Scientific Name: Lerwa lerwa
Place: Tungnath, Chopta, UttarakhandSnow Partridges can be seen at higher ridges of Himalayas; through out indo-tibetan glacial areas. Mostly they forage in groups consisting of as much as 25 pax. While undisturbed they forage very silently alongside the grassy slopes of mountain. However, considering human beings as threat; they keep a minimum distance of 30 feet.
During our birding tour in Chopta and Tungnath in the month of November last week we experienced a flock of 14 foraging on grassy slopes. As we were in search of Monal, all on a sudden we saw a flock of partridge like bird flew and perched on a slope. We first thought it as a flock of Chukar. Following that flock, we moved further up, where the hill side doesn't face any sun. Silently they were foraging and making short clucking (very low pitched sounds).
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| Snow Partridge (Lerwa lerwa) | 01.12.2015 | Tungnath, Chopta Valley, Uttarakhand, India © Dibyendu Ash @ 2015 |
The entire flock of Snow partridge was so well camouflaged that even for a professional it is hard to find them. They were not hiding themselves rather they were into wide open in broad day light. The coloration of grassy slope and that of the feather texture of partridge mixes well.
It was really a moment to cherish when all the participants got the photograph of this rare/hard-to-photograph beauty. In that freezing cold temperature; I experienced chilblain. Sudden snowfall on last week of December favored our luck to photograph some of the extreme high altitude avian species. Following the snowline, Snow Partridge came downhill and participants of Chopta-Tungnath birding tour from GoingWild (Nov-Dec 2015) photographed it pretty well. Other than Snow Partridge, we got Alpine Accentor, Altai Accentor, at least 20 individuals of Himalayan Monal.
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It was really a moment to cherish when all the participants got the photograph of this rare/hard-to-photograph beauty. In that freezing cold temperature; I experienced chilblain. Sudden snowfall on last week of December favored our luck to photograph some of the extreme high altitude avian species. Following the snowline, Snow Partridge came downhill and participants of Chopta-Tungnath birding tour from GoingWild (Nov-Dec 2015) photographed it pretty well. Other than Snow Partridge, we got Alpine Accentor, Altai Accentor, at least 20 individuals of Himalayan Monal.
Hope you have enjoyed it! To receive further updates on other birding events and sightings, be a Birding India follower (See right side bar).
