Nepal cupwing | |
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at Dehradun, India | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Pnoepygidae |
Genus: | Pnoepyga |
Species: | P. immaculata |
Binomial name | |
Pnoepyga immaculata Martens & Eck, 1991 | |
The Nepal cupwing(Pnoepyga immaculata), also known as the Nepal wren-babbler or immaculate cupwing, is a small species of passerine bird in the family Pnoepygidae. It is native to Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Tibet, and Nepal. It is found in dense montane forest in the Himalayas.
The Nepal cupwing is in the genus Pnyoepyga . Its closest relatives are the scaly-breasted cupwing, Taiwan cupwing, and pygmy cupwing. It was first described by Jochen Martens and Siegfried Eck in 1991, having been identified as a separate species based on differences in voice. [2] Genetic phylogeny suggests that it forms a clade with the pygmy cupwing. [3] No subspecies have been described. [4] It was formerly classified, with the other cuplings, as an Old World babbler in the family Timaliidae until 2009, when the monotypic family Pneopygidae was created for the cupwings, reflecting recent developments in molecular phylogeny. [3] [5]
The name "Nepal cupwing" is used by the International Ornithologist's Union and by the Handbook of the Birds of the World , while "immaculate cupwing" is used in American English and in Indian English, including The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World . The name "Nepal wren-babbler' was formerly used by these taxonomic authorities but is no longer in official use. [6]
The Nepal cupwing is small, measuring 8.5cm—10cm in length, and is brownish-olive in colouration. It has dark scaling on the upperparts and paler scaling on the underparts, a scaly breast with brown central feathers, pale edging on the flight feathers, and a very short tail. [7] External morphology is very similar to the other species, to a degree where identification within the field relies upon vocalizations. The song is distinctive, being higher pitched than the other species in the genus and consisting of a steady series of thin, short, rapid, modulated whistles that descend in pitch. [3]
This species is native to the foothills of the Himalayas. It is a regular resident in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Nepal, and an uncommon resident around Zhangmu in Tibet. [7] Preferred habitat is dense understorey in median and low mountain elevations. [3] It is not migratory, [8] but altitudinal movements do occur, as they winter down to 250 metres. [9] It occurs regularly between 1800 and 2200 metres, [7] and possibly breeds as high as 3100 metres. [2] Generally, this species prefers dark forest and keeps to the forest floor. [7] Its conservation status is Least Concern. [8]
The black-headed jay or lanceolated jay is roughly the same size as its close relative the Eurasian jay, but a little more slender overall except for the bill which is slightly shorter and thicker. The top of the head is black and it has a more obvious crest too and a longer tail.
Sattal or Sat Tal is an interconnected group of seven freshwater lakes situated in the Lower Himalayan Range near Bhimtal, a town of the Nainital district in Uttarakhand, India. During the British Raj, the area had a tea plantation, one of four in the Kumaon area at that time.
The slaty-headed parakeet is the only psittacid species to exhibit altitudinal migration. The species' range extends from Pakistan, to Western Himalayas in India through Nepal and Bhutan and up to the Eastern Himalayas in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. They descend to the valleys in winter, approximately during the last week of October.
The verditer flycatcher is an Old World flycatcher It is found from the Himalayas through Southeast Asia to Sumatra. This species is named after its distinctive shade of copper-sulphate blue and has a dark patch between the eyes and above the bill base. The adult males are intense blue on all areas of the body, except for the black eye-patch and grey vent. Adult females and sub-adults are lighter blue.
Wildlife diversity is a notable feature of Nepal. Because of the variance in climate, from tropical to arctic, Nepal has a large variety of plants and animals. Wildlife tourism is also a major source of tourism in the country. There are some animal species which are unique to Nepal, such as the spiny babbler. Nepal is also host to many rhododendron species. The wildlife of Nepal includes its flora and fauna. Nepal has established numerous national parks and reserves in order to protect its diverse fauna. Nepal is a biodiversity hot spot with ecoregions broadly comprising the mountainous ecoregion, the savanna and grasslands ecoregion of the terai (foothills), and the Rara Lake ecoregion, which has many endemic species.
The white-throated laughingthrush is a species of passerine bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is found mainly in the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, primarily the Himalayas, and some adjoining and disjunct areas. It ranges across Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Tibet and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
The scaly-breasted cupwing or scaly-breasted wren-babbler is a species of bird in the Pnoepyga wren-babblers family, Pnoepygidae. It is found in southern and eastern Asia from the Himalayas to Indochina.
Pnoepyga is a genus of passerines endemic to southern and southeastern Asia. Its members are known as cupwings or wren-babblers. The genus contains four species. The genus has long been placed in the babbler family Timaliidae. A 2009 study of the DNA of the families Timaliidae and the Old World warblers (Sylviidae) found no support for the placement of the genus in either family, prompting the authors to erect a new monogeneric family, the Pnoepygidae.
The pygmy cupwing or pygmy wren-babbler, is a species of bird in the Pnoepyga wren-babblers family, Pnoepygidae. It is found in southern and eastern Asia from the Himalayas to the Lesser Sunda Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
The scaly chatterer is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is also known as the bare-eyed babbler. It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Tanzania. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry shrubland.
Hume's treecreeper was earlier included within the brown-throated treecreeper complex and identified as a separate species on the basis of their distinctive calls. This species in the treecreeper family is found in Assam, Myanmar, Shan Mountains, Northern Thailand, Laos and the Dalat Plateau.
The Taiwan cupwing or Taiwan wren-babbler is a species of passerine bird in the family Pnoepygidae. The species is endemic to the island of Taiwan. It was treated for a long time as a subspecies of the scaly-breasted cupwing.
The 'Eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests is a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion which is found in the middle and upper elevations of the eastern Middle Himalayas, in western Nepal, Bhutan, northern Indian states including Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim and adjacent Myanmar.
The jungle babblers are a family, Pellorneidae, of mostly Old World passerine birds belonging to the superfamily Sylvioidea. They are quite diverse in size and coloration, and usually characterised by soft, fluffy plumage and a tail on average the length of their body, or longer. These birds are found in tropical zones, with the greatest biodiversity in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
Lake Cluster is the collective name for nine lakes in the Pokhara valley in western Nepal. The nine lakes which constitute the lake cluster are Phewa, Begnas, Rupa, Khaste, Dipang, Maidi, Gunde, Neurani, Kamalpokhari and Pokhara Seti Catchment. The lakes are fresh water lakes in the Nepalese Himalayas. The lakes are located in and around Pokhara metropolitan city of Kaski District. Phewa and Kamalpokhari lakes are located in the town of Pokhara while the rest of the lakes are in the town of Lekhnath.