monalpheasant
The climate change round the world shows the effect on the natural habitat of the birds. The birds that you see commonly two or three decades back in the capital city of Bhutan, Thimphu have all but disappeared.
Farmers in the capital report seeing new weeds and strange birds.
The Large Billed Crow, Wood Snipe, Himalayan Monal, Green-tailed Sunbird and Barred Cuckoo were a common sight. Not anymore. They have been replaced by birds which were earlier only found in low-lying areas.
Hishey Tshering, a keen bird watcher in Thimphu, said things have changed with nostalgia. He says the familiar chirpings of the birds that he so loved cannot be heard anymore.
“The area behind the swimming pool complex was a very good habitat for the Wood Snipe and many other birds. But the development in that area has completely destroyed the habitat.
“The House Crow which is the bird found in low altitude is now in the town area. You are now seeing more house crows than the Large Billed Crow.”
His concerns are shared by Rebecca Pradhan, an Ecologist at the Royal Society for Protection of Nature.
“Birds such as Snow Finch use to come in winter after the snow. The Snow Finch and the common finch sit and eat insects (which emerge out of the ground after a snowfall). There are many birds which clean the trees, eat insects and larvae.”
RufousSibia
Meanwhile, Rufus Sibia, Verditer Flycatcher and Small Nitalva, which were only seen in the lowlands, are seen today in Thimphu.
