Hello from Catmandu Nepal.

This is the Science of Birds.

I am your host, Ivan Philipson.

The Science of Birds podcast is a lighthearted exploration of bird biology for lifelong learners.

This episode, which is number 109, is all about my recent travels through the countries of Nepal and Bhutan.

For the last two and a half months or so, I've been traveling

through Asia and these are the final countries that I visited. Now, if you're new to the Science

of Birds podcast, you should know that the last few episodes have been unusual because they have

been quote unquote from the field episodes. I have recorded each of them in some hotel room in some Asian country and then edited them while on the road.

And so they're first of all, they're unscripted. I'm just working off of an outline. Normally my podcast episodes are scripted and I'm not working in a controlled environment. I'm just working off of an outline. Normally, my podcast episodes are scripted,

and I'm not working in a controlled environment.

I'm just in a hotel room with whatever ambient noise happens to get through,

whether that's dogs, cats, people, birds, car horns, screaming children, whatever.

So this episode is what I'm considering phase three of this big Asian Odyssey trip.

Phase one was when I was leading a birding tour through Vietnam and Cambodia.

Phase two was scouting two different provinces in China for a future birding tour. Then that was what I

talked about in the last podcast episode. That trip, that portion of the trip, that phase was about

three weeks. And then this episode will be about Nepal and Bhutan, which was also about three weeks.

Okay, so that's what this episode is going to be about.

I hope you enjoy it, and you can come along with me and vicariously enjoy the countries of

Nepal and Bhutan.

Okay. Okay, to set the stage a little bit, both of these countries are in the Himalayas,

...