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Anatidae (Ducks, Geese, and Waterfowl)

LESSER WHISTLING-DUCK (Dendrocygna javanica)

Seen only at the Gelephu sewage ponds, where there were about 15-20 birds present.

RUDDY SHELDUCK (Tadorna ferruginea) [b]

Most of these had already moved northward to their breeding grounds, and our only sighting was of a group of 4 birds flying over as we birded along the Po Chhu.

COMMON SHELDUCK (Tadorna tadorna) [b]

Despite this being the 2nd consecutive year we’ve had this species on tour, this is not a bird we expect, as it remains an uncommon passage migrant in the country. We had fine views of a couple of them with a smattering of other ducks along the Puna Tsang Chhu.

GARGANEY (Spatula querquedula) [b]

Brian picked out a pair of these from among the many ducks along the Puna Tsang Chhu. The male was in full breeding plumage, though we couldn't fully appreciate him as he was asleep the whole time.

NORTHERN SHOVELER (Spatula clypeata) [b]

As with the Common Shelduck, this is a species we rarely get on this tour, though we also had a couple last year. On this trip, we had a lone drake at the same spot as the shelducks, then 2 more among a larger concentration of ducks further downstream.

GADWALL (Mareca strepera) [b]

A total of 11 birds at two different spots along the Puna Tsang Chhu.

EURASIAN WIGEON (Mareca penelope) [b]

A big group of roughly 50 birds made up the majority of the largest flock of ducks along the Puna Tsang Chhu. Our only other sighting was of a trio of lingering migrants loafing on the shore of the Par Chhu on our final afternoon in Bhutan.

MALLARD (Anas platyrhynchos) [b]

A regular wintering bird in the country, though they must tend to leave early, as this may be the first time we’ve had them on this tour. We found a pair, and a separate, lone drake in the largest group of ducks on the chhu.

NORTHERN PINTAIL (Anas acuta) [b]

A hen was doing her best to blend in among the many ducks on the Puna Tsang Chhu.

GREEN-WINGED TEAL (EURASIAN) (Anas crecca crecca) [b]

A couple of pairs among the large duck flock on the Puna Tsang Chhu.

RED-CRESTED POCHARD (Netta rufina) [b]

Seven of these handsome ducks, including some gorgeous, breeding-plumaged males, were in the large duck flock on the Puna Tsang Chhu, again the 2nd consecutive year we’ve had them on tour.

COMMON POCHARD (Aythya ferina) [b]

It was a pretty exceptional trip for waterfowl, and the 13 species we had was 4 more than our next highest count. This one was the most unexpected, as it is a pretty scarce migrant through the country. We had excellent looks at a drake with the large group of ducks.

COMMON MERGANSER (Mergus merganser) [b]

Regular here in winter, but mostly gone by the time we get here. We saw two birds this trip, with a male at the same spot as the Common Shelduck, and a female further downstream.

Phasianidae (Pheasants, Grouse, and Allies)

HILL PARTRIDGE (Arborophila torqueola) [*]

A common and widespread species that we heard on all but a couple of days but never saw. The closest we came was on our first morning at Chelela, where a bird was calling loudly from the hillside above us, and seemed interested in the recording I played. I suspect it was able to see us though we never even glimpsed it.

RUFOUS-THROATED PARTRIDGE (Arborophila rufogularis)

I think Jill and I were the only ones to get semi-reasonable looks at a pair scrabbling up a leaf-littered embankment along the roadside near Nganglam.

BLOOD PHEASANT (Ithaginis cruentus)

After missing this species entirely on last year's visit to Chelela, it was great to have some fantastic looks at as many as 10 of them on this trip! A couple of pairs showed beautifully as they fed along the roadside, with a couple of the males also popping up onto short stumps to call loudly in full view. Almost two weeks went by before we saw them again, with some more super looks at a couple of pairs along the old road between the Ura Valley and Jakar.

SATYR TRAGOPAN (Tragopan satyra)

A very easy bird to miss, but luckily we didn't, though we only saw one. That bird came near our camp at Sengor, when, after an already exceptional early morning outing, we were driving back to camp and suddenly spotted a glorious male standing at the edge of the trees on the roadside. Fortunately, he did not melt back into the forest, but stood stock still before strolling slowly out onto the road, then lowered his head and ran across in front of us, flying up to the opposite bank upon reaching the other side. It was a fantastic sighting of a smashing bird, captured beautifully by Jill on her phone! With Eph and Steve both picking this as their top bird of the trip, this handsome pheasant narrowly beat out Ibisbill as bird of the trip.

HIMALAYAN MONAL (Lophophorus impejanus)

As we drove by our crew's campsite on our way up Chelela, they waved us down and pointed across the large clearing, where a gorgeous male monal was strutting about in the open. We managed some fantastic looks before he ambled off out of sight. Further up the pass, we came across 4 females heading up the hillside, where we found them again at the pass, feeding in a clearing with a flock of Snow Pigeons. It was lucky we had such good views that morning, as we never saw another through the remainder of the trip. This species was chosen by Carolyn as her bird of the trip.

KALIJ PHEASANT (Lophura leucomelanos)

Though this is a pretty widespread species which we saw numerous times throughout last year's tour, we only got lucky with them on the day we left Tingtibi, when we had great looks at 3 different pairs and a lone male along the roadside in a very short span of the early morning. Our only other sighting was of a male scrounging around at the forest's edge next to our picnic site west of Nganglam.

INDIAN PEAFOWL (Pavo cristatus)

I believe it was Kira that spotted our only one for the trip, a male feeding under an electrical tower in the lowlands near Gelephu. Despite the fact he was missing his showy tail plumes, it was still fun to see this colorful bird in the wild.

GRAY PEACOCK-PHEASANT (Polyplectron bicalcaratum) [*]

Heard on a couple of days along the southern border with India. We did try to lure a close, calling male onto the road at Royal Manas NP, but it wouldn't bite.

RED JUNGLEFOWL (Gallus gallus)

Brian spotted our first, a hen, sneaking through the undergrowth across the road from our picnic breakfast site at TIngtibi, and we had pretty good looks when she burst out of the vegetation and flew across the road. The following morning we had a good encounter with a rooster that crossed the road ahead as we birded near the Marang Jungle Camp, before it circled back to the hens it had apparently left behind. Finally, we had great looks at a couple of pairs feeding on the roadside near Nganglam.

Columbidae (Pigeons and Doves)

ROCK PIGEON (Columba livia) [I]

Though there should be wild birds in the country, all the ones we saw appeared to be of the feral variety.

SNOW PIGEON (Columba leuconota)

A group of 14 of these handsome pigeons showed beautifully at the top of Chelela, where they were feeding with a group of female Himalayan Monals, and a few other birds, though we couldn't see what was attracting them. Our only other sighting was of a big flock of 120+ that Brian spotted roosting on a distant cliff face!

ORIENTAL TURTLE-DOVE (Streptopelia orientalis)

Very common and seen almost every day.

SPOTTED DOVE (Spilopelia chinensis)

Small numbers in the lowland areas near the Indian border.

BARRED CUCKOO-DOVE (Macropygia unchall)

We managed some pretty decent scope views of a distant, calling bird at Darachu Camp, then improved on those when we found a trio of them in a multi-bulbul fruiting tree along the road near Marang.

ASIAN EMERALD DOVE (Chalcophaps indica)

Super looks at this lovely dove which Brian spotted on a roadway below us as we left the town of Tingtibi. For most of us that was our only sighting, though Cal and Carolyn also saw one fly by at Royal Manas NP the next day.

PIN-TAILED GREEN-PIGEON (Treron apicauda)

During our kingfisher vigil at the bridge near the concrete plant at Nganglam, three of these birds flew up to a nearby dead tree where they sat for much of our time there, partially making up for the kingfisher not showing up.

WEDGE-TAILED GREEN-PIGEON (Treron sphenurus)

One of the final new birds of the trip, as we spotted one perched out in the open in a little ravine as we drove down the road from Dochula on our way back to Paro.

GREEN IMPERIAL-PIGEON (Ducula aenea)

Not the best of views, but at least one of these pigeons flew past as we birded the Gelephu sewage ponds. A couple of other large pigeons were almost certainly this species, too, but were not seen well enough to rule out Mountain IP.

MOUNTAIN IMPERIAL-PIGEON (Ducula badia)

A fairly common bird, seen first at Darachu Camp, but mot numerous in the Nganglam area, where we had plenty of good views. At least a couple of the large pigeons we saw fly past at Darachu appeared to be Ashy Wood-Pigeon, though the lighting was difficult and we couldn't rule out this species.

Cuculidae (Cuckoos)

GREEN-BILLED MALKOHA (Phaenicophaeus tristis)

We only saw 3 of these large cuckoos, but had super looks at the first pair along the road into Royal Manas NP. Our only other one was seen on a bamboo-covered hillside as we left Nganglam.

ASIAN KOEL (Eudynamys scolopaceus)

Either very local or not very vocal at this time of year, as we had very few. We heard one at the Punakha Dzong, where Carolyn and Kira also saw a female perched on a ledge of the dzong itself! Otherwise, our only records were of a couple at the Gelephu sewage ponds.

BANDED BAY CUCKOO (Cacomantis sonneratii)

Three of four of our records were heard only in the lowlands near the Indian border, but we also had one very good sighting of a responsive bird along the road between Marang and Royal Manas NP.

PLAINTIVE CUCKOO (Cacomantis merulinus) [*]

Heard at the same time and place as the Banded Bay Cuckoo that we saw, but this one went quiet after I played its call and we never saw or heard it again.

SQUARE-TAILED DRONGO-CUCKOO (Surniculus lugubris)

I heard this very drongo-like cuckoo several times in the distance, though no one else could pick it up. Then finally, we heard a reasonably close one along the Tsamang Road, and it seemed to respond as the next time it called it was on the other side of us, but it then went quiet and that was it. Happily, the following morning, t was singing once again, and we managed to track it down for some good scope views.

LARGE HAWK-CUCKOO (Hierococcyx sparverioides)

"Brain fever!" This cuckoo was heard nearly everywhere, and every day, but seeing it is usually tricky. We actually spotted 2 different birds from the bus, perched in leafless trees along the road, but both flew off when we stopped, before everyone had a satisfactory view. They continued to taunt us before we finally got everyone a good look during breakfast at Yongkola. As we were just sitting down at the table, an apparent Accipiter flew across the road and landed in view, and it turned out to be one of these, instead. It certainly showed us how fitting the name it, as it didn't look much different in flight from the previous morning's Besras!

HIMALAYAN CUCKOO (Cuculus saturatus)

Another frustrating cuckoo voice that taunted us on many days of the trip before finally showing itself. As vocal as they were, I was quite surprised at how unresponsive they proved to be. Carolyn did see one dash furtively across the road near Yongkola as we tried to track down its perch, but the rest of us had to wait until our final picnic lunch near Dochula, when one finally deigned to show itself, though it was still pretty slippery and elusive.

COMMON CUCKOO (Cuculus canorus)

Much less common then the above 2 species, but we had a much easier time with this one when we spotted one sitting out in the open on a fencepost on our way to Jakar. After we'd had our fill of scope views, the bird put an end to any debate as to its identity by flying off to some nearby trees and beginning to voice the familiar cuckoo clock call.

Caprimulgidae (Nightjars and Allies)

GRAY NIGHTJAR (Caprimulgus jotaka) [*]

I heard this common species on many nights from our lodgings, usually at around the godawful hour of 4:00 AM, and often at quite some distance. We came close to seeing them at Punakha and Sengor camp, but just couldn't seal the deal.

Apodidae (Swifts)

WHITE-THROATED NEEDLETAIL (Hirundapus caudacutus)

This species is only present in Bhutan as a summer visitor, and we missed it entirely on last year's tour. So I was a bit surprised how often we ran into them this year. We started with a group of about 30 circling over Darachu camp early in the morning. Later we saw them a few times in the Nganglam region, and finally had a single bird whiz past our picnic breakfast spot at Yongkola.

SILVER-BACKED NEEDLETAIL (Hirundapus cochinchinensis)

A scarce species in the country, though a number of recent records, most of which come from Gelephu, suggest that these may be more regular than once thought. We had fine views of a single bird skimming the surface of one of the sewage ponds. The darkish throat is the main feature to separate this species from the similar White-throated Needletail.

HIMALAYAN SWIFTLET (Aerodramus brevirostris)

A handful of these small swifts were flying with Blyth's Swifts over our picnic breakfast site at Yongkola, and a few were seen over the pass at Dochula on our final day.

BLYTH'S SWIFT (Apus leuconyx)

Part of the former Fork-tailed Swift complex, which is now split into 4 very similar species. This one was reasonably common towards the end of the trip, likely as they were just arriving from their wintering areas in the subcontinent.

ASIAN PALM SWIFT (Cypsiurus balasiensis)

A summer visitor to the southern parts of the country. We saw a pair flying around some palms during our holdup at the checkpoint near Gelephu, then another along the road in to Royal Manas NP.

Rallidae (Rails, Gallinules, and Coots)

WHITE-BREASTED WATERHEN (Amaurornis phoenicurus)

Pretty easy to see for a rail. We had one show nicely at the Gelephu sewage ponds, then another foraging below the bridge over the small river near the concrete plant at Nganglam.

BLACK-TAILED CRAKE (Zapornia bicolor)

Seen only on our arrival day, when we had a fantastic show of a bird parading around in the open in a wetland near the river in the Paro valley.

Ibidorhynchidae (Ibisbill)

IBISBILL (Ibidorhyncha struthersii)

It was an amazing start to the tour when we spotted this much-wanted bird foraging along the Par Chhu less than 2 minutes after leaving the Paro airport! That it was nice and close and the lighting conditions were superb made it all the better. The only own side was that Eph and Kira weren't with us at the time, so after picking them up at the hotel, we paid it another visit. After a bit of searching, Jill finally spotted the bird upriver, still in good light, and still quite close, so they were also able to enjoy this spectacle! We had a few other sightings, all along the Par Chhu, but this was easily the best, and it prompted both Brian and Cal to choose it as their overall favorite bird of the tour.

Charadriidae (Plovers and Lapwings)

LITTLE RINGED PLOVER (Charadrius dubius) [b]

Brian found us our only one, a bird in fine breeding plumage, along the Puna Tsang Chhu.

RIVER LAPWING (Vanellus duvaucelii)

A common sight along several rivers in the Paro/Thimphu/Punakha regions. And such feisty birds! It was particularly fun watching the ones launching several aerial attacks on the rather stoic Steppe Eagle along the Po Chhu.

RED-WATTLED LAPWING (Vanellus indicus)

A single, distant bird along the Puna Tsang Chhu, then much closer looks at several at the Gelephu sewage ponds.

Scolopacidae (Sandpipers and Allies)

COMMON SANDPIPER (Actitis hypoleucos) [b]

A couple of these were at the Gelephu sewage ponds, and singles at a number of sites along the various chhus in the western part of the country.

GREEN SANDPIPER (Tringa ochropus) [b]

Brian and I saw one fly past along the Po Chhu,, but we had far better views of 3 or 4 at Gelephu sewage ponds.

WOOD SANDPIPER (Tringa glareola) [b]

This appears to be a rather scarce migrant in the country, though it's probably overlooked and regular in small numbers. We had great comparative views of our only one alongside both Green and Common sandpipers at the Gelephu sewage ponds, though Ebird doesn't seem to have accepted the record as of yet.

Ciconiidae (Storks)

BLACK STORK (Ciconia nigra) [b]

We had finished our picnic lunch on the way down to Gelephu, and were about to hop back on the bus, when someone yelled “Raptor!” We all looked up to see what appeared to be a large eagle flying directly towards us, but as it got closer, it became clearer that it wasn’t a raptor at all, but one of these storks, which ended up flying directly over us. More surprisingly, we had another the following day on our drive up to Tingtibi! I suspect this is another species that tends to move through the country before our tour arrives, as they are regular here, but this was the first for our Bhutan tours, I believe.

Phalacrocoracidae (Cormorants and Shags)

LITTLE CORMORANT (Microcarbo niger)

Very common along the river near the Sheychamthang Checkpoint (where we were held up for half an hour) and at the Gelephu sewage ponds.

GREAT CORMORANT (Phalacrocorax carbo)

A single bird along the Po Chhu during our picnic breakfast on the riverside, and another as we searched for White-bellied Heron along the Mangde Chhu.

Ardeidae (Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns)

LITTLE EGRET (Egretta garzetta)

Three or four birds along the river at the Sheychamthang checkpoint.

STRIATED HERON (Butorides striata) [b]

A regular passage migrant, but another species I don’t believe we’ve had on this tour before. I thought I heard one from my bed at Marang Jungle Camp prior to first light, but wasn’t 100% sure. But later that morning, Eph photographed an adult along the river, and both Kira and I saw it as we were searching for Eph.

INDIAN POND-HERON (Ardeola grayii)

A couple of birds along the river near the checkpoint, and 9 at the Gelephu sewage ponds. Interestingly, while the two birds along the river looked to be pretty much in full breeding plumage, all of the ones at the sewage ponds were in non-breeding dress.

EASTERN CATTLE EGRET (Bulbulcus coromandus)

About half a dozen were seen with cattle along the highway between Sarpang and Gelephu.

GRAY HERON (Ardea cinerea) [b]

A regular, but rare passage migrant in the country, mainly along the Puna Tsang Chhu, where we had our only sighting of 3 birds together on a gravel bar.

WHITE-BELLIED HERON (Ardea insignis)

With roughly 27 birds remaining in Bhutan (out of an estimated world population of 50-250 mature individuals), our chances of seeing this rare species were not great, but being accompanied by a heron surveyor from Tingtibi was helpful, as he showed us the site of this year's nest, and some of the areas the herons use most frequently. Unfortunately for us, the 3 eggs from this year's nest had been removed and taken to the conservation centre to be hand-raised, with 2 of the 3 hatching successfully. So we had to hope for an encounter with a feeding bird. Thanks to Cal, we did get that encounter, as he spotted a heron-sized bird flying up the river below our vantage point, just before we were going to leave. As the bird did not reappear further upriver, I changed position to scan the area in between, and spotted the heron along the near edge of the river. Sadly, despite our distance from the river, the bird seemed very wary (the surveyor, Damber, blamed the presence of some cattle), and flew back downstream just as the first members of the group reached my position, and only Steve and Kira had a view of it as it disappeared behind the trees.

Threskiornithidae (Ibises and Spoonbills)

RED-NAPED IBIS (Pseudibis papillosa)

Mainly a species of the subcontinent, but seems to be increasingly regular at Gelephu. We were driving back into town from the sewage ponds when we spotted a flock of birds circling overhead. Though the lighting wasn’t fantastic, we were able to clearly see the distinctive white shoulder patch on many of the birds. We estimated at least 15-20 of them, which appears to be the largest number yet for Bhutan! From all appearances, it seemed these birds were heading for a night roost on the outskirts of town.

Pandionidae (Osprey)

OSPREY (Pandion haliaetus)

Yet another regularly-occurring species that we’ve rarely seen on this tour. We spotted a raptor flying ahead of the bus as we approached Paro, but it was flying away from us. We managed to follow it, then pull over as it circled back and began to fly towards us, and we were out of the bus when it briefly landed on a rocky perch above the river before flying off once again. This was a surprising final addition to our bird list.

Accipitridae (Hawks, Eagles, and Kites)

ORIENTAL HONEY-BUZZARD (Pernis ptilorhynchus)

The most numerous raptor of the trip, though the numbers were seriously inflated by that migratory group of 27 birds kettling over the ridge west of Nganglam! Other sightings were scattered over several days, with some good looks at both dark morph birds, and some very pale, and pale-headed light morph individuals.

HIMALAYAN GRIFFON (Gyps himalayensis)

We normally see these huge birds mainly around Pele La, and while that was where we saw the majority of them, including one, perched in a roadside tree, that was being continually harassed by a cheeky crow. But our fist ones were much earlier in the tour, when Brian spotted one landing on the far side of the Po Chhu. We stopped for a look, and eventually noticed another, mostly hidden by a berm, that had a crow perched atop its back, apparently trying to drive it off from whatever carcass it was feeding on.

CRESTED SERPENT-EAGLE (Spilornis cheela)

Reasonably common, and we had several nice studies of this distinctive eagle, both in flight, when the broad, white band in the wings is a distinct and obvious feature, as well as a couple of perched birds, one close to the road, that allowed us to note the lax crest feathers and subtle spotting.

MOUNTAIN HAWK-EAGLE (Nisaetus nipalensis)

Just a few, with our first being a soaring bird passing overhead near Nganglam. Our best views though, were along the Tsamang Road, where Steve spotted one perched high above the road on the ridgetop, which gave us a great chance to study it at length through the scope.

RUFOUS-BELLIED EAGLE (Lophotriorchis kienerii)

Kira spotted our first flying well below us as we scanned in vain for White-bellied Herons from a viewpoint above the Puna Tsang Chhu. Not everyone picked it up, and it became increasingly difficult, but for those that did see it, the obvious pale patches at the base of the primaries on the upper wing were the feature that stood out and allowed us to make an ID. A few days later, those that had missed the first one got another chance to see this species when one circled overhead as we birded the ridge went of Nganglam. From that angle, the dark belly contrasting with the white throat and upper breast helped clinch the identification.

BLACK EAGLE (Ictinaetus malaiensis)

Usually a commonly-encountered species on this tour, so the 3 birds we saw was well below average. But at least we had good views of at least a couple of them (one on our way to Darachu camp, the other near camp the following morning) noting their long wings and widely splayed (fingered) primaries.

STEPPE EAGLE (Aquila nipalensis) [b]

A passage migrant in Bhutan, and one we rarely see on this tour. We had the great fortune to not only see one, but get incredible, long scope studies of it as it sat atop a large boulder in the middle of the Po Chhu, barely heeding the attacking pair of River Lapwings that objected to its presence. The broad white bands across the flight feathers marked this one as an immature bird.

CRESTED GOSHAWK (Accipiter trivirgatus)

As we drove from the Marang Jungle Camp towards Royal Manas NP in the early morning, we came upon one of these birds perched in a roadside tree. After making sure everyone had an acceptable view from the bus, we decided to cautiously and quietly disembark to try to get a scope on it. We needn't have bothered being stealthy, as the bird was completely unperturbed by our presence, and was still sitting there long after we'd had our fill of scope views and had moved on to other birds.

SHIKRA (Accipiter badius)

Our only definite one was a very pale individual that flew in and landed on the hillside above our roadside rest stop along the Puna Tsang Chhu. It kept changing perches which made it tough to get anyone a scope view, but the looks we had at the very light, and almost unmarked underwings helped to rule out other Accipiters.

BESRA (Accipiter virgatus)

Very similar to the larger Crested Goshawk, but without a crest. We had nice looks at a pair flying around at our Yongkola picnic breakfast spot, one of the birds perching long enough for some to get scope looks. Another bird was seen, and heard calling loudly several times, during our marten stop on our way down from Pelela.

EURASIAN SPARROWHAWK (Accipiter nisus)

One bird was seen circling over the road right up at the top of Chelela. Another was spotted perched in a tree above the road near Sengor Camp. It flew when we got off the bus, but only moved further up the hill to a prominent boulder, where it remained long enough for us to scope it. In addition to these two, I suspect that at least some of our half a dozen unidentified Accipiters were probably this species.

HIMALAYAN BUZZARD (Buteo refectus)

Our first were circling high over a ridge on our way up to Darachu camp, but much better views came towards the end of the tour. On our way up to Pelela, I spotted a raptor dropping into the vegetation at the edge of a clearing in the forest. After we stopped, the bird, a dark morph individual, flew up and passed by at very close quarters, giving us fantastic looks (and Eph some superb photos). Later that day, as we drove down into the Phobjikha valley, Kira spotted another, this one a light morph bird, perched close to the road.

Strigidae (Owls)

COLLARED SCOPS-OWL (Otus lettia) [*]

When I woke up in the wee hours of the morning in Punakha, I was surprised to hear one of these owls calling outside of the hotel. It was still calling when we met to try for nightjars just before dawn, but on the other side of the hotel. We gave it a valiant effort, but it refused to move close enough for us to find it.

TAWNY FISH-OWL (Ketupa flavipes)

I knew there were some recent records of these owls near Yongkola, and had a vague idea of where, so, as we had plenty of time, I asked Chador and Pema if they knew the site. Neither did, but after a couple of phone calls, they had directions to the spot, and off we went on a narrow dirt track. Chador finally stopped and announced we were in the right place, but we still had to find the birds. Good fortune was with us, as shortly after we began scouring the trees, a trio of locals with loads of firewood on their backs came walking up. One woman started pointing into the trees as soon as she saw me. I initially thought she was indicating the macaques that were feeding nearby, but no, she said she’d just seen the owls, and graciously walked back up the road with us to point them out! I love it when a plan comes together!

ASIAN BARRED OWLET (Glaucidium cuculoides)

A mainly diurnal small owl, this species is quite common throughout the Himalayan region and into Southeast Asia. We had decent scope looks at one of a pair that were calling at the Gelephu sewage ponds, thanks to Kira's sharp eyes. We had brief looks at another at Marang Jungle Camp, as well as hearing a handful in other locales.

COLLARED OWLET (Taenioptynx brodiei)

Amazing spotting by Brian to pick this tiny owl up from the moving bus as we headed north from Nganglam! The owl sat out for some good scope views and a nice photo session, beautifully showing off the false eyes on the back of its head. Others were heard at Chelela, the Yongkola region, and at Sengor camp.

HIMALAYAN OWL (Strix nivicolum) [*]

We heard nothing but silence when we tried for these on our night at Sengor camp. The following morning, just before dawn, two birds were calling to each other from opposite sides of the camp, though they were unmoved by my attempts to call them closer. We heard another, distant bird, early in the morning in the Phobjikha valley.

Trogonidae (Trogons)

RED-HEADED TROGON (Harpactes erythrocephalus)

We all got some kind of look at the male of a pair at Royal Manas NP, though it slipped away out of sight before anyone had really got their fill. The birds kept calling to each other from opposite sides of the road, and Sharon, who'd stuck with them after the rest of us had been distracted by something else, got good looks when the female dashed across to join her mate. luckily, we had another, better, encounter near Nganglam, where we wound up with super scope studies of a handsome male. Rounding out our sightings, we had another pair on the other side of Nganglam on our way up to Yongkola the next morning.

WARD'S TROGON (Harpactes wardi)

Bhutan is one of the strongholds of this trogon, which has a pretty small world range, but even here it is not an easy bird to find. We noted that there were several recent sightings of these birds near Dochula, so we tried our luck, and were soon hearing the call of one from a heavily wooded ravine above the road. Shortly afterward, Eph announced that he could see the bird, and he soon had us all on it! I'd be lying if I said it was a fantastic look, as it was in the shadows, partially obscured, and had its back to us, but our scope views showed clearly that it was a Ward's Trogon, and a male at that, so this was most definitely a win!

Upupidae (Hoopoes)

EURASIAN HOOPOE (Upupa epops)

We had several nice views of these striking birds along the way, but none better than our first ones which we found feeding on the ground beside the parking lot at the Punakha Dzong, right after our fantastic tour of the dzong? The birds seemed remarkably unconcerned by all of us standing around ogling them, and one of the pair barely flinched even when a dog ventured within a few feet of it, though it did appear to be on high alert.

Bucerotidae (Hornbills)

GREAT HORNBILL (Buceros bicornis)

Our first sighting of this magnificent bird was also our best, though it was a much closer contest than with the hoopoes, as we had several incredible sightings, including at least 10 together in a single tree near Tingtibi. But that first sighting was especially memorable. Our driver, Chador, spotter a pair in a fruiting fig tree over the road as we headed north from Gelephu. When we got out of the bus, the birds flew off a short distance, but remained in full view. Over the next few minutes, we watched as the male regurgitated somewhere around 50 tiny figs, one by one, before passing them to the female for her to eat. It was a fascinating pair bonding behavior that I now wish I'd taken the time to video! Sharon was especially captivated by these birds, and put them at the top of her list of favorites.

RUFOUS-NECKED HORNBILL (Aceros nipalensis)

Our first hornbills of the trip. We spotted a pair in a roadside tree as we drove down towards Sarpang. They flushed as we stopped, and we only got a view of an unmarked white tail, so initially we weren't certain if they were this species or Wreathed. Happily, they landed in a spot where we could still see them, and we had some nice scope studies of the two posed side by side. We had a few more sightings of this range-restricted species, but again, this first was our best.

WREATHED HORNBILL (Rhyticeros undulatus)

Our only definite sighting was of a high-flying pair going over our picnic breakfast spot on our way north from Nganglam. We initially thought they would be Rufous-necked, but the whitish head and yellow pouch of the male was visible despite the distance,

Alcedinidae (Kingfishers)

BLYTH'S KINGFISHER (Alcedo hercules)

Kinley had passed on the information about where this scarce species had been seen near Nganglam, so we did a stakeout at the bridge in hopes of seeing one. After about 45 minutes, though, we decided it was not meant to be, and carried on towards our breakfast spot. Upon arriving there, we drove across the bridge just before where the table was set up, and spotted one of these sitting on a rock just below the bridge! What splendid serendipity, and what a splendid bird, far more attractive than it looks in the book!

COMMON KINGFISHER (Alcedo atthis)

Common might not be an accurate descriptor from our experience, as we tallied just a couple of birds on the same morning along the Puna Tsang Chhu, and only one of those was actually seen by all.

WHITE-THROATED KINGFISHER (Halcyon smyrnensis)

Almost all of our birds were seen over a 3-day period from Punakha (where we had nice looks at a couple of calling birds along the Po Chhu) to Tingtibi, but the outlier came a few days later near Lingmethang, and it was arguably our best, and closest sighting. Perched on a power line close to the road, that individual finally allowed Eph to get the photographs he desired, albeit with an unsightly power line rather than a lovely tree branch.

CRESTED KINGFISHER (Megaceryle lugubris)

The largest of Bhutan's kingfishers, and we did better than usual with this species, tallying 9 of them over 6 days between Punakha and the Nganglam area. Our first ones were pretty memorable, as we spotted them as we walked across the covered bridge towards the Punakha Dzong for our tour.

Meropidae (Bee-eaters)

BLUE-BEARDED BEE-EATER (Nyctyornis athertoni)

Singles were seen on 3 days, with each sighting a bit better than the previous one. Our first was perched on a wire at the Gelephu sewage ponds, clearly this beefy bee-eater (beefeater?) but in pretty poor light. The next one came along the entrance road to Marang Jungle Camp. It was closer, and in better light, but never sat in one place for very long. Our final one was along Tsamang Road, and was perched at eye level in decent light, and it stayed just long enough for everyone to get a good view.

CHESTNUT-HEADED BEE-EATER (Merops leschenaulti)

A few sightings at lower elevation sites along the Indian border. A group of 4 along the road into Royal Manas NP accounted for half of our total number.

Coraciidae (Rollers)

INDOCHINESE ROLLER (Coracias affinis)

One was seen by some as we drove the highway between Sarpang and Gelephu, with the rest of us catching up with scope views of a perched bird at the sewage ponds. Our only other sighting was of a bird flying over at Royal Manas NP. A recent split from Indian Roller, and both are possible at Gelephu, though this appears to be the more regular species here.

Megalaimidae (Asian Barbets)

BLUE-EARED BARBET (Psilopogon cyanotis) [*]

We heard a couple of close, calling birds at Royal Manas NP, but couldn’t spot them in the canopy.

GREAT BARBET (Psilopogon virens)

One of the most common, and incessant, voices emanating from the forests from Day 3 at Dochula through to the final day of the tour, with the exception of 2 days around Sengor and the Ura valley. We did see quite a few, though I can't remember any one bird that sat out for long enough to scope other than a few quite distant ones.

LINEATED BARBET (Psilopogon lineatus)

Only at the Gelephu sewage ponds, where we had excellent looks at a couple of close birds.

GOLDEN-THROATED BARBET (Psilopogon franklinii)

Though we heard our first ones on our way down to Gelephu from Darachu camp, we didn't see these lovely barbets until we got to the Yongkola area. There we found them to be especially numerous along the Tsamang Road, where we also got our best views.

BLUE-THROATED BARBET (Psilopogon asiaticus)

This colorful barbet was a common sight and sound for a week mid-tour, from just below Darachu camp through to the Nganglam area.

Indicatoridae (Honeyguides)

YELLOW-RUMPED HONEYGUIDE (Indicator xanthonotus)

This odd bird is closely associated with Giant Rock Bees, the males defending the bee colonies and mating with females that come to feed. Chador showed us a spot near Yongkola that had plenty of the bee hives, and within minutes, a presumed male honeyguide paid a visit, then flew off to a nearby perch to observe. It made several subsequent visits to the hives, each time returning to the same tree afterward. Eventually a second bird showed up and the original bird took chase, calling as it pursued the intruder/potential mate (?). A couple of days later, we were actually able to spot the bird from the bus in passing, as it was using one of the same perches near the hives that we'd seen it use previously.

Picidae (Woodpeckers)

SPECKLED PICULET (Picumnus innominatus) [N]

Aka Pickled Speculet. We had nice looks at one after we'd heard it drumming nearby along the ridge west of Nganglam. The bird was carrying food in its bill, so evidently was nesting somewhere close. We also heard the drumming of what sounded like this species a couple of times near Yongkola.

WHITE-BROWED PICULET (Sasia ochracea)

An afternoon spent along the Tsamang Road turned up a fantastic mixed feeding flock in an area of deadfall and low vegetation along the road, though there was so much going on it was hard to get on everything. At one point Brian described to me a bird he'd seen that sounded an awful lot like this species, following which Eph showed me a picture he'd just snapped of the bird in question, clearly a piculet. None of the rest of us saw the bird.

GRAY-CAPPED PYGMY WOODPECKER (Yungipicus canicapillus)

Surprisingly our only sighting was of one feeding in the flowering trees at our roadside lunch stop on the way down to Gelephu, though we did hear one at Royal Manas NP as well.

RUFOUS-BELLIED WOODPECKER (Dendrocopos hyperythrus)

Our first woodpecker of the tour was this gorgeous species, a female of which we saw nicely at Dochula. Our only other record was of a pair in a large dead tree in the early morning near Sengor.

FULVOUS-BREASTED WOODPECKER (Dendrocopos macei)

We saw a small number of these over a couple of days in the Nganglam region.

DARJEELING WOODPECKER (Dendrocopos darjellensis)

I think some folks were getting a bit antsy when we were down to our last couple of days with no sightings of this much-wanted woodpecker. But finally, on our second last afternoon, we heard one calling and drumming below us at Pelela. After some anxious moments of fruitless scanning, it was Eileen that ultimately found the bird, and soon enough the rest of us were able to join her in feasting our eyes on this handsome bird! Jill placed this bird above all others as her trip favorite, which was enough to propel it into a tie with Himalayan Monal for third place overall!

BAY WOODPECKER (Blythipicus pyrrhotis)

Easily the most oft-recorded woodpecker, but also one of the toughest to see well. We tallied them daily over an 8-day stretch between Darachu camp and our Yongkola, though the majority of these were heard only birds. I think our only reasonable sighting was of a very vocal bird that popped into view for a few brief seconds in the late afternoon west of Nganglam.

GREATER FLAMEBACK (Chrysocolaptes guttacristatus)

Fantastic looks at a trio of these large, spectacular woodpeckers in the trees fringing the Gelephu sewage ponds.

RUFOUS WOODPECKER (Micropternus brachyurus) [*]

Though we heard this species several times in the Tingtibi region and around Marang, we never managed to lay eyes on one.

LESSER YELLOWNAPE (Picus chlorolophus)

Great looks at a female that was feeding in a leafless tree along the road near the Marang Jungle Camp, with another seen the following day near Nganglam.

GRAY-HEADED WOODPECKER (Picus canus)

A widespread Palearctic species, occurring from western Europe to northern Japan, though the 8 subspecies from the southeastern part of their Asian range are sometimes treated as a separate species, Black-naped Woodpecker, P. guerini. The subspecies found here is hessei, and we saw them a couple of times, once during our stop for our first Rufous-necked Hornbills, and again along the road west of Nganglam.

GREATER YELLOWNAPE (Chrysophlegma flavinucha)

Our first was a pretty unsatisfying look at a male that flew over the road in the late afternoon near Tingtibi. Happily our only other sighting was much better, as we found a very cooperative female along a stretch of road overlooking the Mangde Chhu as we searched for White-bellied Heron.

Falconidae (Falcons and Caracaras)

COLLARED FALCONET (Microhierax caerulescens)

Brian followed up his spotting of the Collared Owlet by picking up one of these tiny falcons during a random birding stop later the same morning. We were joking that he needed to spot a Collared Treepie next!

EURASIAN KESTREL (Falco tinnunculus)

This widespread Palearctic species was recorded on half a dozen days, including on our final birding stop when we found a pair perched on a rocky ledge above the road along the Par Chhu, the female chowing down on some unfortunate bird, though NOT the Wallcreeper we were looking for!

Psittaculidae (Old World Parrots)

ROSE-RINGED PARAKEET (Psittacula krameri)

Lighting conditions at the Gelephu sewage ponds were not especially great, so it was tough to make out many details on the parakeets that flew overhead from time to time, but everything we were able to sort out appeared to be this common species.

Eurylaimidae (Asian and Grauer's Broadbills)

LONG-TAILED BROADBILL (Psarisomus dalhousiae)

I don't know what to attribute this to, but this species is more numerous and easy to see around the Nganglam area than anywhere else I've encountered it. We saw the vast majority (20+ birds) in this region, so many that the phrase "it's just another Long-tailed Broadbill" was uttered a few times. I don't think anyone really meant it, though, as these birds are pretty awesome no matter how many times you see them!

Campephagidae (Cuckooshrikes)

GRAY-CHINNED MINIVET (Pericrocotus solaris)

Pairs were seen a few times from Darachu camp to Yongkola, usually with mixed feeding flocks, including on each of our visits to the Tsamang Road. The red coloring on the male is closer to orange than the brilliant scarlet of the other red minivets on the tour.

SHORT-BILLED MINIVET (Pericrocotus brevirostris)

Identifying this minivet and the following two species is highly dependent on getting good looks at the wing pattern, and this is not always an easy task. But the minivets on this tour were, for the most part, unusually cooperative, and we were able to get definitive views (and in some case photos) of each species. We only had 3 of these, a lone male near Darachu camp, then a pair along the main road near Yongkola, each time noting the single prong of red that extended out towards the end of the primaries.

LONG-TAILED MINIVET (Pericrocotus ethologus)

Only 3 sightings of 4 birds total, but again, the distinctive wing pattern was seen each time. We first had a lone male perched along the road at the top of Chelela, then had to wait a long time for our next ones, a pair near Sengor. And we finished off with another lone male at Pelela. This bird has two red prongs that extend from the red patch down towards the tips of the wing.

SCARLET MINIVET (Pericrocotus speciosus)

The most numerous of the minivets, this striking species was seen a number of times from below Darachu Camp through to the Yongkola area. This species shows an isolated patch of red on the secondaries in addition to the main red wing patch.

BLACK-WINGED CUCKOOSHRIKE (Lalage melaschistos)

Never numerous, but it seemed that many of the mixed flocks we encountered had one or two of these birds, with the exception of in the higher passes.

Vireonidae (Vireos, Shrike-Babblers, and Erpornis)

WHITE-BROWED SHRIKE-BABBLER (CHESTNUT-WINGED) (Pteruthius aeralatus validirostris)

i'm glad that we took the time to have a good look at the first one we found (a male) with a mixed flock on our way up to Tingtibi, as it turned out to be the only good group sighting. We did hear them regularly in the Yongkola region, and at least a few folks got another look at one.

GREEN SHRIKE-BABBLER (Pteruthius xanthochlorus)

Shrike-babblers are in the same family as the vireos, and looking at this species, it's easy to see the connection. We had excellent, eye level looks at a close, singing bird along the road near Sengor, after we'd stopped to check out some other "finchy things" we'd seen from the bus. The "finchy things" got away without being identified.

BLACK-EARED SHRIKE-BABBLER (Pteruthius melanotis)

We first encountered a pair in the same mixed flock as our first White-browed Shrike-Babbler, though not everyone managed to get a satisfying look at them. Happily we found a few others with various mixed flocks around the old Yongkola camping site, and eventually we all had excellent looks at these striking little birds.

WHITE-BELLIED ERPORNIS (Erpornis zantholeuca)

Formerly considered a yuhina, and it does look somewhat more like a yuhina than a shrike-babbler, with which it is currently aligned. Funnily, we saw our first in a multi-yuhina flock on our way up to Tamala, with a few other sightings in the Nganglam and Yongkola regions.

Oriolidae (Old World Orioles)

MAROON ORIOLE (Oriolus traillii)

First seen around our camp at Darachu, with regular sightings through to the Yongkola region. Our final ones were some roadside birds at our final picnic lunch site on the way up to Dochula.

Artamidae (Woodswallows, Bellmagpies, and Allies)

ASHY WOODSWALLOW (Artamus fuscus)

These birds can be pretty social, so it was a bit odd to see one sitting all alone in one of the trees lining the Gelephu sewage ponds.

Vangidae (Vangas, Helmetshrikes, and Allies)

LARGE WOODSHRIKE (Tephrodornis virgatus)

An adult and what appeared to be an immature bird were seen along the road at Royal Manas NP, our only ones for the tour.

BAR-WINGED FLYCATCHER-SHRIKE (Hemipus picatus)

We had just a few sightings of these small birds, always with feeding flocks in the foothills from below Darachu camp through to the Nganglam area.

Aegithinidae (Ioras)

COMMON IORA (Aegithina tiphia)

A loud, phone-like ringing call coming from the trees near Marang was driving me crazy, as I just couldn’t place it. But after several minutes of listening to it, it dawned on me that it was an iora, and we soon had some beautiful looks at a pair. I think this is another new species for our Bhutan tours.

Rhipiduridae (Fantails)

WHITE-THROATED FANTAIL (Rhipidura albicollis)

Perhaps fewer than expected, but we had a few good sightings of these charming, active birds, starting with a pair right next to our camp at Darachu.

Dicruridae (Drongos)

ASHY DRONGO (Dicrurus leucophaeus)

By far the most numerous species of drongo, seen in numbers almost daily, except in the Paro valley and at Sengor. It is quite possible that we overlooked the similar Black Drongo on the tour; certainly those birds seen on roadside wires along the Po Chhu were good candidates. I expected to see them at Gelephu, where they should be common, but there were very few drongos of any sort there, and the few we saw were not Black Drongo.

BRONZED DRONGO (Dicrurus aeneus) [N]

Smaller, and much glossier than Ashy Drongo. This drongo was commonly seen in broadleaf forest in the lower elevations. We also noted a couple of different pair working on nests, one along the road at Royal Manas NP, the other along the Tsamang Road.

LESSER RACKET-TAILED DRONGO (Dicrurus remifer)

This species mainly occurs at elevations above the ones frequented by its Greater counterpart, and lacks that species crest and the twisted rackets. We had just a few of these, but had some good looks both in the Nganglam region and along the Tsamang Road.

HAIR-CRESTED DRONGO (Dicrurus hottentottus)

The curled up tail tips of this drongo make it pretty easy to identify, even on a flyby. We saw our first one at the Gelephu sewage ponds, then about half a dozen on our way from Nganglam northward.

GREATER RACKET-TAILED DRONGO (Dicrurus paradiseus)

Our only record was of 4 birds that came down to the riverside to bathe in the late afternoon, just upstream from the bridge not far above Marang Jungle Camp.

Monarchidae (Monarch Flycatchers)

BLACK-NAPED MONARCH (Hypothymis azurea)

Pairs were noted just a handful of times from the Tingtibi region through to Nganglam. Best views were probably the ones at Royal Manas NP that responded strongly to owlet imitations and mobbing recordings.

Laniidae (Shrikes)

LONG-TAILED SHRIKE (Lanius schach)

These were seen only in the Yongkola region, where they were pretty common. I must say I was a bit puzzled by the coloring of some (but not all) of the birds, especially the first ones near Lingmethang. The subspecies here, tricolor, generally show a very rufous mantle (the ones behind Trogon Villa certainly did) but the Lingmethang birds, and a few others, had much grayer backs, though they were definitely adults.

GRAY-BACKED SHRIKE (Lanius tephronotus)

Breeds at higher elevations than the above, though both species are altitudinal migrants that winter much lower. These birds were a regular sight from Paro through to Gelephu, than again from around the Ura Valley back to Paro.

Corvidae (Crows, Jays, and Magpies)

EURASIAN JAY (Garrulus glandarius)

Quite a variable-looking species across its vast range, and it seems likely that at least some of the 8 subspecies groups might eventually get split. Bhutan's birds belong to the rather plain-faced Himalayan group. We had a pair come by our lunch spot below the botanical gardens at Dochula, and that was all for the trip.

YELLOW-BILLED BLUE-MAGPIE (Urocissa flavirostris)

A spectacular, beautiful bird, and delightfully common and easy to see. We had them on either end of the tour, as they are mostly absent along the middle stretch, as we bird the lower foothills along the Indian border. The birds at Sengor were exceptionally bold, as they came to the restaurant to feed on the moths that had shown up at the lights overnight and were hopping around unconcernedly just a few feet from where we stood.

COMMON GREEN-MAGPIE (Cissa chinensis)

This is also a spectacular, beautiful bird, but this one can be frustratingly difficult to see well. Overall I thought we did quite well as I believe everyone got an acceptable view of at least one of the half dozen we came across. Probably the best one was a bird that kept hopping in and out of view while calling loudly from a little ravine on the way up to Tamala and Tingtibi. We tallied our only views of White-browed Scimitar-Babbler and Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush at the same site. Not bad for a random stop!

RUFOUS TREEPIE (Dendrocitta vagabunda)

This is a species of low elevation areas, and we saw our only pair moving through the trees around the Gelephu sewage ponds.

GRAY TREEPIE (Dendrocitta formosae)

We had these common birds on more days than not through the middle portion of the tour. Our first really good view came as we climbed towards Darachu camp when we made a random roadside stop and had one of a pair of treepies sitting out on a bare branch for a nice long session. Eph got a fantastic flight shot of this bird!

COLLARED TREEPIE (Dendrocitta frontalis)

Though quite similar in appearance to the above, this species seems to behave quite differently, at least in Bhutan, where it skulks through dense bamboo thickets. We found this bird by accident as we scoured the trees looking for a calling Red-headed Trogon at Royal Manas NP. We weren't sure what it was initially, but eventually a couple of us saw the very pale gray collar that identified it as this species. Unfortunately, it slipped away soon afterward, and few of us had an acceptable view.

BLACK-RUMPED MAGPIE (Pica bottanensis)

Pretty local in the country, but where it occurs, mainly in the Bumthang valley, it is abundant and conspicuous. We saw the majority of ours between the Ura Valley and Jakar.

EURASIAN NUTCRACKER (SOUTHERN) (Nucifraga caryocatactes macella)

First encountered high up the pass at Chelela, then not seen again until near the end of the trip, when we had daily sightings from Sengor back to Dochula. Most numerous at Pelela, where there were at least a dozen on our final morning there.

RED-BILLED CHOUGH (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax)

A pair at Drukgyel Dzong on our first morning in the country got us started, and we had a few other pairs scattered through the highlands. But most impressive were the huge flocks of these in and around the Ura Valley, where we saw hundreds of them along with good numbers of crows and magpies. That's a whole lot of Corvids!

HOUSE CROW (Corvus splendens)

Quite common in Thimphu, with a few birds up at Dochula as well, but especially numerous in Gelephu.

LARGE-BILLED CROW (LARGE-BILLED) (Corvus macrorhynchos tibetosinensis)

Numerous in the montane regions, but mostly missing from lower elevations along the Indian border (where the next subspecies would be expected). There was almost always one or two hanging around our picnic sites, waiting for scraps, such as the bird slurping up left over spaghetti noodles after one lunch.

LARGE-BILLED CROW (EASTERN) (Corvus macrorhynchos levaillantii)

Sometimes treated as a separate species from the above, this subspecies replaces its larger relative at lower elevations, though it was much less common. We saw only one near Panbang and another flying over at the river near the concrete plant at Nganglam, and only identified them as this form based on elevation.

Stenostiridae (Fairy Flycatchers)

YELLOW-BELLIED FAIRY-FANTAIL (Chelidorhynx hypoxanthus)

A very active, restless species, and the one pair we had on the road towards Sengor never stayed put for long, though most of us managed decent looks at these adorable little birds.

GRAY-HEADED CANARY-FLYCATCHER (Culicicapa ceylonensis)

First encountered in the Royal Botanical Gardens below Dochula, after which it was a week before we saw our next ones behind the Tamala chorten during our rest stop there. Most regularly recorded around Yongkola, where many of the mixed flocks had a pair of these.

Paridae (Tits, Chickadees, and Titmice)

YELLOW-BROWED TIT (Sylviparus modestus)

A pretty nondescript little tit, and don't strain your eyes looking for the namesake yellow brow because it's subtle to the point of being imaginary! We had a few sightings of these dainty tits at several upper elevation sites including Darachu camp, Sengor, and Yotongla.

SULTAN TIT (Melanochlora sultanea)

The complete antithesis of the above, this tit is large and showy, closer in size to a bulbul than to any of its close relatives. We had several sightings of these from the Tingtibi region through to Yongkola, with perhaps our best being one sitting up next to the road, singing, while we searched the Mangde Chhu for White-bellied Herons.

COAL TIT (HIMALAYAN) (Periparus ater aemodius)

Quite similar to the next species, but slightly smaller, with paler underparts, and a small row of white spots on the wing coverts that Rufous-vented lacks. We only started running into these in the series of higher passes we crossed over on the last few days of the tour. We regularly had them alongside Rufous-vented Tits which allowed us to really appreciate the differences between the two.

RUFOUS-VENTED TIT (Periparus rubidiventris)

Pretty numerous up on Chelela, then again in the series of higher las we hit on our way back to Paro.

GRAY-CRESTED TIT (Lophophanes dichrous)

Has a pretty similar distribution to the above, and we saw them at pretty much all the same sites, with plenty of lovely looks. Both this and Rufous-vented are endemic to the Himalayas.

GREEN-BACKED TIT (Parus monticolus)

The most widespread and familiar tit of the tour, and we had sightings on most days other than in the lower foothills along the Indian border. Eileen found these birds especially endearing, and chose them as her favorite.

YELLOW-CHEEKED TIT (Machlolophus spilonotus)

Another very showy tit, this one turned up a few times with mixed flocks from Tingtibi through to Yongkola, where we had our best looks at a close, eye level bird along Tsamang Road.

Cisticolidae (Cisticolas and Allies)

COMMON TAILORBIRD (Orthotomus sutorius)

An easy bird to overlook unless you know the call. Though we heard these daily from near Punakha through to Yongkola, we only had a couple of sightings--a pair during a random roadside stop along the Puna Tsang Chhu, and another at our Yongkola picnic breakfast spot.

HIMALAYAN PRINIA (Prinia crinigera)

This one came easily this trip, as a bird began singing from the grassy verge of the road, right beside where we'd stopped to scope the Steppe Eagle along the Po Chhu. It took little coaxing to get it to pop into view a few meters away. While a couple of others were heard on the trip, this was the only one we saw.

BLACK-THROATED PRINIA (Prinia atrogularis)

Our first was a vocal bird in non-breeding plumage at Darachu camp. We saw and heard more in the Yongkola area, with most birds still in non-breeding plumage, with the exception of one black-throated, breeding plumage bird along Tsamang Road.

Pnoepygidae (Cupwings)

PYGMY CUPWING (Pnoepyga pusilla)

Well, technically we did see this tiny skulker in a dark ravine near Yongkola, but in reality, the looks weren't good. If anyone saw more than a small, dark bird shape crossing a log I'd be surprised.

Hirundinidae (Swallows)

BARN SWALLOW (Hirundo rustica)

There were few swallows of any sort seen save for a few of these around Tingtibi and a couple of birds flying over the road in Panbang that could have been these or Red-rumped Swallow.

NEPAL HOUSE-MARTIN (Delichon nipalense) [N]

About 40 of these were back at their nesting site on the cliffs near the Namling waterfall, and we had some great looks at several entering and leaving the nests, which are mud structures very similar to Cliff Swallow nests.

Pycnonotidae (Bulbuls)

WHITE-THROATED BULBUL (Alophoixus flaveolus)

Overall a much less conspicuous bird than any of the other bulbuls on this tour, though they are fairly noisy and common enough in the foothills along the southern border of the country. We eventually saw them well, including excellent looks at some in the multi-bulbul fruiting tree near Marang Jungle Camp.

STRIATED BULBUL (Alcurus striatus)

Small numbers of this striking bulbul were seen at both Darachu camp and the Yongkola region, but they were never numerous.

ASHY BULBUL (Hemixos flavala)

Our only records of this handsome species all came from the forests around Nganglam.

MOUNTAIN BULBUL (Ixos mcclellandii)

With the exception of a couple of pairs seen along the road from Gelephu up to Tingtibi, our only sightings of these were along Tsamang road, where we also had our best looks.

BLACK BULBUL (Hypsipetes leucocephalus)

A very common, widespread bird which we saw on all but a couple of days.

BLACK-CRESTED BULBUL (Rubigula flaviventris)

Not uncommon in lower elevation forests along the Indian border. We had fine views of these several times, including in the fruiting tree near Marang, where they were alongside 4 other bulbul species.

RED-WHISKERED BULBUL (Pycnonotus jocosus)

In some parts of Asia, this species has been hit hard by the cage bird trade, so it's nice to see that they are still reasonably common in the foothills of southern Bhutan. We had quite a few around Marang and Royal Manas NP.

RED-VENTED BULBUL (Pycnonotus cafer)

After Black Bulbul, this was the next most commonly seen bulbul species, and there were only a few days that we failed to see them.

HIMALAYAN BULBUL (Pycnonotus leucogenys)

An oddly local species, at least on this tour route. We looked for, but failed to find any, at a usually reliable spot in the town of Gyelpozhing, but then spotted a pair of them perched atop some tall stalks of bamboo a little further up the road. They ended up being the only ones we saw.

Phylloscopidae (Leaf Warblers)

ASHY-THROATED WARBLER (Phylloscopus maculipennis)

Leaf-warblers are not everyone's cup of tea, but they are pretty ubiquitous, and we tallied at least one species, (and as many as 9) every day of the tour! This is one of 3 species that show contrasting, pale yellow rumps, but the gray head and throat of this one set it apart. These birds were regularly seen at all the upper elevation passes other than Chelela.

BUFF-BARRED WARBLER (Phylloscopus pulcher)

Quite similar to the above but without the gray throat and with buff-colored wing bars. We had one on its own working its way through a roadside tree at Chelela, then a few birds at Thrumsingla and Pelela, though there didn't seem to be many singing and defending territories as of yet.

YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER (Phylloscopus inornatus) [b]

One bird joined in a mobbing group responding to owlet imitations at Royal Manas NP, and a couple of others were heard around Nganglam. Best identified by their distinctive calls, which are very familiar to anyone who's spent time in Thailand, where they are abundant in winter.

HUME'S WARBLER (Phylloscopus humei) [b*]

One was calling consistently during our visit to the Gelephu sewage ponds, but stayed out of sight.

LEMON-RUMPED WARBLER (Phylloscopus chloronotus)

We had our first views of a couple of birds feeding low along the track at Drukgyel Dzong on our first morning in the country, then went on to see small numbers fairly regularly before encountering several at high-elevation breeding areas like Thrumsingla and Pelela. This one lacks the white in the tail shown by the other 2 yellow-rumped species (Ashy-throated and Buff-barred).

TICKELL'S LEAF WARBLER (Phylloscopus affinis)

Lack of wing bars and the unique shade of yellow on the underparts make this one pretty easy to identify. We had excellent looks at our first in a shrub below us as we scanned for ducks along the Puna Tsang Chhu, then didn't see one again until the final day of the tour, when we had one in the dry scrub along the Par Chhu at our final birding stop. Interestingly, both times we saw them they were in the company of a Dusky Warbler, another of the species without wing bars.

DUSKY WARBLER (Phylloscopus fuscatus)

A rather drab leaf-warbler, lacking any wing bars. We did quite well with these, getting some good looks of a couple of different birds along the Po Chhu and the Puna Tsang Chhu, and another on the final day along the Par Chhu, with another one heard at the sewage ponds at Gelephu.

WHITE-SPECTACLED WARBLER (Phylloscopus intermedius)

This and the next 3 species (all previously in the genus Seicercus) are easily told from the leaf-warblers by their bright yellow plumage and black crown stripes. Telling them apart from each other, though, is tricky, and requires good clear views, which is also difficult. Though we had a couple of probables fairly early on, it wasn't really until our final day (at Pelela and Dochula) that we saw these well enough to see the break at the top, front of the eye ring, allowing us to feel confident we'd seen this species.

GRAY-CHEEKED WARBLER (Phylloscopus poliogenys)

This is the most distinctive of this quartet, with a gray head and face and a bold, white eye ring. We had a few nice sightings at Darachu, Tamala, and the Yongkola region.

GREEN-CROWNED WARBLER (Phylloscopus burkii)

Slightly longer-billed than the others in this group, and with a tiny break at the rear of the eye ring, both features being very difficult to feel confident about with the normal views of these active birds. One bird was seen briefly by a few of us at Nganglam, but it wasn't until the final day that we had a good group encounter. That happened as we worked our way up towards Dochula, and found a pair in roadside scrub when we stopped to look for Wards' Trogon. We'd already felt good that we'd identified these correctly, but Eph's photos confirmed it by clearly showing the break in the eye ring!

WHISTLER'S WARBLER (Phylloscopus whistleri)

First seen behind the chorten on Tamala, then encountered fairly regularly in the higher passes we crossed over the final few days. I suspect that many of the warblers we saw at lower elevations were this species, as they all winter at lower elevations, and it seemed they were only just arriving at their high-elevation breeding locales.

CHESTNUT-CROWNED WARBLER (Phylloscopus castaniceps)

A breath of fresh air among the Phylloscopus warblers, as this one is not only beautiful, but easy to identify. We saw our first along the trail at the Royal Botanical Gardens below Dochula, then had a few more good encounters at several other mid-elevation sites, pretty much always with mixed flocks.

YELLOW-VENTED WARBLER (Phylloscopus cantator)

With its black and yellow-striped head, and yellow throat and vent, this is another pretty straightforward leaf-warbler to identify. This one breeds at lower elevations than any other Phylloscopus in Bhutan, and we encountered them regularly in the lower foothills along the Indian border, and along Tsamang Road in the Yongkola area. Best views were of a couple at eye lever with a mob at Royal Manas NP.

BLYTH'S LEAF WARBLER (Phylloscopus reguloides)

The most commonly recorded leaf-warbler, this species was seen most days except for a stretch of days from Tingtibi to Nganglam. The yellowthroat-like song was an oft-heard sound on many days.

GRAY-HOODED WARBLER (Phylloscopus xanthoschistos)

This was the next most recorded leaf-warbler, second only to Blyth's. This is also a distinctive bird, with bright yellow underparts, a gray head, and a white supercilium. We tallied these birds most days from Punakha through to Yongkola, with some fantastic eye level views of our first one in a dry, scrubby ravine along the Po Chhu.

Scotocercidae (Bush Warblers and Allies)

GRAY-BELLIED TESIA (Tesia cyaniventer)

Tesia is such an apt name for these little skulkers, all three of which taunted us with their songs from the dense forest understory, but did their best not to offer more than glimpses. But with some perseverance, I think we did pretty well with them. Most everyone saw at least 2 species, with a few of you seeing all three. These ones were singing a fair bit along the main road west of Yongkola, but they were the toughest one to see, and I think only Kira, Carolyn, and Steve managed acceptable looks.

SLATY-BELLIED TESIA (Tesia olivea)

Our first along the road up to Tingtibi was singing in an inaccessible spot, so we didn't work too hard at it. A few days later heard several above Yongkola, and one pair played reasonably well, with most folks getting pretty good looks as they skulked through the dense brush below the road.

GRAY-SIDED BUSH WARBLER (Cettia brunnifrons)

Bush warblers can all be pretty elusive, but when they've just arrived on their breeding territories, they can be pretty easy to see. That was certainly the case with this species on Yotongla, where a bird sat atop a small shrub below us in full view, all the while delivering its rather remarkable song. Several more were seen on Pelela, another regular breeding site for them.

CHESTNUT-HEADED TESIA (Cettia castaneocoronata)

A calling bird along the trail at the Royal Botanical Gardens played hide and seek with us, and then seemed to lose interest, so we started to walk away. But then suddenly, it was back, and it eventually showed nicely as it came in above my speaker. Another along Tsamang Road was not quite as cooperative, but was also seen by some.

YELLOW-BELLIED WARBLER (Abroscopus superciliaris)

This bamboo specialist was seen only in the bamboo-covered hillsides north of Nganglam, where a pair showed very nicely.

RUFOUS-FACED WARBLER (Abroscopus albogularis)

Quite a local species on the tour route, this lovely little warbler gave us several excellent views in the forests near Nganglam, though it wasn't until I discovered that the birds here sound nothing like the recordings on Merlin that I managed to lure them into view.

BLACK-FACED WARBLER (Abroscopus schisticeps)

Another gorgeous little warbler, small parties of these were seen regularly with mixed flocks in the Yongkola region.

MOUNTAIN TAILORBIRD (Phyllergates cucullatus)

Fantastic close looks at a pair of these pretty birds, which are not tailorbirds at all, despite the the similar appearance.

BROAD-BILLED WARBLER (Tickellia hodgsoni)

I've got to admit that I might just have passed this off as another Mountain Tailorbird as I wasn't prepared for how incredibly similar the two species are. Kudos to Brian for picking it out by its shorter bill, though the fact that this bird was with the pair of tailorbirds in the large bamboo patch at Namling and all 3 were very active made it very tricky to know if you were looking at the correct bird at any given time.

BROWNISH-FLANKED BUSH WARBLER (Horornis fortipes)

After hearing a few giving their explosive song around Darachu camp, we then went without them until we finally heard another one, our only other one, near the end of the tour as we left the Yongkola area behind. Lucky for us, that individual seemed to have forgotten it was meant to be a skulker, and we had amazing looks as it sang from an open perch below us.

HUME'S BUSH WARBLER (Horornis brunnescens)

Another drab bush warbler with an amazing song. We heard a couple of these on a bamboo-covered slope at Thrumsingla, and eventually had some super looks at one. Another non-singing Horornis warbler seen near Sengor the previous day might also have been this species, but the call notes and appearance had me leaning towards Aberrant Bush Warbler.

Aegithalidae (Long-tailed Tits)

BLACK-THROATED TIT (Aegithalos concinnus)

This and the next species are closely related to the Bushtit of western North America, though these birds are far fancier. We had singles or pairs with several mixed flocks at Darachu, near Tamala, and in the Yongkola area. This Himalayan subspecies is iredalei, the lone subspecies in the Red-headed group, which may be a candidate for a split sometime in the future.

BLACK-BROWED TIT (Aegithalos iouschistos)

Similarly to the above, the nominate Himalayan subspecies is in its own group, Rufous-fronted, and is also a candidate to be split from others, and the Bhutan field guide already does that. We had incredible eye level looks at our first at Drukgyel Dzong, then went 2 weeks before we saw them again. We had more excellent views at Thrumsingla and Pelela, including one bird bathing on the road at the latter site, alongside 11 other species.

Paradoxornithidae (Parrotbills)

FIRE-TAILED MYZORNIS (Myzornis pyrrhoura)

We'd been enjoying a steady parade of 11 bird species bathing in a puddle in the middle of the road at Pelela, and were just about to move on, when Sharon announced the presence of a bright green bird! I got my bins on it as it sat on the edge of the road, but it flew off before most of the group saw it. So we waited, knowing it was wanting to bathe, and our patience paid off when it became species #11 to splash in the puddle! Nice spotting, Sharon!

GOLDEN-BREASTED FULVETTA (Lioparus chrysotis)

A unique and stunning little bird. We had excellent views of a couple of pairs in the dense bamboo stands around Namling.

WHITE-BROWED FULVETTA (Fulvetta vinipectus)

We had our first ones early on along the roadside at Dochula, then not again until the end of the tour, where they were regular in many of the mixed flocks in the higher passes.

GREAT PARROTBILL (Conostoma aemodium)

Our stop at Dochula on our way back to Paro paid off when we found one of these massive parrotbills hopping around and singing in the gorgeous blossoming rhododendron trees near the chorten! I thought this would be our final new species for the trip, but it was only 3rd last as we spotted 2 more new birds from the bus on the drive back!

GRAY-HEADED PARROTBILL (Psittiparus gularis)

Our only sighting of this gregarious parrotbill came along the Tsamang Road. I spotted a small group of 5 or 6 in a treetop, but they flew away across the valley before others could get a decent look. But after a bit of playback, surprisingly a couple of them popped up n a shrub almost right beside us, giving us a great look before moving off again.

WHITE-BREASTED PARROTBILL (Psittiparus ruficeps)

As we sat in the shade after our picnic lunch at Nganglam, my attention was drawn by an unfamiliar rattling call coming from across the road. I investigated, and discovered a pair of these parrotbills foraging in the dense brush along the road, and happily, they stuck around just long enough for everyone to have a fine view.

Zosteropidae (White-eyes, Yuhinas, and Allies)

STRIATED YUHINA (Staphida castaniceps)

A few small parties of 5-12 birds were recorded on the way to Tingtibi and around Nganglam.

BLACK-CHINNED YUHINA (Yuhina nigrimenta)

Regularly encountered in mixed flocks from the Tingtibi region through to Yongkola. Our first were in the same roadside flock as our first Striated Yuhinas.

WHISKERED YUHINA (Yuhina flavicollis)

This was our most often seen yuhina, and after picking up our first ones at the Royal Botanical Gardens on Dochula, we saw them on more days than not through the rest of the trip.

WHITE-NAPED YUHINA (Yuhina bakeri)

This is the most range-restricted of the yuhinas in Bhutan, occurring only in the eastern Himalayas. Though we had our first at our lunch spot near the Royal Botanical Gardens on Dochula, we saw them far better later on, including a very cooperative one with our first Striated and Black-chinned yuhinas on our way to Tingtibi.

STRIPE-THROATED YUHINA (Yuhina gularis)

The largest of Bhutan's yuhinas, and the last to make it on our lists. We found our first on our early morning tragopan drive at Sengor camp, then had several others at Yotongla and Pelela, including a couple among the dozen species of bathing birds at the latter site.

RUFOUS-VENTED YUHINA (Yuhina occipitalis)

Our first couple put in a brief appearance at our picnic breakfast spot just below the pass at Dochula, though not everyone got a look before they vanished. And it was a long wait before those folks finally caught up with them, as we didn't see them again until the morning at Sengor, where we found one in the flowering rhododendrons below the camp. From there to the end of the trip, this was the most numerous yuhina.

INDIAN WHITE-EYE (Zosterops palpebrosus)

Regularly seen from Punakha through to the Yongkola region, though almost always in pretty small numbers. Happily this is the only white-eye here, so identification isn't an issue!

Timaliidae (Tree-Babblers, Scimitar-Babblers, and Allies)

PIN-STRIPED TIT-BABBLER (Mixornis gularis)

A species of the lower foothills, this babbler is pretty unobtrusive, and would easily go undetected if they weren't so vocal. We heard these over several days from the Gelephu region through to Royal Manas NP (with especially impressive numbers calling in the early morning around Marang), and finally managed to see a couple at Royal Manas.

GOLDEN BABBLER (Cyanoderma chrysaeum)

This exquisite little babbler was only seen a few times in the foothills, mainly around Nganglam, but in the end we all had some decent looks.

RUFOUS-CAPPED BABBLER (Cyanoderma ruficeps)

This one has quite a similar song to the above, but it mainly occurs at higher elevations (we did have them both in the same flock near Namling). We saw our first on the roadside near Dochula, then had small numbers at several other sites, with several excellent looks.

SLENDER-BILLED SCIMITAR-BABBLER (Pomatorhinus superciliaris)

This was my most-wanted species coming into this tour, so when we heard one calling in the Namling region, my heart rate skyrocketed. The bird seemed interested in my imitations, but remained wary. But finally it came into view, though all we could see was its head. It then went back into hiding before once again popping out, this time in full view, but when it quickly disappeared again, I learned that not everyone had gotten on it. It was disappointing, but we decided against disturbing it further, and carried on birding up the switchbacks. The story had a happy ending, however, as when we got to the top of the switchbacks, we found a flock right along the road edge, and suddenly this bird was right there, foraging low down, right out in the open! And this time, we call got a look before it moved on. This was by far, my top bird of the trip!

STREAK-BREASTED SCIMITAR-BABBLER (Pomatorhinus ruficollis)

Some vocal birds at the Royal Botanical Gardens refused to show themselves, but one of a pair near Sengor camp was not so shy, and it sat out in the open, calling, for a nice long stretch, offering everyone fantastic looks.

WHITE-BROWED SCIMITAR-BABBLER (Pomatorhinus schisticeps)

The most numerous, but least cooperative, of the 4 scimitar-babblers we found this trip. Most of us got a reasonable look at a couple foraging in the canopy on our way up to Tingtibi, but in several subsequent encounters in the Nganglam area, we had only glimpses, at best.

RUSTY-CHEEKED SCIMITAR-BABBLER (Erythrogenys erythrogenys) [N]

A trio of birds along the Po Chhu were amazingly cooperative, spending considerable time in full view, sometimes singing, sometimes not. Not very scimitar-babbler-like behavior! The subspecies here in Bhutan is haringtoni, which shows significant dark spotting in the throat and upper breast, though I thought this was much more pronounced in the nest-building pair we found at Nganglam than in the Punakha area birds. When I initially saw the Nganglam birds, I was wondering if they might be Spot-breasted rather than Rusty-cheeked.

GRAY-THROATED BABBLER (Stachyris nigriceps)

Pretty common by voice in the lower foothills from Gelephu through to Yongkola (where we only heard them along the Tsamang Road.) We did manage a few looks at them too, with the best being a responsive bird near our cabins at Marang.

Pellorneidae (Ground Babblers and Allies)

WHITE-HOODED BABBLER (Gampsorhynchus rufulus)

As we birded the bamboo-covered hillsides north of Nganglam, a few of us caught a quick look at a rusty-headed, white-throated bird that we at first took to be a White-breasted Parrotbill. But when we finally relocated it, we realized it was a juvenile of this species, mainly as it was hanging around with several adults. We ended up getting fantastic looks at them, especially the pair that sat out on a bare bamboo stalk for several minutes, one bird adopting a series of very odd-looking poses, perhaps a courtship thing, but it certainly looked strange!

YELLOW-THROATED FULVETTA (Schoeniparus cinereus)

Fewer than expected, with only two sightings total, both on the same day near Yongkola. Good thing they were good sightings!

RUFOUS-WINGED FULVETTA (Schoeniparus castaneceps)

These little birds can be remarkably tame, and on a couple of occasions we had them feeding quite close, seemingly oblivious to our presence. We saw them at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Tamala, Namling, Sengor, and Pelela, always with mixed flocks.

Leiothrichidae (Laughingthrushes and Allies)

NEPAL FULVETTA (Alcippe nipalensis)

Pretty regular in lower foothill forests from above Gelephu through to Yongkola.

STRIATED LAUGHINGTHRUSH (Grammatoptila striata)

Our first was a fabulously cooperative, singing bird at Dochula, after which we didn't see them again until Yongkola, where we had daily records along the Tsamang Road. Those floppy, jaunty crests give these birds a lot of personality.

HIMALAYAN CUTIA (Cutia nipalensis)

A trio of birds one morning above Yongkola showed fairly well, though most of the group desired better looks at these handsome, unique birds. That better look came later that morning further up the road. As we were enjoying our morning coffee break, I heard cutias calling nearby, and a little playback brought 4 of them right in to the trees next to our table, where we were able to get superb views of both sexes!

BLUE-WINGED LAUGHINGTHRUSH (Trochalopteron squamatum) [*]

When he first started leading the FG Bhutan tour, my now-retired colleague Richard Webster labelled the various laughingthrushes as either good or bad, based on their behavior. This one was always firmly in the bad group, perhaps among the worst, and our experience certainly backed that up. Though we had a very vocal pair singing upslope along the Tsamang Road, we never even got a hint of movement from them.

BHUTAN LAUGHINGTHRUSH (Trochalopteron imbricatum) [N]

In my limited experience, this near endemic (the closest Bhutan has to an endemic) is a pretty good laughingthrush. We saw them several times without any effort including a pair gathering nesting material in a roadside clearing above Yongkola.

BLACK-FACED LAUGHINGTHRUSH (Trochalopteron affine)

Another pretty good laughingthrush, mainly as they are quite common on all the higher passes, meaning there are plenty of chances to see them. Our first on Chelela wasn't especially friendly, but we had super looks at one in a little ravine on Dochula, and more near Sengor and Pelela.

CHESTNUT-CROWNED LAUGHINGTHRUSH (Trochalopteron erythrocephalum)

This is not a particularly good laughingthrush, but like the above, it is common enough at the higher sites that there are multiple opportunities to see them. We had our first at Dochula, dashing across the road as we birded near the pass. Another pair was seen along the roadside on our way to Sengor, and finally, and perhaps best, we saw a couple at Pelela.

LONG-TAILED SIBIA (Heterophasia picaoides)

We encountered these birds three times starting with a trio in a fruiting tree along the road from Darachu camp to Gelephu. The following day we saw another trio on the way up to Tingtibi, and we finished off with a group of 8 birds afew days later at Nganglam.

RUFOUS SIBIA (Heterophasia capistrata)

This Himalayan specialty seems to be just about everywhere, and there weren't many days we didn't at least here their ringing, flute-like song. An easy species to see, and they were often spotted from the bus, teed up atop a tree, singing.

HOARY-THROATED BARWING (Actinodura nipalensis)

Another Himalayan specialty, this bird may not be the most colorful, but there's something appealing about them. It may be due in part to the fact that they are often pretty curious and confiding. Our first ones at Dochula just kept sitting out in the open a few meters away, practiclly begging to be photographed. So we did.

BLUE-WINGED MINLA (Actinodura cyanouroptera)

A pretty common species of foothill and middle elevation forests, these birds sometimes occur in pretty large numbers, and we saw groups of 20+ a couple of times.

CHESTNUT-TAILED MINLA (Actinodura strigula)

This fancy bird only turned up near the end of the tour, but was then seen pretty regularly in the higher passes from Sengor to Pelela. At the latter site, a pair of these beauties were among the dozen species bathing on the road in front of us.

RUSTY-FRONTED BARWING (Actinodura egertoni)

Though the two species of barwing do overlap (we saw them both at Darachu Camp), this one tends to favor slightly lower elevations. Aside from those first ones at Darachu, we saw these only in the Yongkola region, where we had some especially nice views of about half a dozen in a roadside fruiting tree along the Tsamang Road.

SILVER-EARED MESIA (Leiothrix argentauris)

They don't come much fancier than this gorgeous bird, which we found to be delightfully common and fairly easy to see in the foothill forests from Darachu Camp to Nganglam. And when we weren't seeing them there, we certainly were hearing their cheerful, rollicking songs often enough.

RED-TAILED MINLA (Minla ignotincta)

Another fancy bird, but much less regularly seen. We had our first with a mixed flock at Nganglam, then encountered them in small numbers daily around Yongkola.

RUFOUS-BACKED SIBIA (Leioptila annectens)

Quite a local bird in Bhutan, and our only sightings were of a pair with a big mixed flock at our picnic spot near Nganglam, with a 3rd one seen about 1km down the road later the same morning. The overall color scheme of this bird, along with the nuthatch-like behavior, make them somewhat reminiscent of cutias.

RED-FACED LIOCICHLA (Liocichla phoenicea)

This is generally one of the bad laughing-thrushes, except when you see them, then they are great. Luckily, that was the case this year, though we had just one sighting. That came as we drove from Gelephu up to Tingtibi, when we found a pair of calling birds moving through a large, brushy clearing. Eventually one of the birds flew across the road, where it foraged in a fruiting tree at the edge of the clearing, showing itself beautifully several times.

JUNGLE BABBLER (Argya striata)

A common, widespread species on the subcontinent, and Bhutan is at the northeastern limit of their range. Here it is mainly restricted to low-elevation areas along the Indian border, and our only sighting was a group of 4 at the Gelephu sewage ponds.

WHITE-CRESTED LAUGHINGTHRUSH (Garrulax leucolophus)

My experiences with this fine-looking laughing-thrush in Thailand has me wanting me to label them as "bad" but my overall experiences so far in Bhutan seem to suggest that this is one of the good ones here. As usual we heard far more than we saw, but we did have several nice views of these on the drive up to Tingtibi, and around Nganglam.

SPOTTED LAUGHINGTHRUSH (Ianthocincla ocellata)

This is not the easiest of laughingthrushes to see, despite its size and fancy plumage, but we did pretty well. We had fairly good, but brief, views at a pair at the top of Chelela, then improved on them with some excellent looks at a pair at Thrumsingla.

RUFOUS-VENTED LAUGHINGTHRUSH (Pterorhinus gularis)

This species has a very small range, from eastern Bhutan through to northwestern Myanmar, and within Bhutan, it is also highly localized, with the Nganglam area being one of the only places to see them. On top of that, this is one of the bad ones, very shy and skulking. We heard a couple of calling birds with a group of White-crested Laughingthrushes along the road, but they seemed disinclined to show themselves. We kept at it though, and eventually I spotted some movement among the leaf litter in a small opening in the forest, but only Steve and Carolyn got on it before it slunk off into the underbrush never to be seen again.

RUFOUS-NECKED LAUGHINGTHRUSH (Pterorhinus ruficollis)

Though Richard considered this to be one of the bad ones, so far I've found them to be pretty good. We had several sightings of these lovely birds, first a half a dozen at the Gelephu sewage ponds, followed by a couple virtually right in the town of Tingtibi, and then several sightings around Yongkola, including at least a couple groups seen from the bus right alongside the main highway.

GREATER NECKLACED LAUGHINGTHRUSH (Pterorhinus pectoralis)

Both of the necklaced laughingthrushes are "bad" and they are also very similar, so a good look is necessary just to determine which one you're looking at. We had just one record of these birds, a pair we found with some White-browed Scimitar-babblers and a Common Green-Magpie along the road up towards Tingtibi. True to form, they did a pretty good job of staying out of view, but lucky for us, we did a better job of seeing them.

WHITE-THROATED LAUGHINGTHRUSH (Pterorhinus albogularis)

As laughingthrushes go, this one is among the very best. A gregarious, pretty confiding species, and we saw plenty. As usual, the first ones came at Dochula, but we also had some big flocks foraging on the roadside on the way up to Tamala, with a flock of 20 behind the chorten as well. More were seen near Yongkola, at Sengor, and Pelela.

Regulidae (Kinglets)

GOLDCREST (Regulus regulus)

We had nice looks at a couple of these widespread Palearctic birds with mixed flocks in the coniferous forests on Thrumsingla. The subspecies found here is sikkimensis, part of the Asian group.

Sittidae (Nuthatches)

BEAUTIFUL NUTHATCH (Sitta formosa)

We encountered these much-wanted targets on 2 consecutive days along the Tsamang Road, but they would have been a lot more beautiful if we'd had better looks. On the first morning, we heard a pair calling nearby, and they then flew into a large tree right above us...in terrible light with the sun right behind them. We could only just make out the colors. They then flew off a long way, but landed in a bare tree in much better light, but then promptly flew off just as I was getting one in the scope. We made a return visit the next morning to try to clean up our views, and it was partially successful, as we did find a single, albeit distant bird with a mixed flock, and the lighting was somewhat better. But it also didn't stick around long, and not everyone got on the right bird with all the activity going on. Definitely room for improvement on this one.

WHITE-TAILED NUTHATCH (Sitta himalayensis)

Mainly at higher elevations than the next species, and not as numerous. We had a very cooperative pair at the Royal Botanical Gardens, but they turned up when everyone but Eph and I were in the rest rooms, and I was worried they would move on before others made it there. But, they kept foraging on the same bare tree, right to the base of the trunk, for long enough to get everyone on them. We had only one other sighting of these birds above Yongkola.

CHESTNUT-BELLIED NUTHATCH (Sitta cinnamoventris)

The most regularly encountered nuthatch, this species was seen on most days in the middle of the tour, from below Darachu camp through to the Yongkola region. The rich chestnut underparts, thick white line below the eye, and the scalloped undertail coverts help differentiate this bird from the similar White-tailed.

Certhiidae (Treecreepers)

HODGSON'S TREECREEPER (Certhia hodgsoni mandellii)

Pretty nice looks at a couple at our picnic breakfast site at Chelela, for most of us anyway. We waited almost 2 weeks to clean up views for everyone, but then had some super, eye level views of a couple with a mixed flock at Thrumsingla. This species is very pale-faced, with very white underparts.

RUSTY-FLANKED TREECREEPER (Certhia nipalensis)

Just 3 birds in total, all on the same morning, with a couple of different mixed flocks on Thrumsingla, though not in the same flocks as the above. As with the Hodgson's, we had superb eye level views of them as they crept up the trunks of nearby trees.

SIKKIM TREECREEPER (Certhia discolor)

Our only sighting came early in the trip, when a pair came in and began foraging in a tree right next to our lunch spot near the Royal Botanical Gardens at Dochula.

Elachuridae (Spotted Elachura)

SPOTTED ELACHURA (Elachura formosa) [*]

A singing bird along the Tsamang Road never showed much interest in playback. Interestingly it was far more vocal on our late afternoon visit than on either of our two early mornings.

Cinclidae (Dippers)

BROWN DIPPER (Cinclus pallasii)

Regular in suitable streams throughout. We had our first at the same time as our first Ibisbill, along the Par Chhu right in front of the airport, with others along the Puna Tsang Chhu, the Mangde Chhu, and the Manas River at Marang Jungle Camp.

Sturnidae (Starlings)

COMMON HILL MYNA (Gracula religiosa)

Due to its popularity as a cage bird, this species has seen a sharp decline in population in some regions, so it's always nice to see them in the wild. We had a couple of sightings near Marang, with one bird the first afternoon, and three the next morning.

INDIAN PIED STARLING (Gracupica contra)

Just 2 or 3 birds at the Sheychamthang Checkpoint during our half hour holdup there.

CHESTNUT-TAILED STARLING (Sturnia malabarica)

About 8-10 birds in a flowering tree at the Punakha Dzong, and a couple at the checkpoint and that was it.

COMMON MYNA (Acridotheres tristis)

Quite numerous around Punakha and in the lowlands along the Indian border.

GREAT MYNA (Acridotheres grandis)

It seems odd that we’ve never recorded this species on our tours before, given how widely we saw them this trip. We had our first one at the checkpoint stop en route to Gelephu, with a couple more at the sewage ponds the same day. We then had a pair in the town of Tingtibi, and then about a dozen birds at the concrete plant bridge near Nganglam.

Turdidae (Thrushes and Allies)

GRAY-WINGED BLACKBIRD (Turdus boulboul)

Our only sighting was of three birds at Darachu camp early in the morning.

WHITE-COLLARED BLACKBIRD (Turdus albocinctus)

Quite common in the higher passes, and we saw our first close to our first Blood Pheasants on Chelela.

Muscicapidae (Old World Flycatchers)

DARK-SIDED FLYCATCHER (Muscicapa sibirica)

Both in appearance and behavior, this species resembles a miniature Olive-sided Flycatcher. We had single birds at Darachu Camp, along the Tsamang Road, and near Sengor Camp.

ORIENTAL MAGPIE-ROBIN (Copsychus saularis)

A common and familiar garden bird in many areas, primarily at lower elevations, where we saw them regularly through the middle portion of the tour.

LARGE NILTAVA (Niltava grandis) [*]

Heard both at Nganglam and Yongkola, but we couldn't get one to emerge from the forest.

SMALL NILTAVA (Niltava macgrigoriae)

A mini version of the above, this one was heard regularly, mainly around the Yongkola region, where we also had some beautiful views of a singing male.

VERDITER FLYCATCHER (Eumyias thalassinus) [N]

Excepting the first two days of the trip, we saw at least one of these delightful birds on every subsequent day, including at least a couple of pairs gathering nesting material.

WHITE-GORGETED FLYCATCHER (Anthipes monileger)

A very secretive, skulking species of forest undergrowth, so we did well to get almost everyone a halfway decent view of our only one near Nganglam.

PALE BLUE FLYCATCHER (Cyornis unicolor)

Our only sighting was of a roadside pair late in the afternoon at Nganglam, (shortly before the elephant episode!) though we heard singing birds along the Tsamang Road, too.

BLUE-THROATED FLYCATCHER (Cyornis rubeculoides)

In some areas of Asia, there are several very similar orange-bellied, blue-backed Cyornis flycatchers that can be tricky to tell apart. Not so here, as this is the only one. We heard quite a few of these from below Darachu through to Nganglam, but only saw a handful, by far the best being the male that sat out at eye level in full view as it joined an angry mob of small birds at Royal Manas NP.

LESSER SHORTWING (Brachypteryx leucophris)

Several of these elusive birds were singing near Darachu Camp, with a couple close enough to the road to work on, but they were very keen to remain undercover, and Carolyn may have been the only one to get an acceptable view of one.

HIMALAYAN SHORTWING (Brachypteryx cruralis)

An unfamiliar ticking call drew my attention along the Tsamang Road, and when I peered into the underbrush, I got a quick look at a male before it hopped out of sight. In response to playback, the bird did begin to sing, but we were never able to see even a hint of movement.

BLUE WHISTLING-THRUSH (Myophonus caeruleus)

This was the only species we recorded on every single day of the trip, and at several of our hotels, it was the ethereal strains of their dawn song that greeted us in the wee hours of the morning. Sometimes a bit too early in the morning, but it's a beautiful bird with a beautiful song, so we forgave them.

LITTLE FORKTAIL (Enicurus scouleri)

The smallest of the forktails, with a very short tail compared to other forktails. We saw pairs of these very nicely at a couple of different streams in the Yongkola region.

BLACK-BACKED FORKTAIL (Enicurus immaculatus)

I've always found this species to be wary and difficult to see well, and that certainly was the case with our lone pair at Royal Manas NP. We saw them along a stream as we crossed the bridge, but they quickly moved downstream and out of sight. Though I think most saw them, better looks were certainly desired. We tried for them again on our way out of the park, but they weren't to be seen.

SLATY-BACKED FORKTAIL (Enicurus schistaceus)

In comparison, this species seems to be a little bolder and easier to see. It also appears to be the most common one here. We started off with a pair from the bridge in Tingtibi, but they were really only viewable through the scope. Then at Royal Manas NP, we saw several pretty nicely from the bus, as they foraged along the roadside. Our final encounter was the best, as we had repeated great looks at a pair foraging along the river at our picnic breakfast spot north of Nganglam.

HIMALAYAN BLUETAIL (Tarsiger rufilatus)

These were all over the place at Chelela, singing their hearts out from treetop song perches, where we got several excellent scope views thanks to the sunny morning and good lighting conditions. We estimated around 10 of them there, though the actual number could have been higher. Our grand total for the rest of the tour was zero!

WHITE-BROWED BUSH-ROBIN (Tarsiger indicus)

Brian and I got on a bird at the base of a shrub next to the road at Chelela, and had a very nice, if quick, look at it before it flew off down the hill and vanished. But we saw it well enough to tell it was a handsome male of this species, which turned out to be the only one of the trip.

GOLDEN BUSH-ROBIN (Tarsiger chrysaeus)

As we headed up the pass at Thrumsingla, I was pleased that I recognized the spot where we found a pair of these last year, so we stopped and tried again. I was very happy to find that the male, at least, was there again, and it might have shown the best response of any bird on the trip. I think I'd played just a single song phrase and suddenly there it was on top of a nearby tree in full view! He then spent the next several minutes closer to the ground, hopping in and out of view on a series of shrubs, rocks, and fallen trees, giving us all an eyeful!

SLATY-BLUE FLYCATCHER (Ficedula tricolor)

Our only two records of this species came from the two exact same places as on last year's tour. We first had a very reticent female give us a few glimpses along the road near Nganglam, then found a male on the same territory he held a year ago at Yotongla. It took a little while, but he eventually gave us all a good view.

RUFOUS-GORGETED FLYCATCHER (Ficedula strophiata)

Fairly common in montane forest, and we saw singles or pairs a number of times at most of the high passes. The rufous gorget is sometimes quite vivid, but can also be mostly concealed, but the bold white tail panels help make this one a pretty easy ID.

LITTLE PIED FLYCATCHER (Ficedula westermanni)

We had two sightings only, both of lone males with mixed feeding flocks. The first was with a nice big flock on the roadside near Darachu Camp, the other near the old camp at Yongkola.

ULTRAMARINE FLYCATCHER (Ficedula superciliaris)

Perhaps this summer visitor was a little late arriving, but there seemed to be fewer than expected, and we were still missing this species when the penultimate day began (other than a couple I'd heard early on). Then after lunch near Trongsa, as we drove along the river, I heard one calling out the window. We stopped, and quickly had excellent views of a pair flitting around in the shrubs a few meters away.

TAIGA FLYCATCHER (Ficedula albicilla) [b]

This winter visitor must leave Bhutan pretty early, as there are precious few around by the time our tour gets underway. We had just two birds, a leader-only sighting at our picnic breakfast spot after we left Gelephu, then another at the bridge near the concrete plant at Nganglam that was seen by a few of the group and eventually determined to be this species.

BLUE-FRONTED REDSTART (Phoenicurus frontalis)

Present on all the high passes we visited, but most numerous on Chelela, where we had fine views of up to a dozen of them.

PLUMBEOUS REDSTART (Phoenicurus fuliginosus) [N]

A common sight along all the suitable rivers, and we only missed these birds on a handful of days. On our final birding stop along the Par Chhu, we even had a pair with a recently fledged chick.

WHITE-CAPPED REDSTART (Phoenicurus leucocephalus)

These striking redstarts are usually present at most of the same sites as the above, though they weren't quite as numerous. Still, we had plenty of superb views.

HODGSON'S REDSTART (Phoenicurus hodgsoni) [b]

This is a wintering species here, and we usually only catch a few stragglers as the bulk of them have generally moved northward by the time of our tour. We only had 3 sightings, all females, as presumably the males had already departed. We had one outside the Punakha Dzong, another along the Po Chhu, and a final one (which stumped us for a while, as it initially seemed too large and pale for this species) high up the pass at Thrumsingla.

CHESTNUT-BELLIED ROCK-THRUSH (Monticola rufiventris)

While the area around Sengor camp seems to be the best place for this species, we did have several other scattered records, including an unusual-looking male with a white throat that we saw on both days at Pelela. I'll admit I was a bit confused when I first saw it; that white throat really threw me off!

BLUE-CAPPED ROCK-THRUSH (Monticola cinclorhyncha)

This colorful, smallish rock-thrush was delightfully common and easy to see, with many spotted along the roadsides during the drives. Generally at lower elevations than the above, though we did have both together at one site along the road from Gelephu to Tingtibi.

BLUE ROCK-THRUSH (Monticola solitarius) [b]

Another winter visitor that has mostly moved on by the time of our trip, but a few birds were still around. Steve spotted our first, a male, perched in a tree across the Po Chhu from our breakfast spot. Another male was seen further along the Puna Tsang Chhu the same day. There were also a couple of birds in the Tingtibi area, including a female that Kira photographed at Twin Falls, and finally, a roadside male near where we stopped for the Crested Bunting on our final day.

SIBERIAN STONECHAT (SIBERIAN) (Saxicola maurus maurus) [b]

You've heard this before--winter visitor, most have moved on, etc etc. We had a couple along the Po Chhu, one at Tingtibi, and one at the concrete plant bridge near Nganglam.

GRAY BUSHCHAT (Saxicola ferreus)

We didn't have many of these, and they were scattered around, though they were mostly seen around Yongkola. Our first, though, was a male at the Royal Botanical Gardens on Dochula, and our last was a female right at the top of Pelela.

Dicaeidae (Flowerpeckers)

YELLOW-VENTED FLOWERPECKER (Dicaeum chrysorrheum)

When I heard the call of a flowerpecker on our afternoon walk near Marang, I wasn’t sure what species it was going to be, as the only flowerpecker we normally get on this tour, Fire-breasted, is primarily a montane species. So when one of these popped into view, it was nice surprise, and yet another new species for our Bhutan tours!

YELLOW-BELLIED FLOWERPECKER (Dicaeum melanozanthum)

As we drove back towards Sengor Camp after our morning drive to look for tragopans, we spotted a small bird sitting on top of a roadside tree, and stopped for a look. It was pretty backlit, and it took a bit of staring before we could make out the color and pattern, but we eventually could make out that it was a male of this rather uncommon species.

FIRE-BREASTED FLOWERPECKER (Dicaeum ignipectus)

Despite Ebird showing this as a rarity, this is the most likely flowerpecker to be encountered on most of this tour route, and especially so around Yongkola, where we had most of our sightings. The best one, though was a pristine male in great light at our lunch spot near Trongsa. Kira was so impressed by him, that she put it in top spot on her list of favorites.

Nectariniidae (Sunbirds and Spiderhunters)

BLACK-THROATED SUNBIRD (Aethopyga saturata)

The most numerous sunbird at low to middle elevations, seen most days through the middle section of the tour. Males are a lot more colorful than they may appear at first glance, as they can look dark and plain in poor light. But when the angle of the light is right, these are true beauties, and we were lucky to see them that way on several occasions.

MRS. GOULD'S SUNBIRD (Aethopyga gouldiae)

Though we had some excellent looks at this brilliant sunbird, overall we didn't really see that many. Our first was on our first morning, when we found a single male at the Drukgyel Dzong, and we had another at Dochula a couple of days later. We saw no more until near the end of the tour, when we had a small handful at Sengor and Yotongla.

GREEN-TAILED SUNBIRD (Aethopyga nipalensis)

If I had to pick a favorite between this species and Mrs. Gould's, I think this would be my choice. The male is an exquisite creature, and it doesn't hurt that they are numerous at the high elevation sites visited, and the gave us many spectacular looks.

CRIMSON SUNBIRD (Aethopyga siparaja)

Small numbers in the lower foothills from just above Gelephu through to Panbang. Our first was a male singing in a leafless tree beside our picnic site on our way from Gelephu to Tingtibi.

STREAKED SPIDERHUNTER (Arachnothera magna)

A pretty common species in the lower foothill section of the tour, from below Darachu camp through to the Yongkola area. Our first was in the same flowering tree that attracted all the Orange-bellied Leafbirds at our lunch spot on the way down to Gelephu, after which we saw them almost daily until we left Yongkola.

Irenidae (Fairy-bluebirds)

ASIAN FAIRY-BLUEBIRD (Irena puella)

We had brief, unsatisfying views of a female at Royal Manas NP, and I thought that was going to be our only sighting. But then a pair turned up in a tall tree right next to our picnic breakfast site on the way north from Nganglam, and while the lighting was not the best, they didn't look too bad through the scope.

Chloropseidae (Leafbirds)

GOLDEN-FRONTED LEAFBIRD (Chloropsis aurifrons)

We saw just a handful of these at Royal Manas NP and the Marang Jungle Camp, but at least we saw them well!

ORANGE-BELLIED LEAFBIRD (Chloropsis hardwickii)

As we noted, these can be quite abundant when a favored tree is in flower. That was the case when we found our first ones at lunch on the drive down to Gelephu, as there were swarms of them in the flowering trees there. We estimated about 20, but the real number could have been significantly higher. After that we saw them nearly daily in smaller numbers through to the Yongkola area.

Estrildidae (Waxbills and Allies)

SCALY-BREASTED MUNIA (Lonchura punctulata)

One flock of about 25 birds flew over as we birded along the Po Chhu.

WHITE-RUMPED MUNIA (Lonchura striata)

Munias are generally pretty social, so seeing one bird by itself at Marang Jungle Camp was a bit odd. That was the only one for the trip.

Prunellidae (Accentors)

RUFOUS-BREASTED ACCENTOR (Prunella strophiata) [b]

Mainly a wintering species in the areas we visit, and there were still a few around, but none of them were especially cooperative. We saw a pair at Dochula, a single bird along the Tsamang Road, a couple at Sengor, and several along the old road from the Ura Valley to Jakar, but they were overall pretty furtive, and I think at least a couple of folks never really got the kind of looks they desired.

Passeridae (Old World Sparrows)

RUSSET SPARROW (Passer cinnamomeus)

These handsome sparrows were a pretty common sight, mainly from middle elevations on up to pretty high areas, such as around Sengor Camp.

EURASIAN TREE SPARROW (Passer montanus)

Not uncommon, though mainly noted around towns and villages, and not at the sites we actually birded.

Motacillidae (Wagtails and Pipits)

GRAY WAGTAIL (Motacilla cinerea) [b]

We saw jut a couple of these long-tailed winter visitors, with one along a rocky stream near the entrance to Royal Manas NP, and another at the bridge near the Nganglam concrete plant.

CITRINE WAGTAIL (Motacilla citreola) [b]

Another winter visitor to Bhutan. We had three at the Gelephu sewage ponds, including a beautiful breeding-plumaged male of the black-backed subspecies, calcarata.

WHITE-BROWED WAGTAIL (Motacilla maderaspatensis)

Easily overlooked as they are quite similar to the common form of White Wagtail that occurs here. We saw a pair along the Po Chhu during our stop for the Steppe Eagle, with our only other sighting coming later the same morning along the Puna Tsang Chhu.

WHITE WAGTAIL (Motacilla alba)

Quite numerous along the Par Chhu, Po Chhu and the Puna Tsang Chhu, and we also saw a few on Pelela. All the birds at these sites were of the commonly occurring black-backed subspecies alboides, Hodgson's White Wagtail. We also had a Hodgson's at the Gelephu sewage ponds, along with a gray-backed female-type that was clearly a different subspecies, though there are several possibilities. The Masked subspecies, personata, seems like a likely candidate.

ROSY PIPIT (Anthus roseatus)

A few birds were showing up at their high elevation breeding areas, and we saw a single on Chelela, and several on Pelela, the rosy hue visible on a few of the birds at least.

OLIVE-BACKED PIPIT (Anthus hodgsoni)

Quite common in the higher elevation areas visited, including a very vocal and territorial one regularly singing from atop the prayer flags at Sengor Camp.

Fringillidae (Finches, Euphonias, and Allies)

WHITE-WINGED GROSBEAK (Mycerobas carnipes)

This was the only one of the three black and yellow grosbeaks we could find this year, with good numbers at Chelela, some of them feeding on the ground with the Snow Pigeons and monals, and a few birds along the road form the Ura Valley to Jakar, and a single male at Pelela.

COMMON ROSEFINCH (Carpodacus erythrinus)

Our only sighting of these widespread rosefinches came at Darachu Camp, where we had a flock of 8-10 birds perched up next to the camp area in the early morning.

SCARLET FINCH (Carpodacus sipahi)

The male of this chunky finch bears a striking resemblance to a male Scarlet Tanager, as we saw when we had a nice roadside encounter with one near Darachu Camp, following an earlier view of several distant birds as we birded right from camp before breakfast.

HIMALAYAN BEAUTIFUL ROSEFINCH (Carpodacus pulcherrimus)

We happened across a group of about half a dozen in a grassy clearing along the roadside on our way towards Jakar, and that was all for the trip.

CRIMSON-BROWED FINCH (Carpodacus subhimachalus)

Great, long looks at a female feeding placidly in a fruiting tree at Dochula, then a few more on Pelela, including, finally, an adult male, though he didn't stick around for long.

HIMALAYAN WHITE-BROWED ROSEFINCH (Carpodacus thura)

Small flocks of these lovely rosefinches were seen on both ends of the tour, with about half a dozen at Chelela, then a similar number at Pelela.

RED-HEADED BULLFINCH (Pyrrhula erythrocephala)

There were few bullfinches of any sort this year, and all the ones we saw were this one, the most common of the 3 species in the country. We had a group of about 10 in a fruiting tree at our lunch spot near the Royal Botanical Gardens, then a single male at Pelela.

GOLD-NAPED FINCH (Pyrrhoplectes epauletta)

A scarce bird on the tour route, though we seem to nearly always stumble on one somewhere along the way. The one we stumbled on this year was a lone female, which Carolyn spotted sitting low in a shrub behind the chorten on Tamala. Though not as flashy as the male, the female is a pretty unique looking bird, too.

PLAIN MOUNTAIN FINCH (Leucosticte nemoricola)

A flock of about 30 of these not-as-plain-as-the-name-suggests finches was feeding actively around the summit of Chelela.

YELLOW-BREASTED GREENFINCH (Chloris spinoides)

Not many, with just one, or perhaps two, at our lunch spot on Dochula, and a small group at Tingtibi.

Emberizidae (Old World Buntings)

CRESTED BUNTING (Emberiza lathami)

One of the handful of new birds we added on our final day. We spotted a perky male singing from a roadside power line as we began to descend into the Puna Tsang Chhu valley.

LITTLE BUNTING (Emberiza pusilla) [b]

A few of these winter visitors were still lingering, and we had one along the road towards Drukgyel Dzong, and a couple around the Darachu Camp.

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MAMMALS

RHESUS MACAQUE (Macaca mulatta)

Replaces the much more common Assam Macaque at lower elevations. The only one we saw was a lone individual at the Gelephu sewage ponds.

ASSAM MACAQUE (Macaca assamensis)

A common species through much of the country, right on up to high elevations such as at Namling.

COMMON LANGUR (Presbytis entellus)

Mammal taxonomy is changing at a rapid pace, and I'm sure our checklist is not quite up to date with it all. This species is called Himalayan Gray Langur (Semnopithecus schistaceus) in iNaturalist. We had a group of 4 at eye level in a roadside tree in the Puna Tsang Chhu valley.

GOLDEN LANGUR (Presbytis geei)

In iNat, this is Gee's Golden Lutung (Trachypithecus geei). This handsome primate is restricted to Bhutan and Northern India and is considered Endangered. We saw good numbers over 4 days from Darachu Camp through to around Tingtibi. Our first was a troop that dashed across the road as we were approaching the camp, then foraged in the roadside trees while we watched rom nearby. One youngster had chickened out from crossing, and one of the adults was not happy, and made several aggressive, arboreal charges towards us before the little one finally joined the rest of the troop. Apparently the fur changes colors with the season, and the ones we saw were more cream-colored than golden.

CAPPED LANGUR (Presbytis pileata)

In iNat as Capped Lutung (Trachypithecus pileatus). They were pretty common in the Yongkola region, where we also got to witness the interesting behavior of a couple of troops visiting bare cut banks, presumably to ingest minerals from the soil. One spot was evidently well-visited, as there were several cave-like openings in the bank that they were entering.

SIJIN PIKA (Ochotona sikimaria)

Pika taxonomy has changed somewhat, but Brian had the latest info, and with that we determined that all of the pikas we saw, from the first one that Sharon spotted along the trail at the botanical gardens to the many on Pelela were all this species, other than the more expected Large-eared. On past tours we’ve listed Royle’s as the common pika here, but after some splitting, it seems that Royle’s may not even occur in Bhutan at all.

BLACK GIANT SQUIRREL (Ratufa bicolor)

We had several excellent looks at these enormous squirrels from below Darachu Camp to along the Tsamang Road. Our first, feeding in a leafless tree below the road on our way down to Gelephu, might have been the best.

HOARY-BELLIED (IRAWADDY) SQUIRREL (Callosciurus pygerythrus)

We had just a few of these smallish squirrels, all over several days between Tingtibi and Nganglam.

HIMALAYAN STRIPED SQUIRREL (Tamiops macclellandi)

Not uncommon in high elevation forests, though it's speedy and can be tough to get bins on. I think we all managed though. As I noted last year, they seemed to be silent here, which surprises me given how vocal they are in Thailand. I wonder what gives?

HIMALAYAN GROUND-SQUIRREL (Dremomys lokriah)

Aka Orange-bellied Squirrel, which I prefer, as this squirrel is pretty arboreal, from my experience. We saw our first near Darachu Camp, with others at Nganglam, and around Yongkola. At Nganglam, we had one feeding in the same tree as a Hoary-bellied Squirrel, giving us a chance to compare these similar-sized species. In addition to the belly color, which can be hard to see, we found this one to be significantly darker overall.

YELLOW-THROATED MARTEN (Martes flavigula)

One dashed across the highway in front of the bus, and we had okay looks as it scrabbled up the brushy bank beside the bus. Chador then noticed another come out onto the roadside ahead before ducking back into the forest without crossing. Since the pair was separated, we decided to wait to see of the laggard would cross, as not everyone had had a decent view. A few minutes later, Carolyn spotted the second one skulking through the underbrush below the road before noticing us and vanishing once again, and finally, the original one was seen crossing the road once again to rejoin its mate. Overall these were pretty reasonable looks at this large, attractive marten.

INDIAN ELEPHANT (Elephas maximus)

As we birded the ridge west of Nganglam, someone asked whether elephants occurred in the region, and we had already answered that query by finding plenty of dried elephant dung, though none that looked at all recent (not like the very fresh dung on the road at Royal Manas NP), so we really weren’t expecting to see any. But late in the afternoon, Cal suddenly told everyone to look up the road. We did so, expecting to see a jungle fowl or pheasant, not the close, enormous elephant that had just rounded the bend, and that began to move quickly in our direction upon seeing us. We had nowhere to go, really, and it was close enough to cause me some concern, but lucky for us, it was just hurrying to a path into the forest, not charging us. It was a pretty exciting experience, if not just a little bit intimidating.

WILD BOAR (Sus scrofa)

Apparently the animals in Bhutan are a hybrid between true Wild Boars and feral hogs, but they are pretty similar in appearance to the boars. We saw a group of 13 or so feeding in a field adjacent to the forest along the road from the Ura Valley to Jakar.

MUNTJAC (BARKING DEER) (Muntiacus muntjak)

Our first was a heard-only one barking from a forested hillside above Tingtibi townsite. Some of us then saw one scurry across the road ahead of the bus along the road down to Panbang. For those that missed that one, we had another in a grassy clearing on Pelela.

SAMBAR (Cervus unicolor)

One of these large deer was something of a surprise at Pelela, where it bounded across the road just in front of the bus. I hadn't been expecting any deer up there at all, so to see both species was crazy.

SEROW (Capricornis sumatrensis)

Kira spotted one of these goat-like creatures loafing behind a shrub on the slope below the summit of Chelela, and we enjoyed some excellent scope views of what turned out to be Eileen's 500th species of mammal! Amazingly, Kira spotted another on a steep slope above the Puna Tsang Chhu as we looked for herons, though it was much further away and harder to see.

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HERPS

COMMON HOUSE GECKO (Hemidactylus frenatus)

These were present at a few of our lodgings in the lower elevation sites.

INDOCHINESE RAT SNAKE (Ptyas korros)

While we birded from the bridge at the checkpoint near Gelephu, Eph looked down and saw a large snake swimming in the river below, and was able to point it out to the rest of us after it emerged onto the rocky shoreline. His excellent photos showed it to be one of these common, harmless snakes.

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ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

In addition to all the birds and mammals, there were some incredible insects, too, including the amazing variety of moths that Steve meticulously photographed and lost sleep over. Thanks for that beautiful collage, Steve! Also lots of nice butterflies, some cool cicadas, a huge stag beetle, and a large click beetle. And a handful of dragonflies of course. Here are the dragonflies we identified:

Wandering Glider (Pantala flavescens) This large yellow dragonfly was seen a bunch of times flying around a few meters off the ground, usually in groups of 10 or more.

Blue-tailed Forest Hawk (Orthetrum triangulare) The large black and white dragon at our breakfast spot near Tingtibi.

Blue Marsh Hawk (Orthetrum glaucum) Similar to the above, but less contrasting as the thorax in more brownish on this one. At least a pair or two were at Twin Falls.

Crimson-tailed Marsh Hawk (Orthetrum pruinosum) The large dragon with the bright red abdomen at Twin Falls.

Slender Skimmer (Orthetrum sabina) I pointed out this black and greenish striped dragon with the pale claspers at the sewage ponds at Gelephu, and Eph got a photograph of one.

Dancing Dropwing (Trithemis pallidinervis) Another from the sewage ponds at Gelephu, though perhaps only Eileen saw it, and got some pics. This would have been a new species for me for Bhutan, and there are currently no iNat records of it in the country!

Ditch Jewel (Brachythemis contaminata) The most numerous of the dragonflies at the sewage ponds. Males of this small dragon are reddish-orange, females are yellow.

Orange-faced Sprite (Pseudagrion rubriceps) A highly distinctive and aptly-named damselfly. We had one at Twin Falls. A widespread species of India and southeast Asia, but there are just 3 other iNat records in Bhutan for this species.

Totals for the tour: 334 bird taxa and 16 mammal taxa