Counting of endangered Finn's Weaver underway

By Abinash Chaudhary,Dhangadhi, July 7: The counting of the endangered Finn's Weaver, popularly known as sunaulo top chara in the local language, found only in Shuklaphanta National Park in Sudurpaschim Province, is currently underway.

The park office and Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN) are conducting the annual count of this rare bird to update information about its population and condition. This species is listed as endangered on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is only found in Nepal within Shuklaphanta.

According to Purushottam Wagle, the park’s Information Officer, the birds are being counted in the grassy areas of different parts of the park. He informed that a team of six people, along with elephants, is involved in the counting work. 

The survey is being carried out in areas like Shuklaphanta grasslands, Mohanpur Phanta, Bichphanta, Lalpaniphanta, Andaiya, Haraiya and others.

This is the breeding season of the Finn's Weaver. These birds build nests and raise chicks during the monsoon season, so the counting is done at this time every year. 

Ornithologist Hirulal Dangoura, who is leading the count, said both active and inactive nests have been spotted in most areas this year. “In some places, there are more birds, while in others there are fewer. We will only know the exact number after completing the count and compiling the data,” he said.

Finn’s Weavers are known to build fake nests to trick predators like birds of prey and other meat-eating animals. These fake nests are called inactive nests, according to Dangoura.

According to BCN, 211 Finn’s Weavers were counted in Shuklaphanta in 2023. Likewise, 129 active and 89 inactive nests were recorded that year. 

The number of Finn’s Weavers found in the park in previous years were -- 60 in 2014; 200 in 2015; 250 in 2016; 300 in 2017 (the highest so far), 254 in 2018; 176 in 2019; 253 in 2020; 248 in 2021 and 244 in 2022.

It is believed that changes in their habitat have contributed to the decline in the bird’s population. Similarly, during the breeding season, other birds like crows and cuckoos eat the eggs and chicks of the Golden Weaver, according to Dangoura. The Finn’s Weaver usually breeds from April to June.

The Finn’s Weaver was first recorded in Shuklaphanta in 1996 by a noted ornithologist Dr. Hem Sagar Baral. 

In Nepal, there are four species of weaver birds -- Chestnut Weaver, Streaked Weaver, Finn’s Weaver and Baya Weaver.