Journal of Threatened
Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 October 2024 | 16(10): 26040–26043
ISSN 0974-7907
(Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9134.16.10.26040-26043
#9134 | Received 09
May 2024 | Final received 26 September 2024 | Finally accepted 02 October 2024
New photographic and distribution
records of the Beautiful Nuthatch
Sitta formosa (Blyth, 1843) and Lesser
Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus
(Horsfield, 1821) from the Tsirang
District landscape in Bhutan
Birkha Bahadur Mongar
1 ,
Bishal Mongar 2 ,
Chhimi Dorji 3 ,
Phuntsho Tobgay 4 ,
Tshering Wangchuk 5 & Jigme Tenzin
6
1 Sergithang Beat Office, Tsirangtoe
Range, Divisional Forest Office, Department of Forests and Park Services,
Ministry of Energy and Natural
Resources, 32001, Tsirang Bhutan.
2 Damphu Central School, Ministry
of Education and Skill Development, 32001, Tsirang
Bhutan.
3,4,5 Divisional Forest Office,
Department of Forests and Park Services, Ministry of Energy and Natural
Resources, 32001, Tsirang Bhutan.
6 Forest Range Office, Department
of Forests and Park Services, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, 32001, Tsirang Bhutan
1 birkha918@yahoo.com
(corresponding author), 2 bishalmongar511@gmail.com, 3 chhimidorji@moenr.gov.bt,
4 phuntshot@moenr.gov.bt, 5 tsheringwangchuk@moenr.gov.bt,
6 jigmetenzin2@moenr.gov.bt
Editor: Tim Inskipp,
Bishop Auckland Co., Durham, UK. Date
of publication: 26 October 2024 (online & print)
Citation: Mongar, B.B., B. Mongar, C. Dorji, P. Tobgay, T. Wangchuk
& J. Tenzin (2024). New photographic and distribution records of
the Beautiful Nuthatch Sitta formosa (Blyth, 1843) and Lesser Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus
(Horsfield, 1821) from the Tsirang
District landscape in Bhutan. Journal of Threatened Taxa 16(10): 26040-26043. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9134.16.10.26040-26043
Copyright: © Mongar et al. 2024. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use,
reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium by providing
adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: None.
Competing interests: The authors state that they have no known financial conflicts of interest or personal relationships that could have influenced the work presented in this paper.
Acknowledgements: The team would like to express
our gratitude to the Department of Forest and Park Services, and Dr. Sherub, Ornithologist at the Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for
Forests Research and Training (UWIFoRT) in Bumthang, for their valuable encouragement and technical
support. Additionally, the team extends their thanks
to Mr. Tshewang Dorji, Head
of the White-Bellied Heron Conservation Center in Sunkosh, Tsirang, under the Royal
Society for the Protection of Nature (RSPN), and his team for their assistance
during the rescue operation. The technical staff from the Range Office, Tsirang, are also acknowledged for their support.
The Beautiful
Nuthatch Sitta Formosa was first
described by Edward Blyth from a specimen collected in Darjeeling (Blyth,
1843). Globally, S. formosa occurs in the
eastern Himalaya, in the hills of northeastern India, Bhutan, extending through
the highlands of Myanmar into Laos & Vietnam, also in southern China and
northern Thailand (BirdLife International 2001, 2020;
Grimmett et al. 2019). In Bhutan the species has been
recorded from Samdrup Jongkhar,
Thimphu, Mongar, Zhemgang, Lhuentse, Samtse, Chukha, Dagana, Sarpang, Wangduephodrang, Trashigang, Pemagatshel, and Trongsa (Bishop 1999; Spierenburg
2005; Tobgay 2018; eBird
2024). Although the species is widely distributed in the mainland of Southeast
Asia, it appears to be rare and highly localized throughout its range, making
population estimation difficult. Furthermore, deforestation resulting from
expanding development activities has led to the classification of its IUCN Red
List status as ‘Vulnerable’ in recent years (BirdLife
International 2020).
Lesser
Adjutant Leptoptilos javanicus
has a global population estimated to be between 5,000–15,000 individuals across
its range (Birdlife International 2023), including India, Nepal, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos, Singapore, Indonesia,
and Cambodia. In Bhutan, the presence of L. javanicus
was confirmed at the border of Royal Manas National
Park in Zhemgang and Daifam
(Samdrup Jongkhar) in 2004
(Choudhury 2005). It has subsequently been recorded from Gelephu
(Sarpang District) (Tobgay
2018; Wangdi 2018), and in Bashaling
& Langthel (Trongsa District) (Rinchen 2020). Birdlife International (2023) have suggested
that the species appears in Bhutan as a vagrant, especially during the summer
season.
The Tsirang District encompasses a total geographical area of
639 km² located in the south- central part of Bhutan, within altitude ranges of
160–4,144 m (Figure 1). Within this area, 15.52% (6329 ha) is covered by
Biological Corridor No. 03, which connects with ecologically diverse protected
areas such as Jigme Singye Wangchuck
National Park (JSWNP) to the north, Royal Manas
National Park (RMNP) to the east, and Phibsoo
Wildlife Sanctuary (PWS) to the south. Additionally, the Punatsangchhu
basin, one of Bhutan’s major rivers, flows from north to south, providing
primary habitat for the ‘Critically Endangered’ White-bellied Heron Ardea insignis as well as other globally
threatened water bird species within the riverine landscape. The landscape is
predominantly composed of warm broadleaved forest (47%), followed by
sub-tropical forest (17.2%), cool broadleaved forest (17%), with scattered
patches of evergreen oak and Chirpine forest (DoFPS 2022).
S. formosa was sighted by the first author
in the vicinity of Pangthang village (26.940°N,
90.116°E) in the Patshaling Gewog on 5 April
2023, during a field trip (Image 1a,b). The photograph
was uploaded to the online Bhutan Biodiversity Portal in 2023. The author
observed it foraging on the trunk of an oak tree (Quercus indica) along with a flock of other sympatric species,
including the Himalayan Shrike-babbler Pteruthius
aeralatus, Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo Dicrurus remifer, Sultan Tit Melanochlora
sultanea, Scarlet Minivet Pericrocotus
speciosus, Red-tailed Minla
Minla ignotincta,
Blue-winged Minla Actinodura
cyanouroptera, Maroon Oriole Oriolus
traillii, and Ashy Drongo
Dicrurus leucophaeus.
Similarly, Bishop (1999) and Tobgay (2018) also
reported sightings of Beautiful Nuthatch in flocks with other species from
lower elevations in the Dewathang area of Samdrup Jongkhar District. In
terms of elevation and forest types, in Tsirang the
species was recorded at 1,400 m in warm broadleaved forests dominated by Quercus
spp., Macaranga spp., Alnus nepalensis, and Rhus
spp., which is consistent with the findings of Bishop (1999) and Tobgay (2018).
L. javanicus was opportunistically recorded
from Nyizergang (27.004°N, 90.131°E) in the Tsirang District on 13 March 2024. The bird was chased by
feral dogs but was later rescued with minor injuries by a team of foresters
from the Forest Range Office, Tsirang. Due to damage
to its left eye and body weakness, it might have missed the regular migratory
routes resulting in its landing at central Tsirang
District. Currently, this individual is being cared for and treated at the
White-bellied Heron Conservation Center established by the Royal Society for
the Protection of Nature (RSPN), based in Changchey.
The species has previously been reported up to 500 m (BirdLife
International 2023) but this record at 1,469 m, has established a new
distribution record for Bhutan and other range countries as well.
Owing to its rarity and the disturbances stemming from
ongoing agricultural expansion, the species was recently reclassified from
‘Least Concern’ to ‘Near Threatened’ in 2023 (Birdlife International 2023).
Separate studies are needed to ensure the long-term conservation of Beautiful
Nuthatch, and to confirm whether Lesser Adjutant is a regular visitor in Tsirang.
For
figure & images - - click here for full PDF
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