Nepalese scientists have recorded a new
subspecies of bird at Koshi Tappu Wildlife
Reserve (KTWR) of east Nepal.
The bird was first recorded by Ornithologist
and Chairperson of Nepal Rare Birds
Committee (NRBC) Mr Suchit Basnet and Mr
Badri Chaudhary on 1 April 2005 at Koshi
Tappu. The bird was identified as Rufous-
vented Prinia bringing Nepal's total bird list to
862 species. The bird is known as Prinia
burnesii to scientific community. The new
taxon from Nepal is referred to as Nepal
Rufous-vented Prinia Prinia burnesii nipalensis .
A team of experts affiliated with Bird
Conservation Nepal (BCN) led by Ornithologist
Dr Hem Sagar Baral has further assessed the
taxonomic status of the bird and recently
declared the bird as a new subspecies of
Rufous-vented Prinia. According to Dr Baral
the subspecies is currently found only in
Nepal. "Discovery of a new taxon from Koshi
Tappu, which is one of the most bird watched
areas of the country indicates the possibilities
of finding more new species from the country,”
he said.
Ornithologists call this as a ground breaking
research work and most significant on the
taxonomy of Nepal's birds after the discovery
of Nepal Wren Babbler Pnoepyga immaculata a
new bird described to science nearly 17 years
ago.
The other two subspecies of Rufous-vented
Prinia - Prinia burnesii burnesii is found in
Pakistan in the west along the tributaries of
Indus River and adjacent Punjab in India, and
Prinia burnesii cinerascens is found in Assam
in the east along the Bramhaputra River
systems and adjoining states of India and
Bangladesh. The newly described bird shows
somewhat intermediate characters between the
two subspecies and appears to form a link
between them, is found in the Ganges River
systems, which is the other major river system
in the Indian subcontinent.
The adult of this new subspecies has overall
olive-grey to light brown plumage. The head
and nape are greyer compared to the browner
back, wings and tail. In most individuals, there
is faint whitish supercilium which reaches
behind the eye. The head is densely streaked
compared to back. On the back, the streaks
are bolder compared to the ones in head. The
juveniles are similar to adults but slightly less
marked on the head and body. All birds seen
and heard were located on grassland patches
on small islands of the Koshi River. The grass
species in the area included Saccharum
spontaneum, S. arundinacea, Typha
elephantine, and Phragmites karka. Sparsely
dotted young sissoo Dalbergia sissoo trees and
xeric bushes Casurina spps. were also present
in the area. They were absent in heavily
disturbed grasslands adjacent to villages
indicating their preference for less disturbed
grasslands.
It is a resident breeding species and highly
threatened in the country because of habitat
loss and degradation. Future surveys might
reveal its presence in grasslands in different
parts of the country.
Conservationists in Nepal have already listed
the species as critically endangered for the
country and emphasized as a candidate species
for IUCN Red Data list.
Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve is situated on the
flood plains of the Sapta-Koshi River in eastern
Nepal. The Koshi River originates in the
mountains of Nepal and the Tibetan plateau
and flows through northern India. WWF Nepal
has signed a five-year Memorandum of
Understanding with the government’s Water
and Energy Commission Secretariat to
sustainably manage the Koshi River basin.