KATHMANDU, Nepal-The population of rare bird species Tibetan and Himalayan Snow-Cock which are only spotted in high altitude along the glacier lake is on the verge of distinct, thanks to the reduction in snow caused by glacier melting in the Himalayas, bird specialists warned.
Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, an instance of specialist bird mainly found in Nepal and prefers to live on old bark of tree is likely to be hit hard by the growing climate change. Apart from the ruin and loss of habitats and use of pesticides, the changing climatic scenario is posing new threat to the rare birds affecting specially at their breeding phase.
According to Hem Sagar Baral, chairman of Nepalese Ornithological Union, the specialist spices of the birds are likely to be hit hard by the climate change, than resident and migratory birds in Himalayan region. Birds those can live only in certain type of environment and feeds primary on fruits and insects are classified under specialist birds.
Baral stressed the need for comprehensive details to study the impact of climate change on the birds of Nepal.
Meanwhile, a new study led by Durham University and Bird Life International, indicates that many bird species are likely to suffer under future climate change, and will require enhanced protection of important sites, better management of the wider countryside, and in some of the most extreme cases may need to be physically moved to climatically suitable areas to help them survive.
The research, published in the journal Global Change Biology, examined the potential future distributions of suitable climate within important bird areas (IBA) for 370 Asian species of conservation concern across the Eastern Himalaya including Nepal and the Lower Mekong regions.
