right up to the glaciers and snowfields.

Himalayan forests are the home of some of the most colourful pheasants. The cock Monal rivals the peacock in splendour, and the crimson of tragopans has to be seen to be believed. The partridge Family is well represented by several species ranging from the Black and Bamboo Partridge of the foothills to the Chukor, and the Snow Partridge above the tree-line. The Himalayan Snowcock is another game bird found at high altitudes.

The geologically rapid elevation of the Himalayan range and the resulting erosion by the south-flowing rivers has prevented any significant lake from being formed. There are many signs of there having been fairly large lakes all along the range, but these have either been drained by the rivers flowing out and cutting deep gorges, or been filled by siltation from glaciers, landslides and rivers flowing in. Most of the former lakes are now fertile valleys with intense cultivation and a high human population, as in the Vale of Kashmir, the Baspa valley in Kinnaur, the Kathmandu valley drained by the Bhagmati, and the several valleys in Arunachal Pradesh, notably the Apa Tani valley and Daparijo. A couple of such valleys in Bhutan have considerable bogland, while in Kashmir, though the Dal and Nagin lakes are under heavy human pressure, there are the Wullar and the Hooka Jheel which are important summer breeding locations for ducks, moorhens, coots, and Whiskered Terns.

The reed-beds fringing the water provide nesting sites for the Little Bittern and the Indian Great Reed Warbler. All these lakes are important wintering grounds for duck and other waterfowl from temperate Eurasia. In the eastern Himalaya, the valleys are visited by small flocks of the rare Blacknecked Crane, which nest in high altitude wetlands on the Tibetan Plateau, with the breeding range extending into the Rupshu area of Ladakh.

The high altitude trans-Himalayan lakes and marshes are important breeding locations for the Crested Grebe, Barheaded Goose, Brahminy Duck, Merganser and Smew, as well as the Common Tern and the Brownheaded Gull. An unusual nesting species of the high Himalayan valleys close to the glaciers is the Ibisbill which descends in winter to the shingle banks bordering the Himalayan rivers debouching on to the Indian plains. Manas is a good place to look for the Ibisbill in winter. Above the tree-line, where the views are wide, the true feel of the Himalayan world asserts itself. The turbulent Himalayan skies in themselves are a phenomenon which can be observed for hours, and it is here that one is provided with some of the most breathtaking spectacles of birds demonstrating their mastery of flight. Falcons, hawks, eagles and still larger vultures are seen at their best among the rising clouds and snow peaks. These updrafts send innumerable insects into the rarefied atmosphere and, in pursuit of them, flocks of swifts race through the air and whirl around in dizzying circles at unimaginable speeds. This profusion of insect life being blown up the mountains makes the otherwise cold snowfields and glaciers capable of sustaining bird life almost to the very summits of the highest peaks.

The highest fliers are the Yellowbilled and the Redbilled Choughs, two cousins of the crows, which never fail to enthral as flocks of them joyously circle, rise swiftly to become specks in the deep blue sky, and then plummet down in power dives at incredible speeds, giving an impression of indulging in aerobatics for the pure pleasure of their mastery. The Choughs surely epitomize the expression of life's triumph over elemental nature. No sensitive person can remain unmoved on getting to this height and, after regaining breath, allowing one's gaze to follow the effortless glide of a Lämmergeier or the joyous flocks of Choughs demonstrating the harmony attainable between living creatures and the elements.

Sadly, the widespread ecological damage caused to the Himalaya is showing its deleterious effect on the bird life of the mountains. Not only are vast tracts of forest being felled, but over-grazing has created serious degradation with entire slopes showing the ugly scars of landslides and very little vegetation regenerating itself. An added danger is the spraying of insecticides and fungicides as commercial fruit farming spreads. Those bird species that migrate to the plains are further endangered in their winter habitats, which are equally if not more heavily exploited by man. The increase in human population all along the range and the demands for electricity, for roads, for timber, for fuel and the incursion of an unimaginable number of vehicles spewing waste emission into the mountain air are having a baleful influence on the fragile mountain ecosystems. As though all this is not enough, there are threats from such thoughtless scientific experimentation as artificially melting snowfields and glaciers to enhance the water discharge into rivers for the benefit of the insatiable millions in the plains.

Unless some very serious efforts are made to arouse popular concern, the kaleidoscopic avian world of the Himalaya may well become a thing of the past. The great winds will continue to sweep around the remote mountains, the thunder of avalanches will continue to be heard down the years, but the song of the Whistling Thrush will have been silenced, and the joyous gambolling of Choughs will cease. Will there be any compensatory benefits for the people of the Himalaya or the plains below?

Though much is lost, a great deal still remains which can, with wisdom, be revitalized so that future generations following us may continue to go into the mountains to be serenaded by the Whistling Thrush and be lifted into the firmaments with the eagles and Choughs.