Come to think of it, I had not yet made a post on the birds that I had seen during my visit to Bhutan. Well, I guess the time has come now 😀 .

My family and I had undertaken a birding cum cultural trip to Bhutan in April 2015. It had been a wonderful trip. I fell in love with the country almost immediately; I mean who wouldn’t! The natural beauty anywhere you go is undeniable and inescapable. Just being there, away from all the hustle and bustle of daily life, got us winding down. On the non-birding part of the trip, I had written a post on my memories from the trip. You can read it here. This one is going to be dedicated to the birds that I got to see in the trip; well atleast some of them 🙂 .

The route we covered during the trip in Bhutan was Phuentsholing –> Paro –> Thimphu –> Punakha –> Trongsa –> Zhemgang –> Back to Phuentsholing. Almost all birding was done on the road as we drove through. As we drove along between the towns, we stopped at spots which looked like good habitats, heard calls or saw bird activity.

Bhutan is considered the land of the Laughingthrushes. And rightly so; they were there in almost all places we visited. The only place that I did not see them was around Phuentsholing. Here are some of the Laughingthrushes we saw:

  • Black-faced Laughingthrush
  • White-throated Laughingthrush
  • Striated Laughingthrush
  • Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush
  • Rufous-chinned Laughingthrush

In Thrushes, the ones we saw were the Blue Rock-Thrush, Chestnut-bellied Rock-Thrush and the Blue-capped Rock-Thrush.

  • Chestnut-bellied Rock-Thrush (M)
  • Blue-capped Rock-Thrush (M)

One of the most sought after birds are the Pheasants. We got to see the Kalij Pheasant and the Blood Pheasant, high up in the mountain.

  • Kalij Pheasant (F and M)
  • Blood Pheasant (M)
  • Blood Pheasant (F)

The high altitude region had us seeing the White-winged Grosbeak, Spotted Nutcracker, Himalayan Bluetail, Buff-barred Warbler and Tits like the Rufous-vented Tit .

  • White-winged Grosbeak (M)
  • White-winged Grosbeak (F)
  • Himalayan Bluetail (M)
  • Buff-barred Warbler
  • Rufous-vented Tit

We saw plenty of Bulbuls through the trip. Here are most of them:

  • Black-crested Bulbul
  • Himalayan Black Bulbul
  • Ashy Bulbul
  • Striated Bulbul
  • Mountain Bulbul
  • White-throated Bulbul

Bhutan has a lot of mountain streams all across its land. We made it a point to watch closely as we went by them. Here are many of the birds that I got to see near them:

  • River Lapwing
  • Ibisbill
  • Crested Kingfisher
  • Pallas Gull
  • Brown Dipper
  • Plumbeous Restart
  • Little Forktail

We saw several Flycatchers as well. The ones we saw were the Dark-sided Flycatcher, Pale Blue Flycatcher, Verditer Flycatcher, Ultramarine Flycatcher, Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher and the Grey-headed Canary-Flycatcher.

  • Ultramarine Flycatcher
  • Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher
  • Pale Blue Flycatcher

There were several colourful as well as very vocal Barbets. The Great Barbet could be heard almost everywhere we went. Here are some of the colourful ones:

  • Golden-throated Barbet
  • Blue-throated Barbet

Raptors were not left behind. The ones that obliged were the Mountain Hawk-Eagle, Eurasian Kestrel, Upland Buzzard, Black Eagle, Common Buzzard and Crested Serpent Eagle.

  • Black Eagle
  • Common Buzzard
  • Crested Serpent Eagle

Have you ever heard the wing beats of a large Hornbill? Well, it is unforgettable! We were fortunate to see hear and see two of them; the Great Hornbill and the Rufous-necked Hornbill.

  • Great Hornbill
  • Rufous-necked Hornbill

The Woodpeckers we saw were the Bay Woodpecker, Rufous Woodpecker, Rufous-bellied Woodpecker, Grey-headed Woodpecker and the Darjeeling Woodpecker.

  • Rufous-bellied Woodpecker
  • Grey-headed Woodpecker
  • Darjeeling Woodpecker

The Nuthatches were represented by the Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch and the White-tailed Nuthatch.

  • Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch
  • White-tailed Nuthatch

Here are some very “interesting” looking birds, atleast to me 😀

  • Blue-beared Bee-eater
  • Long-tailed Broadbill
  • Grey-cheeked Warbler
  • Brown Parrotbill
  • Chestnut-crowned Warbler
  • Silver-eared Mesia

Babblers, especially Scimitar-Babblers are one of my favourite species; to watch and to hear. The two I saw were the Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babbler and the Rusty-cheeked Scimitar-Babbler.

  • Streak-breasted Scimitar-Babbler
  • Rusty-cheeked Scimitar-Babbler

The Pigeons and Doves I saw were the Snow Pigeon, Green Imperial-Pigeon, Wedge-tailed Green-Pigeon, Oriental Turtle-Dove, Asian Emerald Dove and the Barred Cuckoo-Dove.

  • Wedge-tailed Green-Pigeon
  • Barred Cuckoo-Dove
  • Asian Emerald Dove

The one bird that I really struggled to spot was the Yellow-rumped Honeyguide. It was so well camouflaged against the rock surface. But I finally managed to get a picture as it moved its position.

  • Yellow-rumped Honeyguide

Here are some of the other birds that showed themselves:

  • Common Hoopoe
  • Red-billed Chough
  • Brownish-flanked Bush-Warbler
  • Orange-bellied Leafbird
  • Hairy-crested Drongo
  • Blyth’s Shrike-Babbler
  • Crested Bunting
  • Stripe-throated Yuhina
  • Grey Treepie
  • Rufous-bellied Niltava
  • Grey-backed Shrike
  • Red-headed Bullfinch
  • Scarlet Minivet
  • Yellow-billed Blue-Magpie
  • Grey Bushchat
  • Large Hawk-Cuckoo
  • Rufous-fronted Barwing
  • Alexandrine Parakeet
  • Pied Starling

To sum it up, Bhutan is a great place for birding. You will however need time on your hand. Travelling between places can be slow owing to windy and steep mountain roads and of course stopping for birding enroute 😀 .

Birding is done almost all along the road. Photographing birds is not too difficult, well atleast as long as they show up 🙂 .

It is also one of the places where there are reasonable chances to see rare species like the Satyr Tragopan, White-bellied Heron and the Black-necked Crane. They are however it different locations and will involve travel; and of course luck! I would recommend birding in Bhutan to everyone.