Reader’s Digest
128 september 2019
Left: A female rufous-necked hornbill
(seated right) with her mate; Above:
A blood pheasant, a bird commonly
found in the eastern Himalayasbought along the way from local
farmers), yak meat and hot, steaming
herbal tea from freshly picked forest
mint. By 9 p.m., we collected our hot-
water bags and retreated into our
beds to the sound of chirping crickets.
Stepping out into the pre-dawn
mist, we washed our faces in warm
water and wrapped cold tingling
fingers gratefully around enamel
mugs of tea. As the mist lifted, the
drama of our surroundings emerged.
I could count seven successive hill
ranges—the nearest a verdant green
and the furthest an ashy grey, clothed
in wispy clouds.
Four days in Yongkola brought
delightful revelations of nature’s
abundance: Lush patches of fern and
bamboo, fascinating birds like the
parrot bill, yuhinas, and, for me, the
unforgettable experience of sighting
a pair of rufous-necked hornbills!
With their blue-and-lavender facial
hues and disproportionately large,clumsy beaks, the birds settled on an
extended branch. The female held
a small, round berry in its awkward
beak and tenderly shared it with her
mate. Deep inside the forest, wild
strawberries grew on the slopes and
beautiful orchids bloomed in moss-
covered crannies. We stopped for
some warming tea by a bubbling
brook and found an abundance of
mint and marijuana along the banks.W
alking through the pitch-
dark forest for a nighttime
birding trip, my heightened
imagination conjured intriguing
shapes. A collared owlet hooted
his triumph over us in the dark; a
frogmouth called from somewhere
in the valley and a responding cry
echoed out not too far from us.
Suddenly, EJ sent a piercing beam
of torchlight on to a nearby tree, then
quickly arced the beam over to a
neighbouring tree. A split second of