Off the beaten track, the Mishmi hills in Arunachal are a birdwatcher's paradise

Rufous-backed Sibia

The Mishmi Hills are located in central Arunachal Pradesh in India. Most of the Mishmi hills area falls under the Dibang Valley, which gets its name from Dibang River, one of the tributaries of the Brahmaputra River.

The scenic Mishmi hills, is home to quite a few birds and is now a sought after destination for avid bird watchers. Mishmi Hills birding is done between Roing to Hunli, a stretch of 85 km. Most of this area falls under Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary. A 49 km ascending drive from Roing brings you to the 2655 meters high Mayodia Pass and from here you start descending towards Hunli which is about 36 km from the Pass. Different birds are found at different altitudes - during the first 10 kms or so of this journey, you get to see birds like Blue Rock Thrush, Red-billed Scimitar Babbler, Mountain Imperial pigeon, White Collared Treepie and many others, Around 25 to 30 km, you can sight the beautiful Nuthatch, Rufous-backed Sibia, Greater Rufous-headed Parrotbill, Himalayan Cutia, Pygmy Wren Babbler. Further up close to Mayodia Pass the birds that can be sighted are - Dusky Thrush, Rusty-bellied Shortwing, Gould's Shortwing, Dark-rumped Rosefinch, Crimson-browed Finch, Slender-billed Scimitar Babbler.

Mishmi is indeed a paradise for birtdwatcher's, the best season for birds in Mishmi is March to May.

To reach Mishmi, the best way is to fly to Dibrugarh. The Closest airport is Dibrugarh, and it takes around 4 hours to reach Roing from Dibrugarh.

Even though the scenic beauty is breathtaking, Mishmi is not one of the popular destinations with tourists (unless you are a passionate bird watcher!) One of the reasons being, the places to stay are very few and very-very basic. There are just two places, one near Roing and one near Mayodia pass, and both of these places are very basic. Soma Jha, an ardent birdwatcher, was in Mishmi last month, and these bird pictures are courtesy her.

Pygmy Wren Babbler

Slender-billed Scimitar-babbler

Himalayan cutia

Ludlow's fulvetta

Black-throated Prinia

Golden babbler

Crimson-browed finch

Dark-rumped rosefinch

Beautiful nuthatch

Blue rock thrush

Mountain Imperial pigeon

Dusky Thrush  at Mayodia

Greater Rufous-headed Parrotbill

Red-billed Scimitar babbler

Gould's Shortwing

Rusty-bellied shortwing

Himalayan Wood Owl

Blyth's Tragopan