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An
hour out of Kohima, we stopped in a small patch of Pine forest, where Angulie
(who was proving to be indispensable), said he had seen the rare Chestnut-vented
Nuthatch (image). Before
long Shashank had managed to lure a pair right before our eyes and we spent an
happy hour
watching
and photographing this obscure nuthatch, which carries the proud appellation S.
nagaensis. Few, if any, photographs exist of this bird in India and it was a
pleased Messrs Sen and Sreenivasan who finally packed their cameras away. A
single Black-breasted Thrush crossed the road, giving us very poor and
unsatisfactory views. The road to Benrue took us through the Dzulekie
forest; some of the finest and wildest jungles we have been privileged to see.
Dense and pristine, it overawed us with its mere presence. We stopped often just
to savour the beauty of these antediluvian woods and on one occasion failed to
positively identify a tiny but exceedingly swift raptor. A few
Common Stonechats were seen along with the
ubiquitous Crested Finchbills. A single Chestnut Thrush of, possibly, the gouldi
ssp. fled at our approach as we closed in on our destination.
Situated in the
district of Peren, the quaint little village of Benreu lies perched 1950 metres
above sea level on the Barail range, and houses a unique community where the
minority animist population dictates the customs and social rules to the
majority Christians. Benreu is truly a living showcase of the endangered culture
of these highlanders. We checked into the Mt. Pauna Tourist Village, where our
rooms were sparse but adequate. Birding-wise we were in virgin territory, with
earlier trips reports being non-existent, but as the environs looked exceedingly
promising we awoke the next morning with a high sense of anticipation. Soon it
was to be proved, that our excitement was not without foundation and despite the
obvious signs of hunters and hunting, birds were plentiful.
Sumit
and I started strolling ahead, while Ramki and Shashank gathered their various
instruments and soon we came upon a flock of Chestnut Thrushes. As we peered at
them
through
the mist, we saw a single plain- coloured bird. Sumit quickly took a photograph
and we were delighted to find that it was the globally threatened Grey-sided
Thrush (image), seen
scarcely in the South Assam Hills. We were delighted, but not so Shashank who
was very keen to add this bird to his life-list. Though we assured him we would
see it later, we did not find another that day. We walked on, seeing a
Flavescent Bulbul. A Rufous-bellied Woodpecker was spotted busy tapping a tall
tree, the only member of this family we saw in the hills, though we heard the
Bay Woodpecker several times. Other birds seen included the Golden-fronted
Barbet, Maroon Oriole, Orange-bellied Leafbird, Yellow-bellied Fantail and
Green-backed Tits. As usual the Himalayan Black Bulbul of the nigrescens race
were ever-present in large numbers. A pair of large birds deep in the leafy
canopy had us completely foxed. I kept insisting that they were Purple Cochoa,
but Sumit kept disagreeing claiming that they looked like Large Cuckooshrikes. I
dismissed his claim, but later the photographs proved that he was correct and as
Pam Rasmussen’s book confirmed, they are available up to 1800m in winter (in
summer they can be found up to 2400m) and we were only a tad above this. They
were probably of the siamensis race.
We breakfasted on a curve on the road in bright sunshine, and were interrupted
by a pair of White-tailed Nuthatches who played chase-the-leader on a small tree
next to us. A Crested Goshawk and a Black Eagle soared the thermals. Sumit and I
decided to walk down the road leaving the trio to do their nosy-parker bit,
running up and down several gullies like demented mountain goats. We met several
hunters (some sporting camouflaged gear) on the road, and whose mere presence
confirmed our suspicions that
hunting was rife in this part as well.
A sudden flock of Blue-winged and Chestnut tailed Minlas kept Sumit occupied and
from somewhere a fulvetta appeared and was caught by
his ever-alert camera. This bird later caused some excitement to Shashank who
felt that it was a bird of the austeni race
of the White-browed Fulvetta.
However, the photograph was not clear enough to provide conclusive evidence. A few Nepal Fulvettas were also seen, as were Black-throated (breasted) Sunbirds
of the assamensis race.
While we were busy with the fulvettas, the adolescent
threesome had climbed a promising looking gully and had played the recording of
the Cachar Wedge-billed Babbler, luring not one but five of them! When we
regrouped for lunch, they declared that the said gully was an easy climb even
for our carcasses. So off we went risking life and limb and precariously
clambered up the slippery slopes and positioned ourselves. Quivering with
anticipation, we heard the call being played by Shashank who was perched much
higher than us. Almost instantly an individual reacted, but much to our
disappointment, none revealed themselves and so yet another bird joined my long
list of ‘so-close-yet-so-far’. A pair of fluffy Mountain Bulbuls and a Spotted
Forktail repaired some of the frustration. A Buff-barred Warbler caused some
confusion and a frosty Asian Barred Owlet sat unmoving on a pole, just outside
the hotel.
Next morning, Shashank was ready to be the first to go out, so as not to miss
the Grey-sided Thrush and sure enough, we chanced upon them almost immediately.
As Ramki and Shashank had finished photographing a particular individual, one of
India’s rarest birds fell dead at their feet, having being brought down by the
unerring aim of a young boy’s catapult.
Much shaken, we went on to see a flock of Eyebrowed along with Chestnut
Thrushes. We walked on flushing a few Mountain Bamboo Partridges, notching up
Blue Rock Thrush, Blue Whistling Thrush, Rufous-chinned Laughing thrush and a
few Red-faced Liocichlas. Today was a good day for Greenish Warblers, Whiskered
Yuhinas and Fire-breasted Flowerpeckers. A flock of rare-in-these parts
Red-billed Leiothrix was the first (and only) of the trip and I saw a bright
single Golden Bush Robin male. Soon I found a small
flock of the high-ranging Wedge-tailed Green Pigeons, and called to Sumit who
was busy photographing some other bird and wouldn’t respond. When we reviewed
his pictures the reason for his non-compliance emerged - the seldom seen and
nomadic Purple Cochoa! This unobtrusive bird is said to be a scarce summer
visitor and its winter whereabouts is supposedly mysterious and so perhaps a
clue here somewhere!
We returned to the hotel, breakfasted and packed and prepared to move onto our
last birding area. The plan was to shimmy up the furrow again to give the
Wedge-billed Babblers another go, but again the exercise proved to be futile.
Frustrated we moved on, our next destination being the town of Jalukie, where we
would be reinforced by local citizens, who would accompany us to the politically
disturbed area of Intangki.
Ramki and Shasank were in the first car and Sumit and I stopped to see a huge
flock of about eighty Red-tailed Minlas. When we caught up with them, we found
that they had stopped by the side of a sharply inclined hill, covered with scrub
and grass.
Shashank
had unpacked his sound equipment and was playing the call of the Spot-breasted
Parrotbill. I whispered to Sumit that all of this was a complete waste of time,
and that we should walk ahead. But suddenly the bird called back, sending us
into frenetic activity. Positions were taken up along the road with cameras and
binoculars poised, when suddenly the bird stopped calling, and the trio prepared
to climb the steep slopes to meet the bird on its own turf. Mercifully it called
again and this time Shashank swung into action and recorded its call. After that
it was easy for him to bring the bird within forty feet of us. Cameras clicked
and the birds did not seem perturbed, feeding on grass stalks, while Ramki and
Sumit fired away. The Spot-breasted Parrotbill
(image) superficially resembles the
Black-breasted of the Brahmaputra floodplains, which we all had seen, with some
difficulty on earlier trips, in Dibru-Saikowa. Never even in my wildest
imagination did I ever think I would ever see this super-specialty. Shashank,
alias Dalmore, now promoted to Lord Dalmore accepted our accolades with
equanimity. This was a truly significant find, probably only the third sighting
in the South Assam Hills in as many decades and the sole credit for locating the
bird goes to him. His uncanny ability to match habitat with specific birds will
stand him in good stead over the years.
Elated we drove
into Jalukie town where Bano had organized a huge and delectable lunch. We met
Devisier, Bano’s nephew and local hotshot and who had had brought with him a
gentleman, instantly christened 'Blue-shirt', who was to be our minder during
our foray into the Intangki area. This part of the world is highly volatile and
several groups of insurgents have taken refuge in its verdant forests and we
were warned of the existing risks. We would be staying in the Kuki tribal
settlement of Llilen, about 15 kms from the border of
the Intanki National Park. Our original plan was to stay inside the park, but we
were dissuaded (correctly) against being foolhardy. The Gaon Bura or village
headman had arranged for us to stay at the community longhouse. As we drove up
to it, we started seeing birds of the plains like Red-headed Lapwings, Black
Drongos and Cattle Egrets.
We spent a cold
night in the drafty longhouse and the morning came as a bit of relief. The plot
was that the youth would walk towards Intangki, accompanied by Blue-shirt and a
local tribal, to see if they could find hornbills, which are rumoured to still
exist here, while Sumit, Bano and I would check out the environs. It was still
dark when they set off and I was sure they would not be seen till dusk. We in
the meanwhile walked around the surrounding forests, which despite the obvious
signs of rampant hunting were still thick with birds. The first to be seen was a
Greater Flameback, followed in quick succession by a White-rumped Shama,
White-breasted Kingfishers, Indian Roller, Oriental Magpie Robin and a
Red-breasted Flycatcher. A gigantic fruiting ficus played host to several Asian
Fairy Bluebirds, Spangled (Hair-crested) Drongos, Grey-headed Canary Flycatchers
and Black-crested Bulbuls. As we trudged back to camp we saw White-rumped Munias,
Common Ioras and several Red-vented Bulbuls. A pair of Little Spiderhunters
regularly visited a flowering palm. All the tailorbirds turned out to be Dark
(Black)-necked, which caused a fair bit of excitement.
A set of large
warblers had us baffled and we wondered if they were possibly Eastern Crowned
Warblers, but since Pam reckons that they are hypothetical in the region and
that previous specimens from the South Assam Hills turned out to be Blyth’s, we
thought it prudent to send out our pictures to experts and we now await a final
verdict.
In the nonce,
things were not going well for our intrepid colleagues for Blue-shirt turned out
to be a bit of a vicarious hunter and pointed out several birds, which the
accompanying local brought down with his gun. The path, it seemed, was full of
other hunters, using a combination of guns, traps and slingshots. They had
obviously done well as their bulging bags revealed several dead and injured
birds and this so appalled Ramki and Shashank that they ordered a retreat, much
to the dismay of Blue-shirt. Despite this unsavoury experience they managed to
see several Eyebrowed Thrushes, Dusky Warblers, Oriental Turtle Doves, Blossom
(Rosy)-headed Parakeets, Rufescent Prinia, Little Pied Flycatcher, Black-hooded Orioles, Common
Hill Mynas, Rufous-fronted Babblers and White-browed Scimitar Babblers.
A
hunter’s sack revealed a dead Black-headed Bulbul, the singular bird we had
searched for so hard throughout our trip.
It was in a
despondent state of mind that we left Llilen and drove
to Dimapur, seeing Common Kestrel and a few White Wagtails of the alboides race.
We checked into the exceedingly comfortable Aier’s Enclave and proceeded for
lunch to the popular Plaza Restaurant, where we gorged on familiar food. The
afternoon was spent in attending to our aching bodies, catching up on news of
the outside world and finalizing our trip list.
Next
morning Sumit and Shashank went off to see the Zoo, based in Rangapahar and
located in a large forested area, which allowed good birding as well. They saw,
inter alia, Coppersmith Barbet, Green-billed Malkoha, Himalayan Swiftlets,
Spotted Doves, Grey-backed Shrikes, Chestnut-tailed Starlings, Barn Swallows and
several Scaly-breasted Munias, possibly of ssp. topela which well might be
interesting for India. Several commoner species were seen as well. Perhaps their
most significant sighting was Spot-winged Starlings
(image), a summer visitor to the Northern
hills, an a bit of a mystery bird. All in all, a very satisfactory morning for
them.
In the meanwhile
Ramki and I decided to visit the food market in Dimapur. The startling sight we
saw, of many rare species of birds and endangered mammals being openly sold,
sharply brought in to focus the many contradictions of Nagaland.
A pristine terrain teeming with myriad birds and animals, but where traditional
hunting vies with modern conservation. A land where every man and child smiles,
but is tragically torn asunder by controversial politics. Where jean-clad young
sit next to time-honoured warriors in complete harmony. Where traditional
hornpipes compete with the modern guitar. Never have I seen such a glorious
amalgamation, bringing to mind William Blake’s great line “Great things are done
where men and mountains meet”
© Bikram Grewal 2010
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Trip list
Bird Images
