Birding in Nepal

Pallas's Fish-eagle

Haliaeetus leucoryphus

Koshi Tappu, Chitwan · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

Nests in winter in tall trees by the big rivers; its yelping call carries a long way.

White-rumped Vulture

Gyps bengalensis

Nawalparasi, Chitwan · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

Nests in colonies in tall silk-cotton trees in winter; community vulture restaurants in the lowlands give them safe food.

Blood Pheasant

Ithaginis cruentus

Langtang, Annapurna · Himalaya, above 3,000 m · ALL YEAR

Small flocks scratch in the snow under rhododendron and fir, the males splashed with crimson.

Ruddy Shelduck

Tadorna ferruginea

Koshi Tappu, Chitwan · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · OCT–APR

Orange ducks honking along the lowland rivers all winter.

Baer's Pochard

Aythya baeri

Koshi Tappu · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · NOV–MAR

A dark diving duck with a pale eye, wintering on the Koshi barrage lagoons.

Northern Pintail

Anas acuta

Koshi Tappu, Ghodaghodi · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · OCT–APR

Long-tailed, elegant ducks gathering in rafts on the Koshi in winter.

Grandala

Grandala coelicolor

Langtang, Annapurna · Himalaya, above 3,000 m · ALL YEAR

In winter, flocks of electric-blue birds swirl over the high ridges.

Black Stork

Ciconia nigra

Koshi Tappu, Chitwan · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · OCT–APR

Glossy black, red bill and legs; a few winter on quiet lowland rivers.

White Stork

Ciconia ciconia

Koshi Tappu, Lumbini · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · NOV–MAR

A few spend the winter on the lowland fields and marshes, tall and white among the Black Storks and egrets.

Citrine Wagtail

Motacilla citreola

Koshi Tappu, Chitwan · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · SEP–MAY

Lemon-headed wagtails walking the wet edges of lakes and rice stubble all winter.

Goosander

Mergus merganser

Narayani, Trishuli · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · NOV–MAR

Sleek sawbill ducks that ride the cold, fast rivers where they leave the hills.

Bluethroat

Luscinia svecica

Koshi Tappu, Chitwan · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · OCT–APR

Skulks along reedy ditches, then hops into the open with a sky-blue bib and a rusty flash in the tail.

Siberian Rubythroat

Calliope calliope

Chitwan, Koshi Tappu · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · OCT–APR

From Siberia to the lowland grass for the winter: a brown robin with a throat like a glowing ruby.

Cinereous Vulture

Aegypius monachus

Pokhara, Nawalparasi · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · NOV–APR

A huge, dark vulture from the north that joins the gatherings at the vulture restaurants in winter.

Greater Spotted Eagle

Clanga clanga

Koshi Tappu, Chitwan · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · OCT–APR

A dark winter eagle that sits hunched by the marshes, then quarters the wet grassland.

Pied Harrier

Circus melanoleucos

Koshi Tappu, Chitwan · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · OCT–APR

The black-and-white male floats low over the tall grass like a paper kite.

Black-throated Thrush

Turdus atrogularis

Kathmandu Valley, Pokhara · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · NOV–APR

Flocks come down from Central Asia for the winter berries, and to hop across lawns and terraces.

Common Crane

Grus grus

Kali Gandaki, Lumbini · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · OCT–MAR

Some fly in down the Kali Gandaki with the Demoiselles; small grey flocks bugle over the lowland fields all winter.

Blue-fronted Redstart

Phoenicurus frontalis

Langtang, Annapurna · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

Blue and orange, quivering its tail; it breeds near the treeline and spends the winter in the hills.

Himalayan Bluetail

Tarsiger rufilatus

Langtang, Annapurna · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

A bright blue robin with orange flanks; it breeds in high forest and winters in the valleys below.

Bengal Florican

Houbaropsis bengalensis

Koshi Tappu, Shuklaphanta · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

In spring, before the grass grows tall, the males leap up out of it, flap and float back down, again and again.

Great Hornbill

Buceros bicornis

Chitwan · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

You hear it before you see it: wingbeats like a steam engine over the forest.

Oriental Pied Hornbill

Anthracoceros albirostris

Chitwan, Bardia · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

Pairs and noisy little parties on fruiting figs along the forest edge.

Spotted Owlet

Athene brama

Chitwan, Bardia · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

The little owl of villages and old trees, bobbing and glaring back at you at dusk.

Black-necked Stork

Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus

Chitwan, Bardia · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

A tall black-and-white stork on red legs, stalking the oxbow lakes.

Red-headed Vulture

Sarcogyps calvus

Chitwan, Bardia · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

Bare red head and white thigh patches; usually alone or in a pair at the edge of the crowd.

Slender-billed Vulture

Gyps tenuirostris

Chitwan, Nawalparasi · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

The slimmer-billed cousin of the White-rumped, often in the same tall trees.

Blue-eared Kingfisher

Alcedo meninting

Chitwan · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

A jewel-blue kingfisher of dark forest streams; the blue ear patch gives it away.

Stork-billed Kingfisher

Pelargopsis capensis

Chitwan, Bardia · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

A huge coral-red bill and a laughing call along the slow rivers.

Pied Kingfisher

Ceryle rudis

Chitwan, Koshi Tappu · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

Hovers over the water like a black-and-white kestrel, then plunges.

Sarus Crane

Grus antigone

Lumbini, Kapilvastu · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

The tallest flying bird, in pairs among the rice fields of the western lowlands; they dance and trumpet in the monsoon.

Great Slaty Woodpecker

Mulleripicus pulverulentus

Bardia, Chitwan · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

A big grey woodpecker moving in noisy family groups through old sal forest.

Lesser Adjutant

Leptoptilos javanicus

Chitwan, Bardia · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

A bald, hunched stork of marshes and grassland pools.

Jungle Owlet

Glaucidium radiatum

Bardia, Chitwan · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

A small barred owl that calls in daylight, a bubbling trill that runs up and down.

Brown Fish-owl

Ketupa zeylonensis

Bardia, Chitwan · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

A huge eared owl that waits by forest streams at dusk.

Painted Stork

Mycteria leucocephala

Bardia, Koshi Tappu · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

Pink-washed wings and a waxy yellow bill, wading through shallow lakes.

Oriental Darter

Anhinga melanogaster

Bardia, Chitwan · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

The snake-bird: swims with only its neck above water, then dries its wings on a snag.

Kalij Pheasant

Lophura leucomelanos

Kathmandu Valley, Annapurna · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

The pheasant you are most likely to meet, stepping across a forest trail in the hills.

Spiny Babbler

Acanthoptila nipalensis

Kathmandu Valley, Pokhara · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

Nepal's own bird, found nowhere else: a streaky brown babbler that sings from the top of a scrubby bush in spring.

Hill Partridge

Arborophila torqueola

Kathmandu Valley · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

Heard far more than seen: a mournful whistle repeated up the hillside.

Scarlet Minivet

Pericrocotus flammeus

Kathmandu Valley, Chitwan · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

Flocks of red males and yellow females sparkling through the treetops.

Great Barbet

Psilopogon virens

Kathmandu Valley, Annapurna · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

Its loud, mewing 'pi-o' is the sound of the foothill forest in spring.

Himalayan Bulbul

Pycnonotus leucogenys

Kathmandu Valley, Pokhara · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

A crested, white-cheeked bulbul, cheerfully common in gardens and scrub.

Spotted Forktail

Enicurus maculatus

Kathmandu Valley, Annapurna · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

Black and white with a long forked tail, flitting along mossy streams.

Himalayan Cutia

Cutia nipalensis

Kathmandu Valley, Ilam · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

Chestnut, slate and barred flanks, creeping along mossy oak branches.

Eurasian Jay (Himalayan form)

Garrulus bispecularis

Kathmandu Valley, Annapurna · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

The Himalayan jay, cinnamon-headed and loud. The 2025 checklist lists it as Plain-crowned Jay.

Mountain Hawk-eagle

Nisaetus nipalensis

Kathmandu Valley, Annapurna · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

A big crested forest eagle circling over the valley rim.

Besra

Accipiter virgatus

Kathmandu Valley · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

A small forest hawk that dashes between the trees after songbirds.

Black Eagle

Ictinaetus malaiensis

Kathmandu Valley, Annapurna · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

Glides slowly just over the canopy, long wingtip fingers spread, looking for nests.

Himalayan Monal

Lophophorus impejanus

Langtang, Annapurna · Himalaya, above 3,000 m · ALL YEAR

Nepal's national bird: the male shines copper, teal and violet on high slopes, and comes down into the forest in snowy winters.

Snow Pigeon

Columba leuconota

Langtang, Annapurna · Himalaya, above 3,000 m · ALL YEAR

Flocks wheel over high villages and cliffs, white bellies flashing.

Himalayan Griffon

Gyps himalayensis

Langtang, Annapurna · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

A huge pale vulture riding the updrafts along the mountains; young birds wander down to the lowlands in winter.

Bearded Vulture (Lammergeier)

Gypaetus barbatus

Langtang, Annapurna · Himalaya, above 3,000 m · ALL YEAR

A golden-chested giant of the cliffs that drops bones from the air to break them.

Golden Eagle

Aquila chrysaetos

Langtang, Mustang · Himalaya, above 3,000 m · ALL YEAR

Hunts snowcocks and marmots over the high pastures.

Fire-tailed Sunbird

Aethopyga ignicauda

Langtang, Annapurna · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

A scarlet sunbird with a long fiery tail, high among the rhododendrons in summer.

Red-billed Chough

Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax

Langtang, Mustang · Himalaya, above 3,000 m · ALL YEAR

Tumbling, calling flocks over high villages and barley fields.

Spotted Nutcracker

Nucifraga hemispila

Langtang, Annapurna · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

Buries pine and walnut seeds for winter and remembers where. The 2025 checklist calls it Southern Nutcracker.

Himalayan Snowcock

Tetraogallus himalayensis

Langtang, Annapurna · Himalaya, above 3,000 m · ALL YEAR

A huge partridge of the scree; its far-carrying whistle drifts across the slopes at dawn.

Satyr Tragopan

Tragopan satyra

Annapurna, Ilam · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

In spring the crimson male puffs out a blue-and-red throat lappet in display; shy in dense forest.

Tibetan Snowcock

Tetraogallus tibetanus

Mustang, Manang · Himalaya, above 3,000 m · ALL YEAR

The pale snowcock of the dry trans-Himalayan side.

Long-tailed Thrush

Zoothera dixoni

Annapurna, Langtang · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

A quiet ground thrush of high forest that moves lower in winter.

Brown Dipper

Cinclus pallasii

Annapurna, Langtang · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

Walks underwater in rushing mountain streams.

Rufous-throated Wren-babbler

Spelaeornis caudatus

Ilam · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

A tiny, almost tailless bird of mossy undergrowth, found in Nepal only in the far east.

Hoary-throated Barwing

Sibia nipalensis

Ilam, Kathmandu Valley · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

A crested, finely barred babbler of oak forest, in chattering little groups.

Yellow-rumped Honeyguide

Indicator xanthonotus

Ilam, Annapurna · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

Waits by the giant rock-bee combs on cliffs to eat the wax.

Grey-headed Parrotbill

Psittiparus gularis

Ilam · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

Noisy little parties with stubby orange bills, working through the bamboo and broadleaf canopy of Ilam's high forest.

Black-throated Bushtit

Aegithalos concinnus

Ilam, Kathmandu Valley · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

Tiny, round and russet-capped, travelling through the oaks in busy, tinkling flocks.

Black-throated Sunbird

Aethopyga saturata

Ilam, Kathmandu Valley · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

Crimson back and yellow rump, sipping at banana and rhododendron flowers.

Spot-winged Grosbeak

Mycerobas melanozanthos

Ilam, Annapurna · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

A heavy-billed black-and-yellow finch that wanders in flocks to wherever the seeds are.

White-gorgeted Flycatcher

Anthipes monileger

Ilam · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

A white bib framed in black, low in dark, damp gullies.

Steppe Eagle

Aquila nipalensis

Annapurna foothills, Pokhara · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · OCT–APR

Thousands sail west along the foothills every autumn; on a good November day near Pokhara they stream past in hundreds. Many stay the winter, from the lowlands to the high valleys.

Oriental Honey-buzzard

Pernis ptilorhynchus

Annapurna foothills, Chitwan · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

Passage peaks in the third week of October, ahead of the eagles; some live here all year.

Swamp Francolin

Ortygornis gularis

Koshi Tappu, Shuklaphanta · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · ALL YEAR

Calls loudly at dawn from wet grassland in spring.

Cheer Pheasant

Catreus wallichii

Dhorpatan, Kali Gandaki (Myagdi) · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

A long-tailed pheasant of steep grassy slopes in the west, calling in a dawn chorus in spring.

Yellow-breasted Bunting

Emberiza aureola

Koshi Tappu, Chitwan · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · OCT–APR

Winters in lowland grass and paddy fields, in small flocks.

Brown Shrike

Lanius cristatus

Chitwan, Kathmandu Valley · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · SEP–MAY

A neat brown shrike with a black mask, back on every bush and wire from September.

Booted Eagle

Hieraaetus pennatus

Annapurna foothills, Pokhara · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · SEP–APR

A small, neat eagle that joins the autumn stream along the foothills, then spends the winter over the lowlands.

Garganey

Spatula querquedula

Koshi Tappu, Jagdishpur · Lowlands, below 1,000 m · AUG–MAY

In spring, flocks of these small, white-browed ducks stop on the Koshi on their way north; a few stay the winter.

White-capped Redstart

Phoenicurus leucocephalus

Langtang, Annapurna · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

A snowy cap and a fiery tail, bobbing on boulders in the torrent; it follows the rivers lower in winter.

Grey-backed Shrike

Lanius tephronotus

Mustang, Annapurna · Hills, 1,000–3,000 m · ALL YEAR

Breeds in the high dry valleys; in winter it is on every bush and fence in the hills and lowlands.