Birds of Bhutan – Part VI

Bhutan Tourism, Birding, International By footlooseinme Feb 05, 2026 No Comments

In this way, we stepped into the sixth day of our ongoing journey, marking birds of Bhutan part VI. We were travelling from my much-loved location of Tingtibi to Gelephu. It’s been a long time now that we have been travelling from one part of Bhutan to another in search of the birds of Bhutan. And it has been even longer the way I am stretching this series of blog posts on the birds of Bhutan. With all my apologies, I continue.

Yellow rumped honey guide — Yellow-rumped honeyguide

The good thing is that I am still at it—patiently selecting pictures from a huge collection, sorting them, doing the necessary post-processing, and finally publishing them for my readers to meet the incredible birds of Bhutan.

This was our first venture into the southern part of Bhutan. Gelephu is a border town sharing its boundary with Kokrajhar in Assam, India. To its west lies another border town, Phuntsholing, and to the east is Samdrup Jongkhar.

On the way, we ticked off a few species from our growing list of birds of Bhutan, with the star attraction being the pretty little Helmet birds. Yes, you heard it right—the Helmet birds, better known as the Long-tailed Broadbill. Unfortunately, the weather played spoilsport once again, as it started raining cats and dogs.

Long-tailed Broadbill - Birds of Bhutan Part VI — Long-tailed Broadbill – In the heavy rain, I could not frame the shot with the third one on the right

Long tailed broadbill - habitat shot - Birds of Bhutan Part VI — Long-tailed broadbill – habitat shot

We got only a very short window to capture these beauties in their nest before rushing back into the car. Eventually, we gave in to the rain and moved on towards our destination. We soon reached the peaceful town of Gelephu—a well-planned town with broad roads and pretty houses lining either side.

Great Hornbill - Birds of Bhutan Part VI — Great Hornbill

The town carried a strange familiarity, a scent like our own country. We could see India on the other side. This town looked remarkably similar to the remote towns of Assam. The pattern of the buildings, the vegetation, and the topography—everything felt familiar.

Lesser Yellow nape - Birds of Bhutan Part VI — Lesser Yellow nape

Not only did the birds of Bhutan steal our hearts here, but so did the calm and quiet charm of Gelephu. And with that, begins my pictorial journey through this peaceful southern town – Birds of Bhutan – Part VI.