We Could Discover New Bird Species In The Eastern Himalayas

TREVOR PRICE has been studying birds in India since 1972, investigating breeding biology and bird distributions, especially in the Himalayas. He is a leading expert in bird speciation—the formation of new bird species in the course of evolution Currently, on a Fulbright Fellowship and working with the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, he speaks to RAJAT GHAI about Himalayan avifauna

- Rajat Ghai

What is the focus of your research?

There are about 450 species in the eastern Himalayas that are not found in the western Himalayas, which is what we are researching. We are not investigating how bird species form, but how they spread their range.

The most recent species found in the eastern Himalayas was the Himalayan Forest Thrush in January last year by Swedish evolutionary researcher Per Johan Alstrim. Will more bird species be discovered in the eastern Himalayas in the future?

There are probably one or two more species to be discovered. You have to separate the species that you see in one place from those you might see in two different places. So clearly, we are going to discover that some of the species in Meghalaya are different from those in the Himalayas. The discovery of new species in one place is going to be very difficult. We could discover one or two new species in the eastern Himalayas, but it will take many years.

Does the richness of biodiversity in the eastern Himalayas also extend to other life forms such as mammals, reptiles, amphibians and fish?