Naina Devi Himalayan Bird Conservation Reserve (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

: नैना देवी हिमालयन बर्ड कोन्सेर्वसोन रिज़र्व ) is a wildlife reserve in the

Nainital district Nainital district is a district in Kumaon division which is a part of Uttarakhand state in India. The headquarters is at Nainital. Nainital District is located in Kumaon Division, and is located in the lower Himalayas. Haldwani is the largest c ...

of the state of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. This reserve forest is located in Kumaon region of Uttarakhand and placed inside Nainital forest division. Nainital forest division at present has several birding trails and forest patches consisting of temperate broad-leaf forests to alpine grasslands to rhododendron shrubberies. Wide altitudinal variation supports a very large segment of avian fauna to inhibit in this forest range.

Geography

The total notified area under this reserve is 111.9 km². Few small hamlets are there inside and around the periphery of this sanctuary; which are namely Barapathar, Kilbury, Vinayak etc. Several riverine tributaries are flowing through this forest patch and later they

discharge Discharge may refer to Expel or let go * Discharge, the act of firing a gun * Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...

Ramganga Ramganga is a tributary of the river Ganges, originating in Uttarakhand state, India. Ramganga West Ramganga West River originates from Dudhatoli or Doodhatoli ranges Course The Ramganga River originates in the southern slopes of Dudhato ...

. These riverine tributaries flowing from north enriches its biodiversity.

Biodiversity

This sanctuary falls at the junction of

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

and

Indomalayan realm The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia. Also called the Oriental realm by biogeographers, Indomalaya spreads all over the Indi ...

, supporting a large variety of mammalian and avian fauna.

Natural history

Biomes

Inside this wildlife sanctuary, the primary

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of l ...

s are: * Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests of the

tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discont ...

biome, * Himalayan subtropical pine forests of the tropical and subtropical coniferous forests biome, *

Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests The Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests is a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion of the middle and upper elevations of the western Middle Himalayas of Nepal, India, and Pakistan. Setting The ecoregion forms a belt of coniferous forest ...

of the temperate coniferous forests biome, and *

Western Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows The Western Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows is a montane grasslands and shrublands ecoregion of Nepal, India, and Tibet, which lies between the tree line and snow line in the western portion of the Himalaya Range. Setting The Western Himalayan ...

of the montane grasslands and shrublands biome. All of these are typical of the

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

hilly region. Forest types here include sub-alpine rhododendron forest, fir-oak forest and broad-leaved evergreen forest. It is also noted for harbouring five different species of oak trees.

Fauna

Birds at Naina Devi Himalayan Bird Conservation Reserve include species like the hill partridge, chukar partridge, koklass pheasant, kalij pheasant, goldcrest,

rufous sibia The rufous sibia (''Heterophasia capistrata'') is a rare species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It feeds on berries and insects. It is found in the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent, ranging across India, Nepal and Bhutan. Its nat ...

red-billed leiothrix The red-billed leiothrix (''Leiothrix lutea'') is a member of the family Leiothrichidae, native to southern China and the Himalayas. Adults have bright red bills and a dull yellow ring around their eyes. Their backs are dull olive green, and the ...

, black-chinned babbler,

chestnut-bellied nuthatch The chestnut-bellied nuthatch (''Sitta cinnamoventris'') belongs to the family Sittidae. It is found in the Indian Subcontinent occurring in the countries of India, Tibet Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal. It is found in subtropical or tropical for ...

black-throated tit :''In older sources, "black-throated tit" can also mean the rufous-naped tit or the rufous-vented tit, which are true tits.'' The black-throated bushtit (''Aegithalos concinnus''), also known as the black-throated tit, is a very small passerin ...

rock bunting The rock bunting (''Emberiza cia'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name ''Emberiza'' is from Old German ''Embritz'', a bunting. T ...

green-tailed sunbird The green-tailed sunbird (''Aethopyga nipalensis'') or Nepal yellow-backed sunbird is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is found in Nepal the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent, stretching eastwards into parts of Southea ...

and

yellow-breasted greenfinch The yellow-breasted greenfinch (''Chloris spinoides'') is a small passerine bird in the family Fringillidae that is native to the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. Taxonomy The yellow-breasted greenfinch was described by the Irish z ...

. Some endangered birds like the bearded vulture and

Himalayan griffon The Himalayan vulture (''Gyps himalayensis'') or Himalayan griffon vulture is an Old World vulture native to the Himalayas and the adjoining Tibetan Plateau. It is one of the two largest Old World vultures and true Accipitridae, raptors. It is li ...

can also be seen here. Mammals, which are regularly sighted in this sanctuary are barking deer, yellow-throated marten, stoat,

mountain weasel The mountain weasel (''Mustela altaica''), also known as the pale weasel, Altai weasel or ''solongoi'', primarily lives in high-altitude environments, as well as rocky tundra and grassy woodlands. This weasel rests in rock crevices, tree trunks, ...

yellow-bellied weasel The yellow-bellied weasel (''Mustela kathiah'') is a species of weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. M ...

. Beside these, Himalayan goral and some types of pika are also present at higher altitudes. Some very commonly seen mammals in this wildlife sanctuary are several types of bats and

Royle's pika Royle's pika (''Ochotona roylei''), also called the Himalayan mouse hare or hui shutu, is a species of pika. It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. Description The most common pika species in the Himalayas, it has a length of ...

of the family Ochotonidae. File:Rufous sibia.jpg, Rufous sibia bird Spotted at Naina Peak Hiking Forest

Rufous sibia The rufous sibia (''Heterophasia capistrata'') is a rare species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It feeds on berries and insects. It is found in the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent, ranging across India, Nepal and Bhutan. Its nat ...

File:Goldcrest Vinayak Uttarakhand India 05.02.2015.jpg, Goldcrest (''Regulus regulus himalayensis'') File:Kalij Pheasant Lingadhar Uttarakhand India 02.12.2014.jpg, Kalij pheasant (''Lophura leucomelanos hamilton'')

References

External links

www.nainitalzoo.org.in
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402171246/http://www.nainitalzoo.org.in/birdconservation.php , date=2 April 2015 Bird sanctuaries of India Wildlife sanctuaries in Uttarakhand Nainital district Protected areas established in 2015 2015 establishments in Uttarakhand