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Ladakh - a high-altitude melting-pot: 3

• Black-necked Crane: This species is found in high-altitude open wetlands, meadows and bogs in far eastern Ladakh, at 4,100-4,700 m. Places to see it include the Chushul area, Fukche, Lalpari, Hanle, Chumur or around Puga and Tso-Kar.

• Tibetan Sandgrouse: A high-altitude resident, occasionally encountered above 4,200 m, although descends to 3,500 m in winter. Gregarious; flocks of 10 - 20 individuals are found in stony or grassy, barren sandy plains with peashrubs in the Tso-Kar, Chumur, Hanle or Chushul areas.
   
• Upland Buzzard: A little-known, rare summer visitor or perhaps a resident, mainly in the eastern high-altitude plains above 4,000 m. Seen soaring singly or perched on exposed rocks or poles, particularly around Tso-Kar, Puga and Chushul. Also seen on autumn migration in central Ladakh in the Shey-Tikse area.
   
• Grey-backed Shrike Lanius tephronotus (race lahulensis): An occasional summer visitor, with individuals recorded in the valley, perching prominently on bushes, posts or telephone wires above open scrub, cultivation and dry slopes. Wary and shyer than Long-tailed Shrike L. schach.
   
• Hume's Groundpecker Pseudopodoces humilis. An occasional summer visitor or possibly a resident in the high-altitude semi-deserts of eastern Ladakh at 4,300 - 5,500 m. Often encountered as single birds or small family parties in the upper More Plains from Rupchu eastwards and above Tso-Kar, Chumur and Hanle. Usually seen hopping with long bounces along dry gullies, although its cryptic plumage makes it easily overlooked.
   
• White-throated Dipper: An occasional resident throughout Ladakh at 3,000 - 5,000 m, rarer in the west, and usually seen singly along small, boulder-strewn, fast-flowing mountain rivers, perching on boulders at the water's edge. In winter it is occasionally found along the Indus and Zanskar Rivers or their tributaries up to 3,800 m, or rarely along the Suru and Shyok Rivers. In summer it moves to around 4,000 - 5,000 m in the Rumbak, Markha, Rumtse, Tsomoriri and Sumdo areas, and is rarely found near Zuildo. The rare sordidus morph has a pale to chocolate-brown throat and breast and has been recorded around Tsomoriri and Sumdo.
   
• Brown Dipper: Prefers larger rivers with bigger boulders and at lower altitudes than Whitethroated Dipper in western and central Ladakh, usually around 3,400 m but rarely up to 4,000 m. May overlap with White-throated Dipper in winter.
   
• Tickell's Thrush Turdus unicolor : An uncommon passage migrant or straggler to Ladakh, recorded singly near open damp meadows, plantations and in marshes in the Dras Valley, the Shey-Tikse area and the central Hanle Valley up to 4,350 m.
   
• White-tailed Rubythroat: An occasional summer visitor, recorded singly mainly along lower slopes with juniper or peashrub bushes and with adjoining marshes or streams. The race pectoralis is found in western Ladakh around 3,200 - 4,000 m in the upper Dras Valley and between Panikar and Zuildo. The race tschebaiewi occurs in the far eastern region at 4000-4400 m, especially around Chushul, the side-valleys of the Hanle Plains and near Sumdo.

• White-winged Redstart: An altitudinal migrant, commonly found in winter in buckthorn-covered valleys, especially in the Hundar - Diskit - Panamik, Spituk - Tikse and Zanskar regions, but only occasionally seen during summer when it disperses to highaltitude boulder-strewn hillsides, often near streams, mainly above 4,500 m although as high as at least 5,400 m, especially around the upper Rumbak and Stock Valleys towards Kardung-La, Chang-La and Taglang-La.
   
• White-browed Tit Warbler: An occasional resident, encountered feeding restlessly in thick cover in the lower valleys of central Ladakh up to 3,800 m, and rarely in the southern and western regions. The best areas are in the Panamik region to Diskit-Hundar, the Shey-Tikse area, around Markha and rarely around Kargil. Usually in pairs, this species is shy, alert and difficult to observe.
   
• Tibetan Lark Melanocorypha maxima : A locally common summer visitor, observed singly or in pairs in open wet grassland with bogs or in adjoining steppes amongst high-altitude plains. It is regular around Hanle and Chumur in eastern Ladakh, mainly at 4,300-4,500 m.
   
• Plain-backed Snowfinch: A rare and littleknown summer visitor to or resident in highaltitude plains in eastern and, to a lesser extent, central Ladakh at 4,100-5,500 m. The best areas are Tso-Kar and Taglang-La, with single records from the upper Rumbak Valley and the Zanskar region. Usually seen singly or in pairs in barren, sandy rock-strewn hillsides where pikas live.
   
• Brandt's Mountain Finch Leucosticte brandti. A common resident of steep, stony and grassy wet slopes, moraines and meadows, mainly in central, southern and eastern Ladakh mostly above 4,000 - 5,500 m, less commonly in western regions. Most easily found in the upper Rumbak, Markha and Sumdo Valleys, the Chushul, Hanle, Chumur, Tsomoriri (around Korsak), Tso-Kar and Yoye-Tso Plains, and sparingly in the upper Suru (around Zuildo) and Zanskar Valleys. During winter flocks are found at slightly lower altitudes.
   
• Streaked Rosefinch: A locally common resident, observed singly or in small family parties on open, dry, bush-strewn slopes and plains in southern, central and eastern Ladakh at 4,000 - 4,700 m. Often encountered in the upper Rumbak, Markha and Indus Valleys, and the Chumatang, Yoye-Tso, Sumdo-Puga, Tso- Kar, Tsomoriri, Chumur and Chushul areas. During winter it descends to the valleys where it is easily seen in buckthorn thickets in the Choglamsar - Tikse and Hundar - Diskit - Panamik regions.
   
• Great Rosefinch Carpodacus rubicilla : Occurs alongside Streaked Rosefinches in summer, although favours more arid, less bushy habitats at slightly higher elevations. In winter it tends to remain at high altitudes, inhabiting sunny, snow-free slopes.