Editorial

The launch of the first issue of The Himalayan Naturalist

(THN) on May 2018 was highly appreciated by researchers

and conservationists in Nepal and abroad. The

overwhelming response from our readers was very

motivational and we would like to thank you all for your

support. Initially our consensus was to come up with the

next issue within December 2018 so we called for

manuscript submission by mid-September. We were happy

to receive a large number of manuscripts. While we worked

hard to publish the new issue by our December deadline,

some factors complicated the process.

Sorting out manuscripts that didn’t fully comply

with the author’s guidelines delayed the peer review

process. Our team members were also preoccupied with

their primary responsibilities thus creating further delays.

This pushed the publication date back by nearly three

months. For this, we offer our sincere apology.

Unfortunately, few of the manuscripts we

received were not quite original and had to be rejected.

THN’s editorial board takes plagiarism seriously and do not

compromise in this regard. We would like to request our

readers to help spread awareness about this serious issue in

your circles and would like to request future authors to be

more cautious of maintaining originality. You can visit

https://www.plagiarism.org/ to understand more about

plagiarism.

With that said, we are very excited to present the

second issue of The Himalayan Naturalist. There are nine

articles in this issue including one original contribution, four

short communications, two distribution updates, one

conservation bulletin and a field note, plus the section

‘Photos from the Wild’. The articles cover the taxonomic

classes herpetofaunas, butterflies, birds and mammals. We

would like to thank our reviewers for their invaluable help

and advice.

We sincerely hope this issue will be useful and

enjoyable and we hope for your feedback and critical

comments on how we can keep refining The Himalayan

Naturalist.

Thank you!

Email: thehimalayannaturalist@gmail.com

3 Diversity of butterflies in eastern lowlands of Nepal

S. R. Tamang, A. Joshi, J. Pandey, N. Raut & B. R.

Shrestha

11 Conservation value of upper Mai valley forest in

Panchthar-Ilam-Taplejung (PIT) corridor of Eastern

Nepal for birds

C. Inskipp, A. P. Sherpa, D. Bista, H. S. Baral, M.

Bunskoek, H. Chaudhary & R. Chaudhary

26 Distribution of King Cobra in Nepal

K. B. Thapa, N. Rana & K. B. Shah

34 Confirmation of breeding colonies of Lesser Adjutant

Stork in Sarlahi, Nepal

S. Bajagain, A. Pradhan & A. Bhusal

37 Status and distribution of King Cobra in Southern

Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal

R. Baral, S. K. Yadav, R. Gautam, M. P. Katila, R. K.

Gurung, A. Subedi & B. Basnet

42 The largest recorded breeding colony of Great

Cormorant in Nepal

S. GC, R. Acharya & N. R. Chapagain

44 Conserving the Asian Woollyneck in Nepal: efforts,

outcomes and lessons learnt

P. Ghimire & N. Pandey

46 First record of Crab-eating Mongoose in Dang district,

Western Nepal

P. Pandeya & C. Khanal

48 Photos from the wild

S. Giri

52 My first herpetological field trip

K. B. Shah

DISCLAIMER: Views and opinions expressed in the articles are those

of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of

the editorial board or Friends of Nature.

FRONT COVER PHOTO Mountain Weasel by YADAV

GHIMIREY

BACK COVER PHOTO View towards north from Nyalu

pass in Humla by YADAV

GHIMIREY

Inside this issue

Editors Bidhan Adhikary Nepal

Jeevan Rai Nepal

Mohammad Abidur Rahman Bangladesh

Yadav Ghimirey Nepal

Advisor Raju Acharya Nepal

Layout and Design Bidhan Adhikary Nepal

Mountain Weasel Mustela altaica is a small mustelid species

found mostly in areas lying at high altitudes or cold places.

It lives in rock crevices, tree trunks and abandoned burrows.

It hunts for pikas, hamsters and other rodents. Globally the

species is found in Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan,

Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russian Federation

and Tajikistan. In Nepal the species has been recorded from

Humla, Mustang, Solukhumbu and Taplejung districts. This

photo was taken in Takche area in Limi valley, upper Humla.

https://twitter.com/fonnepal2005https://www.youtube.com/user/rajubird2003https://www.facebook.com/fonnepal2005/

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©2018 Friends of Nature, The Himalayan Naturalist, 2(1), 34-36

Short Communication

Confirmation of breeding colonies of Lesser Adjutant Stork in Sarlahi, Nepal

SANTOSH BAJAGAIN1*, AAVAS PRADHAN1 and ARJUN BHUSAL1

1 Institute of Forestry (IOF), Hetauda

*Email for correspondence: santosh_bajagain@hotmail.com

Abstract Presence-Absence survey of Lesser Adjutant

Stork was carried out in Sarlahi district during June-July

2018. The survey provided positive results with record of

three nesting colonies from the area. The area is suitable

for the species in terms of habitat however anthropogenic

threats still exists and require conservation interventions.

Keywords Bombax ceiba, breeding colonies, hunting,

Lesser Adjutant Stork

___________________________________________

Introduction

Ciconiidae Family account for 19 species of storks in the

whole world (del Hoyo et al. 1992). Nepal has 8 species of

storks, two of which are adjutants (Greater Adjutant

Leptoptilos dubius and Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos

javanicus). Both species are categorized as globally

threatened (Birdlife International 2017).

Lesser Adjutant Stork (LAS) is categorized as

globally Vulnerable stork species (Birdlife International

2017). It has been recorded from Bangladesh, Bhutan,

Brunei, Cambodia, China (mainland), Nepal, India,

Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka,

Thailand and Vietnam (Birdlife International 2013). LAS is

found in freshwater wetlands and in mangroves. It mainly

feeds on fish, frogs, reptiles, large invertebrates, rodents,

small mammals and rarely carrion (Hancock et al. 1992).

They are solitary except during the breeding season when

they form loose colonies, usually not exceeding 20 nests in

a single colony (ibid.).

LAS is one of the largest breeding birds (i.e. 110-

120 cm tall) found in Nepal and has been categorized as

Vulnerable in Nepal by IUCN's National Red List (Inskipp et

al. 2016). LAS is fairly common in Chitwan National Park

and eastern Nepal. It has been recorded from almost the

entire stretch of lowland Nepal from east to west though

with some gaps in the west (Inskipp and Inskipp 1991). It

has been recorded from most of the protected areas of

lowland terai i.e. Suklaphanta National Park, Bardia

National Park, Chitwan National Park, Parsa National Park

and Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (Inskipp et al. 2016).

Outside the protected area system the species

has been recorded from Lumbini and Rupandehi district

(Baral 1993), Kapilvastu district (Giri 2010), Kailali district

(Sharma 2005a, b), Morang district (Baral 2004a, b),

Sunsari district (Basnet 2009), Jhapa district (Khadka 2009),

Nawalparasi district (Poudyal 2009), and Saptari and Siraha

districts (Baral 2004a, b). Breeding colonies have been

recorded from Morang, Saptari and Siraha Districts (Baral

2004a, b), Dharan forests of Sunsari District (Basnet 2009)

and Jhapa District (Khadka 2009).

Materials and Methods

Study area

The survey was carried out in three sites i.e. Janakinagar of

Haripur Municipality, Murtiya of Bharathawa Municipality

and Nadiman Lake and its periphery of Chandranagar rural

municipality of Sarlahi district in south-eastern central

lowlands of the country (FIG. 1).

FIG. 1: Map of the study area showing transects and colony

locations.

Methods

Key informant survey was conducted with villagers around

the study areas to locate the nesting and feeding sites.

Road transect survey was conducted in order to visit the

potential sites as per the informants. Sites of possible

35

©2018 Friends of Nature, The Himalayan Naturalist, 2(1), 34-36

occurrence, such as agricultural land, marshy areas and

open grounds near the forest were thoroughly scanned to

identify the nesting and roosting sites. Direct visual

observations were made using a pair of 8x40 Olympus

binoculars and coordinates were marked using Garmin

GPS MAP 64s. Field visits were made at different times of

the day i.e. in the morning, afternoon and evening during

June and July 2018 for 15 days. Counts at the colony were

made at dusk when the birds returned to roost as numbers

were variable at other times of the day. Key informants

were also asked to provide information on the prevalent

threats to the species.

Results

A total of 18 km was covered during the transect walk

during which three different breeding colonies were

identified in Janakinagar. The distance between the

colonies ranged between 212 m to 1426 m.

LAS were also observed foraging in Murtiya and

Nadiman lake areas without any evidence of nests. The

numbers of foraging individuals ranged from one to three

individuals. Information regarding the colonies is

presented in TABLE 1.

Discussion

This record of 24 LAS nests with 39 adults provides

information on breeding colonies of the species in the

areas outside PA system in Nepal. With the species

numbers in decreasing trend elsewhere in the eastern

lowlands (Karki and Thapa 2013; Inskipp et al. 2016), the

discovery of a new nesting colony is an important finding.

The species was observed to use only Silk Cotton Bombax

ceiba trees for nesting in the study area while in eastern

lowlands they were also found to use Karam Adina

cordifolia trees (Karki and Thapa 2013). Interestingly,

discussion with key informants revealed that the area was

previously occupied by vultures whose population

decreased radically leading to local extinction in the area.

Key informant survey with eight people in

Nadiman lake area revealed the collapse of Silk Cotton tree

with active nests of LAS few months ago. While there were

no nests recorded there during the study, it is important as

the area is a habitat for the species. It is important to

monitor this site as a potential nesting area.

Although the study area provides suitable habitat

for LAS conservation, threats are still prevalent. These

include hunting, conversion of farmlands, increase in

human settlement, degradation of the wetland and

intensive use of pesticides and insecticides. Local people

and staffs at District Forest Office during interview

reported the decrease of LAS every year. Further surveys

in other areas of the districts to look out for nesting

colonies of the species is highly recommended. Also,

awareness initiatives focusing the importance of the

species targeting locals and school students should be

carried out in the area.

Breeding colonies of Lesser Adjutant Stork in Sarlahi

TABLE 1: Information on LAS nests in Janakinagar Community Forest

Colony Location Nesting Trees No. of Nests No. of Adult

LAS Observed Number Species Active Vacant Total

Area Forest Office vicinity, Janakinagar

1 Cotton Tree Bombax ceiba

4 4 6

Janakinagar CF 1 12 1 13 19

Janakinagar CF 1 7 7 14

SAN

TO

SH

BAJA

GAIN

PHOTO 1: Nesting colony of Lesser Adjutant Stork.

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©2018 Friends of Nature, The Himalayan Naturalist, 2(1), 34-36

Acknowledgements

I am very thankful to Bird Conservation Nepal and Carol

Inskipp for their continuous motivation and guidance.

Thanks to Subdivision Forest Office, Janakinagar who

supported me with the information and helping me reach

the local community. Thanks to Mr. Bikram Singh Thakuri

for technical support with Geographical Information

System.

References

Baral, H.S. 2004a. Population status, breeding and habitat preference of Lesser Adjutant in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and surrounding areas, east Nepal. Birding ASIA 2, 82.

Baral, H.S. 2004b. Population status, breeding success and habitat preference of Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus in the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and -surrounding areas, east Nepal. Unpublished. Oriental Bird Club, UK.

Basnet, Y.R. 2009. Birds of Dharan forests IBA, eastern lowland Nepal. Danphe 18, 1-4.

BirdLife International. 2013. IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 22/08/2013).

BirdLife International. 2017. Leptoptilos javanicus (amended version of 2016 assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22697713A110481858. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22697713A110481858.en.

Chaudhary, H. 1997. Additional sightings. Danphe 6, 2-3.

Del Hoyo, J., Elliot, A., and Sargatal, J. 1992. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Lynx Editions. Barcelona, Spain.

Giri, D. 2010. A checklist of birds recorded in Lumbini area, 2005-2010. Unpublished.

Hancock, J., Kushlan, J.A., and Kahl, M.P. 1992. Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the world. Academic Press. USA.

Inskipp, C. and Inskipp, T. 1991. A guide to the birds of Nepal. Second edition. London, UK: Christopher Helm.

Inskipp, C., Baral, H.S., Phuyal, S., Bhatt, T.R., Khatiwada, M., Inskipp, T, Khatiwada, A., Gurung, S., Singh, P.B., Murray, L., Poudyal, L. and Amin, R. 2016. The status of Nepal's Birds: The national red list series. Zoological Society of London, UK.

Karki, S. and Thapa, T.B. 2013. Population Status, nesting habitat selection and conservation threats of lesser adjutant stork (Leptoptilos javanicus) in the eastern lowlands of Nepal. Conservation Science 1, 27-35.

Khadka, M.B. 2009. Lesser Adjutant population census and conservation: a study from Rani Community Forest of Jhapa District. Unpublished.

Poudyal, L.P. 2009. Population status and habitat preference of Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus in Nepal. Unpublished. Nagao Environment Foundation, Japan.

Poudyal, L.P. and Nepal, S. 2010. Population status of Lesser Adjutant in Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Danphe 19, 1-3.

Sharma, S. 2005a. Population status and distribution of Lesser Adjutant Stork Leptoptilos javanicus in far western lowland (Bardia, Kailai and Kanchanpur Districts), Nepal. Unpublished. Oriental Bird Club, UK.

Sharma, S. 2005b. Population status and distribution of Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus in Bardia, Kailali and Kanchanpur districts, western Nepal. Birding ASIA 3, 8.

Biosketches

SANTOSH BAJAGAIN is a BSc Forestry final year student and has

been involved in research and conservation awareness program for

birds.

AAVAS PRADHAN is a BSc Forestry final year student and has been involved in research of herpetofauna in the Institute of Forestry,

Hetauda campus.

ARJUN BHUSAL is a BSc Forestry final year student and has been

working on big mammal research. He is also interested in studying

birds.

Breeding colonies of Lesser Adjutant Stork in Sarlahi

http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22697713A110481858.enhttp://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-1.RLTS.T22697713A110481858.en

YAD

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IMIR

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