Bhutan is a paradise for bird lovers and ornithologists. Over 670 species of birds have been recorded and many more are yet to be discovered. Around 50 species of the known birds are winter migrants. These include ducks, waders, birds of prey, thrushes, finches and buntings. The partial migrants to Bhutan include cuckoos, swifts, bee-eaters, warblers and flycatchers. The country harbors more than 16 species of vulnerable birds. They are the Pallas’s Fish Eagle, White bellied Heron, Satyr Tragopan, Grey bellied Tragopan, Ward’s Trogaon, Blyth’s King Fisher, Rumped Honey Guide, Purple Cochoa, Rufous Throated Wren Babbler, Red headed Parrot Bill, Chestnut breasted Partridge, Blyth’s Trogon, Wood Snipe, Dark Rumped Swift, Rufous necked Hornbill, Grey crowned Prinia and the Beautiful Nuthatch all of which breed in Bhutan.
Bhutan is also home to ten species of birds that are in danger of extinction, including the Imperial Heron, which is one of the fifty rarest birds in the world and the rare black-necked crane, which breed in Tibet and then migrate over the Himalayas to Bhutan to spend their winter.
The country is an important wintering ground for the rare Black necked crane. They can be spotted in Phobjikha in Western Bhutan, Bumthang in Central Bhutan and in Bomdeling in Eastern Bhutan. They migrate to these winter roosting places in the months of September and October and fly back to Tibet between February and March.