The Himalayas, is a mountain range which separates the Great Indian Plains from the Tibetan Plateau. This range is home to nine of the ten highest peaks on the Earth, including the highest, Mount Everest. The abrupt rise of the Himalayan Mountains from less than 500 meters to more than 8,000 meters in a few hundred kilometers has resulted in a huge diversity of flora and fauna. Nearly 1000 birds have been recorded in the Himalayas of which 15 species are fully endemic.
The sirkeer malkoha or sirkeer cuckoo (Phaenicophaeus leschenaultii), is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. This cuckoo, like other Malkohas, is non-parasitic. It inhabits the sub-Himalayan Indian subcontinent, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka. Stalks about amongst thickets like crow-pheasant, searching for food, insects, lizards, fallen fruits and berries etc. Runs swiftly through undergrowth looking like a mongoose.
IUCN status: Least Concern (LC) Photo: Soumyajit Nandi