Ornithological Exploration in the Southeastern Sub-Himalayan Region of Myanmar

Abstract

We initiated ornithological exploration of the sub-Himalayan region of Myanmar in 1997. The work had five main goals: to conduct a basic inventory of the avifauna, to identify special conservation needs, to investigate ornithogeographic affinities, to build knowledge of the ecology and seasonal movement patterns of the large number of poorly known birds, to clarify pathogen patterns, and to create a distributional database for understanding how climate change is affecting local and regional distribution over time. After five expeditions to northern Myanmar, we have recorded 413 species, expanded the known range for several species, and described a new subspecies for Tesia olivea and a new species of scimitar-babbler, Jabouilleia naungmungensis. We have also examined the forms of avian malaria and obtained information on the ecology and seasonal movements of several species.