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Three Fledglings Confirmed Brown Rock Chat Breeding in Janakpur

Wild Brown Rock Chat perched on a roof in Janakpur, Nepal
Conservation · Population & status

Mithila Wildlife Trust documented three newly fledged brown rock chats (Oenanthe fusca) in Janakpur, Dhanusha District, in 2026, providing the first confirmed local breeding record for the species in the area.

The fledglings were photographed moving close to adult birds and showed the expected signs of very recent fledging, including pale gape flanges, short tails and incompletely developed plumage. The young remained near brick structures and were still dependent on the adults for food and protection. Brown rock chats often use walls, buildings and stone ledges as nesting sites in human-modified landscapes, so the setting fits the species’ known breeding ecology.

Brown rock chats are common residents across much of northern and central India but are scarce and patchily distributed in Nepal. Sporadic observations have been made in the lowland Terai, while confirmed breeding evidence in eastern Nepal has been rare. The Janakpur record therefore adds direct evidence that the species is reproducing locally in Dhanusha District. One local breeding record does not by itself demonstrate population growth, permanent establishment or a broader range expansion.

Sources and image credit

  1. Mandal, D. N. (2026, July 25). Confirmed Breeding Record of the Brown Rock Chat in Janakpur, Dhanusha, Madhesh Province, Nepal. Mithila Wildlife Trust.First-hand field report from the Mithila Wildlife Trust team. Three newly fledged Brown Rock Chats were photographed moving with adult birds in Janakpur, providing the first confirmed local breeding record for the area.

Image: Brown rock chat (Oenanthe fusca) on a roof in Janakpur, Nepal, 25 June 2026. Photo: DaYwalkerme / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. Locality-specific representative image; not necessarily one of the birds documented by Mithila Wildlife Trust. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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