Nepal's foremost birdman doesn't have a PhD in ornithology from a fancy western university. He doesn't work as an expert for a swanky conservation NGO. At 74, Hari Sharan Nepali is a self-made walking encyclopaedia of Nepali birdlife. And that is saying something, since 834 species of birds have been recorded in Nepal-one-tenth of the world's known birds and as many as there are in the whole of North America. And Hari Sharan can rattle off the Nepali and English names of most of them, accurately imitating their chucks, tweets, cheeps. Of the species found in Nepal, 15 have Latin names ending in "nipalensis", which means they are indigenous only to Nepal.
A truly homegrown bird specialist, Hari Sharan began his early lessons in birdwatching at 13, when he used to accompany his father on hunting trips. He made friends with his feathered friends, and they have never ceased to inspire him to do more for conservation. He donated about 600 specimen species to Tribhuvan University, which then set up what today has grown into the Natural History Museum. Hari Sharan is personally credited with discovering 13 new species, including the Tibet owlet he spotted in Dolpa and three snow finch species (Rufus-necked, Brand's and Mandl's) which he spotted and recorded on a single day during a bird-watching trip in northeast Mustang. Others include the Black-tailed Godwid and the Booted Warbler, both of which were thought to be extinct.
Hari Sharan's greatest regret these days is that he can't move around as much as he used to. "I'm still fit to go out and track more birds," he told us, "it is the security situation that prevents me from venturing out." Still, every opportunity he gets, Hari Sharan dons his binoculars and is off to Shivapuri or Phulchoki, the two areas on the Valley rim internationally renowned as a haven for birds and bird-watchers.
Hari Sharan would still like to go birdwatching in areas of Nepal he hasn't yet been to. "As long as I am fit, I'd like to be out there. If only I could be as free as the birds and move around without fear."
