The Spiny Babbler – The Bird That Is Found Only In Nepal
The Spiny Babbler, Nepal’s only endemic bird.
Although more than 800 bird species are found in Nepal, the Spiny Babbler (Turdoides nipalensis) is the only bird that is endemic to the country. The greyish-brown bird lives in dense scrub and can be spotted more easily at elevations ranging from 500 meters to 2135 meters. The Spiny Babblers are found only in the Middle Hills of Nepal. It is also known locally as the Kande Bhyakur, literally translated as “thorny bird”, it features in stories, poems and folklore of Nepal. It was first scientifically described by Brian Houghton Hodgson in the mid-19th century, then never seen again and even feared extinct until famously rediscovered by Sidney Dillon Ripley, an American ornithologist, in the late 1940s.
The bird is threatened by the clearance of scrub for agriculture and the expansion of urban areas. Outside protected areas, it is sometimes threatened by hunting, and the hills surrounding the Kathmandu Valley have seen a decline in Spiny Babbler numbers.
Let’s appreciate Spiny Babblers and protect them before they become extinct. The birds of the Himalayas and their ruler, The Spiny Babbler
