INDO-MALAYAN Temperate Broadleaf & Coniferous Forest
Birds & Mammals

Family Phasianidae: Pheasants

Although many people think of pheasants being found all over the world, these are mostly introduced. The peak of their diversity is in the higher altitude forests of Asia. They are strongly sexually dimorphic, with the males being larger and famous for their bright colours and elaborate tails.

Lophophorus impejanus, 'Himalayan Monal' female. Found in high altitude temperate and alpine forests and open areas above the treeline, around the Himalayan region.

Lophura leucomelanos, 'Kalij Pheasant'. Found in various high altitude forest types around the Himalayan region, and south into parts of the south-east Asia mainland.

Ithaginis cruentus, 'Blood Pheasant'. Found in high altitude temperate and alpine forests, around the Himalayan region and into central China. 

Family Columbidae: Pigeons & Doves

 Columba hodgsonii, 'Speckled Wood Pigeon'. Found in montane forests around the Himalayan region, across the northern part of the south-east Asian mainland, and into China.

Family Megalaimidae, 'Asian Barbets'

Psilopogon franklinii, 'Golden-throated Barbet'. Found in tropical and temperate rainforest on the south-east Asian mainland, from Himalayas to tip of Malaysian peninsula.

Family Picidae: Woodpeckers

Dendrocopos hyperythrus, 'Rufous-bellied Woodpecker'. Found in forest across mainland south-east Asia, from Himalayas, north to China.

Family Corvidae

Corvus macrorhynchos, 'Large-billed Crow'. Lives in a wide range of habitats across Asia, including high altitude temperate forests.

Urocissa flavirostris, ' Yellow-billed/Golden-billed Blue Magpie'. Found in the mountain forests of Himalayas and small pockets of the south-east Asian mainland.

Nucifraga caryocatactes, 'Spotted Nutcracker'.

Family Stenostiridae: Crested-Flycatchers

Chelidorhynx hypoxanthus, 'Yellow-bellied (Fairy-) Fantail'. Looks and acts just like a fantail, and thus the common name, but is in a different family, thus the addition of 'Fairy'. Found in montane forest around Himalayan region and northern part of south-east Asian mainland.

Family Paridae: Tits & Chickadees

Parus monticolus, 'Green-backed Tit'. Found in a variety of forests, but most associated with mountain forests. Distributed from Himalayas, through northern mainland south-east Asia, to southern China.

Family Pycnonotidae: Bulbuls

Pycnonotus striatus, 'Striated Bulbul'. Found in mountain rainforest from Himalayas and throughout mainland south-east Asia.

Family Cettiidae: Cettid Bush Warblers

Cettia brunnifrons, 'Grey-sided Bush warbler'. Found in the temperate forest of mountains in Asia, from the Himalayas to China.

Family Sylviidae: Old World Warblers

Warbler.

Family Paradoxornithidae: Parrotbills, 'true' Fulvettas

The parrotbills are odd looking birds that have caused continuing taxonomic confusion. Their small size and remote distribution meant their recognition as a distinct family took a long time.

Cholornis unicolor, 'Brown Parrotbills'. Usually associated with bamboo growth, and thus mostly found around mountain forests in the Himalayas to southern China.

Family Zosteropidae: White-eyes and Yuhinas

Yuhina spp.

There are currently 11 species of Yuhina. Yuhinas are small birds that usually have a cute crest.

 They tend to be found in higher altitude forest across tropical Asia, from the Himalayas across to China.

Yuhina gularis, 'Stripe-throated Yuhina'. Found in the mountain forest around the Himalayas and across the northern part of south-east Asia into China.

Yuhina occipitalis, 'Rufous-vented Yuhina'. Found in the mountain forest around the Himalayas and across the northern part of south-east Asia.

Yuhina flavicollis, 'Whiskered Yuhina'. Found in mountain forests from Himalayas and into mainland south-east Asa.

Family Timaliidae: Babblers, Tit-Babblers, Scimitar-Babblers

Pomatorhinus ruficollis, 'Streak-breasted Scimitar Babbler'. Found in mountain rainforest across the northern part of the south-east Asian mainland.

Cyanoderma ruficeps, 'Rufous-capped Babbler'.  Distributed in mountain forest in south east Asia, from Himalayas to China.

Family Leiothrichidae: Laughing-thrushes, Sibia, Siva, Minia, Leiothrix

A family with a changing taxonomic history. The group is most diverse in tropical Asia. It includes several groups of birds that seem quite distinct from each other. 

(I have put the following in the order of Cibois, A.; Gelang, M.; Alström, P.; Pasquet, E.; Fjeldså, J.; Ericson, P.G.P.; Olsson, U. (2018). "Comprehensive phylogeny of the laughingthrushes and allies (Aves, Leiothrichidae) and a proposal for a revised taxonomy". Zoologica Scripta. 47 (4): 428–440.))

Trochalopteron erythrocephalum, 'Chestnut-crowned Laughing Thrush'. Found in mountain rainforest around the Himalayas.

Actinodura strigula, 'Bar-thoated/Chest-nut Tailed Minia/Siva'. Found in montane forest from India through south-east Asia. 

Leiothrix lutea, 'Red-billed leiothrix'. Distributed from Himalayas across northern south-east Asian mainland to southern Japan.

Heterophasia capistrata, 'Rufous Sibia'. Attractive bird. Found in mountain forest around the Himalayas.

Pterorhinus albogularis, 'White-throated Laughing Thrush'. Found in mountain forest from Himalayas and into China.

Family Muscicapidae: Old World Flycatchers

Monticola rufiventris, 'Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush'. Found across northern south-east mainland from Himalayas to China.

Family Nectariniidae, 'Sunbirds'

Sunbirds are one of the most beautiful groups of birds in the world, and there are some stunning species to be found in the higher altitude forests of Asia's mountains. 

Aethopyga nipalensis, 'Green-tailed Sunbird'.  A stunning sunbird. Found in montane forest from Himalayas to south-east Asia.

Aethopyga ignicauda, 'Fire-tailed Sunbird'. Found in mountain rainforests of northern India, and across the northern part of the south-east Asian mainland.

Family Cardinalidae: Cardinals & Grosbeaks

Mycerobas carnipes, 'White-winged Gosbeak'.  Found in temperate forests around the Himalayan region, and into China to the east and Iran to the west.

Class Mammalia

Order Primates

Family Cercopithecidae, 'Old World Monkeys'

The Old World monkeys are found across Africa and Asia.

Semnopithecus schistaceus, 'Himalayan/Nepal Grey Langur'. Found in the mountain forests around the Himalayan region. 

Order Lagomorpha: Rabbits & Hares

Family Ochotonidae: 'Pika'

A group of mammals that look like tiny rabbits with short ears. They tend to live in high mountain or cooler habitats, mostly across Eurasia, but also into North America.

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