By Our Correspondent

Dhangadhi, July 18: Shuklaphanta National Park, famous for Barhasingha (swamp deer), has become the only protected area in Nepal where the endangered golden weaverbird is found.
After the species stopped being seen in other protected areas, Suklaphanta has become the only habitat for the golden weaverbird in the far-west of the country. The IUCN red-listed weaverbird is considered rare around the world. The bird, which is found only in Nepal and India, is in the endangered list for Nepal.
Laxman Poudel, chief conservation officer of the park, said that the weaverbird that went missing from the Kosi Tappu Wildlife Reserve decades ago is currently seen only in the SNP. “This bird, which is found only in Nepal and India, is currently found in SNP,” he said.
Shikari Lake, Sinhapurphanta, Mohanpur, Andaiya, Pattaiyaphanta and Darakh grasslands are safe havens for these rare birds. Monitoring is conducted every year to find out the situation of the bird, Poudel said.
Ornithologist Dr. Hemsagar Baral explored the weaverbird in Shuklaphanta for the first time. He conducted a research in Sukhlaphanta in 1996 for the first time for his PhD thesis.
Then, in 2008, he discovered that the weaverbirds had their nests around Sikhari Lake in the SNP, Poudyal said. He saw 11 such birds in SNP in 2008.
“Shuklaphanta is the only place in Nepal where weaverbird breeds,” he said. “From May to September, the golden weaverbirds lay eggs and raise their chicks,” said Poudyal.
There are only a small number of weaverbirds in Nepal and India, according to Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN). About 100 golden weaverbirds are in Nepal, according to a recent census.
Ishana Thapa, executive chief of the BCN, said that some 300 weaverbirds were found in Nepal in 2017 and 174 in 2019.
Thapa said that a detailed study of the rare bird is yet to be done. Discussions are underway to include it in the most critical list in the world as its number is declining both in Nepal and India.
It is said that four species of weaverbirds are found in Nepal. They are locally named as Chhatikale, Dharke, Baya and Sunaulo.
According to ornithologist Hirulal Dangaura, the golden (Sunaulo) weaverbird is found only in the Terai region. Conservation and monitoring of the bird found in Shuklaphanta have been done jointly by the park office and the BCN.
Increasing human intervention in nature is threatening the bird’s survival, Dangaura said. The destruction of natural habitats and increasing use of pesticides in agriculture are the main reasons for the raid decrease in the population of the endangered birds in Nepal.
About 450 species of birds are found in SNP near the Nepal-India border. Of them, 23 are listed as rare and 74 as endangered in Nepal.