Today would be our final attempt to see the Scalters Monal high up at Mayudiya Pass. This time the 02:30 start really was a struggle, and the entire drive up the mountain was an ordeal that improved significantly when a Mainland Leopard Cat ran across the road in front of us. Although too quick for photos, the pattern and size were clear even as it ran. That certainly helped wake us up, but sadly the day peaked at that point. Once again, despite the addition of cloud cover for the morning, there was not a sniff of the Monal, meaning that we were set to leave the trip without our main target!
Still we persevered with birding. At the higher altitude
there were few species left for us to find, but a few nice mixed-species flocks
kept things interesting and one of them contained a new bird for me with Black-eared
Shrike-Babbler, although it was difficult to keep track of in the mobile flock.
Lower down we had more mixed species flocks, and here I had two more new birds,
although common species that I had just never connected with before; Lesser
Raquet-tailed Drongo and Lesser Yellownape. Other goodies at this stage
included Golden Babbler, Rufous-backed Sibia and Slaty-backed Forktail.
We had a short break for lunch early in the afternoon,
before we headed out for the end-of-the-day session. This time we returned to
the Jia Grasslands, which had been a frustrating experience before but this
time fared better. The two main targets that we found were the Black-breasted
Parrotbill which was elusive and difficult to see, and then Marsh Babbler which
showed brilliantly well. In addition we were constantly surrounded by the calls
of Black-faced Bunting, which was another new species for me when I finally got
onto a female in the vegetation. We will return to this site in the morning to
pick up our remaining targets before we head off from Mishmi Hills.
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