The new bird reported by ornithologists Suchit Basnet and Badri Chaudhary is called Indian Shag, according to a press statement issued by the Nepal Rare Birds Committee (NRBC). [break]
The bird, scientifically called Phalacrocorax fuscicollis was first sighted on March 19, 2009 by Basnet and Chaudhary and subsequently photographed on March 26 in the same area by a visiting birder Hannah Philips, the statement reads.
Suchit Basnet, who is also the chair of NRBC, said there are currently 865 species of birds found in Nepal.
Ornithologists say that the Indian Shag might have entered Nepal in pursuit of temporarily increased fish stock at Koshi river following the breaching of Koshi dam.
Several searches this winter and early this year have failed to locate the species again at Koshi Tappu indicating that the birds might have returned to India, the most likely origin of this species, the statement adds.
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