Nepal
March 6-22, 1999

Allen & Nancy Chartier
SPECIES ACCOUNTS

Plants 
Butterflies
Amphibians & Reptiles
Birds                             Lifers are in boldface, 
Mammals                      unusual species are underlined.
                                     Totals seen are in brackets.
     
Plants
Not much notice was taken of the plants, as there aren't many references available. A few plants are mentioned in two books by Margaret Jeffries. Royal Chitwan National Park: Wildlife Heritage of Nepal and Mount Everest National Park: Sagarmatha Mother of the Universe. An orchid was seen on Pulchowki Mtn. that appeared to be in the Genus Dendrobium, a widespread Asian species, and the Tree Rhododendron, Rhododendron arboreum, was in bloom at around 6000 - 7000 feet. In Chitwan NP, we learned that there are 70 species of grass, including Saccharum spontaneum, Imperatra cylindrica, Phragmites karka, and Typha elephantina. The forest around Temple Tiger was Sal forest, which is dominated by Sal (Shorea robusta). The two commonest trees on river islands and riverine forest are Shishoo (Dalbergia sissoo) and Khair (Acacia catechu). The most conspicuous tree around Temple Tiger, since it was in bloom, was Palash or Flame-of-the-Forest (Butea monosperma).

 
Butterflies
Butterflies were conspicuous only at Fishtail Lodge and Chitwan NP. We purchased a copy of Butterflies of Nepal by Colin Smith, 1994, in Kathmandu, and used it to identify the following species seen. All were "Lifers."

Papilionidae
1. Glossy Bluebottle (Idaides cloanthus) 
2. Great Mormon (Iliades memnon )
3. Tailed Jay (Idaides agamemnon)
4. Common Mime (Euploeopsis clytia)
5. Lime Swallowtail (Papilio demoleus) 
6. Yellow Helen (Papilio nephelus) 
7. Paris Peacock (Achillides paris) 
8. Common Windmill (Byasa polyeuctes) 
9. Golden Birdwing (Troides aeacus)

Pieridae
10. Bath White (Pontia daplidice) 
11. Lemon Emigrant (Catopsilia pomona) 
12. Pale Clouded Yellow (Colias erate)

Lycaenidae
13. Common Pierrot (Castalius rosimon)

Acraeidae
14. Yellow Coster (Acraea issoria)

Nymphalidae
15. Indian Red Admiral (Vanessa indica) 
16. Indian Tortoiseshell (Aglais cashmirensis) 
17. Peacock Pansy (Precis almana) 
18. Bhutan Sergeant (Athyma jina) 
19. Common Earl (Tanaecia julii) 
20. Gray Count (Tanaecia lepidea)

Satyridae
21. Spotted Palmfly (Elymnias malelas)

Danaidae
22. Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus) 
23. Common Tiger (Danaus genutia)

 
Amphibians & Reptiles
An extremely helpful book was Herpetology of China by Er-mi Zhao and Kraig Adler, 1993, although it was too big to bring along. Color scans of relevant species were brought along instead. The snake was identified using Living Snakes of the World in Color by John M. Mehrtens, 1987.

Several species of unidentified frogs were heard calling at Chitwan NP.

Himalayan Toad (Bufo himalayanus) 
One seen in the road as we were leaving Shivapuri Reserve after dark.

Mugger Crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) PHOTO
One seen in a small pond at Chitwan NP.

Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus)  PHOTO 
Three of these strange crocodiles were seen basking along the Narayani River at Chitwan NP.

Garden Lizard (Calotes versicolor) 
One seen, appropriately enough, in the gardens around Temple Tiger Lodge in Chitwan NP.

Gecko sp. (Hemidactylus sp.) 
Seen in the roof of a couple of restaurants in Pokhara.

Radiated Ratsnake (Elaphe radiata) 
Seen along a trail near Temple Tiger Lodge at Chitwan NP.

 
Birds

A total of 286 species was recorded, with 189 life birds for Allen and 180 life birds for Nancy. We both got our 3000th life bird, Allen's was Blue-throated Barbet at Fishtail Lodge on March 12, and Nancy's was the Spotted Owlet in Pokhara on March 14.

The list of birds is too extensive to display on this page.  Click here to view the bird list and links to bird photos.

 
Mammals
The Field Guide to the Mammals of the Indian Subcontinent by K.K. Gurung and Raj Singh, 1996, was very helpful. Several additional references were required to identify the squirrel seen in Bangkok. The closest we came to Tiger and Leopard was seeing their tracks only hours after they had passed by.  A total of 14 species was seen.

Indian Flying Fox (Pteropus giganticus) [20] PHOTO
Roosting in trees near the Royal Palace in Kathmandu.

Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta) [50]
Seen mostly at Chitwan NP. A few were at Nagarjung where they may have been introduced and a few were at various places in Kathmandu where they may have been escaped pets.

Hanuman (Gray) Langur (Presbytis entellus) [20]
First seen along the road from Pokhara to Chitwan NP. Most were at Chitwan.

Yellow-throated Marten (Martes flavigula) [2]
Both were at the lake we drove to in Chitwan NP. Seen well as they jumped out of a small tree and ran off into the grasslands.

Small Indian Mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) [2]
One was at Begnas Tal and one was at Chitwan NP.

Indian Gray Mongoose (Herpestes edwardsii) [1]
Seen running across the road on the outskirts of Kathmandu.

Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) [13]  PHOTO
All were at Chitwan NP, with 9 seen the first day from the overlook at Temple Tiger Lodge and along a short nature walk in the first afternoon.

Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) [2]
Seen briefly at Chitwan NP.

Indian Muntjac (Muntiacus muntjac) [1]
Seen briefly in the road at Chitwan NP.

Chital (Spotted) Deer (Cervus axis) [30]
Seen at various locations around Chitwan NP.

Hog Deer (Cervus porcinus) [35]
One large herd seen in the Sal forest at Chitwan NP.

Northern Palm Squirrel (Funambulus pennantii) [5]
Seen around Fishtail Lodge.

Hoary-bellied Himalayan Squirrel (Callosciurus pygerythrus) [5]
Four were on Pulchowki Mtn. and one was at Nagarjung.

Beautiful Squirrel (Callosciurus flavimanus) [1]
A small, colorful squirrel seen at the Rama Gardens Hotel in Bangkok. It appeared like one of the Giant Squirrels (Ratufa sp.), but was much smaller. This species does not occur in Nepal or the Indian Subcontinent.