MASTERSTROKE
YELLOW-THROATED FULVETTA ScientiďŹ c Name: Alcippe cinerea Location: Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh This is the most common fulvetta in most parts of the Northeast. One sees and hears these birds so much that birders say the bird calls ring in their ears even during their sleep! 64
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FLYING
COLOURS
Ramki Sreenivasan points his lens north-east and gives you some of the rarest birds in the country. DiďŹƒcult to spot and even tougher to shoot, this endemic and diverse range of birdlife poses for Ramki, heralding avian conservation through his lens
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MASTERSTROKE Located at an elevation of about 4,170 metres, in the Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh, is the high-altitude Sela Pass. These coniferous and alpine forests host a multitude of birds for breeding in the summers.
MRS GOULD'S SUNBIRD ScientiďŹ c Name: Aethopyga gouldiae Location: Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh The male of this species is truly spectacular, a splash of colour in the evergreen jungle. It is named after Elizabeth Gould (wife of the legendary bird painter John Gould).
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Ramki Sreenivasan Ramki Sreenivasan is a serial entrepreneur, avid wildlife enthusiast/ photographer and coordinator of Conservation India (conservationindia.org) – India's first and only portal to enable conservation action. He has photographed wildlife extensively in the subcontinent to make people understand India's biodiversity and conservation threats. He believes photography and responsible ecotourism can be significant tools for conservation awareness and action. NAGA WREN-BABBLER Scientific Name: Spelaeornis chocolatinus Location: Khonoma, Nagaland While doing bird surveys in Nagaland in January 2010, our team got several opportunities to observe this extremely localised bird in Khonoma that had been reported only from Nagaland and Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh. Later, we also found this bird at the Fakim Wildlife Sanctuary at the eastern edge of Nagaland (bordering Myanmar).
WHITE-BROWED PICULET Scientific Name: Sasia ochracea Location: Panbari Reserve Forest, Assam This is the smallest of all the Indian woodpeckers, and is found till altitudes of upto 2,000 metres. This was photographed in Panbari Reserve Forest, east of Kaziranga, which is a degraded patch of lowland, evergreen forest and a hotspot for birds. The White-browed Piculet is also the only woodpecker that can perch and is known for its uncanny skills with bamboo, within which it nests.
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MASTERSTROKE RUSTY-FRONTED BARWING Scientific Name: Actinodura egertoni Location: Murlen National Park, Mizoram Rusty-fronted Barwing photographed along the Mizoram-Myanmar border, are commonly seen across the Norteast. Barwings are a key component to mixed hunting parties.
SPOT-BREASTED PARROTBILL Scientific Name: Paradoxornis guttaticollis Location: Pungro, Nagaland This elusive bird was spotted in Nagaland for the first time in January 2010, as part of a governmentsponsored bird survey and I would like to credit this image to ace birder and naturalist Shashank Dalvi (student of NCBS’s Post-Graduate Programme in Wildlife Biology and Conservation), whose knowledge of the region and also its birds was key to this photograph. Similar to its cousin the Black-breasted Parrotbill found in the swampy plains, this species has fine black spots on its whitish throat and breast. This bird was recorded later again in 2010 on the grassy slopes near Nagaland’s Fakim Wildlife Sanctuary.
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SIKKIM WEDGE-BILLED BABBLER Scientific Name: Sphenocichla humei Location: Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh The largest of wren-babblers (now no longer a Babbler) – has a history of getting lumped and split from its below-the-Brahmaputra race (S. roberti). Eaglenest is one of the best places in the world to see this amazing bird. In May, it was at its vocal best, and we recorded as many as 11 different vocalisations. This image was made at 1600 ISO – the undergrowth was pretty dense and almost pitch-dark!
RUFOUS-THROATED FULVETTA Scientific Name: Alcippe rufogularis Location: Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh Photographing smaller birds is one of the many thrills of the northeastern hills. For this species, you need to visit the few low-elevation forests left here (these are disappearing really fast). After a day or two, one starts remembering the field guide plate numbers for fulvettas, wren-babblers, yuhinas, minlas and shrike-babblers!
BROWN PARROTBILL Scientific Name: Cholornis unicolor Location: Eaglenest Pass, Eaglenest The Brown Parrotbill is a striking species, found in the high-altitude stunted bamboo forests at 2,800 metres, especially near the Eaglenest Pass in Arunachal Pradesh.
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MASTERSTROKE MARSH BABBLER Scientific Name: Pellorneum palustre Location: Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, Assam The Marsh Babbler is an old-world babbler, endemic to the Brahmaputra floodplain, its associated tributaries and adjacent hill ranges in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya in India and eastern Bangladesh. However its floodplain habitat fast disappearing, the bird is left highly vulnerable. Though it has got fantastic vocalisations, this species is very elusive and with great difficulty I was able to shoot a few frames.
GOULD'S SHORTWING Scientific Name: Heteroxenicus stellatus Location: Sela Pass, Arunachal Pradesh While birding near Sela Pass in the summer of 2011, we found this enigmatic bird in two habitats: in the rocky gullies above the treeline (above Sela Pass) and in the coniferous forests near Mandala. These landscapes are absolutely magical (though under heavy pressure from the Indian army due to the China border) and the birdlife is fascinating.
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CHESTNUT-TAILED MINLA Scientific Name: Minla strigula Location: Pelling, Sikkim This bird – the commonest minla – suddenly popped up when I was photographing some sunbirds. Its belligerent attitude implied that it probably had a nest nearby and was carrying feed for its young. I beat a hasty retreat after a couple of frames. It also goes by the name of Bar-throated Minla or Bar-throated Siva.
The Dzuleke village near Kohonoma, Nagaland, is surrounded by towering hills and presents splendid birding opportunities.
SPOT-BREASTED SCIMITAR- BABBLER ScientiďŹ c Name: Pomatorhinus mcclellandi Location: Khonoma, Nagaland The greatest skulker of all Scimitar Babblers! This species is found exclusively in the southern part of the hills in Assam (south of the Brahmaputra). From Khonoma in west Nagaland, it co-exists with its Streak-breasted cousin (which has a pan-Himalayan range). They are both known for their constant calls.
SLENDER-BILLED SCIMITAR-BABBLER ScientiďŹ c Name: Pomatorhinus superciliaris Location: Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh We found this amazing bird near the Eaglenest Pass (2800 metres) and got a few frames after a long chase across swathes of dwarf bamboo. The long bill used for probing crevices is a noteworthy feature of this bird. PHOTOGRAPHY
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