Tibetan Snowcock

The Tibetan Snowcock (Tetraogallus tibetanus) is a bird in the pheasant family Phasianidae of the order Galliformes, gallinaceous birds. This species is found in high-altitude regions of the Western Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau, where it overlaps in part with the larger Himalayan Snowcock. The head is greyish and there is a white crescent patch behind the eye and underside is white with black stripes. In flight the secondaries show a broad white trailing edge. Smaller than Himalayan Snowcock, this species has a grey head and neck with a white patch behind the eye and above the dark cheek. Chin, throat and breast are white, with two grey bands on the breast. Grey wing coverts and tertials have a white trim. The secondaries have a broad white trailing edge that forms a wing band. Underparts are white with black streaks on flanks and belly. The tail is rufous brown and the undertail coverts are black. Legs and beaks are reddish. Sexes are similar, but female has buff in postocular patch, blackish and buff marks on sides of head, neck and breast-band, and lacks the tarsal spurs of the male. [2][3][4]

The widely distributed populations show variations in plumage and about five subspecies have been designated:[2][5][6][7]

The nominate race described by John Gould in 1854[8] is distributed across the Pamirs in Tadjikistan, southeast to Western Tibet and Ladakh. It is paler than the other races aquilonifer, described by Sushkin in 1926, is found in Central and East Himalayas (Nepal, Sikkim, western Bhutan), is darker and has darker brown tail centralis, described by Meinertzhagen in 1926, is sometimes lumped with przewalskii. This race is dark, and less fulvous than aquilonifer. This is found in central Tibet and extends to the Abor and the Mishmi Hills of India. przewalskii was described by Bianchi in 1907, is found from North East India to West Central China henrici, described by Oustalet in 1891, is found from Eastern Tibet to North West Sichuan.

Some races such as tschimenensis and yunnanensis are not widely recognized, the former included in the nominate form.[5][9] The genetic divergence of these populations has been attributed to glacial cycles associated with the uplift of the Tibetan plateau.[

Himalayan Quail
The Himalayan Quail (Ophrysia superciliosa) or Mountain Quail is a medium-sized quail belonging to the pheasant family. It was last reported in 1876 and is feared extinct. This species

was known from only 2 locations (and 12 specimens) in the western Himalayas in Uttarakhand, north-west India. The last verifiable record was in 1876 near the hill station of Mussoorie.

Description
"Eyebrowed Rollulus" - A painting by Edward Lear in J E Gray's "Gleanings from the Menagerie and Aviary at Knowsley Hall" of 1846

The red bill and legs of this small dark quail and white spots before and after the eye make it distinctive. The male is dark grey with bleak streaks and a white forehead and supercilium. The female is brownish with dark streaks and greyish brow. Like the male it has a white spot in front of the eye and a larger one behind the eye.[3] It is believed to fly only when flushed at close quarters and was found in coveys of five or six. The habitat was steep hillsides covered by long grass.[4] The genus name is derived from Ophrys which refers the brow.[5] This quail has long tail coverts and the 10 feathered tail is longer, nearly as long as the wing, than in most quails.[6] The feathers of the forehead and bristly and stiff.[7][8] The species was described in 1846 by J. E. Gray from living specimens in the collection of the Earl of Derby at Knowsley Hall, and he gave the locality as "India" with a query.[6] It was not until 1865 that it was first found in the wild by Kenneth Mackinnon who shot a pair in November, in a hollow between Budraj and Benog, behind Mussoorie, at about 6,000 feet (1,800 m) elevation.[6] Two years later, again in November, five specimens were obtained by a group near Jerepani (Jharipani). In December 1876, Major G. Carwithen obtained a specimen from the eastern slopes of Sher-ka-danda, close to Nainital, at an elevation of 7,000 feet (2,100 m). Frank Finn suggested that it was a migratory bird, arriving in winter, although expressing doubts on account of the short wings.[6] The birds near Mussoorie as observed by Hutton and others occurred in small coveys of six to ten, that kept to high grass and scrub, fed on seeds of grass, were difficult to flush, and had a shrill whistling note when flushed. They appeared to arrive about November, but in one case stayed as late as June, after which they disappeared.[3][9][10]

Fulvous Whistling Duck

The Fulvous Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna bicolor), is a whistling duck that breeds across the world's tropical regions in much of Central and South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and the Gulf Coast of the United States. The Fulvous Whistling Duck is a common but wary species. It is largely resident, apart from local movements, but vagrancy has occurred to southern Europe. It nests on a stick platform in reeds, laying 812 eggs, but hollow trees or old bird nests are occasionally used for nesting. Its habitat is freshwater lakes, paddy fields or reservoirs with plentiful vegetation, where this duck feeds mainly at night on seeds and other parts of plants..

The Fulvous Whistling Duck is 4853 cm (1921 in) long. It has a long grey bill, long head and longish legs, buff head and underparts, the latter reddish-tinged on the flanks, a dark crown, and dark grey back and wings. The tail and wing patches are chestnut, and there is a white crescent on the upper tail which is visible in flight. All plumages are similar, except that juveniles have less contrasted flank and tail colouration. This species is gregarious, and at favoured sites substantial flocks can form. As the name implies, these are noisy birds with a clear whistling kee-wee-ooo call. The Fulvous Whistling Duck is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

Falcated Duck
The closest relative of this species is the Gadwall, followed by the wigeons.[2]

Distribution and habitat

The Falcated duck breeds in eastern Asia. It nests in eastern Russia, in Khabarovsk, Primorskiy, Amur, Chita, Buryatia, Irkutsk, Tuva, eastern Krasnoyarsk, south central Sakha Sakhalin, extreme northeastern North Korea and northern China, in northeastern Inner Mongolia, and northern Heilongjiang, and in northern Japan, Hokkaid, Aomori, and the Kuril Islands.[3] It is widely recorded well outside its normal range, but the popularity of this beautiful duck in captivity clouds the origins of these extralimital birds. This dabbling duck is strongly migratory and winters in much of Southeast Asia. In India: Uttar Pradesh, Bihr, Assam, eastern Haryna. Also in northern Bangladesh, northern and central Myanmar, northern Laos to the Mekong River, northern Vietnam (from about Hanoi north), and China: Hainan, Taiwan, Yunnan, Guangxi Zhuang, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, northern Hunan, Hubei, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shandong, southern Hebei, Shanxi, northern Shaanxi.[3] It is gregarious outside the breeding season and will then form large flocks. This is a species of lowland wetlands, such as water meadows or lakes, and usually feeds by dabbling for plant food or grazing. It nests on the ground, near water and under the cover of taller vegetation. The clutch is 610 eggs.

Identification
This is an at 4854 cm length. The breeding male is unmistakable. Most of the body plumage is finely vermiculated grey, with the long sickle-shaped tertials, which give this species its name, hanging off its back. The large head is dark green with a white throat, and a dark green collar and bronzed crown).[4] The vent region is patterned in yellow, black and white.

The female Falcated Duck is dark brown, with plumage much like a female wigeon. Its long grey bill is an aid to identification.[4] The eclipse male is like the female, but darker on the back and head. In flight both sexes show a pale grey underwing. The blackish speculum is bordered with a white bar on its inner edge.[4] Young birds are buffer than the female and have short tertials. The male Falcated Duck has a clear low whistle, whereas the female has a gruff "quack".

Paddyfield Warbler
The Paddyfield Warbler (Acrocephalus agricola) is a species of marsh warbler (family Acrocephalidae). It was formerly included in the "Old World warbler" assemblage. The Manchurian Reed Warbler (A. tangorum) was (and sometimes still is) included in A. agricola as a subspecies. It breeds in temperate central Asia. It is migratory, wintering in Pakistan and India. It is a rare vagrant to western Europe although there are small breeding populations along the western shores of the Black Sea around the border between Bulgaria and Romania. This passerine bird is a species found in low vegetation such as long grass, reeds and rice. 4-5 eggs are laid in a nest in grass. At 13 centimetres (5.1 in) long with a wingspan of 1517.5 centimetres (5.96.9 in), Paddyfield is close in size to the Eurasian Reed Warbler but with shorter bill and wingspan. The adult has an unstreaked pale brown back and buff underparts, with a warm brown rump. There is a clearer whitish supercilium and the bill is short and pointed. The sexes are identical, as with most warblers, but young birds are richer buff below. Like most warblers, it is insectivorous. The song is fast and similar to Marsh Warbler, with much mimicry and typically acrocephaline whistles added. Its song is weaker and more rhythmic than that of its relative.