Sunday, October 22, 2017

Sikkim - Oct 2017

This was my first trip to Sikkim, and no surprises that I ended up with two dozen lifers.

466. Grey-crested Tit (Lophophanes dichrous)
The Grey-crested Tit was present at all the camps, and didn't seem to mind the presence of humans at all. Wasn't beyond scavenging from the waste we had left behind.

Here's a video of one of them scavenging, shot from my GoPro.


467. Coal Tit (Periparus ater
Seemed even more numerous than the Grey-crested Tit. Also, seemed to favour scavenging. 


468. Oriental Turtle Dove (Streptopelia orientalis)
Spotted this one in Yuksom town.

469. White-tailed Nuthatch (Sitta himalayensis

470. Red-headed Bullfinch (Pyrrhula erythrocephala

471. Black-faced Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron affine


472. White-browed Fulvetta (Fulvetta vinipectus



473. Blood Pheasant (Ithaginis cruentus

Lucky to spot this group of blood pheasants near the Phethang camp. Was really hard to photograph them.

Here's the female of the species


474. Greenish Warbler (Phylloscopus trochiloides
I'm never really sure about Warblers. This one, too, needs confirmation from an expert.


475. Olive-backed Pipit (Anthus hodgsoni
Paid a brief visit at Dzongri on our morning hike.



476. Snow Pigeon (Columba leuconota
We spotted Snow Pigeons at almost every high altitude camp. A flock would land, forage around our tents, and fly off in some neat formations. 



477. Tickell's leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus affinis
Once again, I'm a little doubtful about the ID of this warbler.


478. Large-billed Crow (Corvus macrorhynchos macrorhynchos


479. Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis
Spotted one of these at nearly 5000m. Seemed completely unafraid of human beings.


480. Bar-tailed or Himalayan Treecreeper (Certhia himalayana) 
The tail is not visible in this picture, but I'm reasonably sure about the ID from my notes and other record shots.



481. Yellow-billed blue, or gold-billed Magpie (Urocissa flavirostris
This one's the adult.


...and this one's the juvenile (notice the coloration of the bill).

482. Rufous Sibia (Heterophasia capistrata


483. Ashy-throated Warbler (Phylloscopus maculipennis


484. Yellow-bellied Fantail (Chelidorhynx hypoxantha


485. Whistler's Warbler (Seicercus whistleri



486. Green-tailed Sunbird (Aethopyga nipalensis

The female


487. Snowy-browed Flycatcher (Ficedula hyperythra


488. Fire-tailed Myzornis (Myzornis pyrrhoura)

489. Darjeeling Woodpecker (Dendrocopos darjellensis



490. Hodgson's Redstart (Phoenicurus hodgsoni)
Doubtful about the ID, but I'm basing this one on having spotted the male in around the same place.

491. Rufous winged Fulvetta (Alcippe castaneceps)


And finally

279. Common Kestrel in flight


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