The major highlight of Nepal is the Chitwan National Park. It is the first National Park of Nepal. The park harbours many mammal species such as golden jackals, fishing cats, jungle cats, leopard cats, large and small Indian civets, Asian palm civets, crab-eating mongooses and yellow-throated martens. There is great diversity in the avifauna as well. The birds commonly found in the park are Bengal florican, the vulnerable lesser adjutant, grey-crowned prinia, swamp francolin, grass warblers, slender-billed babblers, Oriental darter, egrets, bitterns, storks and kingfishers. Situated at the Eastern end of the Himalayas, and located between India and Tibet, The Kingdom of Bhutan is a land locked country of just half a million people with an area of 47,000 square kilometres. Bhutan forms a giant staircase geographically, starting in the south, from a narrow strip of land in the plains of India at an altitude of 100 m, the elevation rises to high Himalayan peaks over 7000 m in the North on the borders with Tibet. Some of the rare species that can be seen are Rufous–necked Hornbill, beautiful Nuthatch, White bellied heron, Palla’s Fishing Eagle, Satyr Tragopan, Black–necked Crane, Wood Snipe, Ward’s Trogon, Blyth’s Kingfisher, Yellow-rumped Honey Guide, Purple Cochoa, Rufus-throated Wren Babbler, Red-headed Parrotbill, Grey Crowned Prinia, and Dark- rumped swift.
The bird habitats of Nepal & Bhutan can be roughly divided into forest, scrub, wetlands, alpine habitats, agricultural land & land around human habitation. Bhutan & Nepal regions are home to a large number of threatened bird species. These regions have retained much of its forests which are abundant, diverse & beautiful, forming some extremely special representatives of forest habitats in the Himalayas.
