A Preliminary Wildlife and Habitat Survey of the Proposed Northern ...

4. Findings With Respect to Wildlife4.1 Birds4.1.1 Importance of NTX and NGA for BirdsTwenty-four Key Species of birds have been found within the small area of the NTX that hasbeen visited. Four additional key species were found outside the NTX in the NGA. Twentymore Key Species of bird are expected to occur. The population of the Crested Argus withinthe NTX is the largest yet found in Lao and is of Global Importance. Other GloballyImportant populations include those of Yellow-vented Pigeon, Short-tailed Scimitar-Babbler,and Gray Laughingthrush. Species of National Importance that occur in the NTX and theNGA include Malayan Night-Heron and Blyth’s Kingfisher.Table 2. Status of Key Species of Birds in NTX and NGAUpper NamGnouang/LowerNam HeunMiddle NamHeun/LowerNam ChamNorthernBorder Hills(Timmins &Evans 1994)Key Bird SpeciesWet ForestLogging RoadUpper NamCham ValleyPurple Heron[P]Malayan Night-Heron PRufous-throated Partridge LF PBar-backed Partridge P P CSilver Pheasant D D D P PGrey Peacock-Pheasant O O O CCrested Argus C O CRiver LapwingFYellow-vented Pigeon FCoral-billed Ground-Cuckoo P PCrested Kingfisher P P P PBlyth's Kingfisher P P P PBrown Hornbill C P CRufous-necked HornbillWreathed HornbillGreat Hornbill D OBlue-naped PittaPWhite-winged Magpie P P FBlack-throated Tit FBrown Dipper P PShort-tailed Scimitar BabblerPGrey Laughingthrush C P C[Purple Cochoa][O]Rufous-faced Warbler C F CYellow-vented Warbler P OHill MynaPC Common: seen daily, often in large numbers, in favored habitatF Frequent: seen on most days favored habitat is visited, but not usually in large numbersO Occasional: seen on fewer than half the daysP Present: abundance was not assessedD Remains of the species were found, usually in a village or with a hunting party[ ] Indicates a provisional identificationNam Chat and NamPan Valleys (Schaller1995)DP4.1.2 Key Species accounts23