2008 GRAND NE INDIA TOUR

Including Kaziranga and the NE Himalayas

7 March-1 April, 26 days

This is a dream trip come true, the combination of the extraordinarily rich wetlands and forests of the Brahmaputra River Valley and the richest montane forests in all of Asia, the Northeast Himalayas. We’ll spend 12 days in the Mishmi Hills in extreme NE Arunachal Pradesh birding up to 2,700 m. (9,000 ft.) right in the core of mountain bird diversity in Asia. We’ll visit two national parks, Kaziranga and Dibru-Saikhowa, in the Brahmaputra River Valley, for some superb wetland birding. A two-day visit to the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya will round out our adventure.  Some of the more exciting birds we’ve seen in these areas are: Spot-billed Pelican, Greater Adjutant, Pallas’s Fish-Eagle, Slender-billed Vulture, Indian Spotted Eagle, Oriental Hobby, Swamp Francolin, Blyth’s Tragopan, Bengal Florican, Dark-rumped Swift, Ward’s Trogon, Crested Finchbill, Gould’s and Rusty-bellied Shortwings, Golden, White-browed and Rufous-breasted Bush-Robins, Jerdon’s Bushchat, Spot-throated Babbler, Red-billed, Coral-billed and Slender-billed Scimitar-Babblers, Rusty-throated, Spotted, Tawny-breasted and Wedge-billed Wren-Babblers, Jerdon’s and Slender-billed Babblers, Rufous-vented Laughingthrush, Red-faced Liocichla, Red-billed Leiothrix, Black-headed Shrike-Babbler, White-hooded Babbler, Streak-throated Barwing, Yellow-throated, Streak-throated, Brown-headed and Rusty-capped Fulvettas, Grey and Beautiful Sibias, Fire-tailed Myzornis, Black-breasted, Rufous-headed and Blue-spectacled Parrotbills, Spotted and Russet Bush-Warblers, Bristled and Rufous-rumped Grassbirds, Swamp Prinia, Smoky Warbler, Vivid Niltava and Pygmy Blue Flycatcher. We could see: Purple or Green Cochoa, Beautiful Nuthatch, Yellow-bellied Flowerpecker, Scarlet Finch, Gold-naped Finch, or Collared Treepie. We are likely to see Indian Rhinoceros, Indian Elephant, and Swamp Deer. There is a remote chance of seeing a tiger. Leader: Ben King.