The morning was spent searching for the missing blood pheasant. Searching yielded several further delights. The eye-catching blue Grandala, the iridescent metallic hues with brilliant yellow-red contrast of the Fire-tailed Sunbird, and the rose pipits all along.
As we descended, we spotted a flock of chirping Himalayan white-browed rosefinches, a Hodgsons treecreeper roaming among the trees, and yuhinas, tits. When we were looking at Gray-crested tit, we noticed a brown-throated fulvetta hidden in plain sight.
And now imagine all of these birds and snow sprinkling from above, sounds like a heavenly setup!
We chose to call the jam-bread, boiled eggs, and juice we were carrying as an emergency our lunch. Of course, the lunch spot was picturesque, with mountain ranges across, plains leading to valleys, and an abundance of rhododendrons.
The golden rule of lunch when birding is that we see and hear more birds, and that's precisely when they decide to settle on top of a rhododendron blossom; my eyes glued towards the birds, while my hands busy with jam bread and boiled eggs!!
Gosh! That was a quick lunch followed by a wait with the expectation that they'll appear again on top of the rhododendrons. The wait paid off, as we saw Fire-tailed Sunbirds, Golden Bush Robins, and the distinctive Fire-tailed Myzornis. Here are some photos from that day!