In Kathmandu, sightings of the bird have been recorded from the fringes of Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park to the foothills of Phulchowki, as well as at various locations in and around Pokhara, usually at an elevation ranging from\u00a0915 to 2,135 meters\u00a0(3,000 to 7,000 feet) above sea level depending on the season. But in June, ornithologists Hathan Chaudhary and Suraj Baral identified the bird in Madhesh for the first time, at an elevation of around 443 m (1,450 ft). This sighting means the spiny babbler has now been documented across all of Nepal\u2019s seven provinces.<\/p>\n
Despite its limited known habitat, the spiny babbler remains poorly understood and researchers and ornithologists are calling for greater global attention to study and protect it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe still don\u2019t know a lot about the bird and have no scientific data to back its population, movements, exact breeding season\/months and the effects of increasing human settlements,\u201d said Kamal Raj Gosai, who heads the department of environmental science at Kathmandu\u2019s Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus. Gosai is researching the distribution of spiny babbler and the impacts of land use and climate change on the species. \u201cThere\u2019s more focus on vulnerable and endangered species and megafauna, and little concern and limited research on this endemic species, both nationally and globally,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n British naturalist Brian Houghton Hodgson first scientifically described the spiny babbler,\u00a0kade bhyakur<\/em>\u00a0in Nepali, in 1836 while living in Kathmandu. His encounter with the one-of-a-kind bird remained a one-off for more than a century, until the 1940s, when Desiree Proud, the wife of a British diplomat, spotted them in her Kathmandu garden and American ornithologist Sidney Dillon Ripley sighted the species in far-western Nepal, confirming its existence.<\/p>\n Today, an\u00a0increasing number of birdwatchers\u00a0and bird enthusiasts have been instrumental in recording sightings, providing vital information about the elusive species.\u00a0More than\u00a01,200 sightings\u00a0have been recorded in online bird observation database eBird, with most concentrated around eastern, western and central regions, including Kathmandu and Pokhara.<\/p>\n Raksha Thakuri, author of a\u00a02024 paper\u00a0on the spiny babbler habitat in Lwang Ghalel village, located in the foothills of the Annapurna mountain range, said the region is home to an estimated 129 individuals but the species\u2019 national population remains unknown.<\/p>\n The study found that the spiny babbler prefers scrubland and shrub land area. The distance to water bodies and roads, and the presence or absence of grazing cattle significantly influence the likelihood of a sighting. The birds also prefer nesting on slopes and steeper terrain is associated with a higher probability of their occurrence, said Thakuri.<\/p>\n However, an increase in human activities in these areas and a changing climate are altering these habitats, said Thakuri, who has been studying the spiny babbler since 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I visited the same locations during a two-year interval, I didn\u2019t spot the birds where I had spotted them earlier,\u201d she said. \u201cThere were more roads being constructed and also landslides, which had affected the shrublands.\u201d<\/p>\n Urban expansion has increased pressure on Nepal\u2019s shrublands, prime habitats for spiny babblers. A\u00a02020 study\u00a0showed that the already scarce shrublands in Kathmandu had virtually disappeared between 1990 and 2010, with researchers warning that it could alter the region\u2019s ecological diversity.<\/p>\n According to Gosai, there is a perception that scrublands and shrublands are wastelands with communities emphasizing expanding forests for their perceived benefits and converting scrublands and shrublands to agricultural lands. This could have long-lasting consequences for many bird species, particularly the spiny babbler, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe habitat loss will be more specific to the spiny babbler,\u201d he said. \u201cOther birds have a wider habitat range, but spiny babblers tend to have a shorter flight range and usually move from one patch to another nearby patch of scrublands. So, we should be more sensitive about this endemic bird and habitat loss due to scrubland and shrubland loss.\u201d<\/p>\n Thakuri said she agrees that Nepal lacks proper shrubland management practices and that this resulted in the uncontrollable\u00a0expansion of invasive species\u00a0in those habitats. At her research site, however, Crofton weed (Ageratina adenophora<\/em>), known locally as\u00a0kalo banmara<\/em>, which is a fast-spreading invasive plant species in Nepal, has helped the spiny babbler habitat owing to its dense bushy nature.<\/p>\n Carol Inskipp, a veteran bird expert, said she first saw the spiny babbler in Pokhara during her first Nepal visit in 1977. She told Mongabay conservationists now know much more about the species\u2019 distribution in Nepal, but information on its habitat and behavior is still reliant on Hodgson\u2019s observations. All these years later, ornithologists have been unable to determine why the bird does not exist outside of Nepal despite similar habitats occurring elsewhere.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy spiny only occurs in Nepal and nowhere else is still a mystery,\u201d said Inskipp, who is co-author of the 1985 book,\u00a0A Guide to the Birds of Nepal<\/em>. \u201cSpiny babbler is a skulking and secretive species outside the breeding season. It is not only difficult to see outside the breeding season, but its behavior is also very difficult to observe. There is much we do not know about the bird \u2014 some details of its breeding, young birds and incubation period, parental care and nest site. We do not know why it is common in some areas and not in others.\u201d<\/p>\n But some bird researchers such as Inskipp say they believe changes in its habitats, along with threats such as forest fires, is pushing the spiny babbler to new territories both in the country and in neighboring India. This move has not yet been reported.<\/p>\n Despite its endemic nature, the spiny babbler is listed as a species of\u00a0least concern\u00a0in the IUCN\u2019s Red List of Threatened Species, as its population trend remains stable.<\/p>\n \u201cIUCN red list criteria are based on the status of species,\u201d Narendra Man Babu Pradhan, IUCN\u2019s Nepal representative, told Mongabay. \u201cWe do not have any information on how many spiny babblers are around Nepal. In my view, the least concern may be the reports that we often see in nature. However, we need to conduct a comprehensive study and determine the actual status.\u201d<\/p>\n Bird researchers said this has further limited the species\u2019 understanding, with Thakuri adding that she even struggled to gather enough literature for her research. Policymakers have yet to prioritize the bird or advocate for its conservation, she said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Gosai said he believes there are still misconceptions associated with the bird, as many locals and birdwatchers confuse it with the rusty-cheeked scimitar-babbler (Erythrogenys erythrogenys<\/em>). Both conservationists and policymakers must do more to upgrade the spiny babbler\u2019s status globally in the IUCN Red list, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cTo see an endemic bird as a least concerned species is worrying,\u201d Gosai said. \u201cThis means we are lacking in our lobbying and advocacy for the protection of the species. So, the Nepal government must take it seriously. We need to start thinking of how to get the world\u2019s attention on this bird. It\u2019s not just about conservation but will also help promote Nepal and generate revenue through Spiny Babbler (birdwatching) tourism.\u201d<\/p>\n Thakuri, R., Neupane, B., Ghimire, S., Khatri, N., Ghimire, P., & Poudel, M. (2024). Status and habitat occupancy of Nepal\u2019s only endemic bird spiny babbler Turdoides nipalensis in Lwang Ghalel village of mid-hills of Nepal. doi:10.22541\/au.172503914.46053113\/v1<\/a><\/p>\n Wang, S. W., Gebru, B. M., Lamchin, M., Kayastha, R. B., & Lee, W. (2020). Land use and land cover change detection and prediction in the Kathmandu district of Nepal using remote sensing and GIS.\u00a0Sustainability, 12<\/em>(9), 3925. doi:10.3390\/su12093925<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Despite](\"https:\/\/imgs.mongabay.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2026\/08\/04105026\/spiny-babbler.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
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