KATHMANDU On a bright morning in the hills of Nepal, among the green needles and brown cones of a chir pine tree (Pinus roxburghii) a pair of white-rumped vultures (Gyps bengalensis) is busy building their nest. They choose a sturdy trunk, high enough to avoid predators and low enough to catch the warm breeze. […]
KATHMANDU When Suman Hamal was growing up in his hometown of Putalibazar in Nepal’s Nuwakot district, he saw birds of different species and sizes fly around in his neighborhood. He recalls being amazed by the beauty of the creatures and wondering how they could take to the skies. “But I would feel heart-wrenched when […]
KATHMANDU When residents of Pokhara Valley in western Nepal spot Egyptian vultures nesting on cliffs and trees, they sometimes misidentify them as crows and shoo them away. Sometimes they also destroy their nests, believing the birds bring bad luck. But Neophron percnopterus, listed as endangered by the IUCN, the global conservation authority, still builds […]