Bird Migration across the Himalayas: Wetland Functioning amidst Mountains and Glaciers

Birds migrating across the Himalayan region fly over the highest peaks in the world, facing immense physiological and climatic challenges. The authors show the different strategies used by birds to cope with these challenges. Many wetland avian species are seen in the high-altitude lakes of the Himalayas and the adjoining Tibetan Plateau, such as Bar-Headed Geese. Ringing programmes have generated information about origins and destinations, and this book is the first to present information on the bird's exact migratory paths. Capitalising on knowledge generated through satellite telemetry, the authors describe the migratory routes of a multitude of birds flying over or skirting the Himalayas. The myriad of threats to migratory birds and the wetland system in the Central Asian Flyway are discussed, with ways to mitigate them. This volume will inform and persuade policy-makers and conservation practitioners to take appropriate measures for the long-term survival of this unique migration.

Herbert H. T. Prins is professor in Resource Ecology at Wageningen University, The Netherlands. He is known for savanna ecology and has investigated wild goose ecology in Europe, on Spitsbergen and in Siberia. For his conservation efforts, he received the Aldo Leopold Award from the American Society of Mammalogists, and was appointed Officer in the Order of Oranje Nassau and Officer in the Order of the Golden Ark.

Tsewang Namgail heads the Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust. After his higher education in Europe, he moved to the USA and worked on migratory birds. He has done pioneering ecological work on mammals in the Himalayas and serves on the editorial board of Ecological Research and Pastoralism journals.