Bird Watching

Bhutan with its great range in altitude and topography gives a wide range of climatic conditions making it rich in avifauna. Its primeval forests cover almost 72 per cent of the land area of 38,000 sq. km and vary in altitude from 100 meters to 7550 meters. This diverse geography results in a mix of subtropical broadleaf forests, coniferous forest and alpine meadows. 

Such an amazing range of environments makes Bhutan a place of immense ecological diversity where unequal bird communities can co-exist in harmony in discrete biotic units.

Over 670 species of birds have been recorded and many more are yet to be discovered. Around 50 species of the known birds are winter migrants. 

Around 464 species of birds have been recorded as resident in Bhutan and 14 species have been identified as globally threatened. These include White-bellied Heron, Phalla’s Fish Eagle Rufous-necked Hornbill, Grey-crowned Prinia and Beautiful Nuthatch. This makes Bhutan a paradise for bird lovers.

The following is a comprehensive list of the endangered birds of Bhutan:

1. Baer’s Pochard
2. Beautiful Nuthatch
3. Black-necked Stork
4. Blackish-breasted Babbler
5. Blyth’s Kingfisher
6. Chestnut-breasted Partridge
7. Dark-rumped Swift
8. Eurasian Curlew
9. Eurasian Peregrine Falcon
10. Ferruginous Duck
11. Gray-crowned Prinia
12. Great Hornbill
13. Lesser Fish-eagle
14. Palla’s Fish-eagle
15. Pallid Harrier
16. Rufous-necked Hornbill17. Rufous-throated Wren-babbler
18. Satyr Tragopan
19. Ward’s Trogon
20. White-rumped Vulture
21. White-throated Bushcat
22. Wood-snipe
23. Yellow- rumped Honeyguide
24. Black-necked Crane
25. Imperial Heron
26. White-bellied Heron