Kathmandu: Nepal has recorded a new species of bird from upper Dolpa, the largest district of mid-western development region.
Organizing a press meeting in the capital on Friday, discovery of a single individual of Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush Monticola saxitilis was made public. The bird was seen and photographed on May last year near the renowned Shey monastery within the Shey-Phoksundo National Park of Dolpa.
The Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush is considered as an autumn passage migrant in Pakistan and India.
A four-member team including young wildlife researcher of Nepal Naresh Kusi and Geraldine Werhahn from University of Oxford made the record during their visit in the region.
The team was studying Himalayan wolf Canis sp., wild yak Bos mutus and snow leopard Panthera uncia during May-July 2016 in Dolpa while they discovered this new species of bird.
The record has been confirmed by international bird experts, Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation and Bird Conservation Nepal.
Bird experts have claimed that more researches are needed to ascertain the status of Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush in other parts of Nepal.
With this record, Nepal now has a total of 886 species of birds across the country.